Destined for Power (17 page)

Evelyn took the hint and hurried back to the front desk. Reid let out a long breath. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but his days of playing the field were over. The only woman he wanted knew how to blackmail, shoot, and drive fast, all with a smile on her face and pearls around her neck.

“Miss Winters?” Reid asked with a smile across his face. Mallory was on her hands and knees looking under the stage. She wiggled her ass as she scooted back, and his laughter turned to a groan.

“Coming,” she called and stood up, dusting off her knees. “How is everything with Evelyn?”

“I’m afraid you’re right. She’s angling for a relationship. But I told her I was already in one.” Reid leaned forward, and Mallory swatted him.

“You’re in one with Mallory Westin, not Miss Winters.”

“As if a wig and some makeup is going to stop me from wanting to make love to you.”

“It will if people think you’re having an affair. That would be bad for business and draw too much attention to me. As far as everyone else knows, Mallory is off playing detective with the plane crash. They don’t need to think she’s here. They talk much more freely around Miss Winters.”

Reid held open the door for her as they left the ballroom. “I just need to get some things from my office.”

“Reid.”

Reid heard his name called and both he and Mallory froze. For a split second, her eyes widened before her cover fell back into place.

“This idiot is telling me there are no suites available for me since I don't have a reservation. Fix it.”

“Prince Liam. What an honor it is to have you visit my newest property. What brings you here?” Reid asked as he strode toward the front desk where Evelyn was rushing from the back to help the attendant. Mallory stood far enough away to blend into the background of the lobby, but still close enough to listen. Reid smiled and moved so Liam was looking in the opposite direction.

“I’m here for the charity event tomorrow. Someone mentioned it in Stromia, and I thought it would be a good show of support. I want to show America that King Liam will be a friend to them.”

“King?” Evelyn sighed with round eyes.

“Isn’t your father very ill?” Reid asked.

Liam lifted his lip in disgust. “He’s always ill. I’ll go back after the charity event. Father would approve of me solidifying political alliances, and that is what tomorrow is all about.”

“Your Majesty, I’m so sorry not to have a room ready for you,” Evelyn cut in. “Mr. Simpson, I can get the penthouse ready, but it will take thirty minutes.” When Reid gave a quick nod of his head, Evelyn turned her eyes back to Liam. Reid felt a gentle breeze from all her batting.

“Your majesty, I feel awful about the wait. I have a private table set up in the dining room. I would love to have you join me for a meal, and you can let me know if there is anything at all I can do to make your stay more pleasant.”

Liam cast a glance at Evelyn who had moved her hand from her heart to push up her breasts. “I would like that very much.”

Evelyn gasped, and Reid knew he had just been replaced. He waved to the doorman who hurried over and took the bags to the penthouse while Evelyn ordered the room to be prepared.

“I hope you enjoy your stay, Prince. I’ll see you tomorrow at the party.” Reid turned away after shaking his hand. “Oh, and I don’t know if you are aware, but I am donating a rather large check to the foundation. Maybe you should consider doing the same. Then you can stand on the stage with me during the candidates’ speeches and even give your own when you present the check. It would look very good in the media.”

Liam nodded his head. “That is a good idea, my friend.” Liam turned to a man standing behind him and ordered it to be done.

Reid smiled and headed for his office. Mallory was already walking that way. What was the saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? If Liam was behind the assassination, then Reid wanted to stick to him all night.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Mallory walked past the office and into the stairwell. She watched through the small window as Reid went into his office and came back out a few minutes later with an armful of folders. She tapped softly on the glass, and his head whipped around to the doors. Seeing her, he headed toward the stairwell.

“What the hell is Liam doing here?”

“I don’t know, but are there any other ex-boyfriends I need to know about? Damien, Bowie, Liam . . .”

“First, I dated Damien, but not for long. Second, I never dated Bowie or Liam . . . or at least I never
really
dated them. It was my job.”

Reid let out an aggravated breath. “It’s not that. I’m just being jealous when I have no right to be. The past is the past, but our past just can’t seem to leave us alone.”

“We have our whole future together. Let’s just think about that. What did Liam want? Why is he here?”

“That’s the thing; he says he’s here to make alliances with America. After what Lloyd told you, I think he’s here to make sure the job gets done. If this is really about alliances, he and the candidate could be making backdoor deals for when their time comes. As we both know, most deals come about behind closed doors.”

“Shit,” Mallory cursed. “Liam mentioned they would no longer be weak—that they would have weapons. This could be about the French arming Stromia.”

“But what would the candidate get out of it?” Reid asked before shaking his head. “I know. What’s the one thing Stromia, as small as it is, is known for?”

“Your casino?”

“Money. You probably don’t know this since you haven’t been over there much, but they are quietly changing their banking laws to make them more secretive. They want to become the new Switzerland. Or, in this case, a dirty version of the Swiss banking system.”

Reid unlocked his fully refurbished suite and tossed his key on the side table. Mallory nibbled on her lip as she pulled off her wig and started pacing. She couldn’t help but think about her father. Did her father hire an assassin to take out his competition and ensure his presidency? Did Liam do it to get weapons?

“I’m so stupid,” Mallory cursed. “It’s so easy. I was overthinking it. What are the two things people like Liam and my father are always after?" Mallory didn’t give Reid a chance to answer. "Money and power.” It was clicking into place now. “Every candidate is incredibly wealthy and powerful. But they are never satisfied with that money and power. They are always trying to earn more, gain more.”

Reid immediately caught on. “And in the United States, when you gain the ultimate power of the presidency, you lose all of your business interests. The president doesn’t make much money compared to what these guys make now. And Liam has a way to hide that money. Foreign laws will make it nearly impossible for the US government to find out whose money—and how much—is in Stromia banks.”

Mallory grinned at Reid. “But Liam needs weapons to wage a war against their rival, Rahmi. Because he is such a sore loser, he will attack King Dirar in a power play for embarrassing him.”

“So, we figured out the
why
. Now the last question we need answered is the
who
.” Reid paused and took her hand in his. “Are you afraid your father is behind this?”

Mallory felt as if someone was reaching into her chest and squeezing her heart. “I don’t know. How horrible is it for a daughter to not know?”

“It’s not horrible, Mallory. We both know he’s not above carrying out threats and using the power he has worked so hard to gain against someone.”

Mallory stepped into Reid’s embrace and laid her head on his chest. “I hope he’s not behind it. I used to idolize him. It all changed when he was elected senator and became so ingrained in national politics, he stopped caring about the people around him. I don’t remember the last time my mother laughed. Of course, I also don’t remember the last time I was with them. After what happened to us, I couldn’t stand to hear my mom lecture me on my family duty. She blindly followed my father’s lead. I think she got a high from the power and notoriety as well. But then if it’s not him behind it, that makes him the target and the thought of him dead—”

“Shh. It’ll be all right. We will work together to stop it before anything bad happens. I’ll stick with Liam tomorrow. Bowie will be in disguise with the candidates, and you’ll be the badass I love sitting in a hot air duct getting all sweaty and stuff.”

Mallory felt her chest tighten, her shoulders shake, and then she laughed out loud.

“Now, we have done, redone, and accounted for just about everything possible. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, and you promised me something kinky,” Reid joked as Mallory felt her shoulders relax. Maybe having a partner wasn’t so bad.

“Kinky, huh?” Mallory slowly unknotted his tie and pulled him into the bedroom.

* * *

In the early morning hours, Liam slapped the girl’s ass as she left his room. He had to hand it to Reid; he knew how to hire some fine women. Evie, Ellie, or something like that. He didn’t need to know her name when he was done with her. He got what he wanted, and she got to say she screwed a king.

Liam waited until the door closed before talking. “Did you enjoy the show?”

“I always do,” the voice said from the shadows.

“When did you get here?”

“About an hour ago.”

Liam sat down heavily on the couch with his robe falling open. “Is everything on schedule for tomorrow?”

“Yes. But Black and Jonak are wavering. They’re upset I couldn’t get to Simpson yet.”

“Well, Black and Jonak think they are running things. But you and I both know that’s not the case. I just need someone to run my illegal activities through. They are easily replaceable. Reid wants me on stage with him tomorrow to give some money to these . . .
people
. So, don’t miss,” Liam warned. “Now, tell me about Reid.”

“He has a woman with him. I fought with her the first night. She stopped the poison attempt. I don’t know what happened the other times. I mixed the poison in their drinks for breakfast, but nothing happened. I rigged his car this morning, and he lost control, but then another woman fired at me so I couldn’t get too close. Right when I thought I had them, we drove through this neighborhood, and I got ambushed. I had to retreat. A couple of hours later, he and the woman sauntered into the lobby as if nothing happened.”

“Who are these women?” Liam asked. It figured Reid would have some deadly black widow with him instead of beefy security guards. Reid never did what was expected.

“The woman with black hair from today is Miss Winters. He claims she is with his company out of Las Vegas. The woman from the first night had blond hair. It was so dark I didn’t get a good look at her. I know it sounds crazy, but she kind of reminded me of Mallory Westin.”

Liam sat up. “Mallory Westin?” Now he was interested.

* * *

Mallory slid the black, long-sleeved spandex shirt over the Kevlar vest she had already put on. Reid watched her as he tightened his tie. She bent over the open metal case, pulled out the two knives, and slid them into her combat boots. Next, she slid the daggers into the X-shaped sheaths at the small of her back before strapping her gun to her thigh. Reid lifted his eyebrow, though, when she attached a tomahawk to a shoulder harness.

“Seriously?”

“Deadly.”

“That’s for sure.”

Mallory was in the zone. She ignored her emotions, shut off her mind, and focused solely on the job at hand. She slid on her boxy suit coat and pulled up the wide-legged pants. She looked in the mirror and then gave her black wig one more brushing. She wouldn’t draw any attention walking through the lobby as Miss Winters. “I’m ready.”

“I’ll come down right behind you. I want to see you safely in the air duct before I return to my job.”

“Do you want one of my men to accompany you?”

“Not necessary. I’ll be around everyone until I have to change. And then I’m meeting with Damien when I come up here. We are going over any last-minute details. Hopefully, everything will be over with by then anyway.”

Mallory stuck her earpiece in and tested it. When Bowie responded, she snapped the communications device into place. “Fingers crossed.”

Mallory turned and gave into her feelings long enough to kiss Reid. It was quick, powerful, and then she was gone. She couldn’t look back. She couldn’t think this was the end—that this was the last time she might see Reid. She had trained with the best, and she refused to fail. She had a lot more riding on this than the approval of the CIA. Her entire future rode on it.

Reid waited until the door closed before he clicked open the metal case Mallory left on the vanity. He pulled out the one remaining combat knife and felt its weight. Then he opened the second, larger metal case. She had already taken one of the guns from it but had left two. One was a rifle, and the other was a handgun. He picked the handgun up and checked to see if it was loaded. Finding it empty, he looked for the ammo and found it in another bag. He loaded the gun and slid it into the waistband of his suit before covering it with his jacket.

Mallory may have changed a lot over the years, but she forgot one very important thing about him—he’d grown up on the wrong side of the tracks, as her dad liked to remind him. Whether his mother liked it or not, he’d been shooting a gun since he was a kid. Well, his mother did say to let the other kids have a choice in what to play. His poor mother. She was trying to promote a sense of community by making nice with the neighbors. If she knew he learned to shoot, Allegra learned how to hotwire a car, Bree was a good tattoo artist, and Elle cut her teeth on settling drug disputes, then she would faint.

True, it had been a while since he had shot a handgun, but he’d been shooting clays for the last eight years. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need it. But it if looked like Mallory was in danger, then he would do anything to protect her.