Knight's Game (14 page)

Roscoe’s sigh echoed down the wire. ‘We really don’t need this bullshit now. We’ve got a dozen new projects on the books. Jesus Christ, tell me this will be over soon. Lie if necessary.’

‘I wish I could.’

Another sonorous sigh. ‘OK, it’s not as though I have a choice. If he’s off the grid, he’s off it. I’ll do my best to calm down the manager at our aerospace facility who needs some goddamn special rocket fuel yesterday. But if you talk to
Nick, have him call me. This company doesn’t run without him. It never has.’

‘Tell me about it. I had that conversation with him when he was derailing in Hong Kong. It didn’t last long as you can see. But then living a life like his, where you can have anything, buy anything, coerce anyone, ruthlessly bend the world to your will … he’s hard to stop.’

‘Not always a bad thing,’ Roscoe murmured, single-minded like Dominic in the art of the deal. ‘When it comes to making money.’

‘Katherine isn’t about making money, though. That’s only one of her unorthodox qualities. She’s not his stereotypical playmate and I’m guessing that’s her major allure.’

‘But still a playmate,’ Roscoe said brusquely. ‘So what are you thinking? A week or two before he comes to his senses?’

‘I really couldn’t say. This could be different.’

‘Fuck it,’ Roscoe grumbled. ‘You’re not telling me anything I want to hear.’

The phone went dead.

Max pushed himself out of the chair, walked back to the bedroom, dropped his robe and climbed into bed. There was nothing he could do or say to control the situation. Nick did as he pleased. He always had.

He might as well sleep.

Liv had a family picnic planned for tomorrow. A smile touched his lips as he thought about his son’s shriek of excitement when they’d told him. For some reason, his little angel liked outdoor picnics, even in winter.

Dominic came awake at the soft click of the bedroom door latch and glanced at the lighted numbers on the clock. 3.21 a.m.

Shaking off the first few hours of peaceful sleep he’d had in more than a month, he looked up as Leo’s shadowed form approached. ‘I’m up.’

‘We should go.’

Both men spoke in an undertone.

‘Raffles?’

‘Cleared out and on the plane.’

Dominic carefully slid Katherine from under his arm and rolled off the bed. ‘How many?’ He strode towards his dressing room, Leo keeping pace beside him.

‘Eight.’

‘Jesus. Gora’s serious. And we have?’

‘Ten. But we’ll be in the air before they can muster a full crew.’

Dominic softly closed the dressing room door once they
were inside and flicked on a light. ‘OK, fill me in while I dress.’

Leo ticked off the positions of each of Gora’s men, where they’d picked up their arms, those in Dominic’s security crew who were watching them. ‘The chambermaid at Raffles packed up Katherine’s things and sent her luggage out in a laundry cart,’ he said. ‘One of Tan’s men picked it up on the loading dock and Gora’s guy sitting at the bar was none the wiser.’

Having pulled on a pair of jeans and slipped his feet into sandals, Dominic slid a T-shirt over his head and checked the time on his watch. ‘The plane’s ready?’

‘On the tarmac.’

‘We’ll meet you outside. And thank everyone.’

A few minutes later Kate sleepily mumbled, ‘What are you doing?’ as Dominic wrapped her in a quilt.

‘A slight change of plans.’ And he explained that slight change in such a bland murmur that she drifted back to sleep before he had to lie too much. Lifting her from the bed, he stood motionless watching her for a second in the event the movement brought her awake. She was like a child in sleep – angelic, manageable, her wilfulness temporarily in abeyance. He smiled. Not that a few orgasms didn’t play a part in her tranquillity.

Although everyone’s tranquillity would be seriously disrupted if they didn’t elude the assassination squad on their trail. He turned and walked away from the bed.

Moments later, having travelled the length of the house,
Dominic came to a stop at the entrance door, quickly thrown open on his approach by one of his houseboys at Tan’s direction.

Tan nodded at Dominic. ‘
Selamatjalan
.’ (Have a safe journey.)

‘That’s the plan. You, on the other hand, have to consider yourself under siege. They’ll come here when they can’t find her.’ He spoke softly in Malay in the event Kate wasn’t sleeping deeply.

‘We’re locked down tight.’ Tan spoke as quietly. ‘And up to strength. My relatives came in an hour ago.’

Dominic smiled. ‘So the army’s in place.’

Tan shrugged. ‘Since clan warfare’s frowned upon, they don’t get a chance to have much fun anymore. Everyone’s happy.’

‘Give them my thanks. You know what to do if—’

‘We know how to dispose of bodies.’

‘Then, thank you again. Leo tells me eight men were sent out.’ Dominic arched a brow. ‘For one woman.’

‘Barbarian overkill.’ Tan grinned. ‘No offence.’

‘None taken.’ Dominic was perfectly aware that Europeans had been referred to as barbarians since they first set foot on the Asian continent seven hundred years ago.

Tan lifted his chin towards the drive. ‘Leo’s pacing. You’d better go.’

Dominic glanced out, then back. ‘Stay in touch. And seriously, no bloodshed if it’s avoidable.’

‘Everyone knows that, boss.’

‘Jesus, don’t smile when you say that.’

‘Yes,
sir
 … boss.’

Dominic rolled his eyes. ‘Deference from you makes me nervous. Stay out of the courts at least – OK?’

‘Sure thing, boss.’

Dominic sighed. ‘I give up. Call Leo if you need anything.’ He dipped his head, smiled faintly and murmured, ‘
Selamattinggal
’ (goodbye). Then he moved out into the sultry night.

The moment Dominic appeared on the porch, Leo stopped pacing, swung round and walked to a grey sedan idling in the courtyard.

In front and behind the grey Mercedes were two black Mercedes SUVs, all three cars armour-plated at the factory, all with bullet-proof glass and tyres, all with professional drivers at the wheel. The three-car formation was standard for travel in dangerous situations. Dominic had had the cars flown in by one of his transport planes; he also had vehicles permanently at his homes in London and Rome. These had come from Hong Kong with Leo and Danny.

On reaching Leo, Dominic said under his breath, ‘Tan seems to have things in hand.’

‘No shit.’ Leo opened the sedan’s back door. ‘It’s like party time in there.’

‘They know what they’re doing, though,’ Dominic noted, bending his head to step into the car.

‘Understatement.’

Leo shut the door once Dominic was inside, took his place up front in the passenger seat and gave Jake a thumbs up.

Jake flicked his lights, the lead SUV moved off, the heavy timber, iron-strapped gates began sliding open and seconds later three cars issued from the compound, maintaining a tight car’s length between them, travelling fast.

Danny rode shotgun in the lead car, with a man in back, the same configuration employed in the vehicle following the sedan. Two of Dominic’s crew were guarding his plane. Everyone was armed to the teeth.

Dominic was settled in the back of the sedan with Kate in his arms, pleased that she hadn’t required a detailed explanation for their precipitous departure. The less she knew the better. He’d resolve the mafia issue. All it took was money and enough muscle, persuasion and ruthlessness to strike a bargain with his adversaries. He wasn’t worried. After a decade in a pitiless business, he’d mastered the art of arbitrary power.

At that time of night traffic wasn’t an issue, nor, according to Leo, were the Balkan mafia fully mobilized yet. The seventh and eighth man had just arrived in Singapore that evening; the advantage was still theirs.

The cavalcade moved at high speed down the city streets until it reached the freeway where the drivers promptly accelerated, sinking the rev counter into the red zone. One brief moment of concern arose when two trucks entered the freeway at the last entrance ramp before the airport. But the drivers simply swerved around the trucks as though they were standing still and, moments later, brought their
cars careening through the gates of the private plane terminal in a trail of smoking rubber.

The SUVs took up defensive positions on the tarmac between Dominic’s waiting plane and the gate while the sedan rolled up to the ramp of the 747-8. Two armed guards stood on either side of the ramp as Dominic quickly mounted the stairway with Kate. Once he was inside, all the men save the drivers came on board. The aircraft door was shut, one of the drivers pulled the ramp away and, seconds later, the plane was cleared for takeoff and taxiing down the runway to the low-throttle roar of jet engines.

Just as Dominic was putting Kate to bed, the plane lifted off in a scream of jet engines. ‘It’s takeoff, that’s all, baby. Everything’s good,’ he soothed as she came awake with a start. Tucking the quilt under her chin, he lowered his head and gently kissed her. ‘We’re in the air for fifteen hours so sleep as long as you can. You’re not missing a thing.’

‘Are you coming to bed?’ Her voice was thick and syrupy.

‘In a few minutes.’

‘Hurry …’ she said, the word trailing off.

Her eyelids slowly shut as she spoke, but he sat with her until her breathing deepened into full REM sleep before leaving the bedroom. Moving through his office next door, his mind on logistics and scheduling, on all he had to clear up before landing, he entered the outside corridor that ran the length of the 251-foot fuselage. Swiftly making his way past the six bedrooms with twin beds, he came to a skidding stop at the kitchen doorway when he saw his cook putting
away supplies. ‘You don’t have to stay up, Sese. We won’t need anything until breakfast.’

The big Tongan turned from the cupboard and smiled. ‘You sure? Those guys upstairs are smokin’ kif. That means the munchies.’

‘They can eat snacks – chips, cold cuts, whatever. I’ll tell them they’re on their own. You’re off the clock.’

‘You want anything special for the lady’s breakfast?’

Dominic looked at a loss for a moment. ‘Do we have chocolate milk?’

‘You bet. I heard the lady enjoyed her chocolate milk the last time.’

Dominic smiled. ‘Efficient.’

‘Did you think I wasn’t? And since you don’t seem to be on top of this, I’ll see that I have some bacon sandwiches on hand just in case. Leo told me to talk to Deshi so I’m clued in. And I know your tastes. Although, ask for anything else you want in the morning.’

‘Sounds like you’re ahead of the game,’ Dominic said pleasantly.

Sese gave a little bow. ‘I’m guessing you have to keep up your strength. As for the lady’s wishes, I’m all ears.’

‘We’ll let you know. With the time zone changes’ – Dominic shrugged – ‘I don’t know when she’ll wake.’

‘Not a problem. Leo tells me I have a couple of days off to visit my relatives once we land in San Francisco.’

‘I’m thinking a week.’

‘Sweet.’

‘I couldn’t agree more. Now get some sleep.’

Dominic had hired Sese from a restaurant in Jakarta after eating the best beef rendang he’d ever had. That the young chef handled himself superbly in a bar fight later that night had further clinched the deal; it had also established an immediate rapport between Sese and the members of Dominic’s personal security. In addition, the huge Polynesian could outdrink anyone on the crew, a feat of some consequence in the peer group that saw to Dominic’s safety.

Although Sese didn’t take orders well from anyone but Dominic. The other men had learned to ask politely if they wanted him to cook them something special.

Passing the dining room, exercise room and small library, Dominic reached the circular staircase that led up to the lounge.

Leo raised his glass and smiled as Dominic hove into view at the top of the stairs. ‘Safe and sound,’ he drawled. ‘Fuck the Balkan mafia.’

‘Temporarily,’ Dominic reminded him, walking over to the bar and pouring himself three fingers of whisky. ‘But thanks, everyone.’ He surveyed the group of hard-bodied, battle-scarred veterans relaxing in green leather club chairs with drinks in their hands, the pungent smell of kif in the air. ‘Katherine’s safe. I’m pleased.’ Dropping into a vacant chair, he drank half his whisky, rested the glass on the chair arm, leaned back and softly exhaled. ‘She’s going to wonder why we’re travelling with so much security, though. I’ll have
to come up with some logical explanation. I just don’t want to scare her needlessly.’

‘You’re good at that, Nick. Telling women what they want to hear.’ A flash of a grin, an Australian accent, a glass lifted in salute.

‘I think that’s your department, Clive.’ Dominic smiled. ‘You’ll have to give me pointers.’

The handsome young man with a permanent Aussie tan, the neck of a weightlifter and hair so blond it was white offered up a look of fake surprise. ‘You talkin’ to me, mate?’

‘Yeah, you. Anyone who can escape their own wedding and leave the bride smiling is what I’d call fucking persuasive.’

‘We were friends. It helped.’ Clive shrugged. ‘That’s not your style, Nick.’ He gave Dominic a lopsided grin. ‘Not that your style doesn’t get results.’

‘Better results now,’ Dominic said, very, very softly. ‘Katherine’s a rare gift. I’m not sure I deserve her.’

An awkward silence fell. They’d never heard Dominic speak of a woman with such tenderness.

‘Do you think they’ll follow us?’ one of the men asked to break the disquieting hush.

Dominic looked blank for a moment, then he spoke in his normal, easy drawl that still held faint hints of California surfer. ‘Most of the mafia foot soldiers can’t make it through US customs. A few might, but not the entire roster that came into Singapore. Which reminds me.’ He turned to Leo. ‘Have you gotten in touch with Gora?’

‘An envoy’s en route from Sofia. I’ll know something in a day or so.’

‘I need a week before I meet with him.’

‘I guess I don’t have to ask why?’

Dominic gave him a cool stare. ‘I understand sooner is better, but it’s not going to happen. A week minimum. After that anywhere, anytime – I’m ready to parley.’