Risky Temptation (13 page)

Chapter
Sixteen
Marco

              “This is a bad idea,” Zeke warned as I pieced my gun together. “There are so many cameras in London. They’ll have your face.”

              “No they won't,” I said confidently. “I came in through the entrance, not sneaking through the back. I looked like a regular hotel guest. And there aren’t cameras on the roof.”

              Zeke sighed. “Still,” he said but I could hear resignation in his voice.              

              He knew I was right.

              Inspiration had struck me and I was positive this was the best course of action if I wanted to get Copper before he fled. Sure, there were plenty of benefits of being inside a big and popular hotel like the Four Seasons.

              Like I had said before, it meant that the hotel was surrounded by busy streets and busier shops. There was no surrounding building that allowed for a good clean shot. And with how well known and exclusive the hotel was, it would be almost impossible for me to just walk up to the penthouse suite and shoot Copper in the face.

              Those had all been disadvantages a few hours ago. They were all reasons that had led me to the Thames, discouraged.

              But now I realized that those very same reasons might be my advantage.

              A populated street like this with tons of tourists means a very antsy crowd. I didn’t need to go into the hotel. I just had to bring Copper out.

              I had entered the hotel smoothly and had gone up the elevator and several flights of stairs without attracting any attention. On the roof under moonlight, I quickly disassembled the silencer from my gun, reassembling it into its original, louder form.

              Copper’s penthouse suite faced the front of the hotel. Running towards the opposite far corner on the roof, I leaned over. I could just barely make out one of the penthouse windows that touched the edge of the building. But I knew it was one of Copper’s windows.

              Keeping my head ducked low, I aimed my gun carefully and fired two rounds at the window, knowing I would only skim it.

              One bullet hit the brick corner and another one hit the sill.

              But that was enough.

              Immediately, I heard screams from below as passerbys panicked at the clear and recognizable noise of gunfire. I watched as people scurried around, trying to evacuate the area.

              Good. The faster they left, the less of a chance of anyone getting caught in the crossfire. Luckily with it being late evening, there weren’t as many people out anyway.

              Now I turned back and immediately unzipped my gear bag, assembling my sniper rifle.

              I knew Copper’s men were quickly pulling him out of his room by now. They knew he was a wanted man and hearing those gunshots, they probably had assumed that it was another failed attempted hit. They were probably ushering him down the stairs to the first floor. In emergencies, people always took the stairs. That would buy me eight more minutes, by my estimate.

              I could never have shot Copper from any other buildings surrounding the Four Seasons. It would’ve been impossible to angle and too hard not to be noticed.

              But if Copper came out and I had my sights set correctly, I
could
take him out as he exited the building to his car from the Four Seasons’ own roof. Then I had the perfect clearance and angle and if I was lucky enough, most of the tourists and pedestrians would have evacuated by the time I fired.

              Setting up my tripod, I carefully set up my rifle and aimed towards where I knew the front doors of the hotel were.

              This had to work.

              With how spooked Copper was now, there was no way he’d let himself get caught a third time. If I failed now, he’d be out of the country within the hour.

              The fucker had really played with fire. I knew he had led a fucked up life with the wife beating and the ecological drilling but who fucks with entire nations? This guy had it coming and I had no remorse in being the one to give it to him. I was only irritated that it was at the behest of a man I wanted to knock the teeth out of.

              I stilled my body and carefully looked through the sights.

              As if right on cue, a large black SUV rolled up to the front of the hotel. Copper’s car. It parked itself in front of the hotel doors, waiting for its passenger.

              It was a tight shot. With the height of the roof, I had literally half a foot of space to get the shot right. I had to get him
just
as he was about to enter the car. And no one could be right behind him. His guards had to give me enough clearance so I could shoot.

              Right on an exhale, I saw three black suited men rush out towards the SUV. One slid into the passenger seat. Another one stood in front of the backseat door, his hand ready on the handle.

             
Move,
I thought without any rancor, even though my heart was urgent. It was important to keep calm during a shot.
Move
.

              And then I saw him.

              Marshall Copper’s well swept silver hair came into view. He was ducking his head as if he was walking out into a sea of gunfire. His shoulders clad in a very expensive custom suit were shrugged up to his ears.

              I let out another breath. The guard standing by the door opened it wide for Copper.

              There was another guard behind Copper, guarding his back, I suppose. I waited patiently for him to move.

             
Move.

              Finally, right before Copper slipped into the car, the guard behind him moved towards the back of the vehicle.

             
For the women you beat, the goddamn mess you put me in, and the fucking fish, here’s to you Marshall Copper.

              And I pulled the trigger.

              A neat echo barely rang through the empty street as Copper sprayed the inside of the SUV with his blood and brains.

             
Got him.

              Immediately, I pulled away from the edge, ignoring the shouts and cries from the street as one of the world’s most infamous millionaires was gunned down.

              I dismantled my weapon and called Zeke as I headed down from the roof. I’d need to wait it out a bit before I went back out onto the street.

              “The key?” I said as soon as he picked up. “Do we have it yet?”

              “Did you get Copper?” Zeke asked incredulously. I heard Jamie whoop excitedly in the background. Did that kid never study?

              “The key?” I asked again. “Is it ready?”

              “It’s at 99%,” Zeke replied. “By the time you get here, it’ll be ready.”

              “Good,” I said, feeling my heart begin to race again. I was close now. I was very close.

             
Halle, wait just a little longer, baby.

              “I’ll make the call to Lestrade then to arrange the exchange,” I said, lowering my voice as I exited the stairwell.

              There was a big puff of air from the other side of the line.

              “Wow,” Zeke said in admiration. “American luck is amazing.”

              Yeah. But American nerve is better.

And I had shit tons of that.

Chapter
Seventeen
Tobias

              “You’re kidding,” I said.

              “Do I sound like I’m fucking kidding,” Desmond replied on the other end. I gripped the phone. “Name the time.”

              I bit my lip. How the fuck did he accomplish the impossible? And so fast? “10:30,” I finally said. “I can be at Thatherton by 10:30.”

              “Fine,” he said curtly. “And Halle comes in one, unbruised piece.”

              “Have a little more respect for me,” I said dryly, as if I would bruise Halle.

              “No,” Desmond simply replied before hanging up.

              That rough edged American. He had actually done it. He had not only killed one of the world’s most well-known millionaires, a feat unto itself, but he had also stolen the key to protecting several nations from imminent war.

              I lowered the phone.

              So Copper was dead. Good. That man was a sorry excuse of a human being. He had stepped on and beaten so many people along the way, it was right that he got his due justice.

              But now that meant time was up. Desmond had done his job and now we were to make the exchange—the key for Halle.

              Except, I wasn’t ready.

              I gripped my phone tighter, feeling the edges of the device. I hadn’t known this was where I would be when I had taken Halle from her house all those days ago. I hadn’t known that this was how my heart would feel.

              She had been a calculated move. That was it.

              I needed Desmond for a job. Admittedly, I thought he would only be able to accomplish one part of the job—the hit. I didn’t think he’d actually be able to get the key as well. He was certainly one clever and capable fuck.

              And to get Desmond to do that impossible job, I knew he needed an incentive. And that had been the
only
reason Halle Margot had entered into the hands of the Black Saints.

              But from the first moment I had seen her, I had sensed a danger. Not a physical danger but a danger of the soul. She had of course been arresting to look at. With her long honey blonde hair and wide oceanic eyes, she looked as delicate and fragile as an ocean nymph. But her curvy body and creamy breasts spoke of a womanly knowledge that made my body tighten in a hunger I hadn’t felt in years.

              Yes, she was gorgeous. But that wouldn’t have been enough to rattle me. I had seen scores of gorgeous women in my lifetime.

              It was Halle herself. She was a mass of contradictions and surprises. I had expected a fainting and wailing woman but instead I had found a cursing and sassy blonde who also had an infinite capacity for tenderness and sympathy. I had seen the heartbreak in her eyes when she had learned about Elizabeth.

              That had been the moment.

              That had been when I had seen how strong she really was. She loved bravely. She loved openly. And she loved fiercely.

              She had been kidnapped and taken away from her home and everyone she knew. She could’ve very well been facing a death sentence the moment she walked into the Black Saints headquarters. But she had shed no tears and had shown only incredible strength and love throughout her time under my watch.

              “Fuck,” I muttered.

              I could still feel her softness under my hands. Her lips had been so sweet, just as I had imagined. Pressing her against the wall, I had felt her soft breasts crushed against my chest. My cock had immediately hardened in response. How can someone be so soft and yet have such an iron core?

              Knowing all of this now made everything I had said to Halle that much truer. She had to get away from Desmond. She was too good for him. Someone like her, someone so incredible, couldn’t be kept in the shadowy side of a man like Desmond.

              Sure she was brave but bravery didn’t stop bullets. It didn’t stop knives. And it certainly didn’t stop cinderblocks from sinking, I thought as my lips turned cold remembering Elizabeth’s blue body as they pulled her from the waters.

              No matter what Desmond said, it
was
selfish to keep Halle. He should know better. He
did
know better. He was just choosing not to act better.

              I looked at my bedroom door as if I could see through it, pass the sitting room, pass Halle’s door and onto Halle’s face.

             
No,
I thought. I wouldn’t let her get trapped and caught like Elizabeth. I would do right this time.

              I knew I was no angel. In terms of the bloodiness of our histories, mine was only a smidge bit cleaner than Desmond’s. I had my demons. I had my sins. But I was different than Desmond.

              He was on his own with no protection, no resources. All he had were his two fists. Grudgingly, an inner voice pointed out to me that he had gotten pretty far for just his own fists.

              But I shook my head. It didn’t matter. In the end, I was better suited to protecting Halle.

              The Black Saints was a shift in lifestyle certainly but it was no crime Family. It wasn’t the Desmond Mafia. We were inherently protected because our members were the reigning leaders of the Western world. Although it was off the books and very discreetly, I worked for prime ministers and kings and queens and billionaires. I was as close to ultimate power as a commoner could get.

              There would be nowhere else in the world safer than by my side.

              And I wanted that side to be filled by no one else but Halle.

              “I can protect you,” I said aloud to no one.
And I will.

              Fuck a gentleman’s agreement. When the life of an angel was at stake, what worth is mere man anyway?