Kill Shot (20 page)

“I can’t begin to interpret the look that
just came across your face,” Gabe whispered in her ear.

“I’ll tell you later.” Her smile was coy as
she stepped out of his embrace. “It involves the wig.”

The purr of pleasure in his chest was low
enough that only she heard it, and she put a little extra swing in
her hips as she went to window-shop at the jewelry store the hotel
provided for their more exclusive guests.

“Monsieur Piccoult.” The hotel manager
greeted Gabe familiarly in stilted French. “We are honored to have
you back at the Azadi. The penthouse suite is ready for the arrival
of you and your…guest.”

The manager’s eyes swept over Grace with
unhidden desire, and he whispered something to Gabe that had him
laughing and slipping a sizable tip into the man’s hand. Gabe
looked at her with complete possession and jerked his head so she’d
know to follow him. Her eyes spit black fire at the unspoken
command, but she did as she was bidden. It was all part of playing
the game.

Gabe dominated the center of the elevator,
checking his watch every few seconds, while Grace scrolled through
messages on her phone from people she’d never heard of. There was
never a way to know who was watching or listening, so they both
stayed silent until the doors opened on the top level. Gabe’s hand
was warm and sure against the small of her back as he led her to
the large double doors at the end of a long, elegant hallway.

Her shoes sunk into the plush patterned
carpet of blues and grays while she made quick work of noticing
where the cameras were located. Ethan would have to tamper with
them so no one would notice them coming and going, but it wouldn’t
be difficult for someone with his level of skill.

They stepped inside the penthouse suite, and
Grace immediately felt the hairs prickle on the back of her neck.
She reached for the small Beretta she had at her back just as Gabe
pulled out his Ruger.

“It’s about damned time,” Jack said from one
of the smaller bedrooms. “You’re two hours late.”

His transformation was remarkable. His skin
had been darkened, and his hair was thick and dark. Brown contacts
covered his green eyes, and he wore an expensive suit. A diamond
ring glittered on his pinky. Just another business man who’d get
easily lost in a crowd. Nothing remarkable about his features.

“Jesus, Jack,” Grace said. “What are you
doing in here?”

“I got worried when you missed rendezvous
time.”

“We ran into a little maintenance trouble
with the plane.”

“Uh-huh,” Jack said disbelievingly. “Maybe
next time you guys could keep a clock by the bed while you’re
getting reacquainted.”

“Fuck you,” Gabe said as Grace laughed.

“Not unless Grace agrees to join in.
Otherwise it would just be awkward.”

Gabe’s smile was razor sharp as he opened
his mouth to respond to Jack, but a soft knock interrupted
them.

“Bedroom,” Gabe whispered to Jack. “It’s our
luggage.”

Jack went into the spare bedroom and closed
the door just as Gabe let the bellboy in. Grace wandered around the
room, ignoring the opulence surrounding her as if it were subpar
and instead checked out the balconies and the best vantage point of
the museum.

It was a modern building of angles and
glass, and it sat at a diagonal a little over five hundred yards
away. All sides could be seen except for the back. It would be up
to Ethan to be the eyes on her blind side and watch Jack and Gabe’s
backs until they were safely on the roof.

“What do you think?” Gabe asked when they
were alone once again.

“I think it’s risky,” she said. “If things
go to shit and I have to take a shot, we’ll have to get out fast
and quiet. And with as many guards as there are, the chances of me
having to bail one of you out increases. We’re practically trapped
up here, and any investigator worth his salt will know this is
where the shot was fired from.”

“Then Jack and I will have to make sure you
don’t need to fire any shots. Just be our eyes.”

“Speaking of eyes,” Jack said, “Ethan has us
all tapped into his screens at headquarters.”

Gabe tapped his watch, and Ethan’s voice
came through clearly from his earpiece. “Checking in, Dragon. Do
you read?”

“Loud and clear, Ghost. Grim Reaper and
Renegade checked in earlier,” Ethan answered, referring to Logan
and Jack. “I’m only waiting to hear from Kill Shot.”

“I assume that’s me?” Grace asked, rolling
her eyes. “I guess I should be grateful it’s not Pussy Galore.”

Jack burst into laughter, and Gabe’s eyes
crinkled at the corners as his shoulders shook. She flicked the
switch on her watch and said, “Checking in, Dragon. How’s the
security at the hotel?”

“Why is everyone laughing? What’s going on?”
He asked.

“Jack’s fly was unzipped.” Grace
answered.

“I’m sorry, who am I speaking with?” Ethan
said deadpan. “I don’t recall you having a sense of humor.”

The smile left Grace’s face, and she averted
her gaze from Gabe’s as their laughter died. Something tightened in
her chest, and she realized she was holding her breath. She could
feel the person she’d once been hammering away at the woman she was
now. There had been a time when she’d had a sense of humor—when
she’d been the one on the team who always had a sarcastic word or a
quick quip. The thing that made her feel the worst was she was just
realizing how much she missed being a part of something like this
over the past couple of years. Being part of a team—a family. But
there was something inside of her that felt ashamed that she could
so easily go back to the person she’d been when her life was only
tatters of what it had once been.

“Security, Dragon. Tell me what we’re
dealing with.” Her voice was cold this time, and she could hear his
sigh over the line.

“It wasn’t hard to tap into the main
computers at the hotel. They use a satellite system, so I slipped
in undetected and can monitor and control as you need. I can
override the elevators and phone systems if needed. The hotel is
covered unless you get ambushed inside your room. Gabe wouldn’t let
me set up visual in your suite.”

“I can’t imagine why, you perv,” Jack
said.

“I would stop looking the minute I saw she
was taking her clothes off. I swear,” Ethan said soberly.

“Jesus,” Grace said. “Someone tell me again
why we’re working with a teenager.”

“I’m an adult. I’m eighteen.”

Jack groaned, and Gabe looked like he wanted
to start drinking heavily. “Dragon” he said. “You’re pushing
it.”

“It’s not like you can replace me,” Ethan
mumbled under his breath.

Gabe’s fists were clenched tightly, and his
voice sounded like he’d swallowed shards of glass when he growled
out, “Dragon.”

“Sorry. Like I said, the hotel is covered.
It’s the museum we need to worry about. I can’t tap into their
feed. They’re using a military-grade security system, but the
sensors I gave you should render it penetrable.”

“What do you mean ‘
should
render it
penetrable’?” Gabe asked.

“It’s not like I have the opportunity to
practice on many military-grade systems. But it will work. I’m
almost sure of it. Just place the sensors I gave you in the correct
locations. Technology will take care of the rest.”

“We hope,” Jack muttered.

Ethan had created a camera so small it fit
on a clear sticker no bigger than the tip of a woman’s pinky
finger. It was almost invisible and virtually undetectable, so
they’d have a clear shot of every dark corner and niche inside and
outside the museum, as well as every guard. Once the sensors were
in place, Ethan would activate the device, and the electronic
frequency would give him the ability to tap into the control room
and manipulate everything from the temperature to the monitors
watched by security.

“Kill Shot will run through the spot checks
in case we run into trouble,” Gabe said. “She’ll be able to alert
us if anything unusual is going on around the perimeter of the
museum. Grim Reaper will be our eyes inside, and Dragon will
monitor the security while we get the painting.”

“It doesn’t seem like Renegade is very
important to this mission,” Ethan said. “I don’t know, Ghost, it
seems on a mission like this that everyone should be pulling their
weight. Maybe you should cut him loose.”

“I’m too fucking old for this,” Gabe
muttered and turned to Jack. “I’m going to give him to Logan when
we get back to headquarters. He has more patience than Job, and he
probably won’t kill the kid.”

“Bollocks to that,” Logan said through the
earpiece. He was walking all the exit paths from the city to the
cars they had stashed for a quick getaway to make sure no
unexpected construction had popped up to block their escape.
“They’ll never find all of the pieces once I get through with
him.”

“You guys are a laugh a minute,” Ethan
said.

“Enough,” Gabe commanded. “It’s go time.
Everyone stay connected and report in as if this were tonight. I
want to know everyone’s line of sight at all times.”

“Roger that,” Logan said.

Gabe nodded and left the suite. As Luc
Piccoult, Gabe had an enormous influence over a lot of very
important people in Iran. Piccoult also happened to have a
collection of bronze statues from the Renaissance period that the
curator of the Tehran National Museum had been salivating over for
several years. Gabe had set up a meeting with the curator so he’d
have the opportunity to place the sensors throughout the museum
while promising the man a loan of his bronzes for display. Everyone
would be happy. Except the curator when he found one of his
paintings had gone missing.

Grace went to unpack her weapon. Her hands
were sure and steady as her fingers glided over the cold metal.
With every piece she put together it was as if she were becoming
more whole. No matter what was going on in her personal life, she
always had this she could count on. She didn’t load the rifle for
this practice run.

“What’s your ETA, Ghost?” she asked.

“Fifteen minutes on foot.”

She went into the bedroom and closed the
door behind her, stripping off the expensive suit and pulling on
khaki cargos and a long-sleeved T-shirt of the same color. Thick
socks and boots came next, and she slapped a hat over the wig to
keep her hair out of her face.

When she came out of the room, Jack was
sitting at the dining table with two laptops open in front of him.
He’d be able to see the inside of the museum once Gabe got all the
sensors in place.

“Lookin’ good, sweetheart,” he said, giving
her a wink.

“Nice,” Ethan said. “I’m sure your SEALs
loved to be called sweetheart when you were on missions.”

Grace winked back and pulled a pair of eye
protectors from her gun case. She put the strap of the rifle across
her body so it lay across her back, and she opened the balcony door
of the suite. A hot wind slapped at her face and clothes. The
balcony was large, and the railing around the outside was more than
chest high and made of solid stone. But at each corner the
architects had ignored safety and gone for artistry instead.
Wrought iron bars spiraled out of the smooth concrete floor and
tapered into a jumble of twisted metal that resembled something
faintly feminine and erotic.

Sand swirled across the floor in lazy
patterns, and she got down on hands and knees, adjusting her
position until she lay flat on the ground. She pulled her rifle
around and set it up so it was propped on the tiny stand that would
keep it stable if the wind shifted, though she was protected fairly
well by the high balcony walls.

“Approaching the first checkpoint,” Gabe
said softly.

“Grim Reaper in position and placing outside
sensors,” Logan said. The outside sensors would only be placed on
the side of the museum that Grace was blinded to. They didn’t have
enough cameras to monitor the entire perimeter, so her eyes would
have to be good enough.

“Hot damn,” Jack said. “Will you look at
that? They actually work.”

“Of course they work,” Ethan said, offended.
“You stick to being the brawn, Renegade. I’ll be the brains.”

“Of course, we still don’t know if they’ll
override the system. We could have the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
surround us in minutes if they don’t. I’ve been in an Iranian
prison. It isn’t fun, and I’d prefer not to go back.”

“They’ll work,” Ethan growled.

“I’ve got you in my sights, Ghost,” Grace
said, using her scope to pick Gabe out of the busy pedestrian
traffic in front of the museum. She panned around the building,
looking for threats or unknowns that might pop up. “It sure is nice
of them to have all those big windows everywhere. Christ, I can
basically see right through the whole place. Everyone is a sitting
duck.”

“Geez, bloodthirsty are you? Too bad you’re
not here to kill anyone,” Ethan said.

“The biggest challenge for you guys isn’t
going to be getting in and out,” Grace said. “It’s going to be
keeping to the shadows so some Good Samaritan walking down the
street doesn’t see you and turn you in. It’s literally a glass
house.”

“I’ve gotten in and out of worse places,”
Jack said.

“It looks like luck is going to be on your
side,” Ethan said. “The National Weather Service has just sent out
an alert for an approaching sandstorm. It’s not a large one, but it
should do the trick.”

“Ghost just placed the first sensor inside
the entryway. I’ve got a clear picture coming through on my
screen.”

“I see him,” Grace said. “The curator has
terrible taste in clothes. That’s the most hideous tie I’ve ever
seen. I’ll give you fifty bucks, Ghost, if you tell him so.”
Laughter filled her earpiece and she saw Gabe’s lips tighten at the
corners.

“All of my sensors are in place,” Logan
said. “Am I clear to head back?”