Royal Reckoning by Stephanie St. Klaire

14

Eli openedthe door to the rooftop deck and garden area and was met by the team – or most of them. He rolled his eyes, remembering why they were all there. It was to witness Killion on his double date with his sister and cousin…and Israel. He looked around and noticed one thing was missing – one person – Killion. He grinned and laughed to himself, not surprised that the guest of honor was a no-show or had already ditched the party.

Eli grabbed a bottle of beer from the stocked refrigerator behind the bar and joined the group.

“Heey, look who it is,” Wit said. “You come to watch the first episode of Killion’s love triangle too?”

Eli sent a threatening look. “Watch it, Meyer. That’s my sister and my cousin. Let’s remember our manners, aye?”

“Ooh. Using last names. This is serious,” Wit replied in an exaggerated mocking accent. “Sorry, mate.”

Eli raised his bottle in a no harm, no foul manner and took a seat in a nearby lounger. “Where’s the man of the hour? Did he even show?”

Ryla nodded. “Sure did. Got halfway through a lemonade and took off like a bat out of hell when his phone went off. Said he’d be back, but that was a couple of hours ago now.”

“Don’t worry. Everyone was well behaved,” Ryker said. “Israel was here chaperoning.”

Ronan cleared his throat. “Cock blocking.”

“I was not,” Israel said matter-of-factly, as he typically did. “I wanted to get to know Penelope. I was curious about Medaro is all. It isn’t often you meet someone from there, much less someone from the royal family.”

“You should’ve grabbed a souvenir T-shirt while you were there,” Carter teased. “Went to Medaro, and all I got was this shitty T-shirt.”

“And on the back, it says, where’s Medaro.” Ryker laughed.

Israel flipped them the international sign for fuck off. “I knew where it was. I was actually planning a trip there.”

“You were?” Wit asked. “Who plans a trip to Medaro? That just sounds made-up.”

“Well, yeah. Told you I’d been there before,” Israel defended.

“Still weird, man,” Carter said. “My roots are there, or half of them, anyway, and I hadn’t even heard of it.”

Israel shrugged as the group continued to make fun.

“Did Killion say why he had to leave? Was it one of those alarms he sets on his programs?” Eli scooted to the edge of his seat and interrupted the shenanigans. “You don’t suppose it has to do with Cally?”

“He didn’t say,” Coy said, setting an empty bottle next to several others on the table in front of them. “I wondered the same thing, though. You know those bells get him worked up, so I haven’t gone down to the Lair, or wherever he is, to bother him. I figure he’ll let us know if it involves us. Best not to disturb his beautiful mind.”

“His mind isn’t the only thing beautiful about him.” Ryla winked.

“Classy,” Penelope scolded. “You could at least play a little hard to get. Maybe be a bit more subtle?”

“Why? I could flash my boobs right now, and he wouldn’t notice,” Ryla said. “Or take the hint.”

“Why don’t you try it and see?” Wit teased. “I’m sure I’d notice.”

Ryla lifted her drink to him. “Appreciate the offer, but I’m not into hillbillies, even if they are built like you.”

She then turned to Coy and winked, but his stony stare remained void of emotion. She said under her breath, “What is with the men around here? Nobody knows how to have a good time but the redneck cowboy.”

Ronan laughed. “We don’t tend to co-mingle, if you know what I mean. Kind of a company rule.”

“A rule meant to be broken?” she said, grilling Ronan. “I’m guessing you’re a no too, despite the fact that I’m not a part of the company.”

“Sorry,” Ronan said honestly, shifting his stare to Carter. “I make it a personal rule not to date my team's family.”

“Ooh. Carter… Do you have something to tell? Are you dating the dear boy’s brother, Ryker?” Ryla quizzed.

“First, hell no. Second, he’s referring to their sister Sheridan who’s off working a case. Three, I’m not dating her. I have a similar rule. No family friends or friend’s family.”

Ronan and Ryker both fixed their gaze on Carter, and it didn’t go unnoticed.

“Should I get the water hose?” Israel asked the only one who seemed to have a water and no alcohol. “Alcohol and testosterone to this magnitude mixed with adrenaline don’t mix.”

“Testosterone?” Ryla questioned. “And raging hormones. Though, I don’t believe that was your problem. Like me, you read people. You know each of the men you’ve hit on wouldn’t take you up on it, and that was why you chose them as your mark.”

“Really?” She sat back in her chair and lifted a brow. “And why would I do that?”

“It’s a front. It’s how you harness your insecurities, especially where men are concerned. It’s a way to assert dominance without having to play the dominant one on one.”

“Insecure? Pfft.” She snorted. “Insecure about what?”

“I can give you a list, but what would be the point. Men intimidate you, and you don’t like it. You didn’t always feel that way, but something happened to you, and this is how you stay guarded so another man can’t hurt you. Am I getting close? If you play the part of a badass chick, people will eventually believe you’re a badass chick.”

She shook her head and set her drink down. “If you say so.”

“I didn’t say so. You did. Especially when you put your drink down just now and tried to dismiss me. You’re worried the alcohol is hindering your clarity, and you want to remain sharp because you need to…because of me.”

“You?” She laughed.

“Yes me. Because I see through all of it. Without looking around the space, I can tell you the others likely are too, and that makes you uncomfortable. Ryla, you are a smart and beautiful woman. I’ve seen your kindness in action. We all have. You don’t have to be anything but Ryla when you’re around us.”

Ryla pursed her lips together and pinched her eyes into a laser-sharp glare meant only for Israel. “You done profiling me?”

“Only if you’re done hiding behind whatever all that other stuff was,” Israel said. “You can dislike me if you want, but in the end, you’ll respect me because you know I am right, and though you feel exposed at the moment, you will be free for having lifted the veil and revealing your true self from this point forward. This team right here? They want the real Ryla. They don’t need any other version.”

There was silence among the group. An awkward silence that had them all reconsidering who they were in front of each other and who their true self really was. Israel seemed to live his truth freely, even if it made others uncomfortable. That was both admirable and fucking annoying.

“I know what you’re all thinkin’.” Wit finally broke the silence. “You’re wondering if she really does think I’m some redneck cowboy and if I’m her type after all? That was a front, wasn’t it, Israel?”

“No, Wit. Though she has admired your physical attributes, I’ve seen how she looks at you when you move across the room. She still finds you…annoying as fuck.”

The group laughed, and conversations picked back up. The moment was over. Ryla sat quietly, watching Israel as he moved about and interacted with the others.

Eli moved and took the seat next to her. “Is he full of shit, or is there some truth to that? Did something happen to you?”

“He’s full of shit, Eli. Do you really think I’m afraid of men and would let something happen to me?” Ryla questioned.

Coy was still only a couple of seats away. “Sometimes things happen to us no matter how hard we fight them.”

“From one wounded soul to another?” Ryla responded sharply. “Who hurt you? A big, scary man?”

“Something like that,” Coy said. “Everyone here has your back and would take a bullet for you even though we don’t know you. You’re Eli’s family, so now you’re our family, and that was really all we need to know about you. You’re feisty and probably fun. You’d fit in great. You really don’t have to be an ass, Ryla.”

Coy grabbed his drink and nodded to Eli as he walked off to join another conversation, bored with the one he was having.

“He’s right, Ry,” Eli said quietly. “You’re tough, feisty as he put it, but you aren’t yourself. Not entirely. I’m not going to press you, but you know I’m here if you need me, right?”

A forced smile filled her expression, and he could tell she was fighting something back. Maybe it was tears, maybe it was her truth, threatening to spill over. It didn’t matter. She knew she could come to him with anything.

“It isn’t me you need to worry about,” Ryla said. “It’s your little profiler who has an odd liking for your sister. I’ve been watching him too.”

“I’ve noticed that. He knew a lot about Medaro too. Something about his childhood and visiting when he was in Spain,” Eli said, looking across the space, making eye contact with Israel. “I think it’s nothing more than nostalgia. He’s a good guy. A decent guy. Quiet.”

“And how do you know he’s good? What do you really know about him? Did you recruit him yourself, or was he already here?” Ryla said. “He’s good at what he does, and if he can read the room as well as he does, he can certainly manipulate it too.”

“He knows better,” Eli said after taking a long pull from his beer. “And if he doesn’t, he’ll find out the hard way.”

“I’ve got something.” Killion came rushing through the rooftop door, laptop in hand and a wild look in his eyes.

He sat down in the middle of the group haphazardly without consideration. He was deeply distracted by whatever his discovery was. “Who has the remote? Lower the movie screen, and I’ll push this through so you can see what I see.”

Wit grabbed the remote from the bar and did what Killion had asked. “This better be good. I was working on a buzz.”

“It’s going to blow your mind,” Killion said, eyes fixed on his screen as his hands danced across the keyboard.

“At least something is getting blown tonight,” Ryla said, sending a daring look at Israel, not ready to give in to his theory about her yet.

“Now she just went and made a comment like that, and he didn’t say a word,” Wit acknowledged and flew his hand over his head. “It went right over his head. Have you ever been laid?”

Killion stopped and gave him a confused glance before going back to his laptop. “Yes. Multiple times. All safe, of course. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, the things I could teach you,” Ryla said, then looked directly at Israel.

Killion was quick to respond, not realizing there was something more to her statement and that it wasn’t entirely meant for him. He was her muse, but Israel was her target. “I’ve read many books on the topic and used the data to build models combined with my own experiences and came up with an appropriate rhythm and speed to achieve optimal…”

“Jesus, Killion.” Eli stroked his brow in frustration. “We get it.”

Ryla chuckled. “Oh, the things you could teach me.”

“I’ve received pretty good feedback from previous partners,” he said matter-of-factly. “So, I’m sure I could.”

“What do you say about him, oh mighty behaviorist?” Ryla asked of Israel.

Israel rolled his eyes. “That he’s a decent human and comes by his…personality, honestly. Nothing fake there.”

Killion looked up. “Thanks, Iz. Did I miss something, though?”

“Okay, okay… Can we get back to your big hit, Kill? Ignore them.”

Killion shrugged it off and went back to work.

“I really think we have a break in the case,” Killion said, and the group put their drinks down and sobered quickly at his statement.

“You should see it…now.” Killion grinned when the screen filled with various video feeds he was sharing. “Yep. Right here.”

There was a man on the screen, that was clear, but what that proved wasn’t.

“Can’t see his face, Kill,” Eli said. “How’s it a clue, mate?”

“Keep watching,” Killion said. “There he is again. And…again.”

“Okay, so you have several clips of the same guy,” Coy mentioned. “Did we miss the big reveal, or is this leading to something?”

Killion smiled. “Just keep watching. This is the combined footage of the days leading up to Cally’s trip to Spain, along with feeds I pulled from Spain.”

Killion tapped a few keys, then sat back and watched the big screen himself. It was populated by multiple frames – each one a different feed, and they were rotating. When they began to pan out, the big reveal hit them hard.

“Jesus, mate,” Eli whispered. “It’s Cally. In all of them. He’s fucking following Cally. Some of these are here.”

“Now for my next trick…” Killion said and pecked away at his laptop. “Here he is in…Medaro. Before, during, and after we were there.”

“The son of a bitch never looks up,” Eli said. “Not a single shot of his face. He looks like one of us. Big, dressed in all black.”

“Because he likely is,” Israel pointed out. “Maybe not a Keeper, but definitely an operative. He moves stealthily and with confidence. He never shows his face because he knows not to – cameras. He’s anticipated that and either mapped out where they are in advance or has just made it habit to keep his head down and a cap on.”

“If you’re not already blown away, let me show this. I altered my facial recognition program to fit the details I was able to define as his. We’ve discussed this before. Many of the body parts are specific to us, like a fingerprint. The human ear is biometrically the same. We’ve been able to trace, track, and identify simply with a shot of the ear. Well, I took the tech a little deeper and told the program not only what else to look for but to look for them together, meaning his bicep might look like a million other guys, but his bicep combined with other features I was able to isolate would be specific to him.” Killion looked up to see if he was diving too deep into detail or if he was giving the team exactly what they needed.

When he saw how engaged they were, he continued, “It wasn’t perfect at first and took some minor tweaking, but for the most part, it can pick him out of a crowd with only a slight delay…no more than a couple of minutes. The system is processing pretty quick because I’ve copied my regular program and removed everything but this. The original program is still running and operating as it should, but this one…all on its own, and it’s only watching for him.”

“This is…brilliant,” Ryla muttered. “I’m really impressed. Why do I feel like that was not the real break that has you excited?”

“Because this is what I’ve been leading up to.” Killion filled the large screen with a single feed, and it was the man, and he was following a woman.

Eli stood. “Where is that? Where is he? That seems familiar.”

Killion zoomed out. “The program located him, and I hacked into the city’s CCTV to follow him. This is a live feed. Real-time. And if I zoom in a little more, you might notice something about the woman.”

“It looks like Penelope,” Israel said. “He’s tailing the decoy.”

“Bingo,” Killion said, throwing his hands up.

“I’ll be damned. And the plot thickens,” Eli said, moving closer to the screen as if to get a better look.

Wit stood and gathered his empty drinks and tossed them into the recycle bin. “When are we flyin’ out to grab this jackass, boss? Seems he has a stalkin’ problem we need to fix for him.”

“That’s up to Eli,” Coy said. “This is his case.”

“And it’s personal,” Ronan added. “His call.”

Eli hesitated as he stroked his jawline and stared at the images rolling on the screen. “There’s something about him. I can’t put my finger on it.”

“You know him?” Carter asked.

“I honestly don’t know, but there’s something there.” Eli dropped his hands and moved toward the door, tossing his beer bottle in the recycle bin as he passed by. “We’re heading to New York. Pen, you stay here. I’ll leave a detail with you, but you’re safe in the building.”

She nodded.

“Wheels up in an hour,” Eli said to the rest of the team.

“Wait. There’s one more thing,” Killion said, stopping Eli. “I made a tweak to the software. As I said, it was to make it faster, more streamlined, more detailed.”

“Okay, and?” Eli shook his head in frustration, prompting Killion to get to the point. “Remember what Cally said? About another brother?”

“Sure. She was referring to Sully, who passed away. Got it confused. We’ve established that,” Eli said.

“Well, she was on to something,” Killion countered.

Eli stepped closer to the group. “How so?”

“When I took all the biometrics, I wasn’t just able to locate him through various feeds looking for that criteria based on the biometric model. I was also able to run that model through our databases just to see if I had enough to make a match. Someone from our past, on our watch list, a known enemy, or even a client of hers. I had a hit.”

Eli paused. He was anxious to hear the answer, but there was a niggling of anxiety, or perhaps fear, that made him hesitate at hearing the name. “Who, Killion? Who did you get a hit on? Who does the system say it is, dammit?”

Killion deadpanned, “You, Eli.”