Royal Reckoning by Stephanie St. Klaire

17

“Okay,let’s pack up and head out,” Eli said.

They’d been in New York only a handful of hours and came all that way for nothing. Not a single clue – or one that made sense, anyway. Eli was ready to lose his mind. The longer he was away from Cally, the more he had an unsettling feeling. He couldn’t explain it. Maybe they were missing something, or maybe it was right in front of them. He didn’t know. What he was certain of was that he was no closer to ending this than he was before they arrived in New York.

“I have to wonder how he managed to get the room next to Tanner, and none of us pick up on it. The software never had him in the building, and I’ve been tapped in all along. I also just picked him up on the other side of town in a seedy motel a few days ago. Why the sudden move to the city and right next door?”

“Or was he here before she was and then stayed at the seedy joint?” Eli questioned. “We didn’t turn up anything at either location, so there is no way to know which was first. I also have to wonder…”

Eli paused, thinking back to everything they’d learned to this point, including the information shared by Jonas.

“I have to wonder why he didn’t just take his shot when he was next door? Why drag this out?” Eli asked. “I don’t understand it.”

“Maybe he knew it wasn’t really Penelope?” Coy added.

“Then why stick around if Pen’s your target? Go find Pen. You don’t stay and stalk a decoy,” Eli said.

“Unless you didn’t know she was the decoy, and you were still pursuing the assassination attempt,” Coy said. “Tanner said he seemed surprised when she turned around after the last shot to the back. Maybe he really was surprised when he realized it wasn’t Pen.”

“Then explain the behavior earlier that morning. She said it seemed he knew she wasn’t who she was supposed to be. What would he be trying to figure out by getting her to pursue him?” Eli asked. “The two don’t mix. Hell, he could have taken his shot then. He had her on his tail. Take her down an alley and take her out.”

“Good question. All of them,” Coy said. “I can’t make heads or tails of it either. Israel is working on the videos to see what he comes up with.”

“I’m right here,” Israel chimed in, sounding distracted. “Just watching the videos.”

“Anything?” Eli asked.

“Yeah. Plenty. I have watched this several times now and can’t quite put a finger on it other than the slight changes in his demeanor. How he carries himself. His gait. It’s all very subtle but there. I wonder if we are dealing with multiple people here, as in multiple people in his head. I’m looking at two videos only minutes apart, and his behavior changes from one to the other. That quickly. And when you combine that with Tanner’s observation about how he was in the morning versus night, it adds up. It would explain why he seemed surprised when he saw her face. Either he realized it wasn’t her or perhaps he changed personalities, and what she saw was the other man, so to speak. Maybe he realized what had happened at his hand and was as surprised by it as she was. This disorder is unpredictable. They can change at the flip of a switch.”

“Flip of a switch? Jesus, we are dealing with a psychopath with multiple personalities, and one doesn’t know what the other is doing,” Eli said. “That’s a ticking time bomb.”

“Not to make matters more dire, but he’s obviously trained. We had two really clean crime scenes. Both hotel rooms were scrubbed – not a shred of evidence other than the fucking hat he wore in the one next to Tanner’s room. The one he’d been wearing every time we picked him up on Killion’s camera thing,” Israel pointed out. “Which begs the question. Is he working alone or as a hired assassin?”

“Hired by who? That was a dot we’ve yet to connect as well,” Eli said. “We have passed the forty-eight-hour mark, and we all know what that means. The longer this drags out, the harder it will be to close this case.”

“Dirty Dozen,” Carter said. “What if this is their work. Something for Chalice?”

The Dirty Dozen was a group of operatives, much like the Keepers, who worked as a private militia for an organization called Chalice. Chalice was a dirty club of greedy dignitaries, politicians, and anyone with money who wanted more. They abused their places of power, economic reach, and pooled resources to pull off some of the most heinous international crimes to date. These individuals spanned from cartels to the White House and included everyone in between. When the Keepers shook things up and began to take down Chalice, Washington, DC, was in an uproar as some of the country’s top officials were tried and found guilty of their crimes.

“We have found Dirty Dozen to be more of an ally as of late. Once their bosses’ crimes were revealed, the Dozen started turning on what was left of Chalice – like they had a score to settle.”

“Like they knew they were being used for bad and not good,” Israel said. “I agree. This isn’t them. They would have come in, taken the hit, and left. None of this other crap going on.”

“Okay, devil’s advocate here,” Carter said. “What if it isn’t the Dozen? Because I agree with that theory and none of them look like Eli. What if this is Chalice? We know they were international, and we know we haven’t taken down all of them. We’ve only skimmed the top layer. We’re learning. So, what if this is revenge?”

“You mean revenge against the monarch?” Eli asked. “Our father?”

“Perhaps. Is it totally out of the question that he was involved and that he pissed someone off?”

“You think those left are hiring rogue hits since they lost their hired help?” Eli crossed his arms and leaned against the brick wall. “It’s quite possible. I could see him being a party to that. But he’s dead. Mission accomplished, right?”

“That was putting it bluntly,” Coy said. “If your father was doing deals that involved arranging marriages, who knows what else was going on. Maybe the throne owes someone a big payout.”

“I’ll start diving back into his affairs once we get on the plane, but I didn’t find anything the first time,” Killion said. “I was thorough. And there’s still the issue that whoever we are dealing with here has striking similarities to you. So much so that you come up in facial rec and the rest…”

“I know, I know…” Eli ran his hands down his face. “We’re just talking in circles here. Let’s get to the plane. We can talk it all out again on the plane ride home. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Their vehicles were at the curbside, waiting for them as planned, but they were blocked in by two black luxury vehicles before they could get in and leave. The team paused, and each had their weapon at the ready. Eli put up his hand, signaling for them to wait for his command.

Shock stirred in each of them when none other than Archer, Penelope’s fiancé, stepped out of one of the vehicles.

“Oh, good. You’re still here,” Archer said, approaching the team.

Eli made his weapon more visible, and Archer immediately halted and put up his hands. “Whoa. What’s going on here, Elias?”

“It’s Eli,” he fired back.

“Sorry. Eli…” Archer corrected.

“The better question, mate, is what are you doing here, Archie?” Eli was condescending and rude for a reason. He didn’t like the guy. There wasn’t any particular reason other than his sister didn’t want to marry him.

“I came for Penelope. I was worried about her,” Archer said. “I heard she was shot at.”

“Really? How did you come to hear that?” Eli wasn’t buying the story already. They’d kept this quiet. Ryla made sure it never made it to Medaro.

“Security,” he said confidently. When the team continued to stare blankly, unaffected by his statement, he began to stumble over his words. “I, uh, put a private security detail on her. I know, I know. I shouldn’t have done it without talking to her. I wanted to give her the space she needed but also wanted to be sure she was safe.”

“So, you’ve had Medaro security in New York following her around?” Eli asked, noting that Killion had gone to work on his small laptop, likely looking for anything to corroborate Archer’s claims or discredit them, so he kept him talking. The more they could get him to say, the better. There was something to be said about that unsettled feeling Eli was bothered by and Archer’s presence. Something was definitely awry.

“Yes. I know. It wasn’t appropriate. I’m sorry. But I’m glad I did it because she could have been killed. Thank God she’s safe,” Archer said.

“And how do you know she’s safe?” Eli asked. “I didn’t tell you she was safe.”

Archer didn’t speak.

“You just hopped on a plane from Medaro and got here in a few hours, and here you are?” Israel provoked Archer.

Archer looked among the men as if he knew they were trying to work him over. “No. I was already on my way here to surprise her. I got word while I was in the air.”

“Like a flip of the switch,” Israel said, catching Eli’s attention. He remembered Israel saying that when discussing the demeanor of their stalker leading up to the shooting. Archer clearly wasn’t the man they were looking for. He didn’t resemble Eli in the least. But there was something there, and they all saw it.

Archer knew they did, so he went on to sell his story. “Our upcoming marriage might be arranged, but I do care for Penelope, and she’s been through a terrible ordeal. I wanted to be here for her. To support her. Her life is changing and quickly. That can’t be easy, and I want her to know she, at the very least, has a friend in me.”

“How admirable, Arch,” Eli said. “You needn’t worry about my sister. I have her security under control, and she has a full protection detail that is fully capable.”

“So capable she was shot at?” Archer rebutted.

Eli didn’t like this son of a bitch and wanted to wipe the curb with his weasel face, but he couldn’t let him get the upper hand. He saw that comment for what it was, a fishing expedition. Archer was searching for information, and Eli wasn’t about to provide it.

“Look. I’ll have her get in touch when she gets settled. Had to change hotels for obvious reasons. You’ll hear from her when it’s safe.”

“Thank you,” Archer said as the Keepers loaded into their vehicles.

Before Eli had pulled the door closed behind him, Archer had one more thing to add. “Safe trip to Portland. I’ll look forward to her call.”

Eli slammed the door and turned to watch Archer stand there on the sidewalk as they pulled away. If looks could kill, they’d have just shot each other dead.