be fine, Ezra. Just keep an eye on the door, will you?”
“Sure thing, Boss.”
Terry strolled into the hotel with all the energy of a man on Valium. He couldn’t focus on much these days and the headaches were debilitating. He tried his best to make light of his life, to find humor in everything, but fuck all seemed to work when we was sick and tired of the same old routine. What he really needed was a vacation.
Maybe he needed a new life. Something that didn’t involve walking on eggshells every day.
Massive plants covered the vast waiting room where leather chairs and antique tables covered the black-and-white tiled floor. Several well-dressed men were gathered in one section, talking business and smoking fine cigars. Classical music resounded from the doors leading into the Tail Wind Lounge, one of the finest restaurants in the city.
The Sea Scape Hotel was well known for its old-world atmosphere, and after sixty years in business, nobody knew that today it was a fancy front for the biggest dealer this side of the border.
Hell, shipments were boated right to the hotel dock at night and brought through the back to be distributed amongst certain wealthy guests. Business didn’t get much easier than that, although the shipping runs by plane and boat held many risks, especially when Terry or one of the others had to skip countries. At least at the hotel, and on their own domain, business ran smoothly.
Even the cops had a cut, and often spent their evenings wining and dining in the Tail Wind. They had the pick of the finest rooms and the best women—as long as everybody played by the rules and respected each other.
It was a rare occasion when a room was vacant at the Sea Scape, but if a man with a briefcase and a promise walked in, they always had something available. And if his promises turned to lies then he’d never be seen again.
Terry’s apartment spanned the top floor, a place where he was the top man, for Colton McCoy preferred his estate near Saanich Inlet, a short jaunt out of the city. Despite being the boss’s son, and second in line, the hotel was Terry’s domain. Even his father didn’t question him here.
His Oxford’s clicked on the tiled floor as he made his way to the group of men waiting in a private seating area, hidden by several large palm plants.
“Gentlemen.” He set the briefcase on the side table next to an elderly man. “You’ll find it’s quite potent this time around. Enjoy.”
He accepted a different briefcase and headed for the front desk, smiling as he approached the dayshift receptionist. “Good afternoon, Sal. Any messages for me?” He handed her the second briefcase and she discreetly deposited the leather case into the safe beneath the desk.
Sal looked sassy as ever today, her red locks pinned up in a loose bun with a pencil poking through. Her trademark black-rimmed glasses gave her the look of a naughty librarian.
Everybody loved Sal. Terry trusted her with his life. She was a good woman, and even though he’d nearly started something with her a few years back, he decided to be smart and not touch her. Bad shit happens when you mix work and pleasure.
Sal smiled, her cheeks rosy, lips bright red to match her hair. “No messages today, Sir, but I’m done at six.” Long black lashes—he guessed must be fake—fluttered as she winked.
Terry chuckled. “Good to know.” Sal must be the biggest flirt he’d ever met, but their relationship would never go beyond that. He paid her no further mind and disappeared into the private elevator hidden in a small alcove behind the front desk.
He couldn’t help imagining little Mary with her caramel hair all in disarray and wearing a pair of those same spectacles—every teenage boy’s dream to unfold the pages of the mysterious librarian.
Terry punched the keypad and the elevator descended into the basement, only accessible by certain staff members. When the door opened, his gaze moved directly to the man secured to the metal chair centered in the room. Terry adjusted his shirtsleeves and squared his shoulders before stepping inside.
“Adolfo Montesano. It’s been a long time, old friend.”
Adolfo lifted his face. Blood oozed from his busted nose. Dried blood covered his face and hair, and the wide slit from upper lip to ear looked painfully gruesome. Terry cringed at the view, glad he wasn’t in Adolfo’s shoes.
The traitor’s head bobbed and he groaned beneath the duct tape covering his mouth as he tried focusing bloodshot eyes on Terry.
Duct tape perfected crime. With Adolfo’s wrists taped to the chair arms, he’d never free himself. It didn’t matter how strong a person was. Wrapped three times around wrists and ankles, even the biggest man couldn’t wriggle free as he could with rope.
It took three months to locate Montesano’s son after the disaster Ben caused in the mountains. Now the traitor was about to meet his maker as well. He promised Ben the world if he took out Terry and Gabe, and stole the stash of Peruvian flake. Adolfo was the bones behind Benjamin Cain.
They’d almost lost it all, including Terry and Gabe’s life.
Terry’s shoulder still ached from the bullet Ben slammed him with. Now it was time to take out the trash and get the business back on the straightaway.
On the other side of the room the eerie sound of steel on stone invaded the silence as Gabriel Miller sharpened his hatchet. Terry studied his partner in crime with a mixture of emotions.
How could he be so calm at a time like this? He should be enjoying retirement with a good woman like Mima and leaving this crazy bullshit behind. If Terry had even a scrap of the life Gabe accidentally found in those mountains, he’d never set foot back here again. As much as he loved his hotel, he didn’t want it to be a place of crime. He wanted his guests to feel happy and secure. To know that when they set foot in here, they had a decorative, safe room to stay in, a classy restaurant to dine in, and staff to wait on them hand and foot for all the right reasons.
But a wrong reason sat in front of him right now while Gabe sharpened his hatchet.
Having a Montesano tied up and bleeding in the basement was testament to business taking a new turn. Terry didn’t want to be in this position, it was beyond dangerous, but when Colton McCoy gave an order, everybody listened.
He focused his attention back to Gabe and released a deep breath. They may be the best of friends, but Terry and Gabe were the complete opposite of each other. Gabe, always cool and in control; Terry stressed about every little thing. Perhaps their differences made them such a good team.
“I didn’t even see you pull in.”
Gabe kept his back to him, still sharpening the hatchet. “Probably too busy yanking it in the parking lot. Thought I’d give him a few rounds on the house until you were done.”
He couldn’t help his rumble of laughter. “Smartass. I haven’t yanked it in months.” It was a total lie, but no way in hell would he ever admit to Gabe that when Mary’s face haunted him at night his hand automatically drifted down.
Adolfo groaned again. Terry shifted his gaze to the captive and actually felt a little sorry for him. As he stared at the man’s bruised and bloodied body he wondered why everyone had to suffer all the time. Why not shoot him in the forehead and get it over with? He knew well that nobody would dare betray the McCoy’s and get away with it, but why did everything have to lead to all this blood and chaos?
Adolfo was just another rung on a steep ladder, which could start an even bigger threat. They’d never really know until it was too late, because no matter how hard they tortured him, Adolfo would never talk.
Nobody worth their salt talked in this business, and Terry knew how far up the food chain Adolfo Montesano really was. Cocaine royalty bled on his chair right at that moment.
Terry focused back on Gabe. “You’re supposed to be enjoying retired life between your old lady’s thighs, or is making a man bleed more of a turn on for you?”