Punk Rox Warrior (11 page)

Annie almost looked angry at that declaration. “You have got to

stop listening to your mother!” she said sternly. “So!” Teasing her

now, Annie wagged her eyebrows. “How was it?”

Rainne flushed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t know?” Wiping the tears

away with the palms of her hands, she tried to pull herself together.

Annie’s mouth dropped open as she gasped. “Yes, you do!”

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“Do you want another beer?” Rainne was desperate to get away

from this conversation.

“Yes, but we’re not done talking about this.” She shook her finger

at her.

Exiting the room, the women noticed James and Ash huddled in

the corner, talking quietly to each other. James caught Rainne’s

glance and motioned her over. “We need to talk about something.” He

glanced over her shoulder to the curious eyes of the band. “In

private.”

She led the two men into the back room, and again the door was

closed. “Now what? I don’t like the looks.” Wagging her finger

between the two of them, she puckered her lips.

“We found some disturbing things during the search this

morning.” Ash started with a somber mask on his face. “Your stalker

has had this place wired for months. He’s been recording the

warehouse and the parking lot.”

Rainne was stunned, but she fought to keep her features

composed. “Recording? L…Like audio?” she stuttered as she lazily

fell back onto one of the beds.

James cleared his throat. “He has every square inch of this place

on tape and audio. We found all the listening devices and the cameras.

We were able to track the digital signal that the camera’s receiver was

sending out.” James took a seat on the bed across from her and

continued. “We’re going to the destination of the signal to check it

out. The rest of the team is waiting for us there. We need you to stay

here until we get back.”

Rainne opened her mouth to rebuke his idea. She was cut off by

Ash. “We have our own security system in place. You’re totally safe

here. We’ll be alerted if anything should happen.”

“We shouldn’t be long. Don’t walk outside for anything. Wait for

me to come and get you.” James motioned for Ash to leave the room.

When the door closed behind his friend, James took her hand and

raised them both to their feet, he scooped Rainne against his chest.

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Lifting her from the floor, he invaded her with a kiss she was sure

would set them both ablaze. “You were so sexy with that guitar in

your hands,” he admitted breathlessly as he set her gently on her feet.

Rainne felt the blush flame her face as she lowered her head. She

racked her brain for a snappy comeback, and coming up short, she

tilted her head up to look into his eyes. “How long will you be?” She

tried to sound uncaring, but it came out a little too breathy for her

liking.

“I’m not sure. If you need something till we get back, will Annie

go get it for you?” he asked, feeling bad about leaving her here, but

he’d be damned if she was going to see the hell Alton found.

* * * *

“The warehouse is fully stocked, clothes, food, linen. Even the

bathrooms work. I’ll be fine.” She nodded confidently. At least she

hoped she would be.

“Okay. We’ll be back as soon as possible. I’m speed dial two on

the cell I gave you. Call if there are any problems.”

“How far away is this destination?” Her hands made the quote

marks in the air on the last word.

James sighed slowly. “Two blocks,” he stated clinically. “Alton

tracked the signal to another building two blocks away. He found a

pretty elaborate setup, and he’s waiting on us to make his move.”

“Is my stalker there?” Her heart was pounding. She didn’t like the

thought of him being so close.

“No.” Answering quickly, “He has been there. We believe he

intends to return.” Leaning forward, he wrapped his arms around her

shoulders, burying his face in her hair. “I have to go.”

Rainne took note of how sad he sounded. “See you soon.” She

flashed him a smile.

“Try to get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when we get back.”

James seized her chin and lifted her face to his, overtaking her mouth

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with a kiss.

Rainne was overwhelmed by the flood of his passion. She

couldn’t control her thoughts or her hands. She clutched his shoulders

as his immense hands came around her waist. “You have to go,” she

said in a whispered tone as she broke off the kiss, before he could

disintegrate her. “Go, so you can get back.” Turning on her heel, she

led them out of the room. She had to get away from him before she

stripped him down and assaulted him.

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Chapter 10

James had never found walking through doorways challenging,

until now. Each step he took away from Rainne seemed to add

another lead weight to his ankle. He was an olio of emotions. He

needed to protect her just as badly as he needed to catapult her to the

bed and assail her body. God, she was so cloying, he swore she’d give

him a cavity. He had meant to peck her on the forehead, but one look

into those angelic eyes, and he was swept away.

Rounding the corner and spotting his team on the street, James

was instantly on edge. He didn’t like the expressions on the faces he

was seeing.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, knowing there was something they

hadn’t told him. He could feel it in the air, like walking through

melted butter.

Alton stepped forward. “I looked into the county records.” He

stammered, like he didn’t want to finish his thought. “We found out

who owns the building.” Lowering his head, he wiped the sweat off

his brow. “It’s Phillip McCray.”

James was awash with thoughts of murder. If Phillip McCray was

aiding this situation, he’d kill him with his bare hands. James

struggled to calm himself. It wouldn’t do anyone any good for him to

lose his temper. “First things first, let’s get inside. We’ll deal with Phillip later.”

The party filed into the repository and into a large back room. It

was completely empty of furniture except for a large table centered in

the middle of the floor and a collection of sophisticated camera

equipment set up in the corner. A rather impressive computer with all

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the accessories adorned the tabletop. Scattered around it were stacks

of manila folders, CDs, and local city maps. Countless pictures,

newspaper articles, and promotional flyers for Rainne’s band

decorated the walls, making it almost impossible to tell what color the

room was.

They immediately sprung into action. Ash placed hidden cameras

around the entire building. Sam was wiring the warehouse for audio.

Riley had disappeared back to the bus to make certain that all

computer systems would pick up the signals from their spy equipment

and to watch the outside so they could finish their work undisturbed.

Alton was hacking into the computer and uploading the entire

contents to the computer on the bus. Able and James sifted through

the assortment of papers on the table, taking pictures of them so they

could examine them more closely at a later date.

James was disturbed by the array of material this guy had on

Rainne. Her entire life was in front of him. The local maps marked

every place she had visited in the last year, along with dates, times,

and frequency of visit. The files contained information on her clients,

friends, and family. He had endless lists and stats on her, what she

wore, liked, disliked, ate, bought, and sold. Most disturbing were the

photos on the walls. It appeared he had photographed her every time

he saw her. Some were of her onstage with the band, while others

were her shopping at various stores. He had her at work, home, and

everywhere in between.

“Let’s finish up here,” James growled. “I’m not sure how much

more of this I can stomach.”

Moments later, Ash and Sam entered the room. “We’re finished,

boss,” Sam said absently as he and Ash picked up cameras and started

cataloging the stacks in front of them.

Alton rubbed his face exhaustedly. “Be done in a minute, James.”

A few clicks of the keyboard later, Alton exited out and shut down the

computer.

The men finished up and arranged the table much as they had

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found it. Exiting the warehouse, they filed onto the bus.

“Have you called the cops yet?” Sam asked.

Outwardly scoffing, James looked at Sam as if he had two heads.

“No. When I spoke with the police chief, he admitted that they were

at a loss with this case. He told me to inform him if we needed

backup, but other than that we are on our own.”

“Thank god!” Ash praised. “Nothin’ I hate more than overzealous

police.”

The bus erupted in snickers. They all knew how Ash had authority

issues. Hell, they all did. That’s why they all worked together. No one

else would have them.

“Let’s give McCray a visit,” James said with a sneer. “It’s getting

late.”

* * * *

Yeah, we’re in the right place. It’s cold, sterile, and impersonal,
just like her mother,
James thought as they entered the office building of Stanton Enterprises.

“We’re here to see Phillip McCray,” Alton said as they

approached the receptionist’s desk.

The rotund woman peered up from her typing and paled. “Do you

have an appointment?” she asked, noticeably apprehensive.

James smiled at the woman. “Tell him the CEO of HC Enterprises

is here for a meeting.” He handed her his business card.

Slightly trembling, she pulled the phone from the receiver. “Mr.

McCray? You have some people waiting in the lobby to see you.”

On the other line they could hear Phillip melting down on the

woman in front of them. “God, he’s such a bully,” Ash murmured to

the guys.

“Sir, he claims to be the CEO of HC Enterprises. I think you may

want to take this meeting.” Looking over the men, she swallowed

nervously. “He looks menacing, sir,” she whispered into the receiver.

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Hanging up the phone, she said, “He’ll be down momentarily. Please

have a seat. Can I get you anything?”

“Phillip McCray will be more than enough, thank you,” Sam said.

Several minutes had passed when the elevator numbers slowly

started to work their way down to the first floor. When the doors

opened, James had the pleasure of watching Phillip McCray pale,

noticeably. James had to work to keep the hard look on his face. He

had purposely brought all of them to intimidate him. He knew it was

childish, but he couldn’t help it. He was dying to see that look on his

face.

“What can I do for you gentlemen?” Plastering a fake smile on his

face, he was visibly uncomfortable.

James cleared his throat. “We need to speak with you, in private.”

“Whatever about?” he scoffed arrogantly. “We don’t have any

business to discuss.”

“Actually, we do,” James growled. “It’s in reference to Ms.

Stanton.”

A knowing look crossed Phillip’s face, and without a word he led

the group to a conference room off to the side. When the door closed,

Phillip turned to the group and grinned. “So has Rainne sent you to

inform me that she has finally come to her senses? Or have you come

to inform me that she’s been throwing herself at you? Frankly, neither

would surprise me. It’s about time for the first, and as far as the

second? Well...” Pausing, he looked at James with contempt. “She

always was one for fraternizing with the help.”

James lurched forward. He had every intention of throwing his

pompous ass through the nearest wall when he felt Alton’s hand push

flat against his chest and saw him step between them.

“Mr. McCray, this is about the warehouse you own on the 1800

block of Ford Street here in Fort Myers.” Alton always was the

peacemaker of the group. He was excellent at blurting things out, and

calming the situation before James could rebuke his action.

“Why yes, I do. It’s one of the many real estate investments I’ve

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made,” he stated proudly. “Why?”

“Who is the renter?” Alton asked, obviously getting as annoyed

with him as James was.

“Why would you need to know that?” he asked, sounding almost

nervous.

“We ran across something in our investigation that led us to that

warehouse,” Alton informed him coolly.

“I’d have to check my records.” He smiled coyly. “I have many

renters. It may take a few days.”

Exhaling slowly, a sinister grin crept onto James’s face. “That’s

okay,
Phil
. We have all the time in the world. We’ll just make

ourselves nice and cozy in your front lobby.” He held his expression

as he watched Phillip mentally unhinge in disbelief.

Turning on his heel, Phillip opened the conference room door and