Jack held it up and asked, “Where did he get this?”

“We’ll have to ask him,” Alec said.

On the desk in plain sight were three Testor burner phones. Two were fully charged but hadn’t been used. The third was just a shell.

Alec showed it to Jack. “How much do you want to bet he was using this one to call Australia?”

Gloves on, they went through all the trash hoping they’d find the guts of the phone, but they didn’t. It would have helped their case to have evidence of a link between Chicago and Sydney, to hit redial and see who answered. No such luck. Nothing about this was easy.

TWENTY-FIVE

Before heading to pick up carryout, Alec and Jack dropped their wives off at the hotel. The men had told them what had happened to Cordie, and Sophie and Regan wanted to see for themselves that she was all right. Cordie answered all their questions while they helped her change into comfortable yoga pants and a top.

“How come you have so many workout clothes, and you don’t work out?” Sophie asked.

“I’m going to start as soon as I get settled in Boston. I used to get such a workout at St. Matthew’s running up and down the stairs a hundred times a day. Now I sit like a blob.”

“You don’t work out, Sophie,” Regan reminded her as she was brushing Cordie’s hair.

“I do now with Jack. I’m actually starting to like it.”

Regan and Cordie laughed.

“No, you’re not,” Regan said.

“You’re such a bad liar,” Cordie added.

Sophie shrugged and nodded in agreement. “I really am.”

Cordie stood. “Leave my hair alone, Regan,” she said, taking the brush from her hand. “I’m starving. When will Alec and Jack be here?” she asked as she headed to the living room.

“Anytime now,” Regan answered. “They’re bringing carryout. Alec wouldn’t tell me where they’re getting the food. He just said it was something exotic and we’d love it.”

“Pizza.” Sophie and Cordie said the word together.

Regan nodded. “Yes, pizza.”

“Jack told me they’re getting healthy food.”

“Pizza,” Cordie said again as she took a seat on the sofa and folded her legs under her. Sophie kicked off her heels and joined her, and Regan curled up in a chair across from them.

“You should have seen this place earlier. There was glass everywhere and flowers. Housekeeping made it spotless again.” When she saw her friends exchange a fearful glance, she quickly added, “Let’s not talk about what happened.”

Regan nodded in agreement. “I’ve got a huge favor to ask you, Cordie.”

“She’ll do it,” Sophie said confidently.

“Do what?”

“The Summerset Ball.”

“We always go together,” Sophie insisted. “The Summerset Foundation helps a lot of people, and the ball is their big event. Regan’s working on the committee this year.”

“When is it?”

“And you have fun, don’t you? It won’t be the same if you aren’t there.”

“When is it?”

“In a month. You could stay here that long, couldn’t you, before you move to Boston?” Regan pleaded.

Sophie patted Cordie’s knee and said, “A month isn’t long at all, and didn’t you tell us you were having work done on your Boston town house before you moved in?”

“Yes, but—”

“Alec told me they haven’t even started refinishing the floors. Something about a union fight. Nothing to do with your town house, but that was the reason for the delay. I guess the dispute is still going on, and they won’t go back to work until it’s settled.”

“Besides, you can’t go anywhere as long as people are trying to kill you. Right?” Sophie said.

The reminder was given in such a blasé voice, Cordie began to laugh. “Right,” she agreed. “But that will be resolved soon.”

“You sound confident,” Regan remarked.

“What about the Summerset . . . ,” Sophie began.

“If I’m already in Boston, I’ll fly back for it.”

“Where’s Aiden?” Regan asked the question and looked around the room as though she expected her brother to pop up from behind a chair.

“He’s not here,” Cordie said. “So you can stop looking for him.”

Her comment set them off, and Alec, Jack, and Aiden walked in to the joyful sound of laughter. Jack carried a stack of pizza boxes from Tony’s Pizzeria. Alec had beer. Aiden was taking off his tie. He took a bottle of beer from Alec, opened it, and took a long swallow.

“Where’s Spencer?” Regan asked.

“Meetings,” he answered but didn’t embellish. “How are you feeling?” he asked Cordie.

“My arm’s a little sore, but I’m fine, thank you. You should go get Walker.”

“He’s busy.”

“Doing what?”

Her question made him smile. She’d sounded so suspicious. “He’s just busy.”

“He loves Tony’s pizza. You should take him a couple of slices.”

“Cordelia, he’s with someone, a female someone.”

She didn’t understand why, but the realization that Walker was entertaining a woman embarrassed her, probably because Aiden had to spell it out for her.

“Oh.”

Aiden laughed. “You’re blushing.”

“Cordie,” Sophie called. “Alec brought Kelly’s root beer. I know you love it.”

Kelly’s was a locally owned company, and their root beer was hugely popular. Jack opened a cold bottle for Cordie and handed it to her.

“My boss, Mr. Bitterman, is addicted to the stuff,” Sophie said.

Aiden followed Cordie to the table. “When is Liam calling?” he asked Alec.

“Ten o’clock. I’ll set up the computer so we can see him.”

“I don’t need to see him,” Aiden said, his irritation obvious in his voice. “I want to know what the hell he’s doing.”

Cordie understood Aiden’s frustration. “Maybe he’ll have made some progress.”

“Some progress? I want to hear that there’ve been arrests and confessions.”

“Aiden, you should be more patient,” Regan said.

“The hell with that. Has Jenkins said anything yet?” he asked Jack.

“Not yet, but he will.”

“How can you be so sure?” Cordie wondered.

Alec answered. “He’s being charged with attempted murder. We’re letting that fact settle in his mind, and when we next talk to him, we think he’ll want to make a deal.”

“You mean, he’ll give you Simone for a lesser charge?” Cordie asked.

“Something like that,” Alec said.

Aiden knew that Alec and Jack were excellent at what they did. They had the commendations to prove it, but he still wanted to take over and tell them what to do. None of his suggestions were legal, though, but in his mind, after seeing that bastard’s hands on Cordelia, he didn’t think that mattered.

“Cordie, where’s your sling? Shouldn’t you be wearing it?” Sophie asked.

“It was torn up when Jenkins . . . you know.”

“I’ll get you another one,” Aiden promised. He had his phone to his ear as he walked into the bedroom.

Dinner was relaxed. There was no more talk of Simone or Jenkins, and Cordie was thankful. She ate two slices of veggie pizza and listened to Alec as he enthusiastically explained how he was going to remodel the basement of his and Regan’s new home. It seemed the only thing he wasn’t putting in was a basketball court.

“Have you signed the papers yet?” Sophie asked Cordie. “Because if you haven’t and you still own the house, Jack and I would like to make an offer to buy it.”

The stunned look on Alec’s face made everyone laugh.

Sophie patted his arm. “I was just teasing.”

“We really ought to get things moving and transfer the money,” Regan said. “The papers should be ready tomorrow afternoon. If you could go with us to the bank . . .”

Alec shook his head. “We’ll bring the papers to you, Cordie.”

“When do you get the cast removed?” Regan asked her.

“A month.”

“Oh, that’s perfect. Since you have to stay to see your doctor, you might as well go with us to the Summerset Ball.”

“I’ve heard there are doctors in Boston,” Cordie said.

“You should stay,” Sophie urged. “You shouldn’t bounce around from doctor to doctor.”

“If I have to go to that ball, you should have to go,” Alec said.

“You look so handsome in a tux,” Regan told her husband. “And you love going. You . . .” She sighed then. “Okay, I can’t sell it.”

Alec laughed. “I go because it’s important to you, sweetheart. And that’s why Cordie will go.”

“We’ll see,” Cordie said in the hope her friends would be appeased.

She felt trapped, trapped in paradise, and she was beginning to feel sorry for Aiden. He would go nuts if she continued to stay in the suite after arrests were made and the threat was over. She didn’t want to think about that now. Her friends were here. She was having a wonderful time, but fatigue was beginning to take over and her arm was starting to throb. She excused herself and went into her bathroom to get a Tylenol. When she opened the door, Aiden was waiting in her bedroom with a new sling.

“Where did you get that?” she asked.

“It was just delivered,” he answered. “Stand still and let me fix this thing.”

Once the sling was in place, he moved her hair out of the way. His hands stayed on her shoulders as he stared at her. And then he said something that shocked her.

“You’re beautiful, Cordelia.”

She didn’t know how to respond. He kissed her then, but once wasn’t enough. His mouth covered hers again, and he pulled her into his arms. The kiss wasn’t at all gentle, but raw, carnal in its intensity, and she was so aroused that, when he pulled back, she desperately wanted to rip his clothes off and fall into bed with him.

Sophie’s laughter from the living room pulled her back to reality. Cordie realized her hand was on the zipper of Aiden’s jeans. She jerked back and took a deep breath. She wagged her finger at him, patted her hair as though that would straighten it, and all but ran into the living room. She tried to ignore him the rest of the evening.

A few minutes before ten, Alec looked at his watch. “It’s almost time to hear from Liam.” He went to get Aiden’s computer and set it on the coffee table so everyone could see.

Liam checked in at ten on the dot. He appeared on the computer screen wearing a T-shirt that said Bob’s Beer and Babes Bar on it. The background wasn’t in focus, but it appeared he was sitting on a deck or patio with waves lapping at the shore behind him. He asked who was there, and Alec identified everyone and quickly introduced him to Regan and Sophie, who stepped away from the computer screen and mouthed the word wow to each other. Liam’s good looks had obviously impressed them, because they gave Cordie the why-didn’t-you-mention-how-hot-he-was look. She shrugged in response.

Jack watched the silent exchange. Fascinated, he whispered to Sophie, “What are you doing?”

“Talking to my friends,” she answered.

Liam greeted the group. His demeanor was courteous and businesslike, and it irritated Aiden that he could be charming and polite to Sophie and Regan, but he’d been a lecherous flirt with Cordelia.

Alec had already talked to him about Jenkins’s attack on Cordelia, and Liam wanted to see for himself that she was all right.

She stood in front of the computer screen. “I’m okay,” she said, smiling.

“Do you have any more information for us?” Alec asked.

“Hold on,” Aiden interrupted. “What about the other man who was with Simone? The one who tried to drag her out of the hotel?”

“Charles Kendrick.” Alec supplied his name.

“Where is he?” Aiden asked.

“He’s still here in Sydney,” Liam said. “We’re watching him.”

“Anything to report?” Jack asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do have something interesting. Documents,” he said. “I’ve e-mailed them to you, Alec. I think, once you’ve read through them, you’ll understand why I can’t stop smiling.”

“That good, huh?”

Liam nodded. “Yes, that good. It’s dry reading but worth it. Just don’t ask me how I got them.”

As soon as Liam ended the call, Aiden suggested that he, Jack, and Alec go down to his office to print out the e-mail and start reading.

“This will probably take a while,” Jack told Sophie.

“The hotel limo driver will take both of them home,” Aiden offered.

Jack and Alec kissed their wives good-bye, then waited at the door for Aiden, who had crossed the room to Cordie.

“Don’t you dare leave this suite,” he ordered.

“What?” She acted shocked. “But we were going pole dancing.”

“That’s not funny. I mean it, Cordelia. You stay put.”

“Yes, sir.”

And he was gone.

“Your brother is like a general. I know he means well, but he’s beginning to get on my nerves,” Cordie said.

“He’s been on my nerves for years,” Regan said.

Sophie spoke up. “I love him. He can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned.”

“We all love him,” Regan conceded. “Cordie and I just recognize his flaws.”

Sophie was in a nostalgic mood. “I never told you what happened to me when I was nine years old. It was pretty awful. Aiden became my champion.”

“What happened?” Regan asked.

“My dad was in trouble with the law . . . again. I was home with the housekeeper when two scary-looking men with guns and badges came in and took me to the police station. I was so frightened. This one detective kept threatening to put me in foster care, and no one would ever know where I was. He’d make sure of it.”

“Why was he threatening you?”

“He wanted me to tell him where my father was. I didn’t know the answer, but even back then, if I had known, I wouldn’t have told. He also wanted to know if there was a safe hidden in my house. The questions went on and on. To this day I don’t know how Aiden found out what was happening. Maybe the housekeeper called him. I asked her, but she insisted she hadn’t.”