Maybe later after all of this insanity was settled.
Charlie nodded. “Two minutes. Living room.”
Isidore gave him a wink. “Two minutes.” He then turned to Jason and started to lead him across the patio toward the office doors.
“Who’s that?”
“Another new friend. I’ll introduce you to everyone a bit later. Charlie is a great guy.” He pushed open one of the doors and motioned for Jason to precede him into the room. “Have you run into Athena yet? Does she know you’re here?”
He never heard Jason’s response. As he stepped into the room, pain exploded across the back of his head. He could feel himself falling, but there was no stopping himself. Blackness swallowed up his vision and there was nothing…
20
KAIRO JONES
Kairo leanedback in his chair and rubbed his tired, burning eyes. In front of him six massive screens flickered, each with multiple camera views. There was no way he could properly watch everything so a computer program was running, monitoring for movement in rooms that had previously been empty or listening for key words he’d identified ahead of time. It helped to sort through all the endless noise.
Meanwhile, his ears were filled with the low-key chatter and updates from the team mingling at the party. The guys were all experienced in watching for signs of sneaky behavior since they were all sneaky bastards. The only problem was that the only one among them who spoke even a few words of Greek was Alexei, and even he wasn’t fluent like Athena and Isidore. Sure, the majority of the guests spoke either English, French, or German, which covered all the members of the team, but they were at a disadvantage if their target decided to switch over to Greek for a moment.
God, he was going to be so glad when this was over. He just wanted Isidore to be safe. Athena, too, of course. But something in his gut told him that the mastermind’s real target was Isidore.
Behind him, the door opened and he swiveled in his chair, dropping his hands down to his waist, ready to pull his gun from the holster at his hip. Gabriel stepped inside the room with a steaming mug and a little smile. He’d seen the man approaching the rear stairs, but he wasn’t taking any unnecessary chances.
“I thought you could use this,” Gabriel murmured as he quickly closed the door behind him. The rich scent of dark coffee drifted across the room and teased his nose.
A little moan left Kairo’s lips and he reached both hands for the mug. Alcohol might have worked to calm his nerves, but coffee promised to rejuvenate his brain. He accepted the mug and took a couple of big gulps, immediately feeling more awake.
“Have we had any luck tonight?” Gabriel inquired as he came to stand beside Kairo’s chair and stared at the various screens.
“I’ve confidently cleared half the people off the list, but most of them are business associates for Isidore. His family…is proving to be more complicated.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at the screens. “Hm. Family usually is. Where’s Isidore in this mess? I’ve spotted Athena with Justin in that blue salon, but I can’t find Isidore.”
Kairo frowned, his eyes searching for the familiar face he’d been watching for most of the night. The last time he’d seen him, he’d been walking across the rear patio with Charlie, but Charlie was now talking to Soren at the edge of the living room, no Isidore in sight.
He typed Isidore’s name into the computer, using the facial recognition software to search for him among the mass of people. At the same time, he asked, “Hey guys, who has eyes on Isidore? Where is he?” He fought to keep panic from creeping into his voice. He was merely tired. Isidore was probably right in front of him and he was overlooking him.
“He met up with a friend, Jason Pappas, and they were headed for the office. He told me he’d meet me back in the living room in two minutes,” Charlie quickly replied.
Kairo clenched his teeth against the swell of jealousy. His computer program had alerted him to the arrival of a new guest and the facial recognition software had coughed up the man’s name. But he’d forced himself to look away when Isidore had so warmly greeted him. His boyfriend had never given this man’s name when they were searching for potential attackers and they seemed to be very close. Too fucking close, in his opinion. And there would be a long conversation about who this asshole was and what he meant to Isidore later when he held his man safe in his arms again.
Right now, his main concern was protecting Isidore. To do that, they needed to find him immediately. His fingers flew across the keys, pulling up the camera in the office. The room was dark, but there was enough light pouring through the open door to illuminate a body lying prone on the floor. The person’s head was turned away from the camera, but he could make out thick black hair. His heart stopped and he couldn’t draw in a breath. It…it couldn’t be Isidore. He’d glanced away for only a moment. It couldn’t be…
A strong hand clamped on his shoulder, shaking him out of the bleak thought. “Can you isolate Soren’s and Charlie’s earpieces?”
Kairo nodded, his trembling fingers returning to the keyboard. “O-okay. We’re good.”
“Charlie, Soren,” Gabriel took control in a cold, no-nonsense voice. “We’ve got a body on the floor of the office and we can’t find Isidore.”
“On it!” Charlie barked out, and they could see him darting back onto the patio with Soren on his heels.
The duo was halfway across the patio when all the lights across the house went out. The computer screens blacked out and the computers were down. Electricity had been cut off.
“Son of a bitch,” Gabriel snarled. His fingers dug into Kairo’s shoulder while Kairo’s mind screamedNo!The only thing that was still on was his laptop, but that had automatically switched over to battery power.
“Has the island blacked out, or is it just us?” Gabriel demanded.
“I just peeked out the window. Looks like the closest neighbors still have power. Someone hit us,” Justin immediately replied.