Page 45 of Iron Willed Warrior

But afterward, I would personally see that Garon Westwick suffered for every evil thing he’d done. And ensure he never got the chance to repeat it.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Cole

After leaving the roof,I was careful to shut the access door. Then I took the nearest entrance back inside the main building.

I had one last objective before finding Brynn. I wondered if she was relaxing by the pool right now. If she’d made friends with the other guests already. No doubt, she’d attracted attention.

In our preparations for the mission, River had given us a layout of the resort. One room in particular he’d circled. That was where I headed now. It was in the employee area of the main building. I walked casually down a hallway, ducking into the open doorway of a closet when a couple of cooks rushed past in their kitchen uniforms. Once they were gone, I continued down the hall.

The door I wanted was closed. Locked when I jiggled the handle. I glanced up and down, listening for anyone else coming. River had assured me there were very few cameras around the property except on the primary entrances and exits. But this area was still busy.

When I heard nothing, I took a lock-picking set from my pack. About a minute later, I had the door open. There wassome electronic equipment in here. Lots of wires and lights. Not my specialty, but River had been clear about what to do.

Kneeling, I dug into my daypack. Mostly it held the usual stuff. A water bottle and sunblock, plus my cigarettes, though I’d used up my one smoke for today. Part of me wished I’d waited for Brynn to share it with me. But she hadn’t done that since the night before we kissed.

At the very bottom of the pack, my hand closed around a small plastic device. I shook my head. River and his gadgets.

I plugged the device into the hotel’s modem. Then took out my phone to send a quick message to River. He wrote back, telling me to stand by. Minutes passed. I heard voices out in the hall. Sweat began to bead at the back of my neck. If somebody caught me in here, it wouldn’t be easy to explain.

Come on, Riv. Hurry the hell up.

Finally, he messaged again, saying we were all clear. He now had access to all the hotel’s internet-connected systems. I unplugged the device and stuck it into my pack. Carefully opening the door, I stepped out, re-locking the room as I left.

In the next hallway, a man in navy cargos and a black polo stepped out of a guest room. I barely spared him a glance, though my mind was working fast. His clothing pinned him instantly as security. But I also recognized the guy. The shoulder-length hair, the mole on his chin.

This was one of Garon Westwick’s bodyguards, a guy named Troy Manning. Brynn and I had studied the lineup of Westwick’s regular security team so that we would be ready. Manning was a former cop who had left the force in disgrace after a corruption scandal.

So he was the advance man that Ryker, Westwick’s head of security, had sent. And his room was in the same hall as mine and Brynn’s, which suggested Westwick’s would be close as well. That could be both good or bad.

“Excuse me.Sir.”

I froze in the middle of the hall. Looked back over my shoulder.

Manning was striding toward me. “You’re staying here?”

I couldn’t tell what that look meant. The scrutiny in his expression. But I quickly considered my options. That little spy device in my daypack wouldn’t mean anything to most people, but to a security expert?

I turned a little more, adjusting my pack on my shoulder. “What’s it to you?”

Brynn and River had both assured me that Stillwater didn’t know me. Had no idea that I had struck that Stillwater storage facility with the Protectors last year. But if they’d been wrong? If Westwick’s security team had been briefed about the Protectors, and I was among them?

This entire mission could be screwed before it had barely begun.

My breathing slowed as I tried to read the other man. Keeping my hand concealed at my side, I tightened my fingers into a fist.

But then Manning smiled sheepishly, holding up his hands. “No offense. Just curious if you’re military.” He pointed at my prosthesis, which was clearly visible beneath the hem of my shorts. “My brother lost his left leg above the knee in Iraq.”

I turned fully toward him, fingers easing out of their clenched position. “Oh yeah? Appreciate his service. But no, mine was a motorcycle accident.”

I felt him looking me over. Assessing. I’d been out of the Army for five years, and my hair and beard had grown out, but some of those military habits were hard to break. A way of standing, of carrying myself that could give me away. I cocked my hip.

He nodded like I’d passed. “Tough break, man. Do you still ride?”

I chuckled, trying to keep to my Cameron Clay persona. “My girl wishes I didn’t. Good thing she doesn’t make the rules. I do.”

Manning laughed, and we kept chatting. He wanted to tell me all about his motorcycle.Andhis girl, who was waiting for him back home in Vegas.

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