“Of course. You can go anywhere on the property—Dom has forty acres to explore. But come in before noon, the sun can be murder.”
“Okay.” Jesse put his DS on the charger and left the suite of rooms Dominick Flores, his dad’s boss, let them use. He already had his swim trunks on—he’d been swimming every morning and night since he got here. But he was bored. There were no other kids, everyone was serious except for Gabriella.
Two of Dominick’s bodyguards asked him where he was going. “Swimming,” he told both of them.
It was weird to be here in a house full of armed guards. His dad said that Dominick was extremely wealthy and there was always the threat of kidnapping for ransom or thieves. And they were in Mexico. So why not just stay at the resort? At least there was a lot to do—they had a totally badass game room.
Jesse went outside and around back to the pool. It was early, but hot. It would be sticky and gross later.
He swam for thirty minutes or so, but it really wasn’t that much fun. Everyone seemed to stay up real late and sleep in … so except for his dad and the guards, he hadn’t seen anyone. Dominick’s younger brother Jose was sort of cool—he had a totally sick gaming system in his apartment and had let Jesse play with him last night. But then he and Gabriella had gone out.
Jesse dried off, pulled his T-shirt over his head, and went to the back door. It was locked. He walked around the side of the house—the place was a mansion. It had to be like ten thousand square feet. Maybe more. The kitchen door was often open because the cook liked to go out for a smoke like every ten minutes. Yeah, Dominick was rich—he had his own personal chef.
The kitchen was open, but no one was inside. Jesse picked a muffin off the cooling rack—the cook was a jerk, but he baked the best muffins and pastries. He went through the dining room, down the hall, through the foyer, and thought he heard his dad in the library. The door was partly open, and he almost walked in, but then he heard Dominick raise his voice.
“I hope you’re right, Carson. I can’t afford any scrutiny right now. Neither can you.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” his dad said. “We’re on track, but I need to get to the bank today, set up the new accounts. By tomorrow—Thursday at the latest—I’ll have moved all the money. Even if the feds track the old accounts, they’ll be shut down.”
“You’d better be right.”
“I am,” his dad said. “But I’ve added another layer of security. In three months the new accounts will automatically be converted into yet another new account. I can set it up in advance. So even if—and it’s a big if—they track us, by the time they figure it out, the money will be gone.”
“I like the plan in concept—but it had better work.”
“Dom, I’ve been doing this for years. I set up the contigency plan in the first place, and it served you well, didn’t it?”
Jesse heard two people walking down the main staircase, so he quickly turned into the closest room and shut the door. The room was empty—a sitting room. Dominick had a dozen sitting rooms all over the house. Double doors led into the atrium in the center of the house. Jesse waited until he thought the people had passed, then walked through the double doors and into the atrium. There were lots of plants and even full-sized trees in the huge room. Dom had a lap pool in here, too, but it was for family only, Jesse had been told.
“Swimming so early, little man?”
He jumped and almost stumbled halfway up the stairs. Gabriella stood in the middle of the atrium looking up at him.
“Yeah,” he said. “Before it gets hot.”
She walked up the stairs and stopped on the stair beneath his. Looked him in the eye and said, “Be careful, Jess. There are a lot of eyes—and ears—in this house.” She then smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and said as she passed him on the stairs, heading toward her apartment, “Next time you go for an early swim, let me know.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I’m ready,” Sean said to Kane as he slowly started taxiing out of the hangar. His phone vibrated on the console next to him. It was a long text message from Lucy.
I’m on the road, but right before we left, your friend Madison Spade called the house—about 10 minutes ago. She sounded upset and wanted to know what airport you were at. I told her to call you, but she said she tried and couldn’t reach you. I don’t know what her story is, and I didn’t want to tell her, but she said that she has important information about her husband and son that you have to know before you leave, so I sent her to the airfield. Be careful. I love you.
“Well, shit,” Sean said and stopped the plane. He showed Kane the message. “What is Madison up to?”
“No good,” Kane responded.
Sean called Madison’s number. She picked up immediately. Before he could get a word out, Madison said, “Don’t leave! I’m almost there!”
“You are not coming with me.”