Evil Without a Face

“Yes, good. But we have another situation,” Petrovin added, turning his intense focus on Ethan. “I must eliminate another threat from the Baker incident. A bounty hunter and two others, but one is a cop.”

“A cop?” He leaned forward in his chair. “Do you think that’s wise?”

“Baker left me with no choice in the matter. Anton agrees.” When the Russian noticed the worried look on his face, he added, “Don’t worry. I know how to make it look like hazard of job, but I may need your… cooperation.”

Petrovin’s understated style made him a difficult man to read. He maintained a somber expression, part of his nature. Yet now, Ethan noticed a subtle change in his demeanor. Cool under fire, the man never panicked. So when Petrovin asked for help, his request came with a certain sense of urgency.

“Whatever you need,” Ethan said, “consider it done.”

The Russian crooked his lips into a smile, the humor never reaching his eyes. At times Ethan found himself mesmerized by the awkwardness of that expression, but most days, he wished to block the man’s face from his mind altogether. He slept better that way.

Downtown Chicago

Midday

Located on the “Magnificent Mile,” the Peninsula Chicago on Superior Street was one of the city’s most luxurious and sophisticated five-star hotels, set in the heart of the city’s exclusive shopping scene. In contrast, the posh hotel stood beside the historic Water Tower, a uniquely eye-catching and ornate limestone structure that looked more like a small chapel at first glance—the old and new set in perfect harmony.

Jess had driven around the block three times before she decided to avoid the grand porte cochere entrance with its intimidating display of flags, uniformed valets, and couture-dressed patrons. Instead, she parked down the block and hiked back, contending with a brisk wind. When she got to the hotel, the stiff breeze swept across the front entrance like a wind tunnel, buffeting her clothes and hair. Sensitive to her disheveled appearance, she regrouped once she made it to the valet station outside the main entrance.

Yet again Seth Harper had surprised her with his new digs. And he’d promised to meet her in the lobby since his accommodations required card-key access to the secured floors.

“Card-key access, my ass,” she muttered under her breath as she pushed through the revolving glass door, running a hand through her tousled hair. Once inside, she searched the lobby for her enigmatic boy genius. When she spotted him, Jess did a double take, unable to contain her grin.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” She raised an eyebrow and cocked a hip.

Nice dark slacks and a blue open-collar, button-down shirt had replaced his Jerry Springer tee and worn jeans. He’d even combed his hair for the occasion. Harper was a damned chameleon. If not for the bruises on his face and for his cut lip, she might have mistaken him for someone else. With her arms crossed, she waited for him to come to her.

As she got a closer look at his face, she grimaced and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. My macho pride took a beating, but you know what they say. Anything that doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

“That’s just another way of saying, ‘Man up and get over it.’” She took a good long look at Seth from head to toe. “Well, I have to say it. You clean up nice, Harper. But I’m still reporting you to Springer. Where’s your loyalty, man?”

Harper didn’t bat an eye. He opened a button to reveal a Jerry tee under his shirt.

“Never question my sense of loyalty, Jess. I may surprise you from time to time, but some things about me never change.”

“I’m beginning to appreciate that fact, Harper.” She smiled. “Lead the way, uptown boy.”

Seth escorted her to the top floor and into the most fabulous suite she had ever seen. Jaw dropping gorgeous. Massive windows in every room offered stunning panoramic views of Lake Michigan, the Water Tower, and Chicago’s historic Gold Coast district. Without waiting for her reaction, he headed for an impressive study, leaving her to explore—something she couldn’t resist.

Painted in gold tones and creamy ivory, the suite had two living areas, one casual and the other more formal. If a patron ever got confused about which was which, the grand piano served as a focal point to the formal one. She had no idea if Harper played, but nothing would surprise her about the guy anymore.

The rest of the upscale quarters had fireplaces everywhere and a private exercise room. But the most amazing sight was the outdoor terrace with its ornamental garden and hot tub, a relaxing oasis in the middle of Chi-town. She walked onto the terrace and gazed across the cityscape with the warm sun on her face and the hum of traffic below. The breeze rustled through the small trees and shrubs of the terrace garden and messed with her hair again. Yet despite having to contend with Mother Nature, she enjoyed the view at the top of the world. To the west a dark bank of clouds loomed on the horizon. A storm building its case. The sun wouldn’t last, but from Seth Harper’s spectacular vantage-point, he’d soon have a prime seat for the unfolding drama.

Breathtaking.

“Man, I love this town.” The constant and underlying vitality of downtown Chicago never ceased to amaze her.

When she came back inside, she noticed once again that Harper didn’t look like he actually fit here. Granted, it had only been one night since he’d moved, but he made use of only a fraction of the suite, leaving little trace of himself behind. An efficient and practiced lifestyle, if it could be called living at all. She got the sense he could vacate the premises in a heartbeat, needing only scant time to undertake his skillful disappearing act.

For now, she accepted him as is, noticing he didn’t respond well to an overabundance of questions. Neither did she, but since he obviously didn’t need her lame job, why had he reached out to her at all? She had the feeling he didn’t have a huge circle of friends and had grown accustomed to his solitary life, yet the question persisted in her mind: Why had he picked her?

Fixing her windswept hair, Jess joined him in the study and leaned against the open French doors.

“Your view is absolutely stunning.”

Harper barely looked up from his laptop. “Yeah. It’s nice.” Spoken like a man who had grown accustomed to an address on easy street. “Here…come check this out. And I’ve got a confession to make.”

“No…really?” She exaggerated her reaction as she looked over his shoulder behind the desk. “Don’t tell me you’ve been keeping secrets from me, Harper.”

She hadn’t noticed it before, but he had an array of equipment on the desk, alongside his usual assortment of pirated computer software. Batteries, wiring, and what looked like two metal briefcases with control panels inside.

“What’s all this?” she asked.

“I wanted to surprise you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’ve done nothing but surprise me since we’ve met. What are you talking about?”

“When I installed the tracking software onto Baker’s laptop, I thought of something else to give us an edge. Remember I mentioned I might have time to kick in something extra?”

By the apologetic look on his face, she wasn’t sure she’d like what he had to say, but she kept her mouth shut—nothing short of a miracle.

“Well, I hid a long range transmitter in the computer bag and sewed it into the lining, so we could trace the physical location of it. I figured you for the impatient type, not wanting to wait for Baker to login.” He raised both eyebrows. “I hope that was okay.”

After a moment of stunned silence, Jess laughed aloud, the sound echoing through the suite.

“Okay? Harper, I’d kiss you, but I couldn’t afford a sexual harassment suit. Way to go, genius!” She grinned and waved a hand to prompt him. “Come on. Show me how it works.”

“I will, but I want to explain the keystrokes first.” He breezed through his laptop to bring up the data he’d recorded, taken from Baker’s computer when someone had logged into it. He explained what had happened and the conclusions he drew from it all. “You see what I mean? Whoever has Baker’s laptop knows what they’re doing. These aren’t the maneuverings of a novice.”

While she pondered the significance of what he’d said, he clarified his point.

“We installed the tracking software figuring Baker wasn’t savvy enough to know it was there. But I can tell by