“They’re gone. Get in,” Marc commanded. He and Ryan jumped into the van. Ryan backed it up and swerved out of their hiding spot and onto the road, speeding away from the fire as far and as fast as he could.
Marc was on his secure cell phone, calling 9-1-1. “I’m on the Hampton Bays side of Shinnecock Bay, off Lynn Avenue. There’s a fire at the marina. It looks bad. Send someone over ASAP.” He disconnected the call. “That takes care of that.”
“Shit.” Ryan dragged a sleeve across his forehead, sounding off balance and exhilarated at the same time. “That was like something out of a movie.”
A corner of Marc’s mouth lifted. “If you say so.”
Ryan gave him a sideways glance. “I guess that sounded pretty lame to you. I can BASE jump with the best of them. I’m just used to doing extreme sports for fun. I’m not used to doing military exercises to escape midnight arsonists.”
“You performed well under pressure.” Marc’s official-sounding praise was genuine. “You’re in great physical shape. And don’t kid yourself. You might get good at things like this, but you never get used to them. Violence is still violence.”
“Shit,” Ryan reiterated. “Either that hotel project is jinxed, or there’s something attached to it that makes the developer a target for killers.”
Marc nodded. “Which seems to support the theory that Paul Everett was a victim, not a participant. Someone wanted him out of the way.”
“Out of the way, but not dead. And now they’re following suit with Morano.” Ryan exhaled sharply. “This gets weirder and sketchier by the minute.”
“Yeah.” Marc looked thoughtful. “I think we’d better head over to Morano’s now and plant that tracker on his car. Once the firefighters rush over here to douse the pile of rubble that Morano’s office will soon be, and the cops show up to investigate, they’ll call the owner. And Morano will be down here like Greased Lightning.”
“Agreed. Not a good idea to plant a GPS tracking device with a swarm of cops and the owner of the car in your face. Let’s head straight over to Morano’s place before we drive to Westhampton Beach and crash at Amanda’s. We can be at Morano’s apartment in ten minutes and done and out of there in twenty.”
Ryan and Marc had just finished their task and hiked up the flight of stairs to Amanda’s apartment when Ryan’s cell phone rang.
He glanced down at the caller ID.
“It’s Claire,” he told Marc. Punching on the phone, he answered Claire in a short, clipped tone. “Hang on a sec.”
He waited until both he and Marc were inside the apartment, before resuming the conversation.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Are you okay?” Her voice was tight and anxious.
“Yeah, why?”
“I just got a quick flash that freaked me out. It was a fire, a big one, engulfing a shack on the water. I was afraid it might have something to do with you and Marc and your visit to Morano’s. I’m glad I was wrong.”
“You weren’t wrong.” Ryan dropped his gym bag and sank down on the sofa. “Morano’s office just went up in flames. And it wasn’t caused by a cigarette butt. Marc and I saw two men douse the place with gasoline and light the match.”
A sharp intake of breath. “Who were they trying to kill? Morano or you two?”
“None of the above. Morano was at home-we knew that and I’m sure they did, too. And they never saw Marc or me. We hid out until they were gone. Then we got the hell out of there.”
“So you weren’t near the cabin when it happened?”
“We were near enough. We got front row seats. But we didn’t get roasted.”
“That’s not funny.”
Ryan leaned back on the couch, finding himself smiling. “You were worried about me, Claire-voyant. I’m touched. I never knew you cared so much.”
“I don’t,” Claire retorted, back to herself now that she knew things were okay. “It was Gecko I was concerned about. He’s irreplaceable. I knew Marc could take care of you.”
Ryan threw back his head and laughed. “I’m so flattered. But don’t worry. We never made it inside the building. And Gecko was safely stashed inside my jacket. He’s in A-plus shape-just like me.”
“He’s not nearly as arrogant.”
“True. But he’s not as hot, either.”
“Debatable,” Claire quipped. Then she grew sober. “They were giving Morano a message.”
“Yup. A pretty direct one.”
“The same one they gave Paul Everett, no doubt. The question is, who are ‘they’ and do they plan on making a similar disappearing act happen to Morano?”
“Any signs from the universe?” Ryan teased.
“None,” Claire answered seriously. “I wish I had one. Maybe it would lead us to Paul Everett faster.”
“You’re still convinced he’s alive?”
“Definitely.”
“So am I.” Ryan shrugged out of his parka as he spoke. “This kind of thing smacks of the mob. But where does Lyle Fenton fit in?”
“I don’t know. But he plays a major part in this convoluted puzzle. The negative energy surrounding him is so strong, I could barely pick up on anything else with him in the room.” A pause. “Are you sure that you and Marc are okay?”
“Never better. Marc’s a pro when it comes to this stuff. He got us out of there like a black ops mission.”
Another pause. “I know Marc’s used to seeing arson and every other kind of violence there is. But you’re not. You’re shaken. That’s to be expected, Ryan-even for someone as cocky and egotistical as you.”
Ryan started to laugh. “Is that your way of saying you care, Claire-voyant?”
“Yes, you obnoxious pain in the ass, it is.”
A split second of silence. Ryan wasn’t laughing anymore.
“Thanks,” he finally said, with no trace of banter. “I appreciate your worrying about me. But I’m fine. Honest. A little weirded out, but fine. Nothing a hot shower and a good night’s sleep won’t fix.”
“Then I’ll let you get both. Tell Marc to do the same. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Claire?” Ryan interrupted.
“Yes?”
This pause was a long one. “See you tomorrow.”
He disconnected the call, staring at his BlackBerry for a moment, eyebrows knit.
“Oh, for God’s sake, when are you going to stop being an asshole and do something about it?” Marc’s question sliced the silence.
“What?” Ryan’s head snapped up. He’d almost forgotten Marc was in the room, he’d been so preoccupied.
“You heard me. But if you need it spelled out, fine. You want Claire. You’ve wanted her since the day you met her. So stop doing this moronic dance and go for it. If it works out, great. If it doesn’t, you can go back to killing each other.”
Ryan shot Marc a look. “I don’t need lessons in hooking up with women from you.”
“Clearly, you do.” Marc stripped off his jacket and sweater and grabbed the gym bag that had his change of clothes. “I’m going in the shower. I’ll use up the hot water. That way, you can get the cold shower you so desperately need.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
As he stepped out of the shower, Ryan could hear Marc talking. From the tone of his voice, it was obvious that
