Caliber Detective Agency Box Set 3 Read online

Hector escorted Leslie to her door and heard her lock it before calling goodnight to her.

  Inside her apartment, Leslie undressed in preparation of getting into her shower, as she got ready for bed.

  As she bathed, Leslie thought over Rayne Carver’s offer. As much as she wanted to remain in control of the B-Girls, she really didn’t enjoy working as one. With Rayne as a partner, she wouldn’t have to do so ever again, better yet, the company would grow larger overnight.

  Karen certainly found the offer attractive, and she and Rayne had always gotten along well.

  Leslie was still mulling over Rayne’s offer as she was drying off. Then, the thought left her head as she heard an odd sound come from beyond the bathroom door.

  Leslie quickly wrapped a white terrycloth robe around her and headed for the living room. She reached it just in time to see the tip of a pry bar splinter the wood around the lock on her door.

  Someone was breaking into her apartment.

  After leaving Leslie, Hector drove off toward home, then he circled back after traveling only two blocks.

  Hector didn’t have a license to be a bodyguard, but he took his responsibilities seriously. Like Shea had been earlier, Hector was concerned that Stan Harper might attacked Leslie. He was also wise enough to assume that the man might try something when he thought Leslie was alone and unprotected.

  Once he reached the apartment building again, Hector spotted a male figure entering the lobby as a resident was leaving. Whoever the man was, he had a baseball cap yanked down over his eyes while the collar on his coat was pulled up.

  After parking, Hector ran to the lobby door, input the four-digit security code to release the lock, and entered just in time to see the elevator doors shut.

  Hector watched the numbers above the elevator climb. When the machine halted at the third floor, the floor where Leslie lived, Hector bolted for the stairs.

  Leslie found herself mesmerized by the appearance of the pry bar, which was followed by a gloved hand. An instant later, and her door was shoved inward.

  A man stood there, and… there was something familiar about him. Leslie was about to release an ear-piercing scream when twin barbs struck the flat plain of flesh above her breasts. The prongs were attached to a stun gun, which sent a jolt of electricity into her.

  Leslie collapsed to the floor as blinding pain coursed throughout her body. She then watched through eyes welling with tears as the man closed the door behind him and headed toward her. He brought out a roll of duct tape and wrapped a length around her head, which sealed her moaning lips.

  When he loosened her robe to reveal her nakedness, Leslie remembered where she knew him from.

  He was the bald bartender who had retrieved her driver’s license after Stan Harper had flung it away. He must have memorized her address before handing it back to her.

  The man smiled down at her. He’d seen the light of recognition in her wide eyes.

  “Ah, I thought you might remember me. It doesn’t matter. When they find your body, the cops will assume that jerk Harper raped you.”

  The sound of creaking wood came from behind the bartender. He swung around while going for the gun he had tucked in his waistband.

  Hector tackled him, and the two of them tumbled into the hallway behind Leslie. Leslie was still recovering from the blast she’d received, but she managed to roll over onto her stomach. She watched in amazement as Hector lifted the bartender up, only to bring him crashing down on his right knee.

  The sound of breaking bones was audible, and the bartender’s arm hung limply, and at an odd angle. Hector followed that with a kick to the midsection that sent the man tumbling backwards. As he attempted to stand, the bartender was kicked again, this time in the face. He fell to the living room floor as if he were a puppet without strings.

  Then came the sound of the neighbors’ doors opening, accompanied by whispered voices.

  Hector closed the robe over Leslie, then gently removed the duct tape from her mouth.

  “You okay, Leslie?”

  She answered through tears. “He was going to kill me.”

  “Not while I’m on the job,” Hector said, as he helped her to stand.

  Leslie hugged him. “Thank you, Hector.”

  “You’re welcome, but now get dressed. The cops should be here soon.”

  Leslie walked into her bedroom, while holding onto the wall for support.

  In the living room, a head peeked inside the apartment. It was a female neighbor of Leslie’s. The older woman’s eyes widened as she spotted the bartender lying on the floor. The unconscious man’s arm was at an unnatural angle, his nose was broken, and his upper lip was puffy and bleeding.

  “Ma’am,” Hector said. “Could you do me a favor and call the police while I secure this guy?”

  “Is Leslie all right?”

  “Yeah, just a little shaken.”

  “You’re that bodyguard she hired. I saw you pick her up this morning.” The old woman looked down at the bartender again. “You do good work.”

  Hector sighed as he placed cuffs on the bartender’s wrists.

  “Thanks, I wish someone would tell that to my girlfriend.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Given all that had gone on, Jake decided to call his grandfather and request a late-night meeting at the office.

  His grandfather agreed and greeted them at the elevator while wearing woolen slacks, a blue sweater over a white T-shirt, and bedroom slippers.

  He then led Jake, Chris, and Velma into the office.

  “You caught me just as I was going to bed, Jakey.”

  “Sorry, Granddad, but I thought you’d want to know what was going on.”

  “Before you get to the details, just answer one question. Will our client be happy?”

  “Yes sir, but his lawyer may have to do some fancy talking.”

  “That’s what they’re paid to do. Good work, everyone.”

  “Actually, Granddad,” Chris said. “We have Rayne Carver to thank, well, her and Trace Pruitt.”

  The old man smiled at them. “Maybe I should have started with the details after all.”

  Across the street and two floors up, the members of Pruitt/Carver were having their own late-night meeting.

  Pruitt had once again been hailed a hero for his actions in saving Rayne and Emily Llewellyn, only this time he deserved the title.

  Sammy, Pruitt, and Rayne were in her office. Rayne was seated behind her desk while Pruitt and Sammy occupied the client chairs in front of it.

  “If you two don’t need me anymore I think I’ll vamoose and head on home,” Sammy said, as he stood.

  “See you in the morning,” Rayne said.

  Sammy gripped Pruitt’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

  “That was some fine work tonight, partner.”

  Pruitt smiled up at him. “Thanks.”

  After Sammy left, Rayne moved around her desk to take the seat he had occupied.

  “I want to thank you again for saving my life.”

  “I’m just glad I got there in time. And hey, that guy did pay us already, right?”

  Rayne laughed. “Yes, Pruitt.”

  “Good, because I have a feeling he wouldn’t pay otherwise.”

  Rayne reached over and removed something that had been tucked beneath her desk blotter.

  “This is an invitation to Jake and Kelli’s wedding.”

  “That’s some fancy paper it’s printed on.”

  “Yes, it is, it also says that I can bring a date. Would you like to go?”

  Pruitt stared at Rayne for a moment, then turned his head to check behind him.

  “What are you doing?” Rayne asked.

  “I was wondering if Sloan was still here and you were speaking to him. Are you really asking me to be your date at Jake’s wedding?”

  “I am, but don’t get carried away. I just don’t want to show up alone.”

  Pruitt’s grin was the widest Rayne had ever seen.


  “I accept.”

  “Thank you,” Rayne said, and found herself grinning as well.

  After spending hours between the hospital looking after Leslie and at a precinct answering questions, Hector returned home to find that Shea had let herself in.

  “Hey baby, damn I’m happy to see you,” Hector said.

  Shea stood and hugged him, her arms just making it around his huge frame.

  “A cop friend told me what happened tonight. Why didn’t you call me, Hector?”

  “I was going to, but I thought you might be asleep, and I know how you worry about me.”

  “I was worried, but not anymore. You know you saved that girl’s life tonight, right?”

  “Yeah, Shea, and it feels good.”

  “What made you circle back around?”

  “I read about that trick in a training manual for bodyguards. They said that it would be a waste of time, but there was always the chance you might catch someone someday. In my case, it worked the first time I tried it.”

  “It was slick. That scumbag thought you were long gone.” Shea took Hector by the hand. “C’mon hero. I have a reward for you.”

  “Is it a medal?”

  “No, you big dope, it’s a roll in the hay with yours truly.”

  Hector leaned over and kissed her.

  “I can take care of myself, Shea, you know?”

  “I do now, but I’ll still worry about you.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Hector said.

  After hearing the elevator descend in the Caliber building, Sammy Sloan slipped out of a stall inside the lobby’s men’s room.

  He assumed that Jake, Chris, and Velma had left and that the old man was the only one still in the building.

  He was correct in that assumption, and after taking the stairs up to the third-floor, he found the door to the old man’s office sitting open with the lights still on.

  He hadn’t expected that, nor was he prepared when the old man stepped out of a supply closet with a gun pointed at him.

  “Easy, Mr. Caliber. I’m not here to hurt you.”

  Jake lowered the gun.

  “I know why you’re here, but I’m surprised you’re being so sneaky about it.”

  “I wanted to talk to you in private.”

  “Let’s talk over whisky.”

  “Suits me,” Sammy said.

  After they were seated across from each other at the desk, Sammy asked the old man how he knew he was in the building.

  “My daughter-in-law, Gail, she has a few motion detectors scattered throughout the building. You set off one of them when you came up the stairs. I already called the cops and told them it was a false alarm.”

  “I guess she worries about you living up here alone.”

  “She does, but she’d never admit it.”

  Jake passed over a glass with an inch of whisky. As they each took a swallow, they stared across at each other.

  “I know the truth, Mr. Caliber,” Sammy said.

  “What truth is that?”

  “My mother left behind a diary. Maybe I shouldn’t have done it, but I read it.”

  “I see,” Jake said. “And what is it you think you know?”

  “I know that you’re my father,” Sammy said, then emptied his glass.

  Jake reached across the desk and poured another inch for Sammy.

  “First of all, I want you to understand that I didn’t know the truth until I saw you yesterday. Until that point, I had every reason to believe you were Sam Sloan’s son.”

  Sammy pointed at him.

  “I am Sam Sloan’s son. Biology will never change that. That man loved me and raised me. He was my father and always will be.”

  Jake was silent for a moment, then put up a hand to indicate he wouldn’t argue the point.

  “I meant no disrespect, and your father was one of the best friends I’ve ever had.”

  Sammy laughed. “You had a funny way of showing it. I mean, you slept with my mother just days before their wedding.”

  The old man stood and walked around to the front of the desk, to take a seat on a corner of it.

  Sammy looked up at him and saw compassion in the old man’s eyes.

  “I’m not your father, Sammy.”

  “Bullshit! Why would my mother lie about something like that in her diary?”

  “I take it she named Jake Caliber as the father of her baby? She was talking about my son, not me. I’m not your father, I’m your grandfather. Jake the fifth and Christopher are your brothers.”

  Sammy looked stunned, downed his drink, then poured himself another.

  “I believe you,” he said.

  The old man reached over and gripped his shoulder.

  “I’ll tell you what I know.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 1985

  Jake Caliber and his son, Jake the fourth, were welcomed into the home of famed Las Vegas P.I. Sam Sloan.

  They were there for Sam Sloan’s wedding to a young woman of thirty-one, who was nearly half Sloan’s age. The two met while Sam Sloan was on a case. Since then, they had been living together for nearly a year.

  Sam Sloan owned a ranch-style home that had four bedrooms and a large pool at its rear. Although the house was a mile from its nearest neighbor, Sam could be on the Las Vegas Strip in less than twenty minutes.

  Sloan was a private eye with as nearly a storied past as Jake Caliber’s own. He’d taken on mobsters, crooked politicians, criminals of all stripes, and had come out on top every time.

  Although sixty, dark and handsome Sam Sloan looked younger and kept fit by swimming every day.

  Jake Caliber and his son had driven to Vegas to extend the trip and take in some of the country on their way there. It had been a great trip, and they arrived at Sloan’s home in good spirits.

  “I’ll tell you, Jake. I never thought I’d marry again after Shirley died, but Sophia’s stolen my heart.”

  “I’m happy for you, Sam,” Caliber said.

  Sloan grinned at the younger Caliber.

  “You’re a dad now, right?”

  “Yes, sir. Jake the fifth is a year old and as feisty as they come.”

  Sloan’s grin widened.

  “I may be a father again soon. Sophia is a week late.”

  “That’s awesome, Sam,” Jake Caliber said, as he shook his friend’s hand.

  “Sophia will be back soon, gents. In the meantime, make yourselves at home and have a swim. It’s hot as blazes out there, but that pool is like heaven.”

  The younger Caliber smiled.

  “A swim sounds great, Sam, but tell me, is Jackson around?”

  “My son is flying in from Reno right now. In fact, Jakey, I’m headed to the airport to get him.”

  “Want some company, Sam?” Jake Caliber asked.

  “That would be great, then we could catch up on the ride. And Jakey, while we’re gone, have a drink and a swim. The housekeeper is named Mrs. Ortiz. She’ll make you a snack if you get hungry.”

  “Thanks, Sam, and it will be good to see Jackson again.”

  While his father and Sam went to the airport, the younger Caliber unpacked his things and took a long shower.

  When he walked out to the pool in a pair of red trunks, he saw that he was no longer alone.

  Sophia Grace, Sam Sloan’s fiancée, was in the pool. She moved through the water with sure, swift strokes.

  Once she became aware of Jake, Sophia climbed out of the pool and walked toward him. The bikini she wore accented her curves, and her long blonde hair swirled about her in the breeze as she released it from the swimming cap she’d worn.

  Something happened then.

  It was something neither Jake or Sophia could name or control.

  As their eyes met, their hearts thundered in their chests, and the rest of the world melted away.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “In her diary, my mother compared it to a fever. She said the moment she me
t you, I mean, the moment she met your son, that she lost all control of herself.”

  “Yeah, my son Jakey said the same thing.”

  “He told you he was sleeping with my mother?”

  “I knew my boy, Sammy, and he wasn’t himself. I followed him to a hotel and caught the two of them together. It was the only time I had ever been ashamed of him. He had a wife at home along with a baby boy, and Sam was like an uncle to him. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand what had gotten into him.”

  “I know the affair was brief, but you had to have wondered at some point whether or not I was your grandson.”

  “When we arrived in Las Vegas, Sam was sure that your mother was already pregnant. He even mentioned that she was late.”

  A look came over Sammy’s face. It was as if a light had come on inside his mind.

  “My mother wrote something in her diary that I didn’t understand, but I think I do now. She said that she was on a very strict diet in the weeks leading up to the wedding, and that the false hope it produced was a blessing in disguise. Mr. Caliber, I think the diet caused her to miss a period, I’ve heard of that happening.”

  The old man placed his hand on Sammy’s shoulder again.

  “I understand and respect that you consider yourself a Sloan, but you’re a Caliber, boy. I want you to know that you can come to us anytime you need something.”

  Sammy chuckled. “I was no fan of yours after reading my mother’s diary, but you’re so much like my father that I can’t help but like you. Thank you for accepting me into your family, but maybe we should just leave well enough alone.”

  “That’s up to you, but I will be telling your brothers the truth.”

  “Hmm, I think Jake would figure it out anyway, the way he was staring at me yesterday, but Christopher will be shocked, and what about their mother?”

  “Gail already knows. She knew the second she saw you.”

  “Yeah, I guess she would,” Sammy said, as he stood.