Me And Mr. I.T. (Kupid's Cove Book 2) (22 page)

“That’s seriously a cool idea, Ellie! You must be married to an I.T. guy,” she said laughing.

“Not bad for someone who just found out a few weeks ago what AV stands for,” I laughed. She just shook her head at me, because she knows how truly technologically challenged I am.

“So, where does the luau come into play?” she finally asked.

“Only the set up does. The actual fashion show we’re having in Maui would be transmitted live on a big screen. Mr. I.T. says we could use a large white screen across the back of the stage and he could use a projector hooked to a live feed to project onto the screen. At least, I think that was what he said. You know how I am at interpreting all that stuff.”

She became more animated the longer I spoke and she was clapping her hands excitedly by the time I finished. “It makes perfect sense. You’re the bomb, Ellie!”

I shrugged. “It’s why they pay me the big bucks.”

She giggled, pushing me in the shoulder. “I don’t think we pay you enough big bucks. If we can pull this off, and manage to find the thieves, you’re going to get one royal Kona bonus.”

“I don’t do it for the money, Katie. I do this job because I love it, and I love the kind of atmosphere Gideon has built. Not many people are as lucky as I am to have a job they love while surrounded by people who love them. That’s what makes me strive to shine the best light on Kupid Enterprises that I can.”

I stood and helped her up, both of us brushing the sand off our dresses as we walked back toward the van.

“We’re lucky to have you, regardless of what you think, Ellie. Case in point, all the interviews you’ve set up and news articles you’ve submitted about the event. I haven’t told anyone this, but with the pledges from the business sponsors alone, I already have enough money to keep the doors open for a year.”

I stopped walking and grabbed her shoulders. “You’re kidding me!”

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t kid about a thing like that. That’s just monetary donations. It doesn’t include all the silent auction donations. I wouldn’t be surprised if I have enough money to invest and eventually start a foundation that will benefit more than just the free law clinic. Eventually we might be able to offer an expanded free medical clinic as well.”

We climbed back in the van and I leaned my head back on the headrest. “This is why, regardless of what your brain tells you, it’s important to always, always, always, follow your heart.” I winked at her and saw the grin spread across her face.

Standing at the service entrance to the ballroom, I had a perfect view of the room. All the major players were here, apparently to announce the new GM. Kate and Gideon were schmoozing it up like always while Miss Important Marketing Director ordered around the I.T. guy. Word on the street is they're married now. Such a shame. I always liked Mr. I.T. 

My gaze traveled around the walls of the room. The conversion from ballroom to boardroom was barely complete, and they were already having parties. Gideon seemed to be enjoying himself, his arm around Katie tenderly. I felt a twinge of anger seeing them so happy.

All the employees milling about seemed to be enjoying the chocolate fountain, dipping bits of berries and pineapple into the dark, rich liquid. I have never seen such an extravagant display in my life. Against the walls, there were tables that held chafing dishes filled with every kind of hors d’oeuvres imaginable. A white hat chef stood at the end of one table slicing perfectly cooked prime rib, the smell so potent I could taste it on my tongue. A photographer wandered about taking photos of the participants doing various party activities. Miss Marketing Director had probably hired him to sell the new changes to the resort. If you ask me, Gideon is grasping at straws to jump start his business in this floundering economy, but no one asked me, no one ever asked me anything. 

"May I have your attention?" Gideon asked, thumping on the microphone. 

I stepped farther back into the shadows, afraid to be recognized by anyone in the room.

Gideon held the microphone to his mouth now that he had everyone's attention. "As you know, the party tonight is to announce the new General Manager for Orchid Reef Resort." He paused while everyone clapped as though he was the President of The United States. He motioned toward the back of the room, luckily for me, at the doorway I wasn't lurking in. "Leilani would you come up here please?"

I could hear the murmuring through the crowd as Lei made her way up to the front where Gideon and Kate stood. 

"Everyone, please give a warm welcome to your new GM, Leilani," Gideon announced as Kate handed Lei some kind of plaque. 

I rolled my eyes and bit back a yawn. Like that was any kind of surprise. That woman has walked around here as if she's been in charge for years. I glanced up and down the hallway looking for anyone who might interrupt me. When no one was about, I kept my head down and moved purposefully to the kitchen. Enough of the cat and mouse game, folks. It's time to take this to the next level, and force Gideon's hand. 

Chapter Eighteen

Ellie

I felt arms go around my waist and then the bristle of his goatee by my ear. “You’re killing me in this dress. How long until we can be alone?” he asked, brushing a kiss against my cheek.

I groaned a little. “Probably too long.”

“Why don’t we tell everyone the party is over, so I can take you upstairs and take this quite fantastic dress off you?”

I snickered. “Didn’t you get enough of me last night, this morning, and before the party?”

He rubbed himself against me, and what I felt against my bottom answered my question. “Now I’m going to have to carry around a book in front of me for an hour. I can never get enough of you. You’re like my very own cocaine.”

I snorted. “Did you just compare me to an illegal drug?”

“Ever seen a crackhead looking for their next fix?” he asked.

I turned in his arms and put mine around his neck. “Why, no I haven’t, actually.”

He motioned to his face. “This is what it looks like.”

I laughed, kissing him on the lips, not even caring that everyone could see us. Considering we’re ‘married’, it really doesn’t matter who sees us making out.

“I hate to interrupt you two newlyweds, but we have a problem,” Lei said, coming up behind us.

Mr. I.T. groaned. “How big of a one and does it involve AV equipment?”

“No, this is a problem for Mrs. I.T.,” she answered.

He dropped his arms and kissed my cheek. “Have fun with that. I’m off to check the connections on my cords, or something, anything, to stay occupied until this party ends.”

He waved and walked away, leaving me alone with Lei. “Did you find something?” I asked as she walked with me down the hallway toward the kitchen.

“No, it’s what I didn’t find. All the liquor you picked up with Katie today is missing.”

“What? That can’t be. We left it in the back of the van and Makella said he would bring it in.”

“I checked with him and he told me he logged it in with the bartender, but now it’s gone.”

“We better call Gideon,” I said, as Katie approached us. I paused with my finger over the button.

“What’s up ladies? Are we going to the Ladies room in pairs? No one gave me that memo.”

Lei shook her head. “No, the bartender told me all the liquor we picked up this morning isn’t at the bar. Makella says he checked it in, but it’s missing.”

She put a hand on a hip. “That’s odd, and not productive since it was the point of the party.”

“Maybe we should check the van again, just to be sure?” I asked and they both nodded. We pushed through the kitchen and waved at the chefs as if nothing was amiss. The parking garage sat down the hallway to the left. It allowed easy access for the kitchen deliveries that came in daily, and was a safe place to park the vans and buses during off hours.

“Which one did you take?” Lei asked, reaching for her keys.

“We were in van number four,” I answered, searching the row for the right one. I pointed to it sitting by the exit. “Weird, we didn’t park it there.”

“They moved them to make room for a delivery truck earlier. Guess they didn’t move them all back,” Katie explained as we approached it. “Chances are the liquor isn’t in it, but at least we can say we were thorough,” she said, trying the handle. Surprisingly, the door popped open when she pulled the handle and we peered into the darkness.

“Is that a box behind the passenger seat?” I asked, climbing in, being careful of my dress.

There was a strangled sound behind me and I turned, only to be grabbed and pulled further into the darkness at the same time Katie and Lei were tossed in beside me.

“Go, go, go,” the guy who held me yelled and the van started moving as the doors closed from the inside. “None of you make a sound or we will kill you. Do you understand?” the guy holding me asked.

I nodded and he shoved me over to the wall where Katie and Lei sat, both of their hands already zip-tied together. He zip-tied my hands next and then did our feet. He was going for the gags when I saw the look of terror on Katie’s face. I was afraid her heart couldn’t take not being able to breathe well.

I decided to take a chance and whispered to our captives, “Please don’t gag the middle one. She won’t make a sound, will you?” I asked Katie without using her name. She shook her head back and forth to answer. “She has a bad heart, and you haven’t really hurt anyone yet, but if she dies, there’s no going back.”

The two guys in the back with masks looked between each other and finally sat down opposite us, guns pointed at us. “Fine, but if there’s so much as a peep I’ll use this,” one said, the metal of the gun flashing from a streetlight.

The driver kept a steady speed, not making any sharp turns or random passes around other cars. We were on an island, and there was only so far we could go before we would be back at the hotel. We were in a hotel van, which only meant one thing; we wouldn’t be in it for long. What they planned to do with us, and why, I didn’t know, but I had to keep Katie and Lei safe until Maltrand and Gideon found us. I reached over and took Katie’s bound hands, trying to keep her calm as we stared down two gun barrels. The van slowed and then stopped altogether.

One of our captives stood and opened the back door. “No one’s going to find you here,” he said, an evil laugh filling the van like poison. “Welcome to hell, ladies.”

Mr. I.T.

I rubbed the hair down on my arms, the feeling of dread overwhelming me. Something wasn’t right. I searched the room for Lei and Ellie, but didn’t see them anywhere. Doesn’t mean they aren’t here, I told myself. You just can’t see them. I picked up my phone and hit her number, listening to it ring six times before her voicemail picked up and I heard her cheerful voice in my ear. I hit end and was ready to tuck it back in my pocket and go looking for her when Gideon jogged into the room. His eyes searched the room the same way mine had and then he jogged over to me.

“I can’t find Katie,” he said without preamble.

“I can’t find Ellie, either. Lei came up to us about twenty minutes ago and told Ellie there was a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” he asked.

“I wish I had stuck around to find out. Lei told me it was a problem for Ellie, so I went back to my job. Maybe we should ask Lei.”

He shook his head, his lips tight. “I can’t find her either.”

I felt that dread in my belly worsen exponentially. “Maybe they took Katie up to the room because she wasn’t feeling well?”

“I checked the penthouse and your room, they haven’t been there,” he said, still eyeing the room.

“I just called Ellie and got her voicemail, which is odd considering what’s happening tonight.”

We stepped into the hall looking left and right. A chef was coming out of the kitchen pushing a cart with a hot tray of wings.

“Aloha, Mr. Armstrong, how’s it hanging?” he asked the boss.

“Hanging loose, Chef Sawyer. Have you seen the illustrious Mrs. Armstrong anywhere?”

He stopped the cart and pointed backward. “They came through the kitchen about twenty minutes ago. I waved, but was too busy to talk.”

“They, who was with her?” Gideon asked, his hand on the chef’s arm.

“Leilani and Ms. Kekoa,” he answered. “Now that you mention it, I never saw them come back through.”

“Where were they headed?” I asked, ready to bolt through the kitchen.

“The parking garage,” he answered and before he finished Gideon and I took off like a shot, busting through the kitchen door, nearly taking out another tray of wings. When we burst through the doors into the garage, we stopped, searching the area for the girls. There was no one.

“Ellie!” I called, running down one row of cars while Gideon ran through the next one calling Katie’s name.

We came together at the end of the rows and stopped, utterly confused. “Where could they have gone? And why would they leave without telling us?”

Gideon twirled in circle and shrugged. “I don’t know, but I don’t like the feel of this.”

“Me either. I’ve had a feeling of dread for the last half hour and don’t know why.”

“Let’s go back in and check again. Maybe Chef Sawyer just missed them.”

I was ready to follow him when something metal caught my eye on the ground. I jogged over to it and picked it up. “Gideon, these are Lei’s keys.”

I held them up and they clattered together making an eerie sound in the empty garage. Checking around the same area, we found one left shoe.

Gideon held it up. “Is this familiar?”

I nodded and took it from him. “It’s Ellie’s left shoe. Her right foot is bigger so sometimes the left one slips off if she moves quickly. Why would it be out here with Lei’s keys though?”

“And why would she be walking around with only one shoe? Something’s not right here.”

We both took off at a run and retraced our steps to the ballroom, grabbing the attention of the two cops posing as security. We explained the situation and they suggested we check the security cameras for the last hour. They rode with us up to the first floor and Gideon swiped his card to gain access into the security room.

“Have you seen anything odd occur in the last thirty minutes?” Gideon asked the guard at the station.

“No, it’s been quiet, except for the incident out front. Otherwise, we’ve been free of drama tonight.”

“What incident?” I asked, anxiety rolling through my stomach.

“Some guy was carrying on in reception. I had to escort him from the building. He was drunker than a skunk.”

“What time was that?” Gideon asked and the guard looked at his watch.

“About forty-five minutes ago.”

One of the cops pointed to the monitors. “Rewind the tapes for the kitchen, parking garage, and event rooms, to that time.”

The guard leaned forward and typed into a computer and within seconds, the three screens showed the comings and goings of the kitchen staff. We watched impatiently to catch a glimpse of the girls.

A hand shot out in front of me. “Stop this one and back it up,” Gideon said.

The guard did as he asked and paused it when Gideon pointed to the figure slinking down the hall. “Can you enlarge it to see his face?”

The guard typed some more and we had a semi clear view of the person. “Marcus?” I asked, looking up at Gideon. His lips were in a thin line.

“That’s Marcus. He told me he couldn’t attend tonight because he had to work at his new job.”

“I’m starting to wonder if there is a new job,” I said, as we watched him disappear into the kitchen, and then we picked him up again in the parking garage. He stood near one of the vans in the parking garage, talking to two other men, already wearing ski masks. When he pulled one on himself and climbed into the driver’s seat I wanted to vomit. “Fast forward that camera,” I said. “I bet the girls show up soon.” Sure enough, within six minutes, we picked up all three girls in the garage.

“What are they doing?” Gideon asked, watching as the girls walked up and down the row of parked hotel vehicles. The only one out of place was van number four, which was the one Marcus had climbed into.

We watched in horror as the girls approached it, Lei searching for her keys. Katie opened the door and Ellie turned to Katie, pointing into the van, then she climbed in. In a flurry of arms and legs, both Lei and Katie were dragged into the van, the doors went shut, and the van took off out of the parking garage.

An officer was already on the phone, putting out an APB on the van, while the other officer instructed the guard to make a copy of the tape.

“Let’s go,” I said to Gideon, trying to get past the guard to the door. “We’re on an island; there’s only so far they can go.”

The officers stopped us before we could leave. “You need to leave this to the police, gentleman. You don’t know where they are or what they’re planning.”

Gideon exploded with fury. “They’re planning on killing our wives! I’m not going to sit here and let that happen.”

“We already have everyone actively searching for the van. We need you here.”