by L. T. Ryan
“Only in this case that equals five. I don’t see how he would deduce that.”
Dottie held out her hands. “Like you said, now we know why.”
Jack nodded then glanced at Erin. “Erin and Mia need to go away.”
“We’re leaving in an hour,” Dottie said.
“No,” Jack said. “Without you, and without Leon. They go alone. Hannah goes with them.”
“Why Hannah?”
“She’s part of your life. Anyone who is associated with you needs to go away for a while.”
Dottie said nothing.
“You and Leon have to go away too. But someplace away from them.”
Dottie rose. Her look turned defiant. She aimed a finger in his direction.
“I’m not letting them out of my sight,” Dottie said.
“If they’re in your sights then they could be in his sights,” Jack said.
“I don’t like this, Jack. Erin and Mia should be with me and Leon so that Leon can protect them.”
“That’s precisely why they need to be somewhere else. Don’t you see that, Dottie?”
Dottie said nothing.
“They aren’t the target. If you bring them along, they turn into collateral damage should something happen. And Leon will do his job better if he’s only concerned about your safety. I don’t care how good he is.”
“I’m the best,” Leon said from the doorway.
“Well, whatever,” Jack said. “Those three will be better off someplace like Tenerife than hiding out in the English countryside or wherever you had planned.”
Dottie stepped away from the table. She glared at Jack, nodded, said, “Leon, make arrangements for the girls. Tenerife is too far. I don’t want them more than a few hours away, Jack.”
“Excuse me,” Erin said. “I am a grown woman capable of making my own decisions.”
“Not now you’re not,” Dottie said. “OK, Jack. They go one place, me and Leon another.”
“Where then?” Jack said.
Leon said, “Brussels. They can take the train. It’ll be less conspicuous than flying. I can accompany them.” He glanced at Erin as he said this.
Jack said, “No. You need to stay with Dottie. I have a contact in France who can meet them in Brussels.”
“Who?” Dottie said.
Jack shook his head. “Let me worry about that.”
“If you think I’m going to let one of your associates—”
“Look Dottie, my guys are solid and will do whatever I need them to. You know the code. If you don’t want to use them, I can disappear and leave you to deal with this mess on your own.”
Dottie crossed the kitchen. Her feet shuffled along the tile. She stopped in front of the coffee maker. “What about you, Jack? What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to stay right here. Got a feeling someone’s going to pay a visit to the house soon. I’ll be here when they do. And I’ll get to the bottom of this and end it.”
The foursome stayed silent for a few minutes. Jack knew better than to speak first if he wanted to close the deal. When it came down to it, he planned to do whatever he had to in order to end this whether or not Dottie complied with his request.
Finally, Dottie nodded, looked at Erin and said, “Get your things together. Mia’s too. You leave from here and go straight to the train station. Tell Hannah that we’ll cover any expenses she incurs. She won’t be able to go by her apartment, so she can purchase an adequate wardrobe in Brussels.”
Jack felt relieved and more concerned at the same time. This group that he could watch over now would soon be split up and in two different places. He would have to rely on others to keep them safe. He could only hope the nagging feeling in his gut that told him Dottie held something back was nothing more than a false alarm. He thought there were gaps in her words. Was it to hide something from him, or to keep Erin out of the loop? The less Erin knew, the better. She had heard too much as it was.
Erin left the room. She placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder and squeezed as she passed him. The gesture reminded him of the relationship they shared seven years ago. He heard her call for Mia and Hannah after she slipped through the door. He wondered if he’d ever see her again.
“They probably know about her, you know,” Dottie said.
“Erin?”
“And you. Your past together.”
“I figured. Part of the reason why I wanted you separated.”
“You don’t worry about them being alone?”
“Not with the guy I’m going to send out to meet them.”
Dottie shook her head. “I’m not comfortable with this.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to be. But you have to trust me, Dottie. I’ve trusted you up to this point.” He decided to take a chance and lean on her. “A lot of this doesn’t add up. Someone else might be inclined to believe that you had a hand in all of this. That you orchestrated it all.”
“Jack, I’d never—”
“That’s what everyone says right before they pull the trigger, before they plunge the blade in the back.”
“You can trust me, Jack. You know that. After all these years?”
“I trust myself, that’s about it.”
“Is that why you want them somewhere else? You think once I get them out of your sight, I’m going to do something?”
Jack leaned back, crossed his arms. Dottie’s words did not seem forced. Her shock appeared genuine. “No. I mean, maybe in the back of my head. But it’s mostly because I have a feeling you are going to be followed. Someone is a step ahead of us. When the time comes, I know that you and Leon can handle yourselves. But you don’t need the extra baggage of two women and a little girl.”
Dottie said, “She still talks about you, you know.”
Jack leaned forward. “How so?”
Dottie looked toward Leon, who excused himself and left the room.
She said, “Erin never stopped loving you.”
Jack said, “She’s a fool then.”
“I still feel bad, Jack. I shouldn’t have interfered. I wish I’d never told her your secret.”
“She would have found out eventually. Probably better it happened when it did. A few more months and I might not have given up so easily.”
“I wanted to tell you, but she forbade it. That’s why…” Dottie turned her head and stared out the window.
“That’s why you never contracted with me again. I get it. Don’t feel bad.”
Dottie cleared her throat, wiped a tear from her eyelid. “You’ve done well for yourself, Jack.”
“I turned into a monster, Dottie. I did just about anything if the pay was high enough.”
“And it allowed you to retire before the age of forty.”
“Retire.” Jack laughed. “And look at me now. I’m in England to carry out a hit.”
“For an old friend, though.”
“Yeah. Part of the Jack Noble Redemption Tour. Now featuring a daughter to make up lost time with.”
Dottie smiled. “Right. Well, then, I suppose I should get my things ready and let you make your phone call.”
Jack waited until Dottie left the kitchen. He pulled out his phone and searched for the fake name he associated with the man he wanted to have meet Erin, Mia and Hannah in Brussels. It had been a few years since he last spoke with the man. But the guy owed Jack a favor and would have no choice but to say yes.
The man answered on the fourth ring.
“Jacob, it’s Noble.”
“Well, well,” Jacob said. “Prodigal son and all that. What do you want?”
“I’m cashing in that favor you owe me.”
There was a short pause. Jack figured the man stood up or angled his body to make the call private.
“When do you need me?” Jacob said.
“In about two hours,” Jack said.
“Impossible.”
“How’s that? You guys sit around all day long doing nothing.”
“Except when we’re
working, which I’m doing right now.”
“Cleaning?”
“Escorting.”
“With your looks? Espionage has to pay a lot more.”
Jacob laughed. “You’d be surprised, my friend.”
“Look, Jacob, I’ve made more enemies than friends in the past five or six years. The only other contact I have over there is laid up in a hospital in a coma. I need you, buddy.”
Jacob sighed. He spoke, but his words were indecipherable, as if he had covered the mouthpiece with his hand. Definitely not alone. The man cleared his throat, then said, “OK, I’ll do it. Where do you need me to go?”
“Brussels.”
“When do I need to be there?”
“Two hours from now.”
“It’s going to take me three.”
Jack knew he’d say this. “That works. They’ll be arriving in four.”
“Son of a bitch,” Jacob said.
“Same to you. I’ll text you the rest of the information before their train arrives.”
CHAPTER 26
Spiers tucked his cell phone in his pocket. He glanced up at Clarissa. “Change of plans, sweetheart. We’re not staying in Paris.”
A twinge of panic surfaced. Clarissa feared that her initial instinct had been correct. She had to be removed. “I have to be there. What if Naseer has someone waiting for me at the station? What if he sends someone to check up on me?”
“He won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do. I wouldn’t have made contact, wouldn’t be here if we thought he was going to have someone meet you or check up on you. Naseer’s got some big damn problems on his plate. You’re nothing but a piece of ass to him. He’s got no idea who you really are. Correct me if I’m wrong.”
Clarissa nodded. Speirs’s logic made sense. If Sinclair were there, he’d say the same thing to her.
She said, “Boss is OK with this detour?”
Spiers shrugged. The gesture did not comfort Clarissa. He said, “What Sinclair don’t know won’t hurt him. As long as you tell him that we had a nice stay in Paris, we’ll be OK.”
“And if I don’t?”
Spiers smiled for a moment. Then his face turned serious. She saw anger in his eyes. “I’ll tell him that you were lying. I overheard a conversation that confirmed you’d been turned by Naseer.” He made a gun out of his thumb and index finger, aimed it at her. “And then I’ll let him know that I had to do what I do best.”
His words were met with rage. Clarissa threw her right arm forward, grabbed his crotch and squeezed. Spiers mistakenly tried to scoot away. His eyes widened. His mouth dropped open, but only the hoarse sound of breath escaping emerged. A few passengers looked in their direction.
“Don’t you ever threaten me again. You got that? I didn’t scrape myself out of the gutter so that some dickhead like you could try to scare me.”
She released his balls from her grasp. He shifted to the edge of his seat. His knuckles turned white as he clutched his knees. He took a deep, shaky breath in, held it, closed his eyes.
“Look at me,” she said.
He opened his eyes, angled his head toward her.
“I’m not scared of you, Spiers. You better think twice before you give me an ultimatum. You’ve got a fifty percent chance, at best, if you try to take me out.”
He took a few more breaths, eased back into the seat.
“Level with me,” she said. “Why aren’t we going to Paris?”
Spiers said, “I owe someone a favor. I can’t turn them down, not after what they did for me. Three innocents are in trouble. He’s not in a position to watch over them so we’re going to protect them for a couple days. We’ll pick them up in Brussels and take them outside the city for a bit. I got a place we can stay where no one will bother us. No one has to know about this, Clarissa.”
Clarissa shook her head. “I don’t like it.”
“Two women, one little girl. There’s some serious trouble for them if they are found.”
The words pulled at her emotional fabric. She’d faced her own share of trouble. She’d needed people to protect her in the past. If they hadn’t, well, who knows how she would have ended up.
Clarissa said, “If things get out of hand, we call it in and you take the blame.”
“We won’t be doing that. If things get out of hand, we’ll take care of it.”
Despite her earlier threats, Spiers had the upper hand. If he got the drop on her, he’d make her disappear and no one would ever find the body. There’d be no body to find. Then Spiers could feed Sinclair any made up story he wanted. She didn’t show up, she made trouble, he caught her on the phone with Naseer. It didn’t matter. In her line of work, everyone suspected everybody else of being a turncoat. While it rarely happened, it didn’t hurt to be vigilant.
So she decided to go along with his plan. If he’d deceived her, she’d take care of him before he had a chance to get at her.
“So we’re in agreement?” Spiers said.
Clarissa nodded. Then she closed her eyes and leaned back.
Thirty minutes passed. They said nothing. The gentle rocking of the train had lulled Clarissa into a false sense of calm. Beyond the train tracks, a storm raged. And no matter which way she went, she’d be right on the edge of the eye wall.
Her thoughts turned to Jack. She feared that Naseer had made the connection between Clarissa and Jack. She’d find out when they exited the train. Jack had to have something to do with this, though. Coincidences were for believers of fairy tales as far as she was concerned.
Thinking about Jack left her stomach in knots. A physical pain so intense she became nauseous. For that reason, she thought less and less about him each day. But it was just like Jack to force himself back into her life after she’d made the decision to leave him behind for a second time. They weren’t compatible. At least, that’s what she told herself to get through the pain of shattering her own dream.
Spiers began whistling something slow and depressing. Although she recognized it, the name of the tune escaped her.
“Who are you doing the favor for?” she said.
“An old friend,” he said.
“One of the three women we’re meeting?”
He shook his head in response.
“Where are they coming from?”
He hiked his shoulders a couple inches in the air, looked away.
“Why are you not telling me?”
“Because I don’t have to.” He glanced back at her. “And because I don’t want to.”
“Whatever.” She had at least three hours to get it out of him.
They arrived in Paris about an hour later. An hour filled with silence. Spiers exited first, checked for anyone suspicious. With so many faces coming and going, it was difficult to tell the wheat from the chaff, the good from the bad. Profiling helped, but had its weak points too. He looked back and nodded at Clarissa. She rose, walked toward the exit. At the edge of the platform the air smelled of exhaust and trash. Spiers started walking and she followed. They wove their way through the thick crowd. Clarissa scanned every face they passed. Took note of those who stood still, leaned against the walls, appeared to be looking for someone.
They reached the ticketing window. A long line left them like sitting ducks for close to fifteen minutes.
They reached the counter and Spiers purchased two tickets for the next train to Brussels.
Clarissa kept her back to the counter and studied the crowd while Spiers completed the transaction. Two men caught her eye. They were dark skinned and dressed well. Their jackets bulged by their left hips, a telltale sign they were armed. They spoke to one another, but she could tell that their conversation was pointless. A cover. They didn’t look at each other, like two people would do when talking. Their eyes shifted left and right, never resting, always scanning. They divided the area in half. The man on the left took his side, while his partner watched the other side of the room.
&nb
sp; Clarissa leaned to her right and nudged Spiers in the side.
“What?”
She whispered, “Two guys, blue suits, dark skin. They’re looking for something.”
Spiers turned slowly and leaned back against the ticketing counter. He worked like a pro. His eyes passed over the two men and didn’t stop for even a beat. He turned back around and said, “French government agents. Definitely looking for someone. Hopefully it’s not you.”
Clarissa threaded her arm through Spiers’s.
“Don’t get any ideas,” she said. “Just trying to make it look natural.”
Spiers reached out, grabbed their tickets. He turned toward her. “Get on the other side of me. I’ll keep you close to the wall, out of sight. But I think they would have already made a move if you were their target.”
“Unless they want to see where I’m going,” she said.
“Only one way to find out.”
They walked away from the ticketing counter. After a few minutes, they came to an intersection.
“Turn left there,” Spiers told her.
Despite her instincts telling her not to, Clarissa glanced over her shoulder. She saw the two men at the same counter they had used. Clarissa knew then that the men were government agents. They had to have used their credentials to get to the counter, because the line stretched back at least twenty people long.
One of the men turned his head in her direction. Their eyes locked. She nearly stumbled when Spiers turned left, pulling her with him. She whipped her head around, regained her balance at the last possible moment.
“They’re at the ticket counter,” she said. “One looked right at us, at me. He made eye contact.”
Spiers picked up his pace. Clarissa almost had to jog to keep up. He glanced at her. “If they’re going to do something, it’ll be now. You got it?”
“We should split up,” she said.
“No. I can’t let you out of my sights yet.”
Clarissa tried to pull away, but his grip on her tightened. Should she make a scene? That would draw attention for sure. But it might draw the attention of the wrong people. For now, the two of them had to work together.