by Tara Brown
“Can you stay here with Fitz and the kids while we do this?”
She nodded. “This is the safest place for us. No one but Coop knew this place existed. Jack has managed to fool the staff into thinking he’s a playboy who likes to party and play with computers. The staff never leaves the house. Food and supplies are ordered and delivered. It’s an isolated castle in the middle of nowhere in Germany. No one is going to look for an ex-British spy and her grandkids here.”
“What about Fitz and the list of people from the Organization? What about his plane?”
“We landed in France and drove here. We didn't steal a car the way you children did, but we came in under the radar. The plane has gone home to Nevada. Besides, this house is a fortress with the most advanced security system I have ever seen. Jack spies on the help.”
“Don't call them that. It’s Este and—I didn't catch the butler’s name.”
Mom’s eyes sparkled with humor. “Oh, it’s your favorite name—James. Of course. A very English name. He’s been a butler for thirty years. His father was a butler and his father before that. They have served royalty and believe they still are.”
“Creepy. What don't you know?”
“Who you will pick out of the two gentlemen vying for your heart.”
I rolled my eyes. “I pick a vibrator who won’t punch me in the ribs and break them.”
She linked her arm in mine and nestled into me. “He must love you an awful lot to punch you.”
I started to laugh. “You sound like one of those abuse commercials. He only hits me because he loves me. Right?”
“Something like that, I suppose. But when a nonviolent man is forced into a corner where he has to hit the woman he loves, it hurts him, a lot. Your father and I played this game once; it was terrible for him. I was fine at first, but he had a haunted look in his eyes for a long time.”
“Oh, it hurt him.” I grinned, remembering the way Servario’s body had fallen like a huge tree in the forest. “It hurt him loads more than it hurt me.”
And that was the sad truth of the matter. I hadn’t wanted to hurt Servario, but I had done it to stay alive. My survival instincts were much more extreme than even Janice suspected. I couldn't imagine how bad it might get, but there was one thing that would trigger a full-scale meltdown in all reactors, and that was my kids’ safety being compromised.
18
Fifty Shades of Crimson
The view from the shower in my room was breathtaking. Across the narrow valley and above the adorable town of Gernsbach there was a castle, another one. Clearly, they weren’t as rare here as they were in the US.
I assumed it was much more noticeable than ours as it was closer to town and above what appeared to be a vineyard, whereas we were located above a forest. The town was just visible to us, which wasn't a bad thing.
I leaned back and let the shower dump water on my head. It massaged my scalp and distracted my brain from contemplating my choice to spare her life at a cost to us all. It was the wrong choice but I had made it. Not that it mattered; if Janice even blinked the wrong way my mother would kill her. But the whole thing troubled me. I wasn't comfortable leaving her here with my kids, but I wasn't comfortable killing her because she was too smart. She couldn't come with us without being a weight and we couldn't take her to the Burrow.
At least I understood the reasoning behind creating the Burrow first hand. It was a tricky decision to kill someone because they were a genius. I lowered myself gently to the bench and sighed, letting the water nearly drown me.
“Mommy!”
My eyes popped open to see Jules holding up her middle finger, not giving me the bird but showing me the obvious boo-boo she had sustained. I opened the door and let her waltz into my shower in her flippers and swimsuit with her goggles still on. “Uncle Fitz let you walk up the stairs in flippers?”
She shrugged. “He said I should take them off, but I said I could do it so he bet me five dollars I couldn't.”
“Did he?” I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed through the annoyance. “And what happened to your finger?”
“I dove in the pool to get a rock I was diving for and it scraped on the bottom.” She winced. “I think it needs a magic kiss.”
“Of course.” I laughed. “It certainly does.” I kissed the finger with an exaggerated muah.
“Thanks.” Her bug eyes in her goggles didn't take notice of the fact I was naked. Back home, between her and the cat, Ralph, my time was rarely my own. She turned and walked out of the shower but paused in the doorway. “I like Uncle Jack’s family’s house the best I think. Even if he said I have to call him Walter and he talks weird. He says he’s trying out for a movie and wants to get the part so we hafta call him Uncle Walter.”
“Is he? Well, we better help him then. And yes, it’s a pretty nice house.”
“Swanky!” she corrected me.
“When did you join the Rat Pack?”
“I didn't.” She cocked a dark eyebrow, saying it matter-of-factly and not knowing what the Rat Pack was. “It’s what Uncle Fitz says this house is—it’s swanky.” The way she said it with her missing teeth was about the greatest thing that had happened to me in a long time. “How long are we staying here? I don't wanna miss hockey startup at the end of summer!”
“Not long. Just a short vacation. Hockey startup isn’t for months anyway. We’ll be back in Canada for it.” It was a promise. I would have this handled in the next four months, before school started again in September. It was a promise I silently made to us all.
“Mkay.” She waved and flippered out of my bathroom.
“Take those off on the stairs or you won’t be allowed in the pool!” I shouted after her.
It was met with a groan, but I was certain she’d take them off. She was my good girl.
Seeing her cleared up the one issue I was having. I was no longer conflicted. I knew exactly what to do.
I hurried and dressed, again pulling on some of Jack’s leisure clothing. My nipples would start to chafe if I didn't get a bra on them soon, and I missed wearing underwear. It was nice to have things like ass sweat contained to a single compartment, not just running amok in my pants.
If we did all this right, we could be free of everything, and I might even find my way back to Boston. I hurried, which was still a snail’s pace, down the hall to find Coop. I needed to find out if he’d spoken to the boss man in a while. We hadn’t had much of CI on our side in ages. They had been keeping it low key with us. Our last brothel bust had been too loud and in the face of the public.
I tapped on a door and opened it, smiling the moment I saw Mitch lying back with his headphones on. His eyes were closed so I snuck in, about to scare him, when I saw a book on his iPad. My jaw dropped and my head started to shake, and I didn't know how to cope with the fact that my tween son was listening to Fifty Shades of Grey. The world halted and I found myself dragging my eyes from his chest where the iPad sat to the pillow over his groin. My nose wrinkled and I gagged a bit, stepping back slowly.
He popped open one eye, jumping when he saw me. “Mom, jeesh. What are you doing sneaking around?” He sat up, losing the pillow. My eyes shot to the ceiling as I stumbled over my words. “Oh, you know. I was—uhm—coming to see if you wanted something like hot cocoa.”
“Sure. You okay?” He gave me another weird look.
“Why are you reading that? It’s for adults and not all adults!” The words jumped from my mouth.
He scowled. “What? I’m not reading. I was listening to music.” His eyes lowered to the iPad as a big grin crossed his lips. “Oh that. I wasn't reading it, I swear. It’s downloaded from the cloud at the house. That's just the last book that was read I guess.”
My jaw dropped. I had enjoyed the book, certain aspects of it. Did I want my tween son to know that? No, no I did not. I licked my lips. “Delete it.”
His cheeks flushed. “Gross, Mom! You read that?”
I trembled but forced a nod.
“I did.”
“Is it weird like Bran said it was?”
“Yup.” Sweet baby Jesus, save me. “Why did your friends read it?”
He shrugged. “Their moms were talking about it all the time and so they read it and said it was all weird sex and then the guy was kinda mean. I don't know.”
I couldn't actually stop nodding. My head wouldn’t stop. “Right, well. It’s—uhm—yes. It’s weird. Some people like weird books.”
“Did you like it?”
I wrinkled my nose. “No.” It was a bold-faced lie, but I was not having this discussion.
The door opened behind me and the voice that spoke made my spine straighten. “Hey, what are you guys doing?”
Everything moved in slow motion as Mitch lifted his iPad, revealing the naughty book cover as his screen saver. Even his voice was deeper and slower. “Hey, Coop! Mom was just telling me about this book and how she didn't like it. Did you read it?” Mitch grinned, deliberately being a little shit.
“Uh, no. No, I can’t say I read that one. I’m more of a Tom Clancy man myself, Mitch. I leave the girlie books for the girls. You should check out some Clancy or even a Koontz novel. Dean Koontz. Funny guy with scary books,” Coop answered with a totally awkward tone as he reached forward, gripping my arm. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Yup, be right there,” I answered Coop but pointed at Mitch. “Delete it.” He flinched at the way I growled.
“Okay, I don't like girlie crap anyway.” His cheeks were bright red and his mood had soured, but a little humor still toyed with his lips as I left the room and closed the door.
I covered my face and moaned, “He had the book and a pillow over his—I thought he was—oh God!”
Coop wrapped himself around me, hugging me tightly. “Yeah, wow. Mommy porn on the iPad. That's a new screw-you form of technology, literally.”
“What is the cloud?” I asked desperately.
He shook his head. “I don't think anyone understands the cloud. Well, I guess Jack does. I don't. Luce for sure doesn't. It’s handy when it comes to music.”
I groaned, “Oh my God. He’s getting to that age, isn’t he? The one where I have to knock and wait for him to answer.”
He pulled me back, giving me a grave look. “Uh, yeah. Dude. You can’t just walk in. He might be yanking his own chain, he’s old enough. I did it when I was his age.”
“Oh my God.” My heart broke and my stomach sank. The impact of it all made my broken ribs hurt more.
“What? It’s fun. Boys discover it and then it’s like years of entertainment.” Coop chuckled, making his handsome face light up. “Calm down. He’s a good kid. Trust me. I can tell when kids are assholes. I am great with them.”
My broken heart didn't recover from that. Coop was great with kids. It made me realize he needed to have his own one day. “I have a plan for Janice,” I blurted, maybe too loud. I just desperately needed a new subject.
“So you are coming out of the haze of foolishness?”
“Yeah. But we need Servario.”
He gave me a long sigh.
“I need to talk to him. I need him to get me something.”
“Really?”
“Yup.” I nodded. “It will fix the whole thing.”
“The whole thing?” He didn't believe me.
“The whole thing with Janice. The rest is going to involve terrorism and violence. But I believe we can solve it without hurting her.”
He pursed his lips. “One condition.”
“Whatever you want.” I regretted it as I said it.
He bent down and lifted me over his shoulder, carrying me down the hallway. I didn't squirm. I couldn't breathe with the broken rib digging into my side. I tried to gasp and tell him he had to put me down, but he didn't hear me. He walked me to a room and laid me down on the bed. I coughed, clutching my side and fighting the tears threatening my eyes.
“What?” He winced. “Oh shit, the rib. I totally forgot.” He dropped to his knees and buried his face in his hands. “I am so sorry, Evie.” He ran his hands through his hair.
“I’m okay.” I rasped like I was dying.
He crawled up onto the bed and gingerly wrapped himself around me. “The one thing I want you to promise is that you’ll be straightforward with me. I don't want to be second fiddle. Deal?”
“Okay,” I answered breathlessly.
He leaned forward, brushing his lips softly on mine. “Let me get some meds, and we can alleviate some of that pain for you while you tell me about this brilliant plan of yours.”
I lifted a thumb, really not wanting to speak again.
“You really are a hot mess,” he said as he left to get painkillers. When he was gone I tried really hard not to rehearse the breakup speech I had planned.
19
Don't shit where you eat
I paced back and forth in front of the shops, staring at my phone, wondering if Servario had gotten the message. It wasn't exactly my subtlest of attempts at being needy in the newspaper.
Thankfully, it was easy to walk about the small town of Gernsbach. Tourists lined the streets and everyone looked the same as me. It was like being at an upper-middle-class convention. My sunglasses and sun hat allowed me to blend in with about twenty-five other dark-haired women who were frequenting the little stores around us.
I crossed in front of the alley between the old brick clothing store and the adorable vintage bookstore, hoping to see him in the gap.
When I turned around he was standing under a tree, sunglasses and a smug look. He made my heart beat faster and my mouth go dry.
He wanted to change the world for me.
Forcing myself to take a second glance at the map on my phone, I strolled across the footbridge that led to the park where Servario stood in the midday sun.
It wasn’t too warm, being in the mountains and the forest, but it was pleasant. I blended in with a crowd of tourists, each of them checking their phones and cameras, taking photos of the quaint theme running through the town. It was decorated as if the Grimm Brothers had only been there the week before.
We walked as a group, the tourists and me. As we passed him, I separated from the herd, heading up the hill toward the small forest. It was fantasy come to life: me and a beautiful man in a picturesque European village.
What wasn't picturesque was my reason for being there, which involved killing a man while avoiding killing a girl.
As I walked up the grass, I could hear his footsteps behind me. The sound and scent of him in the air made my stomach tighten. We hadn’t discussed the fact that I remembered everything from Dubai and Belgium. Things like him telling me he wanted to change the world for me or that I was with Coop because he allowed it.
Most of those things sat awkwardly in my head. I hadn’t had the courage to try to call him. Instead, I had posted an ad:
Scarlet searching for the man of her dreams, a Rhett of her very own. For long walks through the black forest and enchanting hours spent, contact her about her love of books.
I had counted on several things. Firstly, that he knew Jack was rich and had a castle house in Gernsbach. Secondly, that he knew the town well enough to remember the bookstore, Bücherstube S. Katz, was downtown and that there was a park near it. Thirdly, I assumed he was aware I recalled everything now and his little drugging hadn’t worked.
“You look very relaxed here in the countryside. It suits you. I have a house in the country. We should go there.”
“Of course you do.” He likely had far more than one.
“Did you miss me?”
“No.” It was a lie, but while I continued to hobble when I walked and my rib still ached, forgiving him for the entire affair would be difficult. I strolled to a large tree and stood under it, running my fingers along the bark and walking around its base until it hid us from the view of town.
“I missed you.” He strolled up, flashing that dimply grin when he turned and faced me.
“Wel
l, you're close enough now that it shouldn’t be a problem.”
His grin widened. “You’ve heard this joke then?”
“Everyone has heard this joke.”
“Guess I am behind in the times.” He walked until he was so close I could taste him in the air. “Are you sorry for trying to kill me?”
I shook my head.
“That's my good girl.” He chuckled. “I would hate to see a weak display of femininity after such a display of bravado.”
“That wasn't bravado, Servario. You forced sex on me, dragged me down a hallway, and tried to beat me. That was me saying no. You should get used to that word.”
He wrinkled his nose. “I have never been a fan of it.”
“I remember Belgium. And Dubai.”
“I assumed as much when young Cooper contacted me and demanded proof of his sister’s actions and whereabouts.”
And here I had thought Coop trusted my instincts and word on the matter.
“So you remember everything. Where does it leave us?”
“How could you say all those things and then drug me so I would forget them?” The thought of it ached still. “Did you say them and then regret it?”
“No. I never say things to you I regret. I just wanted you to be safe.”
“From what?” I was becoming annoyed.
“Me.” He peered at me from over his sunglasses. His eyes burned with untold secrets and emotions. “What do you want today, Evie?”
A slow grin crossed my lips. The things I could list off, but wasn't going to, were varied to say the least:
I wanted an orgasm, not just any orgasm either. I wanted a really dirty one. The kind where I almost peed and definitely lost control of my limbs.