“I don’t have to help. I have a life now. It’s not perfect, but it’s about as good as most people get. I enjoy being free to do my own thing, to sleep, walk and run without constantly having to watch my perimeter.” She didn’t mention the incident in the park earlier that day. “You should try it sometime.”
“This time,” he made no attempt to move, “it’s worse. Far worse, Rogue. You have to help me, and our friends.”
She didn’t move. She had no friends and neither did Tom. They weren’t even friends with each other.
Tom went on before she could speak. “You are the only person in the world I can trust. Our friend will die if you don’t help me. And so will I, now that I’ve broken protocol by coming here. I’m here because of our past relationship. I’m here because if you don’t help me, the Hellfire Club will become one of the most powerful and influential shadow cabals in the world.”
Carrie bit her lip. His plea was from the heart, and appealing. No doubt he’d practiced it on the way. “You have no right to come here. To ask me this. You’re asking me to jump right back into a world I’ve already escaped. I didn’t love you. I didn’t hardly care for you. In fact, your sum total was six inches of meat I used to pass the night away.”
Tom looked hurt. “Six inches? Come on...”
But Carrie knew what he was trying to do, just as he knew her intent with the impassive rhetoric. Her manner in the past had always been confrontational, aggressive, whilst his had been more laid back. He tended to wile his way in where she broke the walls down.
She nodded at the door. “Get out.”
He sighed and took a single step in the right direction, but he wasn’t finished yet. “I know what you’re trying to do,” he said. “By living here and starting a new life. You think the nightmares will ease. That all the innocent deaths will lose their dominion over you. You think the trauma will be blunted through time. That Miller and the Three Old Men won’t find you. And, maybe, you think all the deadly secrets you know will fade away.”
She glared at him, saying nothing.
“None of that will happen. Those innocents will never vanish from your dreams, your memories. The only thing you can do is avenge them.”
“You speak like this now?” she spat at him. “Where were these words when I offered you a way out? My way out? We could have left together and you know that.”
“I’m glad we didn’t,” Tom said. “I mean, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you at the time. You were right. I was a blind fool like most of the MI6 agents who aren’t in their pay. But... if I’d left, I’d never have found out what they’re trying to do now. Infiltrate three of the world’s largest criminal organizations by killing and replacing their accountants with men of their own. They’re hiding the real motives beneath seven well-planned murders orchestrated to cause chaos. It’s—”
“Tom.” She kept her face emotionless. “Since we first met you’ve been trying to save everyone. You told me yourself—it’s your rebellious, rich-kid-of-privilege kind of attitude. Well, you can’t save everyone. And now, you can’t save me.”
He went still, his handsome face blank. “And you hate to express your feelings,” he said. “Because you think it makes you vulnerable.”
She’d had enough. Words weren’t working so she stepped forward and jabbed him in the chest. Tom didn’t try to stop her, just came back with a left cross to the temple. Carrie ducked, leaned in and threw him over her shoulder. Not hard, but hard enough. When his spine impacted the floor, he grunted and grimaced.
“The Three Old Men,” he gasped. “You know them. You know they won’t let anyone stand in their way, no matter how innocent...”
She tried to block it out by kicking at his ribs, forcing him toward the door as he continued to speak.
“The Hellfire Club is all they believe in. Not MI5. Not MI6. They’re not patriots. They’re leeches, empire builders. Profiteers. The Three Old Men just want money and influence. But the club itself... that’s very different.”
Carrie paused, wondering suddenly if his thoughts now matched hers. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“They’re a virus. Seeking to further their hold across the world. They’ve gained influence in every government that matters. Now they’re seeking to control underground entities too. Their goal is to be the sole world order and they’re achieving that by controlling organizations, both official and legal. Please, Rogue, you have to listen to me.”
“That’s—not—my—name.” She punctuated each word with a kick. Finally, Tom was at the door, reaching up for the handle to help pull himself to his feet.
He held a hand out, palm up. “Why,” he said. “Why not?”
“You don’t listen. Rogue is violence, danger and death. She’s hunted. On the run. Carrie is free.”
She watched him with hooded eyes, face as cold as a snowstorm. “Forget about me,” she said. “If I get burned because you came here, I’m gonna hunt you down and put you out of your misery.”
He backed away, finally across the threshold and into the dim hallway. Carrie slammed the door in his face and turned back to her empty apartment.
Did that just really happen?
Tom, trying to resurrect the past? He should know better.
They both had nightmares buried in the hard-packed ice of their memories. Nightmares that should never be unearthed. She’d killed Miller’s son by accident in the midst of battle. She’d partaken in at least half a dozen deadly operations she now believed were ordered by the Hellfire Club. And if they ever found her, they would send men to kill her. Many men. Anonymity was her best bet now. Total anonymity. She didn’t want to hurt them or anyone else again, she just wanted to live her life.
Two years away had brought her to a point where she could almost cope.
But the meeting had awakened a concern. What were the Three Old Men up to now? It seemed they were not only using MI6 but also the Club to line their pockets now. How many more were they willing to kill?
It’s not your problem.
“I am not a heartless bitch,” she said into the silence of her apartment. “It’s how I cope with... with my life.”
An accusing silence was her only answer.
Other Books by David Leadbeater:
The Matt Drake Series
A constantly evolving, action-packed romp based in the escapist action-adventure genre:
The Bones of Odin (Matt Drake #1)
The Blood King Conspiracy (Matt Drake #2)
The Gates of Hell (Matt Drake 3)
The Tomb of the Gods (Matt Drake #4)
Brothers in Arms (Matt Drake #5)
The Swords of Babylon (Matt Drake #6)
Blood Vengeance (Matt Drake #7)
Last Man Standing (Matt Drake #8)
The Plagues of Pandora (Matt Drake #9)
The Lost Kingdom (Matt Drake #10)
The Ghost Ships of Arizona (Matt Drake #11)
The Last Bazaar (Matt Drake #12)
The Edge of Armageddon (Matt Drake #13)
The Treasures of Saint Germain (Matt Drake #14)
Inca Kings (Matt Drake #15)
The Four Corners of the Earth (Matt Drake #16)
The Seven Seals of Egypt (Matt Drake #17)
Weapons of the Gods (Matt Drake #18)
The Blood King Legacy (Matt Drake #19)
Devil’s Island (Matt Drake #20)
The Fabergé Heist (Matt Drake #21)
Four Sacred Treasures (Matt Drake #22)
The Sea Rats (Matt Drake #23)
The Alicia Myles Series
Aztec Gold (Alicia Myles #1)
Crusader’s Gold (Alicia Myles #2)
Caribbean Gold (Alicia Myles #3)
Chasing Gold (Alecia Myles #4)
The Torsten Dahl Thriller Series
Stand Your Ground (Dahl Thriller #1)
The Relic Hunters Series
The Relic Hunters (Relic Hunters #1)
The Atlantis Cipher (Relic Hunters #2)
The Amber Secret (Relic Hunters #3)
The Rogue Series
Rogue (Book One)
The Disavowed Series:
The Razor’s Edge (Disavowed #1)
In Harm’s Way (Disavowed #2)
Threat Level: Red (Disavowed #3)
The Chosen Few Series
Chosen (The Chosen Trilogy #1)
Guardians (The Chosen Trilogy #2)
Heroes (The Chosen Trilogy #3)
Short Stories
Walking with Ghosts (A short story)
A Whispering of Ghosts (A short story)
All genuine comments are very welcome at:
[email protected]
Twitter: @dleadbeater2011
Visit David’s website for the latest news and information:
davidleadbeater.com
Copyright © 2019 by David Leadbeater
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher/author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
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Classification: Thriller, adventure, action, mystery, suspense, archaeological, military, historical, bestseller
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