When the Shadows Fall: A Romantic Thriller (Blackwood Security Book 14)

by Elise Noble

  Then it hit me.

  Why was the passenger door open?

  For the second time that night, the snick of a gun being cocked made my stomach clench.

  Oh, fuck.

  Who was left? Ezra? Dr. Merritt? I turned slowly, catching sight of the expression on Asher’s face as I did so. The Mustang’s headlights were shining down on us, and he’d gone absolutely white.

  “Grandma?” he whispered.

  A grey-haired lady came into view, and the pistol she gripped with both hands was almost as big as she was. But it didn’t waver.

  “Stay where you are, both of you. Hands in the air.” She tutted as we complied. “I’m disappointed in you, Asher. I thought you were different.”

  “D-different?”

  “You’ve taken after your mother. Let the devil bewitch you.”

  Bloody hell, this whole family was nuts.

  “What are you talking about?” Asher asked.

  “I had plans. Without Mina’s influence hanging over you, I’d hoped that in time you’d join us in the family business.”

  “You…wanted me to become a teacher?”

  She just laughed. “The other family business.”

  “The paintings?” he whispered.

  The laugh turned into a cackle. “See? You’re not as dim as Ezra thought. Ezra…” She shook her head. “What a disappointment he turned out to be.”

  “You’re criminals. Why the hell would you think I wanted to get involved?”

  “Because this is your chance to do lasting good. Do you have any idea how many works of art were looted during the Second World War? Over half a million, and a hundred thousand of those are still missing. Scores were killed for their faith and for their treasures. And the people who hold those artifacts now, who hang them on their walls and show them off to their friends, they know where they came from. And still they won’t give them up. Somebody needs to right the wrongs of the past.”

  “By…creating more wrongs?”

  “In San Diego, you didn’t mind breaking the rules. The car races on the freeway. All those women you serviced for money.”

  “You… You…”

  “Of course I knew,” she snapped. “I’ve had a private investigator keeping tabs on you from the moment you could walk.”

  This was bad. Really bad. The old bat was clearly psycho, but also smart. And then I got it. She was the original Master. And she’d still been behind the scenes, pulling the strings the entire time.

  “So now what? What’s going to happen to us?”

  “The girl’s got to go, of course.”

  She gestured to me with the gun in an offhand manner. If I’d been ten feet closer, maybe I could have made a grab for it, but I was just too far away.

  “When she came to Shadow Falls, you changed,” Grandma continued. “Stopped coming to dinner, neglected your family. She’s got a demon living inside her, the same as your father did, and demons need to be exorcised. But you, Asher… I haven’t quite made up my mind. You’re weak, but perhaps your soul can still be salvaged. Saul wasn’t perfect—that boy was too greedy for his own good—but with the proper guidance, he achieved great things. And family is family.”

  “So you want me to come with you? To help you?”

  “To serve me. No matter what Saul called himself, I’m still the Master.”

  Yup, absolutely batshit crazy. And also still pointing a gun at me.

  Asher inched closer. “We’d move away?”

  “Thanks to your little whore, we don’t have much choice. I have money. We can start again.”

  He glanced at me, and I saw the distress in his eyes. The sorrow. And something else… An apology? Why? He wouldn’t seriously go with the insane bitch, would he? Sure, he’d had a few transgressions, but the idea of him embarking on a life of crime was laughable.

  But then his gaze flicked towards the gun, and I realised. I realised what he planned to do.

  “Asher, no,” I choked out.

  “I’m sorry, Chem.” He looked away. “Grandma, we should go. The cops will be coming.”

  He closed the gap as she levelled the gun at me, and everything moved in slow motion. Her finger tightened on the trigger. Asher sprang forward. An almighty bang tore through the air, and blood sprayed far enough to splash my face.

  “No!”

  I barely recognised my own scream. Asher and his grandma had landed in a heap, and I clawed at him. If she’d missed his head, missed his vital organs… Fuck, I couldn’t even call an ambulance. Was he still alive? He groaned as I rolled him over, and I desperately tried to remember facts from the introductory first aid course Emmy had sent me on at Blackwood’s headquarters. I needed to stop the bleeding. Where was the wound? Asher was covered in blood, red and sticky with its distinctive coppery smell.

  “Don’t leave me. Life won’t be the same without you driving me crazy, you asshole. Don’t you dare fucking leave me!”

  Then hands pulled me away, and I struggled and slapped because I needed to help Asher. I had a belt. I could make a tourniquet. Drag him to the car, drive him to the hospital.

  “Let me go!”

  “Sky!” Someone slapped me hard, and my mind cleared enough to think.

  “Rafael?”

  “Focus. He’ll live. She won’t.”

  He turned me back to face Asher, just in time for me to see him sit up. He was okay? I blinked and realised half of his grandma’s head was gone. Little pieces of cauliflower-brain were dotted all through the grass. Holy fuck. Rafael had gone for the apricot, and he hadn’t missed.

  The sound of car doors slamming on the road above jarred me closer to reality. Who was it? Rafael didn’t seem concerned by the new arrivals, and I took that as a good sign.

  “Fuck me. You made one hell of a mess tonight, Malone.”

  Emmy was there. I almost cried with relief.

  “Somebody bring blankets,” she shouted. “Either of you injured?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m okay, but Asher…” He tried to get to his feet, and I grabbed his hand. “Are you hurt?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Your eyes?” Emmy asked. “Your throats? Lungs?”

  “We had scuba gear.”

  “Bet that was a sight. C’mon, get your arses in the car. We’ve got a hell of a lot of clean-up to do on this one.”

  “In Asher’s car? Where should we go?”

  “In Dan’s car. We’ll sort out the rest.”

  A blanket was wrapped around my shoulders, and somebody nudged me towards the road. I grabbed Asher’s hand, now minus the dangling cuffs, and he came along too.

  CHAPTER 42 - EMMY

  IT WAS ALMOST five o’clock in the morning when we arrived back at Riverley. I’d sent Dan and Sofia on ahead with Sky and Asher, and the pair of them were sleeping peacefully now. Fia might or might not have had a hand in that. Ezra was in jail along with his buddies, and Vanessa was back in her room with instructions to keep her mouth shut. She was the one who’d set off the alarm. When Sky and Asher hadn’t come back, she’d set fire to a wastebasket in one of the A-block bathrooms, figuring that the fear of smoke inhalation would get any bad guys out of the cellar so her friends could leave too. I’d speak to her properly tomorrow.

  For now, we’d handed the scene over to the FBI. They were busy clashing with the fire department as they pulled all manner of stolen paintings out of the Rosenbergs’ lair. Alaric and Nate were still there, keeping an eye on things. Well, Nate was in the music room, nosing around the bookcase. The lock appeared to be musical. When Sky turned the light switch on and off, she’d woken it up. It then “listened” for a set period of time, and when Asher played a particular combination of notes on the piano, it triggered the door to open. The unit itself was crude, Nate said. As if it had been cobbled together for a student project and then repurposed. Quite possibly it had.

  I’d hung around with Alaric until they rescued Emerald. She’d caused so much trouble, yet I’d never
seen her in the flesh before. Had it been worth the wait? Not really. I could quite cheerfully have barbecued the smug bitch by that point, but the relief on Alaric’s face made all the effort worth it.

  What was worth the wait? Driving Asher’s car back from Shadow Falls. That beast was sweet. A gas guzzler, but boy could it go. Now I needed to buy a Mustang. And more gin. I added ice to a glass and poured myself another G&T from the wet bar in the corner of my living room. Did this count as late drinking or early drinking? I wasn’t sure, but I came to the conclusion I didn’t care.

  “Diamond?”

  Black appeared in the doorway, and I knew what he wanted. My forgiveness. The past three months had been brutal on everyone, not least him. Yes, he’d deserved it, but I still hated to see him looking so tired.

  And what was the outcome? I’d spent the trip back turning things over in my mind. When I wasn’t blowing past other cars, that was.

  Alaric had suffered the most from Black’s deceit. But if the original handover had gone smoothly, he’d never have met Bethany. And she was far better for him than I could ever have been. He was totally head over heels for her. And he had Rune. If not for Emerald’s curse, she’d be either dead or turning tricks in a Thai whorehouse. I’d never have met Sky, and she wouldn’t have met Asher. Where was that relationship going? The jury was still out, but she seemed to like him.

  And then there was Sirius. Alaric would have stagnated at the FBI, but I wasn’t sure he’d have had the guts to set out on his own without that initial push. New Alaric was more relaxed. His smiles came easier. Plus he had Ravi and Judd and Naz, although Judd was still an asshole. I had a feeling they’d all be pretty busy once word that Emerald and the pay-off had been found got out. In Shadow Falls, Black had taken charge of the scene, called in favours, contained the fallout, and talked up Sirius’s involvement in the hunt. Alaric’s reputation had been restored.

  Yes, I forgave Black.

  And I liked to think he’d learned his lesson.

  “I’ve missed you,” I said simply, and he understood. I was in his arms before I could blink.

  And naked before I could take a breath. How the hell had he gotten my clothes off so fast?

  Ah. A switchblade.

  He leaned his forehead against mine. “I’m sorry. For everything I did wrong.”

  “Don’t hurt me again,” I said. Then I sighed and dropped to my knees. “Because the pink vibrating dildo Bradley came up with is no match for the real thing.”

  And it played the hallelujah freaking chorus when I came. No kidding. I’d tensed up so fucking fast I fired that monster right across the bed.

  Black snarled his disgust at my battery-operated boyfriend, and like magic, he started to harden under my fingers. We weren’t going to make it anywhere near the bedroom, were we? I was glad Sofia had slipped our house guests a little something-something because we’d have had awkward questions to answer otherwise. I got Black’s belt open and his fly too, and then I took his cock into my mouth. Breakfast of champions.

  “Fuck, Emmy,” he groaned when my lips got within shouting distance of the base.

  I let him go with a quiet pop. “Thought you’d never ask.”

  “What do you want? Top? Bottom? Against the wall?”

  “Yes.”

  I noticed he didn’t suggest heading for the sofa. Bending me over the back was an old favourite of his, but our couch-related activities hadn’t ended too well last time. This morning, he carried me over to the sheepskin rug in front of the fireplace and laid me down. It was white, so the cum stains wouldn’t show, but I was paranoid about it getting crispy underfoot and we’d replaced it three times already.

  But I soon forgot the rug when he slid inside. I’d missed this, I’d missed him, so fucking much.

  “I love you, Chuck,” I whispered in his ear. “Don’t you bloody forget it.”

  “Trust me, I won’t. You’ve made your point, Diamond, and I learn from my mistakes.”

  CHAPTER 43 - SKY

  “AFTERNOON.”

  EMMY WAS sitting at the kitchen table when I stumbled through the doorway. My body felt heavy. Stiff. I’d never experienced tiredness quite like it.

  “Hey, boss.”

  The news was on the TV in the corner, and when I saw a picture of Spirit on the screen, I paused to listen. Emmy turned the volume up.

  “The art world is celebrating today after a huge cache of stolen treasures was found at a private school in northern Virginia. Among the works found were The Shepherd’s Watch, taken recently in dramatic fashion during a charity event, and a piece believed to have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci. A source has indicated that Astinov’s masterpiece Spirit of the Lake was also present at the scene, and it’s unclear what this means because that particular painting is believed to be hanging in the Stiller Collection in Miami. More to come on that later. And in other news, police are no further forward in identifying the man who attacked pop sensation Brock Keaton in his Malibu home last week.”

  Emmy pressed the mute button, thank goodness.

  “How’s Asher?” she asked.

  “I haven’t spoken to him yet. I wanted to talk to you first.”

  She took a sip of coffee. “Yeah, I suppose we could do with a debrief.”

  “I’m sorry for the mess. I don’t really know what else to say.”

  “Eh, it wasn’t that messy. They got rid of the chlorine gas with big fans in the end. The tunnels went all over the place. One came out in the chemistry teacher’s office, another under Linton Hall, plus there was one in the cellar at the Rosenbergs’ house.”

  “What about the bodies?”

  “There were only half a dozen.”

  Black materialised and sat next to Emmy. As in, right next to Emmy, and then he wrapped an arm around her. She leaned into him. Okay, this was new.

  “Nobody knows how the chemical spillage occurred, and Rafael shot Tovah Rosenberg with Ezra’s gun after the accident. Timelines get confused.”

  “But there’ll be an investigation. Won’t there?”

  Emmy waggled her head from side to side and did air quotes, Dr. Evil-style. “‘Investigation.’”

  “Huh?”

  “People owed Black favours. And besides, if they looked into the details too closely, they’d have to admit they screwed up with Alaric eight years ago. The cops found Emerald’s original pay-off in the cellar last night. Guess the Rosenbergs took it after all.”

  She stared at me over the rim of her coffee cup, daring me to disagree. No way was I about to do that.

  “Right. Good thing that turned up.”

  “Isn’t it? Of course, Ezra Rosenberg’s screaming for a lawyer, but it’s a slam-dunk case. The whole damn family was involved. The ledgers in the room where Saul tried to gas Asher have all the details, although Ezra swears the whole thing was Saul’s and his mother’s idea and he wanted out. The FBI’s up to a hundred and thirty stolen works of art and still counting. Lucky we acted when we did—The Shepherd was due to leave in two days.”

  “What’ll happen to the school?”

  “Not sure yet. I expect somebody’ll appoint a new headmaster and staff to replace the Rosenbergs and their accomplices, but the authorities are still trying to work out who all of them are, so it won’t be instantaneous.”

  “I’m worried about Vanessa. She helped me through this, school and everything. I couldn’t have done it without her.”

  “We’ll make sure Vanessa’s okay.”

  “And I’m also worried about Asher. I was wondering… You said that if I pass my probation, then I’ll get paid three hundred thousand quid, and I know I’m only halfway through and I might fail, but if I could even have a small bit of the money, then I want to give it to him. He’s got nothing now. Well, he’s got his car, but I’m pretty sure he likes that more than he likes me, so…”

  “No,” Black said.

  My stomach dropped. “No?”

  “You’ve earned that money. It’s yo
urs. We’ll take care of Asher separately.”

  “He needs to graduate to get an inheritance from his father, and I’m not sure if you know, but he isn’t great at reading and writing.”

  “Understood. We can pay for him to board somewhere. Or he can stay here for a while and go to a local school. Or you can get a place together. There are options.”

  “Really? You’d let him stay here?”

  “Between the two main houses and the guest house, we’ve got twenty-six bedrooms. I’m sure we can squeeze him in somewhere.”

  Was that an attempt at humour from Black? I pinched myself to check I wasn’t dreaming. Nope, it bloody hurt. Okay then. In truth, I wasn’t sure Asher would be keen on staying at Riverley, but at that moment, I realised how much I wanted him to.

  “I need to see how he is.”

  “Good idea,” Emmy said. “Take him a coffee. We can have a proper chat later. Four o’clock?”

  “Okay.”

  “And Sky?”

  “What?”

  She broke into a smile. “You didn’t do bad out there.”

  The talk with Emmy had gone a hell of a lot better than I thought it would, but would a heart-to-heart with Asher be as easy? I was thinking not. He’d stayed in the room next to mine last night, and when I got upstairs, I knocked on his door.

  “It’s Sky. Are you awake?”

  A mumbled answer came back. “I’m not sure.”

  “Can I come in?”

  The door swung open and Asher stood before me in a pair of pyjama pants, rubbing his eyes. His hair was mussed, and I tried not to stare at his chest, but it was quite nice as chests went. Not stacked like Rafael’s, but athletic.

  “What time is it?” Asher asked.

  “A quarter to one.”

  “I feel like I’ve been hit by an eighteen-wheeler.”

  I held out a steaming mug. “Would this help?”

  “Thanks. I was hoping everything that happened at the academy was a nightmare, but if that were the case, I guess I wouldn’t be here, would I?”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  He opened the door wider. “We probably need to talk.”

  “We do.”

  I stepped inside his room. Should I sit down? I didn’t want to assume that was a good idea, so I leaned against the wall instead.