by Dale Mayer
“Well, I just handed in my notice,” Sasha said. “That’s exactly what I was planning.”
Helena looked at her. “I didn’t know that,” she said. “Are you done, or did you just give your vacation notice?”
“I’m done,” she said. “They owed me time off anyway. So I just took it as part of my leave.”
“Wow,” Helena said, sinking back in the seat, thinking about that. “We did get several more doctors in, so, in theory, they could do without us for a while.”
“They could,” Carolina said, “but you know how we feel about that.”
“Sure, but we can’t get in the way of Lennox going after this guy.”
“And how would going back to work put us in Lennox’s way?” John asked.
“This guy is determined to make Lennox pay, and so the scarred guy will come after us, no matter where we are,” Helena said. She tilted her head as she stared at Lennox and asked, “Why don’t you use us as bait?”
John snorted. “That’s the most reasonable suggestion I’ve heard yet. As long as you keep me out of it.”
“Me too,” Sasha snapped.
Helena shot them both a hard look. “That’s just because you’d like to see us pay for you being involved. You blame us.”
Lennox turned, his steady gaze on John.
John shifted uncomfortably. “Okay, so maybe we were a little harsh in our assessment of the scenario.”
“Don’t go blaming Carolina and Helena for this,” Lennox said. “Sounds like this guy wants me to pay for something. Yet I don’t know this guy. Yes, it’s an ugly scenario, and it is what it is. But you can’t go blaming each other. And we can’t have you guys being the bait.” Now Lennox stared down Helena.
“Not me,” Sasha said. “They’re the ones who count. John and I want to go home.”
Lennox nodded slowly. “I get that, and we’re doing our best to get you home. As for my sister and Helena, well, if he went to this much effort, I can’t imagine that he’s gonna walk away at this point.”
“No, he probably isn’t,” Sasha agreed. “So we need to get the hell out of here.”
“We’ll be on our way back to Warsaw pretty quickly,” Gavin said.
“And how close is pretty quickly?” John asked.
Just then Gavin pulled into a supermarket parking lot, but everything was closed for the night. Big streetlamps were on the side, but a massive green space was in the center, and he pulled off under the lights, turned toward the back seats, and waited. “Finish your coffees,” he said.
Helena looked at her coffee, tossed back the rest of it, and returned all the garbage to Lennox, who was collecting everything. He made one trip to a trash can sitting off to the side, came back, removed his duffel bags, looked at Carolina, and asked, “Are you ready?”
She groaned. “I might as well be,” she said, “because, with you, it’s now or never.”
In the distance, they heard a helicopter. He smiled at them and said, “Our ride is here.”
“Oh, awesome,” Sasha said. They hopped out and walked over to him. “Can it take us wherever we need to go?”
“No, it’s taking us into Warsaw,” he said. “We’ll catch flights out later tomorrow.”
“Any chance of a shower and a real nap first?” John asked. “We’ve been traveling forever.”
“At the hotel, yes. We can’t get flights out before noon tomorrow anyway.”
With the helicopter coming in and sending dust and dirt flying everywhere, he quickly led them to the chopper and helped them up into the back seats. With the duffel bags stowed in the helo, the vehicle was left behind, and they were lifted into the air. Lennox glanced around to make sure everybody was buckled in place. He caught Helena’s eye.
She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
When he looked at her, that same damn jolt hit him in the heart every time. He gave a clipped nod. “You’re welcome.”
“Well, you don’t have to make it sound like the only reason I’m being rescued is that I’m with Carolina,” she said.
He winced inside; they always bounced off each other, both of them trying to ignore their feelings, but, at the same time, making any communication harsher as they tried to avoid saying what needed to be said.
“It isn’t that,” he said. “Let’s get to Warsaw, and we can get something arranged to get you guys out of there.”
She nodded. “But it’s not like the helicopter ride is a big secret.”
“I’m counting on it,” he said quietly. Helena looked at him in surprise, but he gave her a half smile. “Much better to bring them to us than to play in their backyard.”
“Oh,” she said in surprise.
Lennox shrugged. “Remember? It’s what we do.”
Chapter 8
The helicopter landed on a hotel roof. They were quickly led down to their assigned rooms. Two suites. Helena thought that the women would be in one and that the men would be in the other. Instead Gavin was with John and Sasha in one, and Lennox was with her and Carolina in another. That made just as much sense when she thought about it because, in no way, would Lennox leave his sister alone.
As they walked in, Helena saw two bedrooms and a small sitting room. “We didn’t need anything so fancy,” she said.
“We have a connecting door regardless,” he said, as he walked over and rapped hard.
The door opened immediately, and there was Gavin.
Lennox said, “Let’s leave the door open.”
“Got it,” Gavin said.
In the background, Helena could hear the other two, discussing rooms, and then John saying that he would shower first. Helena looked at Carolina. “What about you?”
Carolina gave her half a stare. “What about me?”
“Bed or shower?”
She looked at the bathroom and then at the bed and said, “Tough to call. Maybe I’ll have a quick shower, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure. Go have yours now,” Helena said. She walked to the couch in the sitting area, plunked herself down, and said, “Was there any food left?”
“Here,” Carolina said, and she turned and tossed the sandwich she still held in her hand.
“Aren’t you gonna need it later?”
“We’re in town now. We can get more food,” Lennox said. “If you’re hungry, eat.”
“Thanks.” She quickly opened up the sandwich and ate it slowly, as she waited for Carolina to get out of the shower. She watched as Lennox dug in one of his duffel bags, brought out a laptop, set it up on the small table here, and started sending messages. “Are those emails?”
He shook his head. “No, it’s my team.”
“Oh,” she brightened at that. “Glad to know you have a team.”
He looked at her with a puzzled look on his face.
Self-consciously, she shrugged. “Well, it’s better than having to work alone.”
“Well, there’s always Gavin,” he said, pointing out the obvious.
“I know,” she said. “Just ignore me.”
He shot her another strange look and went back to his laptop.
She always felt uncomfortable and awkward around him. There was just so much possibility between them, and yet so much that was wrong. Such was her life.
She finished the sandwich and hopped up, walked over to the kitchenette, and popped the wrapper in the garbage. There she grabbed some water from the tap. She had no idea if it was good to drink or not. She tasted it hesitantly, and, although it had an odd taste, it probably wouldn’t kill her, so she had a bigger drink. She leaned back against the sink, just thankful to be here.
Carolina opened the bathroom door and said, “I’m done, and I’ll be in bed.” She walked out with a towel on her head and a robe on, heading to the bedroom she’d chosen. She entered and closed the door.
Although their suite had two bedrooms, it didn’t leave one for Lennox. “Are you gonna sleep?” Helena asked him.
“Part of the time,” he said. “I’ll be do
ing shifts with Gavin. That’s why we’re keeping the connecting door open, so we can hear from both sides.”
“Where are you gonna sleep?” she asked, staring at him. She chewed on her bottom lip. He deserved a good night’s sleep more than she did. He’d gone through all the problems of tracking them down. She felt guilty as hell taking the only other bed. “I can sleep with your sister.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’m fine on the couch.”
She looked at the couch, then looked at him. “It might be long enough,” she said, “but no way that couch will hold your girth.”
At her worry, he looked at her in surprise. “You’re saying I’m fat?”
“Like hell,” she said, “but you’re big.”
He shrugged. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it. Go and grab a shower.”
Helena sighed. “Okay, but remember I offered.”
“Point taken,” he said with a clipped nod. “Now go have your damn shower, please.”
She walked into the bathroom, slammed the door with a little more force than necessary, and stripped down. Only now, as she stood here completely nude, did she realize she had no other clothes. What had happened to their luggage? She’d had only the one carry-on bag and her purse. Was her carry-on back where they’d been kept prisoner? She wanted it, but there was no going back now. … Could Lennox get it somehow?
Swearing, she hopped under the hot shower and shampooed her hair and scrubbed herself from top to bottom. All the time, her mind raced, figuring out just what she was supposed to do. She remembered getting out of the airport shuttle when they had arrived at the Munich airport, and a porter having taken their luggage. Was there any chance it was still sitting at the airport? Maybe the kidnappers only had their purses, phones, and wallets?
She quickly dried off, wrapped up in a towel, realizing that Carolina had grabbed a robe, but no more were here. Maybe another was in the second bedroom, but, of course, Helena hadn’t looked for one there.
First, she scooped up her clothing—dirty, dusty, and not what she wanted to put back on again—and realized she would have to put on her underwear regardless. Quickly redressed in panties and a bra, then wrapped back up again with the towel, she grabbed the rest of her dirty clothes, walked out to her bedroom, where she looked for a robe, but there wasn’t one. Of course not. She dropped her clothes on the bedroom floor and headed out to ask Lennox, “What happened to our luggage?”
He looked up at her. “It was picked up at the airport. The porter took it inside, but, when you guys didn’t reappear, he contacted security.”
“Any chance of getting it?”
“It’s on its way to the airport, now that we have a location for you,” he said. “With any luck, we should get it here in the morning.”
“Fresh clothing would be nice,” she said. “We all need our passports too, but the kidnappers had them.”
He didn’t even look up and nodded. “We’re working on it.”
“Thank you,” she said, and then, as she walked back to the bedroom door, she added, “Have a good night.”
And again he didn’t look up.
Pissed for some reason, more because he looked like he was ignoring her, she said, “That’s if you’re even listening to me.”
Exasperated, he gave a heavy sigh, turned, looked at her, and said, “Good night.” And then he spun back around again.
She walked into her room and closed the door and threw herself on the bed. She had no reason to be upset at him. But it was so very typical of every time they’d met. At least since they had kissed. Now everything sounded harsh and just bounced off each other. But she was tired, worn out, and didn’t want to wear a bra to bed. She took it off, dropped it to the floor in her pile of clothing, and crawled into the bed, in just her panties. Realizing that she was safe, and they were back in the city, and chances were that she’d be home again pretty damn soon, she rolled over and fell asleep.
It’s almost as if Lennox could hear the moment that Helena had relaxed enough to fall asleep. He knew what was wrong between them, but no way was she ready to deal with the issue. Yet it had always been there between them. He’d struggled to not turn around and to see her rosy from a shower, wrapped in a towel. His blood pressure always rose whenever he was around her. Still she’d finally gotten the message and gone to her room. He needed a couple days with her to figure out if this was something they wanted to pursue or if they could walk away from it. But that needed time together, and that was something they avoided at all costs. Which was too damn bad.
Maybe now they’d be forced to address the issue, one way or the other.
Gavin walked through the adjoining rooms and asked, “You okay to stay up for the first watch?”
Lennox nodded. “You did most of the driving. Go rest,” he said. “I’ll see you in four hours.”
With that, Gavin turned and headed back into his suite. Lennox was waiting for Keane to come back on the chat box. When he did, Lennox asked him, Any news on the search of the identifying marks? How about pictures to match my enemy list?
I’m sending a series of photos, he typed, posting them via this link.
When the link came up, Lennox studied the faces and saw the first man with deep facial scars and neck burns. He recognized a couple guys with similar wounds, but Lennox didn’t have any reason to think those guys were after him. Hearing an odd sound, he turned to see his sister, standing at the doorway to her bedroom, her robe back on.
She looked at him. “I was coming for water,” she said, as she padded quietly toward him. “You’re trying to find the kidnapper?”
Lennox took the opportunity to pull out a chair for her and said, “If you’ve got a moment, do you want to take a look through these photos?”
She scrolled through the faces, one after each other. “How come so many men have disfiguring marks like this?” she asked in amazement.
“War is a bitch,” Lennox said, “and the injuries are very unforgiving.”
She kept going and said, “I don’t recognize anybody here.” She clicked through three more and then a fourth and a fifth and stopped. Lennox looked at the one she’d stopped at, but she clicked back, and she said, “That’s him. … At least I think it’s him,” She hesitated, then pulled back slightly to view the face from an angle.
“What makes you think it is him?”
“The scar in that cheek,” she said, “it was profound. As in deep into the actual cheek itself.”
He studied the scar and nodded. “And some marks are on his neck, but they are hard to identify.” He asked her, “What about the nose, the hair?”
“Well, his hair is long now,” she said, “compared to the buzz cut in that photo.” She looked at it and nodded. “Confirm with Helena,” she said, “but I would say that’s him.”
“Did you recognize any other kidnappers in here?”
“No,” she said. “I would recognize the guy who looked after us most of the time,” she said, “but this scarred one was the guy who wanted you, and he is also just so very identifiable because of his scars.”
“Right,” he said. “Now get your water and go back to bed.”
She beamed, reached up, kissed him on the cheek, and said, “You really should just go to her. You know that, right?” She walked over and grabbed her water, leaving him gaping at her, his mouth open.
“You didn’t just say that,” he said.
She stood at the kitchenette, drank her water, put the glass on the counter, turned to look at him, and smiled. “If you guys are staying apart because of me,” she said, “that’s the worst reason yet.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back into his chair. “More because of Helena’s last relationship.”
“That would make more sense,” she said with a nod. “But still no reason to avoid a relationship because of that.”
“She went through what you went through.”
“She did,” Carolina acknowledged. “That do
esn’t mean she’s broken.”
“Are you broken?” He zeroed in on that one statement.
She sighed. “No, I’m not. I’m just now very wary.”
“And she isn’t?”
“She is, true,” Carolina said quietly. “But you were before that marriage, and you are after that marriage. You’re constant. She’s not afraid of you.”
He frowned at that. “It’s still a bad idea,” he announced.
“Maybe,” she said with a chuckle. “But it should be fun while you guys are at it. Besides, it would be a lot easier on the rest of us if you guys got it out of your system.”
“That’s just sex you are talking about there,” he said.
“Glad you recognize that,” she said but smiled, walking toward him. “And, if that’s what she wants, then go for it. But the thing is, it’s not what you want. Otherwise, you would have engaged a long time ago with Helena in a one-night stand or whatever or would have just moved on. Yet it hasn’t left you alone. She hasn’t left you alone in all these years because it’s got nothing to do with sex. Sure, sex is a great enhancer. It’s bonding. It’s a great way to come together and to enjoy each other,” she said, “but there’s so much more between you.”
“No,” he said, his voice harsh. “There can’t be.”
That wording—and his stark tone—stopped Carolina in her tracks. “And why is that?”
He struggled to come up with an answer but couldn’t seem to formulate one.
“Like I said,” Carolina said in a warning voice, “I’m not just your little sister anymore. I still need help at times,” she said, “but nobody could have foreseen this scenario. And so, if you’re thinking that you’re avoiding her because of me, because you don’t want to disrupt her relationship with me or the relationship between the two of us as brother and sister,” she said, “that’s just wrong.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But what if something goes wrong? I don’t want to do anything to upset you.”
“I don’t think that’ll happen,” she said. “We’ve weathered some pretty rough times.”