Burke hadn’t heard anything about Curran. His offer to loan MIS the house in Iceland had surprised Declan, both because MIS’ dealings with the Syndicate had been few and because Declan hadn’t expected the underground criminal organization to have property in a place like Iceland, let alone an obscure town like Hólmavík.
He should have known better. The Syndicate’s cyber labs in Paris and New York rivaled that of the NSA, and their business interests had expanded to every corner of the globe in the years since Nico Vitale had staged a hostile takeover of the organization.
Kate crossed her arms over her chest and shivered. She’d put her jacket back on after getting out of the car, but it was cold enough that they could see their breath.
“Let’s check it out,” Declan said.
They made their way up the walk and ascended the stairs to the stone porch. The keypad at the door was a reminder that they were entering Syndicate property, the security protocols designed by people who saw potential risk everywhere.
Good. Another thing they had in common.
Declan entered the code Nolan Burke had given him. The door opened with a quiet click and they stepped into a triple-height foyer with flagstone floors. Declan flicked one of the switches on the wall and a minimal chandelier lit up far overhead, illuminating a staircase with a black iron banister leading to the second floor.
Shadowed rooms lurked to the right and left. He flipped the rest of the switches and blinked against the light, a shock after the blackness they’d been driving in for the past three hours.
To their left was a room that looked like a study or library, cedar-lined shelves filled with books. He turned his attention to the room on the right and saw that it was a cavernous space, raw wood beams crossing the vaulted ceiling under the house’s pitched roof.
“This is unbelievable,” Kate said, walking into the room, her eyes drawn upward.
“It’s quite a house,” Declan agreed.
Nick and Declan dropped the bags and Declan followed Kate into the room. Declan had told her they were staying in the vacation house of a friend of a friend, and he was glad she hadn’t asked more questions. They had a no-secrets policy in their relationship, but in Declan’s line of business there were secrets and there was information that could send you to prison.
Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference.
He wasn’t about to tell Kate anything that could compromise her should MIS get into trouble with the law again. They had provisions for that eventuality — new identities and passports, money stashed in numbered accounts all over the world — but Declan was all too aware that there was no guarantee they’d have the luxury of running if things went south.
Julia and Alexa were in MIS up to their eyeballs, a decision they’d advocated for with Ronan and Nick. Someday Kate might want to know more too. Declan might decide to tell her more. But she was the mother his son. He wanted to keep her clear of legal jeopardy as long as possible.
His eyes were drawn to the wall of glass he’d spotted from the driveway, its exposure a contrast to the cozy cedar paneling on one of the other walls.
“We should make a trip to the market tomorrow,” Nick said, wandering into the gourmet kitchen, open to the rest of the great room. “Doesn’t look like takeout will be an option around here.”
“I can do that,” Kate said.
“Not alone you won’t.” The words were out of Declan’s mouth before he could stop them, and Kate turned to scowl at him. “Can’t afford a false sense of security. Being in the middle of nowhere doesn’t mean we’re safe.”
He almost held his breath. Now that they were here, he couldn’t help wondering if Kate would stick to their agreement and follow his lead or go rogue. It wouldn’t be intentional, but even she would argue that she was used to giving orders rather than taking them.
She nodded. “You’re right. Two of us can make the trip into town then. We can stock up so we won’t have to do it again for a while.”
He wondered if his relief was written on his face. Maybe they’d be able to compromise after all. To balance his need to keep Kate safe with her determination to do everything her way. “Sounds good.”
She turned toward the wall of glass, reflecting the light from inside the house. “I can’t wait to check out the view from this room tomorrow. I bet it’s gorgeous."
Nick turned off the kitchen light and walked back into the living room. “The only view I want right now is the back of my eyelids. I’m beat. I’m going to claim a room and crash.”
He headed for the bags in the foyer.
“Night,” Kate said.
He stomped up the stairs and Kate closed the distance between her and Declan.
She slid her arms around his waist and looked up at him. “What about you? You tired?”
He knew from the spark in her eyes what she was really asking. “Not too tired for what you have in mind.”
She laughed. “How do you know what I have in mind?”
He grinned. “Really?”
“Okay, you’re not wrong,” she admitted. “I’m a bit keyed up from all the travel. I’m sure I’ll be ready to crash after a hot shower though.”
Desire rushed through his veins at the thought of her, naked and wet, her skin sliding against his. He lowered his head to kiss her. “A hot shower huh? That sounds promising,” he said against her lips.
She leaned her head against his chest and sighed. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For agreeing to let me come,” she said without looking at him. “It means a lot to me to be here.”
He held her tighter, trying not to feel like it was only a matter of time until playing it her way cost them both.
7
Kate sat at the table in the great room, her gaze pulled from her computer to the view beyond the wall of glass. She’d been trying to work every day while Declan and Nick staked out the house where they thought Neil was hiding, but it was hard to concentrate with so much beauty stretched out before her.
Their first morning in the house, she’d woken up to a brooding sky, clouds rolling in from a steely sea that stretched as far as she could see. The deck off the second-floor master bedroom had been a pleasant surprise, along with another wall of glass that seemed to continue from the great room on the first floor.
She’d immediately opened the glass doors, oblivious to the chill in the air, drawn to the sweeping view like a moth to a flame.
The impact hadn’t lessened in the three days they’d been in the house. She still found herself staring through the window or standing out on one of the house’s many decks and balconies with no idea how long she’d been there, and that was even more true now that they’d settled into a routine that left her alone in the house for long periods of time.
She’d gone into town with Declan their first full day to stock up on supplies, and Declan and Nick had spent the rest of the day cataloguing the surveillance equipment they’d brought with them. The next day, they’d started their stakeout of the house where they believed Neil was hiding while Ronan reported from Reykjavík on Leifsson's movements.
That had left Kate to hold down the house, and she’d settled in with her laptop and her cell phone, fighting exhaustion from the jet lag and trying to concentrate on the work she could do from afar. Her assistant, Tyrell, was on the case, feeding her the information she needed, and Aiden was in close contact, texting her with updates.
She was enjoying the break from her routine in spite of the circumstances. She was itching to explore, but after a stern rebuke from Declan when she’d taken a walk to the water their second day, that was pretty much out of the question when he wasn’t around.
She bristled at the memory: walking back up the hill to the house, her face tingling with cold, salt on her lips from the sea spray, only to find Declan heading down to meet her, his face a mask of fury.
It had been stupid. He’d told her not to go anywhere, but the house was so isolated she’d as
sumed a walk within sight of it was okay. Still, she’d dug in her heels when they’d argued, chafing against the confines of his rules even as the little voice in her head reminded her that she’d agreed to them.
Finally, she’d apologized and promised not to do it again. She couldn’t stand the worry in his eyes. And anyway, she’d been in the wrong.
They were still learning to navigate their often competing needs — her need to be independent, Declan’s need to play the role of protector — and she wondered if this was how the problems had started with her parents: small arguments one or the other of them conceded to make nice.
Did all that conceding, all that comprising, eat away at them, building resentment until her mother had had the affair with Neil?
Was that how it would be with Kate and Declan? An endless stream of negotiation that would eat away at their happiness? Was that how love was supposed to be? Not the heady, nothing-else-matters euphoria she’d read about in books — that she’d felt with Declan in college — but a lifetime of compromise and commitment that tested even the most fated lovers?
She was jarred from her thoughts by the ringing of her phone. She reached for it, happiness warring with worry when she saw her mom’s name on the screen. She’d learned after Griffin’s birth that it was a lifelong side effect of being a parent: she would never again be away from her son and not worry about him on some level.
And that was without the added tension between Kate and her mom.
“Hi, Mom. Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, honey. Griff just wanted to talk to you before school and since you're four hours ahead I figured you’d be up,” her mom said.
Kate put the phone on speaker and stood to stretch. “I’ve been up for hours.”
“Well, I hope you’re taking some time off too. Might as well take advantage of the change in scenery.”
Kate let her eyes travel to the horizon of the sea. Her mom knew why they’d gone to Iceland, but Kate had kept the details to a minimum. There was no way to tell her mom that she couldn’t leave the house without worrying her.
“A bit,” Kate said. “It’s so beautiful here.”
“I’ve heard that. Is it cold?”
The tension in Kate’s shoulders loosened. This was safe territory. Weather. Scenery. Anything but her mom’s affair and Beth’s paternity and the lie that had been her parents’ marriage.
“It’s getting cold. Like Boston in the fall but more gray,” Kate said.
“Is it dreary?” her mom asked.
“Not like you’d expect. More… moody.” She heard Griffin talking in the background. “Can I talk to him?”
“Of course.”
Kate waited through the sounds of the phone being shuffled from her mom to Griff, smiling as she imagined the morning scene at the house in Marblehead.
“Hi, Mommy! Guess what?”
She laughed, her son’s voice wiping away her broodiness. “Hey, kiddo! What?”
“I get to bring Herman home tonight!”
Herman was Griffin’s class pet, a turtle that did little more than shuffle around his glass tank, burrowing through the sand in his tank and occasionally taking a dip in the tiny pool of water Ms. Holt, Griffin’s teacher, kept there.
“Seriously? It’s your turn and I’m going to miss it?” Kate asked, feigning sorrow.
“I get to keep him for a week,” Griffin said. “Will you be back by then?”
Her guilt came roaring back. What was she doing in Iceland? Did she really need to be here? Or was it just another attempt to control every facet of life, even now that she had a partner willing to lighten the load? It wasn’t like Declan didn’t know what he was doing, and it wasn’t like she was doing him any good sitting in the house.
She bit her lip. “I don’t know, Griff. I’ll try but it’s hard to say.”
“I really want to show you Herman.” She imagined his pout, his mouth turned down at the corners.
“I know, honey, and I’m sorry I’m not there. But I’ll talk to Gran and see if we can FaceTime while Herman’s there. That way I can meet him and you can tell me all about him. Sound good?”
“Daddy too? I think he’ll like Herman.”
“I’m sure your dad would love to meet Herman,” Kate said.
“Awesome!”
She knew even without seeing his face that he was smiling again.
Thank god for technology.
She heard her mom’s voice in the background.
“Gran says I have to brush my teeth and get ready for school,” Griffin said.
“Well, Gran is always right so you better go,” Kate said. “I love and miss you, buddy.”
She wondered again how it was possible to want to be with her son every minute while also relishing her time alone. Did every mother feel the push and pull of motherhood and independence? Were those moms who seemed so happy baking cookies secretly wishing they could be doing something else? Or was Kate just missing something, some primal maternal instinct that would have made her a better mother?
“I love you too, Mommy. Here’s Gran.”
There was a shuffle on the other end of the phone, followed by her mom instructing Griffin to brush his teeth right and a warning that she would check.
“Hi, honey,” her mom said when she’d finished talking to Griff.
“Is he okay? Really?” Kate asked.
“He’s fine. He’s just excited about the turtle. We’ll FaceTime you tomorrow after school and you can see Herman for yourself.”
“Am I scarring him for life?” Kate asked, only half joking. It was funny how the tension that had hovered between them for the past six months disappeared when Kate needed parenting advice.
“Don’t be silly. What do you remember from being seven years old?” her mom asked.
Kate thought about it. “Stealing Mary O’Brien’s special rock and not being scared of worms.”
Her mom laughed. “I rest my case. Do what you need to do, Katie. He misses you but he’s happy and engaged. Everything is fine here.”
Kate sighed. “Okay, thanks.”
“How are things there?” her mom asked. “Any news?”
“They’re fine. No news yet, but the woman Declan thinks is keeping Neil supplied with food and stuff is due to make another trip to the house tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens then,” Kate said, skirting the details.
It was something they all did to protect each other, something Kate was getting used to: Declan skirting the details with Kate and Kate skirting them with her mom and Aiden, all of them trying to minimize the criminal exposure of everyone else.
It wasn’t sustainable, and she was suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion. She just wanted her life back, wanted Neil to pay for what he’d done, wanted to get on with her life with Declan.
That much was still true, even if she was terrified that it would all fall apart like it had with her parents.
“And… nothing on Beth?” Her mom’s voice was hesitant. She was all too aware that it was a sore spot with Kate.
“No, Mom.” Kate didn’t even try to keep the annoyance from her voice. “Nothing on Beth.”
“Don’t take a tone with me, Kate.” Oh, now she was Kate again. Katie was reserved for when she was in her mother’s favor. “Beth is my daughter, just like you’re my daughter. And she’s still your sister.”
“I know that. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I just…” Her mom’s voice trailed off.
“You just what?” Kate prompted.
“I just need to know that you’ll be careful with Beth if she turns up,” her mom said. “That Declan will be careful.”
“No one’s planning to hurt Beth.”
“I’m sure that’s true. But I know things can get out of hand when people start shooting, so I’m just asking you, Kate. Asking you to watch out for your sister.”
Kate wasn’t surprised by her mom’s reference to shooting. As far as she knew, no one had come out and expl
ained MIS’ real business to her, but Annie Walsh was no fool. She’d more than likely done her own research, uncovering the details of MIS’ brush with the Attorney General’s office and comparing them to what she knew about Declan now that he was back in their lives.
“I’m not going to be there when they go in,” Kate said. “But I’ll talk to Declan. I’ll do what I can.”
Her mother’s sigh of relief was audible over the phone line. “Thank you, Katie. And you be careful too. I know you said you’re not going to be there, but this is all feeling a lot more dangerous now.”
“It’s always been dangerous, Mom. We just didn’t know it. I think we —”
She stopped as something thunked against the door in the foyer. No one was home and she’d been looking out the window during the conversation with her mom. The Rover hadn’t pulled up outside.
Her heart hammered in her chest.
“What?”
“I have to run, Mom,” Kate said. “I’ll check in tomorrow. Give Griff a kiss and a hug for me.”
She disconnected the call before her mom could protest and then stood, listening for the sound to repeat.
When it didn’t, she crept toward the door, her phone still in her hand, the blood racing through her veins.
The door loomed in the foyer like a monster waiting to come to life. She eased toward it, her eyes on the frosted glass. Did she want to know what was on the other side?
She slowly disengaged the locks, then reached for the handle, half expecting the door to fly open. She hesitated for only a second before she pulled it open.
The stone porch was empty.
She let her eyes travel over the fields leading to the sea, combing the area for anything out of order, but it was just the long yellow grass and the rolling hills and the stretch of water that looked like a cloudy mirror from a distance.
She closed the door and leaned against it, exhaling the tension that had built up in her body. She was being ridiculous. No one knew they were here. And even if Neil did know, if by some miracle he’d been able to track their movements while remaining in hiding, what would he do about it?
Last Chance (Second Chance Book 3) Page 5