Hikers - The Collection (Complete Box Set of 5 Books)

by Lauren Algeo

  Ellen gave him a doubtful scowl. ‘How am I going to cover over the fact that she tried to strangle me?’

  ‘Panic can make people do crazy things,’ Brewer insisted. ‘You could attribute it to her being in shock. That she was trying to shake you rather than throttle you.’

  ‘I guess.’ Ellen didn’t look convinced however Brewer didn’t have anything else to offer in way of an explanation.

  ‘We’ll think about it more when I get you home safely,’ he said. ‘You should get some rest now. Daniel won’t be coming down here tonight and there are too many people around for him to pinpoint your mind.’

  He didn’t know if that was true or not but he hoped it would make her feel better.

  ‘Do you have to go back to that house?’ she asked.

  ‘The fire crews are probably still there, assessing all the damage, but I’ll need to pick up our stuff at some point,’ he replied. ‘I don’t want to leave you but Seok will be wondering where I am by now.’

  ‘You should go,’ Ellen said bravely. ‘You don’t want anyone getting suspicious about you visiting me. I’ll be fine.’

  ‘I’ll be on my phone if you need anything.’ He studied her face. ‘Even if it’s just to talk if you feel scared.’

  Brewer hated to leave her in the room alone, yet he couldn’t risk Seok asking questions. His overreaction at her wellbeing had been bad enough and he still hadn’t explained to anyone how he’d known that Ellen was in the burning bedroom with Marie.

  Brewer gave her one last kiss on the lips then closed the door gently. The hospital was eerily quiet and his footsteps echoed down the corridor. Everywhere smelt of bleach and sweat. He hoped that he was right and Daniel would keep silent for the rest of the night. His stride widened as he realised that he might be able to get the boy away from Ellen so she could recover in peace. A simple word to Connors suggesting that he and Seok took Daniel back to Chequers to get some sleep might be all it would take. Then he just had the small job of thinking up a new plan to get rid of the boy once and for all.

  Chapter 39

  ‘That’s it, I’m coming over there.’ Mitch slammed his fist down on the table. ‘That little shit can’t get away with this!’

  ‘Calm down,’ Brewer warned the man on the screen.

  ‘How can I be calm when he just tried to kill Mrs Mac?’ Mitch burst out. ‘You said everything was under control but then this happens! I’m booking a flight!’

  ‘There’s no need for that,’ Ellen cut in. ‘I’m fine, really. We don’t want you getting caught up in all this too.’

  Mitch glowered at them through the laptop screen but kept his mouth closed.

  ‘I promise, I’m ok,’ Ellen re-iterated.

  ‘Fine,’ Mitch said through gritted teeth. ‘I’ll stay put for now but if anything like that happens again, you can’t stop me from coming over. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to one of you and I wasn’t there to help.’

  Brewer swallowed down the wave of guilt he felt at Mitch’s words. He had been there only he’d been in no fit state to be much help. He should never have let his guard down around that demon child.

  It had been two days since the fire and Ellen had been recuperating at home. They’d both been given a couple of days off while Connors looked after Marie. Her burns would heal and her cough would fade but she was mentally disorientated. As they’d picked up their bags from Chequers, Connors had admitted wearily to Brewer that he was worried the knock to her head had done more than give her a concussion. He said she’d been having nightmares while unconscious and mumbling about a voice. That she hadn’t been in control of herself.

  Connors thought it was the shock talking but Brewer knew better. Marie might pretend not to remember anything about the fire when she was awake however her subconscious wouldn’t let her forget. No one else knew about the attack on Ellen, and Marie hadn’t once mentioned it. She claimed that she couldn’t even recall the other woman being there. That one minute she was running a bath and there were flames everywhere then she woke up in a hospital bed.

  Brewer had succeeded in getting Daniel away from the hospital on the night of the fire. He and Seok had travelled back to Chequers with the boy and Connors – who had to deal with the media coverage and fire damage. The fire had been contained to the upstairs although several of the bedrooms had been gutted. There would be a huge bill for the repairs and some priceless antiques had been lost.

  Someone had leaked the story to the press while they were at the hospital and Chequers had been swarming with reporters when they’d returned. Brewer and Seok had bundled Connors and Daniel into the house but Connors had given a statement shortly afterwards.

  He’d told the waiting crowd that his wife and a member of staff had been injured but they were being taken care of at a local hospital. The fire had been an accident and the fire service had been phenomenal in tackling it quickly. He’d moved back inside the house after his brief words to avoid the questions about who would be paying for the repairs to the house. Tensions were frayed enough with the country’s financial situation and taxpayers didn’t want to be told that they were footing the bill for a costly repair. They would find out soon enough that the fire had been caused by a candle and that would make things worse.

  Brewer had tried to avoid the news while he’d helped Ellen recover at home. He didn’t like to be reminded of the danger he’d put his wife in. His failure.

  ‘Ellen’s tougher than she looks.’ Brewer forced a smile at the screen. ‘She saved both our arses last time, remember?’

  ‘How could I forget?’ Mitch rolled his eyes. ‘That Master dude still gives me nightmares.’

  ‘We’ll be fine this time too,’ Ellen said. ‘The Grand is gone and the Master is gone. The other hikers were wiped out and we’ll do the same to Daniel.’

  ‘How exactly?’ Mitch asked.

  ‘We’ve been talking about a new plan a lot today,’ Brewer told him. ‘Our idea of using a field trip as a cover is still valid. Marie will be resting at home for a while and Connors will be busy deflecting the fallout from the fire so the opportunity is still there.’

  ‘We think we can get a trip arranged before the summit,’ Ellen said. ‘I think it will look strange if I suggest this week, after everything that happened at the weekend, but I think we’ll be ok for next week. It’s cutting it fine with the summit starting on the Friday but we can do it.’

  Brewer glanced at the side of his wife’s determined face. He’d been reluctant to let her put herself in danger again and they’d argued it back and forth all afternoon until he’d caved. He didn’t have any other viable ideas to replace the plan with. As far as he could tell, Daniel didn’t suspect anything about Ellen’s past or her relationship with him.

  The boy hadn’t been in her mind since the fire but Ellen had been practicing altering her top-line thoughts so that when he did, her ‘memories’ would show him that she thought Marie had panicked during the fire out of hysteria. That there had been no malicious intent in her grabbing Ellen by the throat – in all the smoke and chaos she had simply been trying to fight her way out.

  Ellen would broach the subject of a new field trip at the end of the week – potentially using the excuse of taking Daniel’s mind off the trauma of the fire. Brewer was then going to suggest that he accompany them as a security measure. Hopefully, if the rest of the team were busy with Connors’ schedule, he could go alone. He had been practising his mind blocking techniques as well, just in case Daniel wanted to see what he’d made of the fire.

  ‘I suppose it could work,’ Mitch nodded slowly. ‘I want you guys to keep me updated though. If anything happens before the trip, I’ll be on the next flight out.’

  Brewer gave a wry smile and hoped that it wouldn’t come to that. A headstrong Mitch being thrown into the mix wouldn’t help them. They needed calm and level heads – Mitch was acting on behalf of his son and unborn baby.

  ‘How’s the pregnancy going?’ he asked
to lighten the mood.

  ‘Good!’ Mitch brightened immediately. ‘She’s growing all the time!’

  ‘You think it’s a girl?’ Ellen asked.

  ‘I’ve got a feeling it is,’ Mitch nodded. ‘We find out for sure in a few weeks though.’

  ‘You’ll have to tell us as soon as you find out,’ Ellen said.

  Brewer felt that stab of panic in his heart again. He hoped by then the outcome of the trip would be positive and Daniel would be gone.

  The call went quiet for a moment and Ellen sipped some water. Her throat was still scratchy and it hurt if she inhaled too deeply. Brewer gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

  ‘Please make sure you’re careful,’ Mitch said quietly. ‘Where are you going to do this now then?’

  Brewer had been going over it in his mind all day but as soon as he’d seen his old journal sitting on top of the research papers in the dining room, he’d known. He had the perfect place.

  Chapter 40

  Ellen composed herself as best she could and walked through the iconic, black front door into 10 Downing Street. The familiar pressure of Daniel’s presence had settled in her stomach the moment she’d got in sight of the building.

  It was Wednesday morning and her first day of lessons since the fire. Connors had phoned her yesterday to check that she was well enough to come back to work and she’d told him that she was, although now she wished she’d given it another day. She felt fine physically and the swelling on her throat had gone down dramatically but she was scared.

  Facing Daniel again, after seeing first-hand what he was capable of, terrified her. The boy had nearly killed her and she had to act normal around him. Would her face or thoughts give something away? He would be keen to see memories of the fire through her eyes. She’d tried her hardest to bury the image of Marie looming over her with black eyes at the bottom of her mind and she had to pray that it would be enough.

  Marie would be there too but likely still resting in bed. Scott had told her the woman had suffered burns to her legs and a concussion from the knock to the head she’d given her. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to see Marie, it might send the unwanted memories rushing to the surface and that was dangerous with Daniel close by. Connors had told her that he would be there in the morning so with any luck, she would just have to deal with him.

  Scott was already in the building somewhere with the rest of the team. She wished she could go and find him for some moral support but that was a bad idea. His actions at the weekend had hurt her, even though she hadn’t wanted to show him how much. She understood why he wanted to escape to the bottom of a bottle but in doing so, he was shutting her out. It was selfish of him – they should be coping with this together.

  Part of her felt guilty for being so hard on him after everything he’d been through in his life. He’d lost so many people and seen so much violence. That wasn’t an excuse though – she’d had her fair share of heartbreak over the years and she wasn’t drinking herself into oblivion. Perhaps the fire on Saturday had been the wake up call he’d needed. He hadn’t touched a drop since they’d been back home and she’d seen him pour away what was left in the drinks cabinet.

  They just had to get through this last trial together and everything would be ok. They could be strong for each other.

  Ellen smiled at people as she headed for the lift up to the Connors’ flat although she didn’t really take in their faces. There were far too many people for her to remember and she wasn’t planning on coming back after next week. Imagining herself attending Daniel’s funeral made her feel better. She could fake a few tears but inside she would be screaming with joy. She fully intended to get away with murder then she and Scott could get back to living their lives.

  After their call with Mitch, they’d spent all of yesterday finessing the details of their plan. The first step was her responsibility today – she had to get Connors to agree to her taking Daniel on an educational trip. A geography trip.

  Ellen reached the door to the flat and rang the bell. It was just before 9:30am and she hoped the sound wouldn’t wake Marie. She heard footsteps approaching and smoothed down her grey jacket. Her trousers were a little loose around the waist due to the stress of the last few weeks and she’d had to put a belt on. She’d chosen a high-necked beige blouse to hide any remaining bruising on her throat and worn her hair loose just in case.

  Connors opened the door and she noticed how tired he looked. His face was strained and seemed years older than the man they’d seen on the initial TV coverage of Davenport’s death. He was impeccably dressed in a tailored navy suit but she thought he’d lost a bit of weight too. It wasn’t surprising considering the amount of pressure he was under over the state of the country’s finances. Plus the ever-looming summit, when the world’s eyes would be upon them, didn’t help either.

  ‘Hi Ellen,’ he smiled wearily. ‘Come on in.’

  ‘Hello Jack.’ She stepped past him into the flat. ‘How’s everyone doing?’

  ‘We’re getting there,’ he nodded. ‘Marie is on the mend and Daniel seems to be coping with all the trauma he’s been through lately.’ He paused and put a gentle hand on her arm as they walked. ‘How are you feeling? Are you sure you’re well enough to be here?’

  ‘I feel fine.’ She fought the urge to clear her scratchy throat. She needed him to think she was perfectly ok. ‘I’m sure Daniel is eager to take his mind off things with some school work.’

  She was positive the boy wanted no such thing. He would have his own ‘plans’ to put in to place for the summit and she was going to get in his way.

  ‘I think it might help,’ Connors agreed. ‘He’s been spending more time in his room than I’d like.’

  They stopped outside the dining room and Connors turned to leave. ‘I’ll get Daniel then send one of the girls in with some drinks. Marie is resting this morning.’

  Ellen hesitated by the door. That sounded as though he wouldn’t be coming back. ‘Wait!’ she blurted out. ‘Sorry Jack, before you go, I just wanted to ask you something.’

  ‘No problem.’ Connors had stopped with his body half-turned towards her.

  ‘It’s about the trip I was going to take Daniel on at the weekend,’ she said. ‘I know he was really looking forward to it and I imagine he was disappointed that we didn’t get to go due to, umm, circumstances.’

  Connors nodded along as she spoke. He angled himself fully to face her once he realised this was about Daniel and not some request for sick pay or compensation for the fire.

  ‘I was wondering if I’d be able to schedule another trip with him?’ Ellen asked. ‘Maybe early next week, before everything goes crazy here with the summit? His geography is an area that needs improving so I was thinking of tailoring our visit to that subject.’

  ‘That sounds like a great idea.’ Connors’ face softened considerably. ‘I think it will do him good to get out and experience things first-hand.’

  ‘It’s far more engaging than just learning from books,’ Ellen agreed. Her heart was racing and her body felt clammy under her warm clothes. ‘How about next Monday?’

  The sooner, the better for her and Scott. She wanted this to be over as fast as possible.

  ‘I’ll double check with Marie but that sounds fine with me,’ Connors said. ‘She may want to join you.’

  ‘I don’t mean to be rude,’ Ellen said quickly. ‘But I think it might be more beneficial if she doesn’t. Daniel may be distracted with his mother there and he needs to focus on this topic to get up to standard.’

  ‘I understand,’ Connors nodded. ‘His studies are important. I might just get one of the security guys to accompany you instead, just in case.’

  ‘That would be fine,’ Ellen smiled. ‘Thank you.’

  She would make sure that Scott was the man who was chosen for the job.

  Connors started to turn away again then paused. ‘Where were you thinking of taking him anyway?’

  ‘Cornwall,’ Ellen said. �
��There’s a very interesting National Trust site there and we can study erosion and tidal flow. It’s called the Carnewas and Bedruthan Steps.’

  Ellen glanced at the boy sitting beside her. Daniel was working his way down a sheet of maths questions and had been quiet for most of the lesson. Her sleepless night over facing him again appeared to have been for nothing. He’d entered her mind eagerly at the start of the lesson but hadn’t stayed for long.

  It had taken all of her self-control to remain sitting at the dining table while he’d ransacked her brain. She’d kept her body as relaxed as possible and focussed on offering up the thoughts she wanted him to see. He’d been gentle and skilfully light the previous time he’d been inside her head but this time he was sloppier. Rather than skimming over her thoughts, she felt him plucking at the memories he was eager to see. It was difficult to pretend that she couldn’t feel him digging away in there yet she managed it.

  Images of the night of the fire flashed before her eyes and she subtly added the fake scenario she’d constructed to the mix: Marie was in a physical panic and her hands were scrabbling at everything. There was thick smoke everywhere. There were no black eyes.

  One of the housekeepers had come into the dining room with a pot of tea and Ellen had used the distraction to ease Daniel away from the areas she didn’t want him to go. She showed him that everything went black after that vision of Marie, as she succumbed to the smoke, then she remembered waking up in the hallway. Nothing else.

  Daniel seemed to buy the lie and he was gone from her mind a moment later. He hadn’t been back inside in the hour since. He’d methodically worked his way through all the maths problems she’d given him and looked bored. If he wasn’t satisfied with what he’d seen then he was doing a very good job of hiding it.