“I see.”
“Do you still work for that organization?”
“No…well, I haven’t for years. I faked my death to get away from them, but…they found me ten years later. I agreed to work with them this once because some fuck…jerk kidnapped the woman I love. She’s an op…works for the same organization.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Celeste didn’t seem the least bit surprised at her sexuality.
“This is her.” She removed the picture of Cass from her back pocket and held it up. “Her name is Cassady.”
“Very pretty.”
“Yeah.” She smiled but could also tell from the neutral look on Celeste’s face that the picture didn’t ring any bells. “She’s in a lot of danger and I have to find her soon.”
“You love her.”
“More than I love myself.”
“It is the only true way to love.”
She smiled. “Yeah, it is the only way.”
“Then you must do whatever it takes to find her.”
She got up. “I have to get going.”
“Will I see you again?” Celeste rose too and led the way to the door.
Jack followed her, still in disbelief but with a strange sense of euphoria. “I would like that.”
Celeste opened the door. “I, too. I don’t want to lose you now that I’ve found you,” she said, tears in her eyes. “Can I hold you before you go?”
She hesitated for a moment and then practically threw herself at…her mother. She held her so tight she was afraid she’d hurt her. For the first time in her life, she felt she had a past; she belonged to someone. She dug her face into Celeste’s neck and took a deep breath to savor her essence. “Did you love me? While I was with you, I mean?”
“Then and now,” Celeste murmured as she hugged her back, “more than I love myself.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Misawa Air Base, Japan
4:15 p.m.
Less than three hours after leaving Beijing, Dario’s plane touched down in northern Japan at a sprawling airfield busy with military aircraft and personnel in US Army, Navy, and Air Force uniforms. From her window, Heather could see a navy-suited airman waiting for them with a van. He conversed privately with Landis, then helped get Dario and their luggage into the vehicle and took them across the tarmac to a waiting US Air Force jet.
Heather went inside. The seats were similar to those on a commercial plane, but arranged along both sides of the interior, apparently so cargo could be transported in the large empty space between them. She took a seat toward the front, on the opposite side from Dario. It was as far from him as she could get, though the arrangement meant she’d have to face the jerk during the entire journey.
When she went to buckle in, Heather found a shoulder-belt harness instead of the standard lap belt, and though it looked straightforward, her hands were shaking so much from exhaustion and anger she couldn’t fasten it. After several unsuccessful attempts, she tossed it aside in exasperation. “Screw it,” she said out loud.
Sighing, she looked out the window at the bustling personnel and luggage trucks. Landis was talking to a senior air-force officer with a barrage of medals on his chest. When did her life get this surreal? She had never felt more lost or alone; she didn’t know what to make of this situation. She hadn’t spoken to her brother in days, and he hadn’t contacted her at the hotel number she’d given him. She wanted to call him just to hear his voice and make sure he was okay, but she would have to wait until they reached France.
What if something had happened to Adam during this disastrous trip? She’d never be able to forgive herself. How would she ever be able to deal with having left her brother just to help a couple of strangers or a friend who was dead anyway? She’d trusted Landis would keep her promise to keep her safe, but she’d failed. At this point, Heather didn’t know who had betrayed her more: Dario, the murderous organ-snatching bastard who’d had her arrested as a junkie, or Landis for using her. Either way, both were a threat to her life. The only difference was, Landis had gained and abused her trust; Landis had presented herself as a caring individual who had asked Heather to trust her. At least Dario hadn’t made any phony promises or shown anything other than lust. She could have sworn up until last night that Landis sincerely liked her, which only made the betrayal harder to accept.
The object of her musings came on board and tilted her head toward the seat next to Heather. “May I join you?”
She shrugged. “If you must.” She was in no mood to chat, however; she was far too angry, so she pulled her MP3 from her bag and plugged the buds in her ears. Not long after, once they were in the air, she felt Landis lean back and relax. When she ventured a glance that way a few minutes later, Landis had her eyes shut and appeared to be dozing.
She used the opportunity to study the mysterious woman who had turned her life upside down. Dark circles under her eyes and deep worry lines marred the usual calm confidence that she’d come to associate with Landis. For the first time since they’d met, she looked vulnerable and near collapse from exhaustion. Despite her own feelings of hurt, Heather wanted to erase the pain and pull Landis to her chest.
Soon, she drifted off as well, and when she awoke, she felt pressure on her left shoulder. Landis’s head rested there; she could feel her slow exhalations through the thin material of her blouse. She checked her watch and found she’d been asleep for an hour and a half. Though she’d tried not to disturb Landis, the other woman stirred and groggily opened her eyes.
“I’m sorry.” Landis sat up abruptly.
“Just woke up myself,” she replied.
Dario laughed. He was watching them intently.
“What’s there to laugh about?” Landis asked.
“You looked so perfect sleeping together.” His voice oozed sarcasm.
“Jealous?” Landis asked.
“Hardly. I can get another Amber whenever I please.”
“If you pay her enough.”
Dario ignored Landis’s comeback and turned his attention to Heather. He smiled at her with an inexplicably smug expression, considering his current circumstances. “Tell me, Amber, how long have you known your friend?”
“My name is Heather and it’s none of your damn business.”
“From your pouting attitude,” he said, “and unpleasant exchange with her in China before you were politely abducted and made to join us, I’d say you don’t know her much at all.”
“What business is it of yours?” she asked.
“It’s not, but I refuse to be judged about how I attain my company…sexual gratification, if you will, from someone who, in my humble opinion, is no better than I.”
“What are you getting at?” She was curious.
Landis grabbed the armrests of her seat until her knuckles turned white. “You don’t know anything about me.”
His smile grew. “I know enough to recognize someone who isn’t a stranger to the pleasures of paid sex.”
She turned to Landis. “What’s he talking about?”
“Ignore him.” Landis glared daggers at him. “He’s trying to divide and conquer.”
“From my angle, there’s nothing to divide. Our Heather doesn’t seem very happy with the predicament you’ve put her in. And correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you put her life in danger when you decided to use her?”
“Shut up,” Landis said quietly.
“Tell me, Heather…the performance you two put on for my benefit last night,” he went on. “Didn’t it seem peculiar to you how comfortable…familiar, even, your friend was with the rules and how quickly she adapted?”
“She was acting.” She didn’t know why she felt the need to defend Landis, but the thought of her having to buy sex seemed too absurd and somehow made Heather feel exposed.
“Was she?”
“Mind your own business,” Landis said aggressively.
“Some things cannot be acted.” He kept his focus on Heather. “She didn’t have
a moment of hesitation or need explanations. The way she…handled you…a true pro.”
“I did my homework,” Landis said through gritted teeth.
She didn’t understand why Landis was getting so worked up.
“If your homework includes buying sex, then you’ve been quite studious.”
“What are you trying to do?” Landis unbuckled her belt and got up, hands curled into fists.
“Tell me I’m wrong.” He smiled, clearly happy he was pushing Landis’s buttons. “No reason to be ashamed for your choices…or is there?” He rubbed his hands. “You see, I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a hypocrite. I may have to pay to fuck, but I at least have the balls to admit it. How about you? Are you so ashamed of yourself, so spineless, that you can’t admit you like to pay for pussy?”
Shocked, Heather stared at Dario. Though she now knew the true nature of his loathsome business, he had always rigidly maintained a veneer of polite decorum and control. She had never heard him use such language, and although he was outwardly calm, the hate was clear in his eyes.
Without warning, Landis crossed the plane in a blur and grabbed him by the throat.
“The truth too ugly to bear?” he managed to say while choking. “You thought fucking whores was fun until you fell for one?” He started to cough.
She tried to pull Landis away, afraid she would kill him right in front of her. “Let him go.”
Landis relented and released her grip, but she wasn’t done with him. She leaned into him with menace in her eyes, fiercely gripping his armrests. “You’re right. I pay for sex. But I have the spine to show my face and do it myself. I don’t need to hide behind glass and jerk off while some joker in reindeer underwear does it for me.”
“Reindeer underw…” Her mind clouded with Landis’s admissions. She hires call girls. And worse—there was only one way she could know what that john she had been with the other night had been wearing.
Landis let go of Dario and turned to her. It was clear from Landis’s face that she didn’t immediately realize what she’d just said; she was still enraged with Dario. But when she saw the expression on Heather’s face she put it together pretty quickly. Her rage faded, replaced by shock and regret.
“You watched me while I…” She stuttered. “You said you never…” She didn’t know where to start. “You pay for sex?” Flabbergasted by the revelations and lies, she sat back down and covered her face.
“Is there a problem?” an unfamiliar male voice asked.
She looked up. A young man in civilian clothes but with a military stance loomed over them.
Landis straightened after giving Dario a final threatening look. “We’re fine now,” she told the man, dismissing him.
When he’d returned to the cockpit, Landis sat beside her again but didn’t look at her. “I was going to tell you.”
“Which part?”
“Both, all.”
“When?”
“After we—”
She waved her hand. “You know what? I actually don’t give a damn about what you have to say because you clearly have a problem with the truth.”
“I’m sorry, I—”
“The two of you are just a different shade of evil.” She tried to keep calm, but her emotions were all over the place, and she was close to losing any trace of composure she had left. She felt so ashamed and…used. “Only difference between you is he’s a greedy, murdering bastard, and you’re a lying, ruthless one.”
She got up and walked to the rear of the plane and sat by another window, facing away. When she was sure Landis didn’t intend to follow her, she let the tears of betrayal and pain fall.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Marseille, France
10:15 p.m.
Chase dialed Jack’s number as soon as they landed and asked her to meet them at the Villa Massalia Concorde, where Reno had found two available rooms one floor apart. Three miles from the city center in a quiet, residential neighborhood, the four-star hotel offered panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea, a few blocks away, and the adjacent Borely Park. The drive getting there in the rental van was tedious and deadly quiet—Heather was still angry at the whole situation, and Dario was either pouting or scheming.
Jack was outside, her bag at her feet, when they pulled up to the curb. She pushed herself off the brick exterior when Chase emerged from behind the driver’s seat. Glancing inside, she asked, “What’s up with the tourist group?”
“I’ll explain later, but it was necessary.”
“This’ll be fun.”
“What have you been up to?” Chase asked as Heather got out the other side.
“No luck with tracking Rózsa,” Jack replied benignly. She had a calmness about her that didn’t make sense.
“Anything else?”
“Yeah. Later.”
“Is someone going to help me out?” Dario asked.
Jack glanced his way. “Looks like your carry-on is getting impatient.”
Chase removed the wheelchair from the back of the van and wheeled it over to the passenger side, while Jack helped Heather get her suitcase. “Welcome to the screwed-up world of intrigue,” Jack said to her. “How are you enjoying it so far?”
“Let’s see,” Heather replied drolly. “I’ve been lied to and misled by you and your friend, arrested because Dario planted cocaine in my bag when he found the wire, thrown in jail, and was about to become spare parts.”
“I can’t vouch for the other two,” Jack said, “but I never lied to you.”
“You said there were no cameras in the brownstone.”
“Oh. That.” Jack looked down at her feet.
“Yes,” Heather said. “That.”
Jack fidgeted and cast a reproachful look Chase’s way. “Christ, Brett, why’d you have to tell her?”
Heather didn’t even blink when Jack used Chase’s fake name because Dario was there. “Brett…didn’t tell me, she told Dario.”
“Why would you do that?” Jack asked Chase.
“Can we let it go? I’m really not in the mood for this conversation.”
“Why wouldn’t you be?” Heather asked. “It wasn’t you who was being violated.”
“If it makes any difference, she didn’t watch,” Jack said. “Neither of us did. We turned off the visual before anything happened and stayed with the audio. As a matter of fact, Brett didn’t even listen in. I did.”
Chase was helping Dario into his chair during the exchange. When she glanced at them, she saw Heather staring at Jack in surprise.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Jack told Heather. “Someone had to, and it’s not like I hadn’t heard it all before.”
Heather turned to Chase with an unreadable expression. When Chase didn’t react, she said, “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
Chase didn’t reply. She rolled Dario up on the pavement.
“Interesting question, Heather. Please, tell us, Brett.” Dario was clearly enjoying the conversation.
“Butt out,” Jack said. “Your voice bothers me.”
“And who exactly are you?” he asked.
“My name’s Bite Me and I don’t like questions.”
“Let’s check in.” Chase started to wheel Dario toward the entrance.
“You never answered the…lady,” he said.
“Another word out of you and I’m going to push you into oncoming traffic. Accidentally, of course,” Jack said.
“Your friend, or colleague, or whatever, wouldn’t be too thrilled about that since I’m a precious commodity.” Dario tried to appear unmoved, but Chase could see Jack’s threat unnerved him. She knew Jack would never hurt Dario because it was necessary to keep him alive in order to get to Cassady, but he had no idea how much Jack had riding on him. If he felt threatened enough by Jack to stay quiet and afraid, so much the better. Chase winked at Jack to encourage her.
“She’s not my friend.” Jack loomed over him with a feral grin. “As a matter of fact, I can barely tole
rate her. I’m here because I owe her a favor, but paybacks only go so far.”
“Play nice,” Chase said. “I need him alive.”
“Fine. But if he so much as looks at me, I’m going to remove his eyes.”
“That’s my job,” Dario said casually.
Jack pushed Chase aside and went for her gun. “Let me at him.”
Chase pretended to struggle with her and Dario looked worried for the first time.
“You owe me,” she told Jack as they fought. “You can’t hurt him.”
Jack stopped the fake struggle and glared daggers at Dario. “One more word and all bets are off.”
He looked terrified. Heather was trying hard not to smile.
Chase grabbed her rucksack. “Can we go now?” she asked them all.
“Yeah. I’m cool.” Jack reached for Dario’s chair to wheel him in.
“Not her,” he shouted in panic. “Don’t let her touch my chair. I’ll do it myself.”
“Then get moving.” Jack kicked his chair from behind and Dario rolled through the entrance. They followed with their luggage. Chase checked them in and, as she collected the pair of key cards, asked the receptionist to have the maids stay away from their rooms.
“I don’t want to share a room with anyone,” Dario said as they took the elevator up to their rooms. “I’ll pay for my own.”
“It’s not about money, prima donna,” Jack replied. “It’s about leaving your sorry ass alone.”
Dario looked up at Chase. “I’m not sharing with her,” he said, referencing Jack.
“Aw, too bad,” Jack replied. “I was really looking forward to bonding with you.”
“Let me stay with Heather,” Dario pleaded.
Heather wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Yeah, that’s gonna happen.”
“You’re staying with me,” Chase told Dario. “Heather, you’re with her.” She avoided using Jack’s name in front of Dario.
“Why can’t I get my own room?” Heather asked.
“I’m starting to feel unwanted,” Jack said.
“I wonder why?” Dario muttered.
“Did he just talk to me?” Jack reached for her gun again.
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