The child stretched out his legs in front of him. “If I wanted to kill him, I wouldn’t have missed. We were just playing.”
She gave him a stern look before turning her attention back to Cain. “Olivia has some serious issues to deal with. Tell her our psychologist is at her disposal if she needs one. I strongly recommend it.” She glanced at the window. “He said Olivia refuses to name him, that she refers to him as Boy. Denying him an identity won’t help. I don’t know what her animosity is toward the child, but it’s not like Olivia. I’ve known her––”
She was still talking when he dragged the boy to his feet.
“What are you doing?” the woman exclaimed.
“Leaving.”
Without waiting for her reply, he stalked from the office with the boy in his grasp, not sure what to make of anything. Some children were mean, but if what the woman had said was true, this child was cruel. Maybe Godfrey’s genes were more heritable than Olivia thought.
As they approached the car, the child’s demeanor changed. His shoulders stooped and his expression turned vulnerable. If he could, he would’ve folded into himself like a frightened animal. Deactivating the locks, Cain shoved him into the back and slammed the door before getting into the driver’s side.
Olivia turned in her seat to take the child’s hand. “Are you all right, honey?”
He drew away, sniffling.
“What happened?” she asked, concern etched on her face.
Cain started the engine and steered them into the traffic. “He tried to kill a cat and attacked another boy.”
“What?” Olivia gave the child a pained look. “Is this true?”
“I was only playing.” The boy’s voice broke on a sob. “I didn’t mean anyone harm.”
“There.” Olivia patted his hand. “I’m sure it was a misunderstanding. We’ll sort it out with my friends. Don’t worry.”
Olivia didn’t see the victorious look the child gave Cain in the rearview mirror, because she’d already turned in her seat, facing the front again.
“Where are we going?” the boy asked.
Olivia looked at Cain. “Everything is going to be all right, honey. We’ll be home before you know it.”
“Olivia…” Cain hesitated. How did he say what was in his heart? That he’d miss her? That he wished they’d met in a different life? He cursed the words that still evaded him as the hourglass ran empty.
“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” she said. “I know how it works. If we’re not trading cards, we’re collateral damage.”
What was there to say to that? He wasn’t going to insult her intelligence with denial.
A few miles from the base, he dialed Josselin.
“I’m close,” he said when the leader picked up. “Olivia has an implanted tracker. Instruct Eve and Sean to meet me at the boat and make sure no one follows Eve from the safe house. Tell Eve about the tracker. She’ll know what to bring.”
Olivia tensed next to him, but she avoided looking at him.
“Fuck,” Josselin said. “She came here. She led Godfrey right to our door.”
“I’m not sure. He might not have traced all her movements, but I’m not taking chances. Be ready for an attack, just in case.”
“Do you have his child?”
“Yes,” he said tightly.
“Good. I’ll tell Eve to be there. Hurry, Cain. Clelia isn’t coping well.”
The concern and anxiety were thick in Josselin’s voice. Cain could appreciate that. He knew how a man felt when his child was threatened.
Speaking of which… “Are Alice and Clara all right?”
“I briefed Ivan. For now, their location is safe. Still, we’ve put extra measures in place. Maya has put more diverters around the area and Lann installed a shitload of heat and motion sensors. If anyone comes within ten miles of the building, we’ll know about it.”
“Good job. Keep it together, Josselin. I promise I won’t fail you. We’ll get them back.”
He hung up as they entered the beach sector.
“Godfrey will know if you tamper with the tracker,” Olivia said.
“Don’t worry your pretty head over that.”
She didn’t reply. She knew she was a pawn. It was a notion that had to hurt. To ease the blow, he cupped her knee, letting his thumb play over the soft skin on the side, but she dealt him an even harder blow by pulling away.
At the jetty, he parked in his reserved spot. Sean was already waiting at the top of the pier, dressed in swimming trunks and an island style shirt. He looked like every other tourist who went for a stroll. Only his tight face gave away his stress.
“Eve’s at the boat,” he said, scanning their surroundings when Cain approached with Olivia and the child.
“Good.”
Cain ushered the two people toward the getaway boat they kept for emergencies. It was a small enough vessel not to attract attention, but big enough to sleep four people. He dragged his eyes over Olivia, making sure the jacket covered her ass.
From far away, the sounds of the raging carnival were distant echoes that belonged to a different life. Pulling himself from the vivid memory of claiming his enemy’s wife in those sinful streets, he did the same as Sean, giving the area a thorough once-over. They weren’t being watched. He trusted Maya to work her magic and keep them invisible from prying satellites.
“Keep an eye on the boy,” he said to Sean, leaving the child in Sean’s capable hands and steering Olivia below deck.
The boat was the safest place for now. They could get away quickly if needed, and with Lann’s ability to manipulate the weather from any distance, he could call up a storm to sink a battle ship should they be followed. Besides, with Godfrey in Chile, he doubted anyone was going to chase them soon. They had time, if it was the only thing they had besides for Olivia and the nameless child. His gut clenched at the thought of losing her. He gripped her hips tighter than what he’d intended when he helped her down the steep steps and through the doorway of the cabin.
Eve stood in the narrow passage between two beds, strain marking her mouth.
“This is Olivia,” Cain said. “Olivia, meet Eve. She’s a very capable doctor. You have nothing to fear.”
“Cain.” Olivia turned to him with a plea that was almost his undoing.
“Do it,” he said to Eve, unable to look at Olivia for fear of changing his mind.
Eve, as efficient as always, didn’t falter. She lifted a hypodermic needle from a case on the table that separated the beds. For good measure, Cain wrapped his arms around Olivia, trapping her as much as providing comfort. The needle sunk deep into her neck, inviting a small hiss from those delectable, lush lips. He could see the fear in her eyes as she acknowledged her helplessness when the darkness started to take her.
“I’ll take care of you,” he whispered, “I promise.”
Her body turned slack in his arms. Carefully, he lowered her onto the bed Eve had covered with a plastic sheet, first removing the jacket and then turning her onto her stomach.
“Hurry,” he said to Eve. “It’s just above the stitch mark under her hairline.”
“I see it.”
She made quick work of shaving a small patch of hair and disinfecting the area before using a scalpel to make an incision. A red trickle of blood ran around Olivia’s neck onto the sheet. It reminded him of her vulnerability, that despite being a strong woman she was only human.
He watched as Eve extracted an object the size of a rice kernel and rinsed it in a bowl of disinfectant before placing it on the special device.
“Take care of her,” Cain said. “I’ll sort this out.”
While Eve stitched up the wound, he tested the tracker. As far as Godfrey was concerned, the instrument functioned undisturbed. The device Cain had inserted the tracker into simulated a human body’s temperature and transmitted a pulse that was connected to Olivia’s heartbeat. If she got anxious, the pulse would speed up, telling Godfrey the device was still in her
body.
“All done,” Eve said, applying a sterile gauze and band-aid to the wound. “I’ve given her a light dose. She should be awake in ten to twenty minutes.”
“Thanks. Sean will see you back to the safe house and make sure you’re not followed.”
“I’m not going to say good luck.”
“Please don’t.” He lifted a limp Olivia carefully. “Keep an eye on Clara and Ivan. If anything new turns up, tell Josselin. He’ll know best what to do.”
She tilted her head. “You’re not saying goodbye, are you?”
“Not goodbye. Always until later.” He left with a wink.
Cain carried Olivia to the car while Sean took charge of the boy. With Olivia and the child safely locked inside, Cain made his way to the base.
Josselin was waiting at the garage door when he parked. “You better go around the back. Lann is ready to tear off the head of anyone related to Godfrey.”
“Take the boy,” he instructed, “and lock him up somewhere safe. Make sure he has something to eat and drink.”
“Come on.” Josselin held out a hand.
The boy shrunk back. “Are you going to kill me?”
“No,” Josselin said. “We don’t hurt children.”
The child visibly relaxed. He accepted Josselin’s hand and allowed himself to be led to a back room.
Cain hurried to his own room. After making Olivia comfortable on his bed on her side to keep the pressure off her wound, he tied her hands and feet to the bedposts in case she got it into her mind to flee, and pushed an extra pillow under her head for support. He drew a sheet over her half-naked body and stared down at her for another second before he left, locking the door behind him.
He found the team waiting around the meeting table, their faces pale and drawn. From the puffiness of Clelia’s eyes, she’d been crying.
“Status?” Cain asked as he took his place at the head of the table.
“The bastard is waiting for your call,” Josselin said.
Seven faces stared from the circle, their hopes and fears fixed on him. Lann, Maya, Sara, Sky, Sean, Clelia, and Josselin––the people he’d gathered like a herd, more often than not manipulated into finding their mates. They now looked at their commander, expecting him to act like a leader and a man, saving those mates and the children they’d born with love, blood, and tears. Only Ivan was absent, having claimed his rightful place with Alice.
His hand was steady as he activated the feed, an invisible cord that would connect him to his enemy. The moment he’d been waiting for more than seven years arrived as he finally stood face to face with Godfrey Reid, albeit not under the circumstances he would’ve preferred. The face looking back at him from the hologram had a cunning reality to it. He took in every detail, from the copper-colored glow of his hair to the arrogant set of his jaw. Admittedly, he would’ve preferred the momentous event to have been in person, but as long as Godfrey held the higher card, Godfrey called the shots.
“Jones,” Godfrey drawled. “How nice of you to call. I see your team has joined you, minus Mr. Kray.”
Cain pushed his nails into his palms to refrain from losing his cool. “We want to see the adults and children.”
“Of course you do.” Godfrey smiled. “Come here, little one.”
The team held their breath like one man. Their tension was palpable. Little Thomas appeared in the hologram. His eyes were dry and his small face brave as he looked straight at them.
Lann charged Godfrey’s image with a cry of fury. Josselin scrambled to his feet, securing Lann’s arms and dragging him back to his chair.
“Don’t,” Josselin hissed. “That’s what he wants.”
Lann wasn’t to be calmed. He fought anew. It took both Josselin and Sean to hold him down.
“Lann,” Cain said in a stern voice, “calm down.”
“I want to see my wife,” Lann spat at Godfrey. “You bring her to me, right now. If you touched any one of our families, I will tear you apart, I swear to all the gods looking down on us.”
Godfrey chuckled. “Be patient. You’ll have to wait your turn, won’t you?” He sent Thomas away with a pat on the head and called for the next one.
Clelia barely suppressed a sob when Laudren walked into the hologram.
“Hello, Mommy,” Laudren said, his voice portraying the fear the older Thomas hadn’t shown.
Grabbing Josselin’s hand, Clelia gave their son a bright smile that didn’t reflect how hard her fingers shook.
“Next,” Godfrey called.
Josselin pressed a fist to his mouth. Hatred flared in his silver eyes as he stared at Godfrey, but as soon as Laudren’s face had disappeared the hatred was replaced with despair.
One by one, Godfrey marched the children past the camera––Zola, Deon, Khwezi, and Niels. When the children’s parade was finished, Godfrey brought Wayne and Bono forward.
“I’m sorry,” Bono said with a shake of his head. “There was nothing we could do. He threatened the children.”
Lastly, he brought the women onto his stage. Katherine and Asia entered together, stripped to their underwear and their hands tied behind their backs.
A roar tore from Lann’s chest. “If you touched her…”
“I have history with your wife,” Godfrey said. “It’s because of her that Adam is dead. Oh, and I believe your son belongs to me.”
Lann attacked again, gripping the air and swinging his fists at nothing. This time, they let him be. Each one was too caught up in his own suffering to placate Lann.
“Didn’t you promise me Thomas in exchange for the serum that saved Kat’s life?”
“I’ll kill you,” Lann said through clenched teeth.
“Aye, you’re going to die,” Sean said, never taking his eyes off his wife who stood shivering next to Katherine. “I fucking promise you that.”
Godfrey sneered. “Luck must be favoring me to leave me the two women I have a score to settle with. Yes, I believe it’s because of your Asia that my Nicolas is dead.”
Holding up a hand, Cain silenced his team. “This is old news, Godfrey. Stop going around in circles and tell me what you want.”
“What a fool you have been.” Godfrey snickered. “I have you right where I want you. Sending you on a wild goose chase to Brazil was part of the plan. All I had to do was let word that I’d be visiting my pretty wife slip to the talented little Sky, and away you flew like I knew you would. It left your base in Chile unprotected, mine for the snatching.”
“Spit it out, Godfrey. My patience is running thin.”
Godfrey leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “Where are my wife and clone?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“I see.” He grinned. “I’ve got something of yours and you’ve got something of mine.” He steeped his fingers together. “No matter, I know exactly how to find my wife. Well, here’s the deal. I’ll give you back your pack of half-breeds if you give me back my lawfully wedded wife and clone. Or…” He paused dramatically. “I let the lot go, mine and yours, and you give yourself up to me, Cain Jones.”
Chapter 14
A chorus of gasps sounded around the table. Unlike Olivia, Godfrey wasn’t a closed book. Before Cain gave his answer, he already knew his fate.
“Fine,” Cain said.
“What was that?” Godfrey leaned an elbow on his knee, tilting his head. “I’m not sure I heard.”
Cain spoke with an unfaltering voice. “Yes.”
Godfrey smiled, his expression self-satisfied. “You’ll arrive in Johannesburg in exactly twenty-four hours at an address I’ll provide.”
An outraged cry reached his ears, but he tuned out his team members. “I’ll be there, but we want the hostages released before.”
“I’ll let them go if you show up at the given address.”
Cain glanced at Josselin. “Someone will be in Santiago to take charge of my team’s families. If they’ve been harmed in any way––”
“Save your threats,” G
odfrey interjected. “It’s not them I’m interested in.”
“I’ll wait for your instructions.”
“You do that.” Godfrey saluted and then the hologram disappeared.
A shocked silence followed.
Josselin was the first to find his voice. “He’s going to kill you, Cain.”
“Yes.” Perhaps, it had always been written in the stars. “I know that.”
The team leader pushed to his feet. “I can’t allow you to sacrifice yourself.”
Cain placed a hand on Josselin’s shoulder. A memory of finding him in a dirty street in New York, lost and tormented, invaded his mind. He’d taken him in and given him a new purpose in life, but Josselin hadn’t been saved until he’d found Clelia. Without his wife and son, Josselin would be as dead as he’d been when his demons had been chasing him.
Cain looked around the table. “Your first duty is to your family. Everything else comes second. Maya, you stay here with Ivan and Alice.” She opened her mouth, no doubt to argue, but he stilled her with a raised palm. “You’re not going into a dangerous situation in your condition.” He addressed Josselin. “I don’t trust Godfrey. I’ll be where he wants me, but I won’t give him what he wants until everyone is safely with you. That’s all. Go now.”
“And leave you unprotected?” Sean asked.
“Where I’m going I don’t need protection.” He turned to Lann. “Can you fly a jet?” The helijet was in Santiago and their pilot held hostage.
Lann nodded tightly.
“Make preparations. Maya, get any intel you can on how many guards Godfrey has with him. Hack into every satellite you can. I’ll do my best to let the handover go peacefully, but be ready for a war. Use every one of your arts if you must.”
Clelia gave him a sorrowful look. “There must be another way.”
“No matter what happens, save your families and take out Godfrey.”
“Without you?” Sara asked in a thin voice.
Man (Seven Forbidden Arts Book 9) Page 20