by Maddie Wade
She pulled out of his arms, and he let her.
“Don’t do this baby,” he said as he looked at her sadly. She saw the disappointment in his eyes and steeled herself against it.
He was so handsome standing in her kitchen in his faded jeans, slate grey tee, and black Under Armour jacket. She loved him so much, but she just couldn’t tell him. He’d hate her, and she just couldn’t live with him looking at her with disappointment.
She smiled her big smile that she used to hide her pain and lied to him. “I’m not doing anything, we just need to leave, or we’ll be late,” she grabbed her coffee from behind him and handed him his. He took it and said nothing and followed her out but grasped her arm before she went through the door.
“I’ll let you have that because I know this is hard for you and I don’t want to make it worse. But I see you Lucy, the real you. I always have. So don’t treat me like I’m some stupid numpty. I see your fear and your pain. I love you, nothing and I mean nothing will change that. So, when this is all settled, you will tell me and let me share your fears and pain just like I will share mine.” He looked her unflinchingly in the eye, “Okay?” he demanded more than asked.
“Fine,” she said snottily and crossed her arms, knowing she was acting like a five-year-old having a tantrum.
“Good now kiss me,” he demanded, and a tiny smile lit his face at her furious look.
“Fine, I’ll kiss you, I don’t mind being whipped,” he said and bent his head and kissed the frown right off her face.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jace had a heavy feeling in his heart. He had so wanted Lucy to open up about what she felt. Deep down he’d known not to push it. She was so vulnerable right now and holding it together like a champion.
He hated that she felt like she did, he just wanted to tell her that it was nonsense and that losing Megan wasn’t her fault and neither was her mum’s death. But he couldn’t do that without her finding out how he knew. He needed for her to tell him because she trusted him not because he had eavesdropped on her dreams.
It was early days though, and maybe when they had Lizzie and Megan back, it would be easier for her. He wasn’t going anywhere; he was in this to the end of time. She was it for him.
His mind turned to Megan, and he hoped and prayed that she and Lizzie were together. Lizzie came across as gentle and regal, but he knew she had a core of strength running through her like his Luce. Although Megan had that same spirit in her, it was buried behind years of conditioning to do as she was told. Liz would help her and in turn be comforted by her sister. Lizzie was a natural born nurturer like his Luce and having to look after Megan would bring out the Lioness in her.
Nate had driven them both to HMP Bondfield on the outskirts of Bristol. The category A women’s prison was fucking grim, and he made sure to shore up his mental shields. The last thing he wanted to do was get into the minds of any of the women there accidentally.
He was hoping and praying he wouldn’t have to go into Felicity’s mind, but he’d do it. Zin had had some luck with the ‘hair grabber’. He’d confirmed that the Olympics were a target, but he’d laughed as he told them it was too late.
Jack had confirmed with Zack that there had been reports of extremely high numbers of people reporting to hospitals in Europe and the States suffering from strange symptoms. Including sudden onset abilities like seeing the future, hearing thoughts, and even some saying they could talk to the dead like Reg. They all had one thing in common, which was that they were all suffering from Stevens-Johnson syndrome caused by a new vitamin.
Nate parked, and they both got out leaving their weapons locked in the boot, they walked to the gate and were buzzed through the scanner.
“So how do you want to play this?” Nate asked as they went to the bulletproof glass window and showed their ID’s and visiting order.
“You ask the questions, and I’ll see what I can find through her thoughts,” he said.
“You sure?” Nate questioned and looked at Jace.
Jace nodded and dug his hands into his pockets. “Yep. I’ll do whatever it takes to stop this.”
Nate nodded. “Okay, well anytime you want out, just say the word,” Nate answered. “You know I totally get that you will do what it takes. Honestly, what we went through with Noah tore Skye up, and although he isn’t mine, it broke my heart to see him suffer. The fact that you might have a woman carrying your child and the love of your life is her sister, is some fucking hard shit, top that off with what’s happened to Lizzie and Smithy,” Nate shook his head, “Don’t know how you’re still standing man.” Nate slapped him on the shoulder, and Jace laughed.
“SAS don’t give up man. We ain't no pansy ass Paratroopers,” he joked.
“Do not go there,” Nate laughed and punched his arm, “anyway Lucy could kick both our asses with her hands tied behind her back from what I hear.”
Jace followed Nate as he walked through to the interview room that had been set up, “Yeah, she could,” he said and smiled.
“You got it, bad amigo,” Nate smiled.
“Yes, I fucking have,” Jace laughed
“Love that girl like a sister man, and since you’ve been together, the shadows have left her eyes. I know she thinks we don’t see but we do. Since you they’re gone. Pleased for you, she is the dog’s bollocks man,”
Jace barked out a laugh, “I won’t tell her you said that,”
Nate blanched, “God no, don’t, I like my face like it is thanks.”
They both sat down to wait for Felicity to be brought in.
~~~
Dane walked out of the hospital with the scan picture clutched in his hand. He wanted to feel the overwhelming joy that he knew he should feel. But all he felt was paralysing fear. How could he protect his babies if he couldn’t keep his sister safe?
He’d already failed Lauren once, and now he had failed Lizzie. Not to mention the fact that he’d had no clue his baby sister was a fucking assassin. Yes, an awesome one but still, she had put herself in danger every day, and he hadn’t had a clue.
He felt like he was in a fog, he knew he was making the right noises and doing the right things, but he felt like he was drowning. He steered Lauren into the car, crossed to the driver’s side, and got in.
He watched the woman he loved fasten her seatbelt over her growing bump being careful to move the seat belt so that it didn’t pull across her precious babies. They were safe in there, being nurtured by their mother.
That gave him fifteen weeks or so to get this threat dealt with. Then his son and daughter would be with them, and he wouldn’t fail them. If he had to wrap them up in cotton wool and patrol his house like fucking Fort Knox then so be it. Nothing and nobody would hurt his family again. He looked at the scan picture in his hand and felt Lauren’s gaze on him.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” she said, and he smiled. They looked like grey jelly beans with arms and legs. He nodded anyway though.
“Yes, they are, just like their mother,” he cupped her face with his hand and kissed her gently. “I love you, you know, that, right?” he asked. He wanted her to know how much he loved her.
“Of course I do,”
“Okay,” he started the car and drove Lauren to her dads where she would spend the rest of the day while he worked. There was a three-man team watching his dad’s house, and he knew them all. They were good men, but he had decided to remote access the computers at Fortis and work from his dad's study. That way he could look for Lizzie and take care of his family.
He felt the heat of Laurens gaze again and turned to find her frowning. She instantly smiled, and he thought maybe he’d imagined it. He didn’t want her knowing he was feeling anything other than joy. She just needed to look after herself and stay calm.
~~~
Felicity Lockwood shuffled into the room like the old woman she was. Jace was shocked at the state of her. Without her expensive clothes and her jewels, she looked old and haggard. She still had an
impervious look on her face though. How did someone get that way?
She sat in the chair opposite him and Nate, and he watched her stiffen her spine. Nate would lead the questioning, and he would get inside her head.
Jace watched as the woman who had ruled her family with an iron fist looked down her imperial nose at him and Nate. It was laughable really, the woman had come from nothing. He could admire someone who pulled themselves up from the bottom through hard work and dogged determination, but Felicity had lied and schemed and hurt anyone and everyone to get what she wanted.
The woman was a bottom feeder in a designer suit. Her eyes shot to him, and he saw hatred there. He had tricked her, and she wouldn’t take that lightly. He took a mental breath and opened his neural pathways.
In a flash, his mind was filled with hate and bitterness. He tried to filter it, but it was a relentless barrage of viciousness. He signalled Nate to get started. He needed out of here as soon as he could.
Nate took the hint and addressed her. “Felicity, thank you for agreeing to see us,” Nate said, and Jace felt like applauding him. Nate had more reason than most to hate this evil witch. Felicity snorted and crossed her thin bird legs as she leant back in her chair.
“I wasn’t really given much of a choice was I. I’m not sure what you want from me. I told those last ghastly men everything I knew.” Jace could hear everything she wasn’t saying. Namely that she had told them enough to make them think she had spilt all her secrets.
He shook his head imperceptibly at Nate. Nate sat forward and laid his arms on the table, “Come on Felicity we both know that’s not true. Felicity moved back just a fraction, but it was enough for them to know she was scared.
“Has someone threatened you?” Nate asked, and Jace watched her pupils contract. They were on the right track.
“No of course not,” she denied hotly. As if I would be stupid enough to tell you lowlife scum. Jace caught the thought.
Nate switched tactics, “So are you saying you weren’t high enough in the Divine Watchers to be told anything of any significance.” Nate asked. Her eyes went as cold as polar bears nutsack. She clenched her bony hands in her lap and her head tilted as she remained mute, or so she thought.
Of course, I was, you imbecilic marrons, which is why I will never betray them. Plus Rhea will have me killed if I do. Such a sweet girl she’d been. I made her, she was mine, and one day she will rule this godforsaken world and then she will look to me like she always did.
She came to me starving and so young, but when she left, she was a deadly seductress, who would become the most powerful one in the world. She would make sure these idiots were all dealt with then she would take back her home and her empire. Shame this one was the Prime Fecund she would like to see him dead first for his betrayal.
Jace had heard enough. All the vile hate was giving him a headache. He stood abruptly, and Nate looked up at him, “We done?” Jace nodded his head and smiled at a confused Felicity.
“We got what we need,” he said and turned to Felicity with a cold sneer. “I’ll be sure to tell Rhea you were a big help,” he watched her face pale, and he thought the old crone was going to stroke out. Her hands clutched the table as she spluttered, “But, but I, I didn’t tell you anything,” she said in a desperate voice.
Jace tapped his head with his finger, “No not out loud, but your thoughts a very vocal,” he and Nate walked towards the door as Felicity started shrieking behind them.
“NO, you can’t, I didn’t do anything,” she screamed, and her voice was a mix of petrified and desperate. Jace watched as the woman was hustled away by two prison guards. He could hear her squawking all the way down the corridor.
He waited until they were in the car before he shared with Nate. “It looks like the leader of the Divine watchers is a woman called Rhea. She was thinking about how this Rhea would be the most powerful woman in the world and that she had made her into a deadly seductress. It seems like they knew each other from a very long time ago. My guess they were both working girls together”.
He and Nate tossed around a few ideas, and then he rang Zack and reported in. Zack was pleased and said he would get Will and Drew on it straight away. He also said Dane was working from home. The tone of Zack’s voice indicated he wasn’t happy, but that was between him and Dane.
He personally could see why Dane wanted to be close to home today. He would phone Luce next and check everything was okay with Lauren and the babies. Plus he wanted to know where her head was at after this morning.
He dialled her number and let it ring and after it went to voicemail, he left a message for her to call him when she got a minute. He and Nate talked through several scenarios, but everything kept going around in circles.
Eventually the conversation came to Ambrose, “Are you going to the funeral?” Jace asked.
Nate flicked his eyes to him and nodded his head once, “Yes, Skye is insistent, she says without him Noah would probably be dead, and I’m inclined to agree. He made the ultimate sacrifice for us. Paying our respects is the least we can do.”
Jace nodded to himself, “Luce and I are going. I knew him through Jack, and I know Luce liked him,” he shook his head, “so fucking senseless.”
They were both quiet for the rest of the drive. They arrived back mid-afternoon, and both went to get on with their own thing. Jace called his mum and asked her if she still had the family tree his sister had made for her year 11 History course work.
As he knew she would, his mum said she had. He arranged to pick it up later in the day and hung up. He started pulling together everything he knew about his family history and put it into a spreadsheet. It would make it easier for him to cross-reference anything Dane had.
Luce called while he worked and shared the news that she was going to be an aunt to a niece and a nephew. She sounded subdued, and he knew she was thinking of Liz. He shared what he had found out and that buoyed her up. They agreed to meet at her place again, and he hung up feeling more relaxed than before. The invisible anchor weighing him down had lifted. He hadn’t even been aware it was there until he’d heard her voice.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Zack parked his Range Rover on Cathedral Close and stepped out of the vehicle. He’d spent the entire drive over there trying not to stare at the creamy skin of Ava’s thighs. The tight pencil skirts she had taken to wearing were as sexy as fuck.
Every beautiful curve was accentuated and moulded so that in the end he’d had to clamp his hands onto the steering wheel to keep from reaching for her. Her scent was the one she had always worn, clean and fresh, yet sexy and alluring. It made him think of summer days by the beach.
God, he was behaving like a total knobber. When did he get all flowery for fuck's sake! For all, he knew she was in a serious relationship and here he was mooning like a lovesick twat.
She’d been polite but nervous on the way over, and obviously didn’t like the enclosed space any more than he did, although he’d bet her reason wasn’t because she had blue balls. He walked beside her and noticed she kept re-arranging her bag on her shoulder.
She’d insisted on bringing her camera so that she could take photos of any of the books that were useful. He reached forward and gently took the camera bag from her. She hesitated at first but then offered a tentative smile and let him take it.
He felt himself smile back and felt ridiculously pleased that she had granted him that one simple thing. He walked to the entrance and stopped to imagine how she must be seeing this. Tipping his head, he regarded her, and the look of sheer amazement and awe nearly knocked him off his feet.
He’d seen the Cathedral countless times and looking at it now he was still stunned by its ancient brilliance. The tall lancet windows, the stained glass depicting Christ on the cross. The nave with its Norman columns and arches, as well as the Tomb of Sir Richard Pembridge, Knight of the Garter and of course the one closest to his heart was the SAS memorial that was being built. The artwork sculptur
e and stained glass window were due for completion this spring.
He pulled his eyes from the artwork and looked at Ava. She looked like she didn’t know where to look first. He was pleased that it was him that got to bring her here and see the joy and wonder on her face. This is how she’d been before he’d been a dick to her. Quick to smile and express her joy. He wanted that from her again he realised, although she could keep the pencil skirts and sexy suits.
He shook hands with Julian Danton, the Director of Operations at the Cathedral.
“Julian, thank you for taking the time out to show Ava around,” he turned to Ava. “Ava this is Julian Danton an old friend of mine.”
He watched Ava offer her small hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, and Zack saw Julian beam under her smile.
“Any friend of Zack’s is a friend of mine,” he smiled.
“Please follow me and I will show you the Chained Library and if you have time the Mappa Mundi.” Julian walked off at a quick pace, and he and Ava chatted like old friends, with heads bent, intent on the topic at hand. If he’d been less of a man he’d have felt left out but he knew that Ava was enjoying herself so was content to let them do their thing.
They soon reached the Chained Library, and he was standing behind Ava when she took in a shaky breath. “It’s magnificent,” she breathed. Zack agreed, but he feared they were talking about very different things.
“It is, isn’t it!” Julian said, and Zack marvelled at the awe in his voice. He must have seen this room hundreds of times, and yet he still felt the timeless magic when he walked in.
“Think of all the stories these books hold, not just on the pages but the very fibre of the parchment,” Ava whispered and looked at him in wonder. It was at that moment that he knew he was in trouble if he didn’t get away from her, but he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t walk away from her again.