SINS of the Rex Book 2

by Emma Slate

  I breathed in a deep breath. Ever since Ramsey’s call a few hours earlier, I hadn’t been able to stop smiling and my fear for Flynn and Duncan had eased. It wouldn’t disappear completely, not until I spoke to Flynn and heard his voice.

  “I don’t want to go back inside,” Ash complained even as we turned to head back. “I felt like this was the first time I could leave the penthouse without feeling guilty.”

  I nodded. “I know what you mean. Every waking moment has been spent in limbo.”

  Ash let out a breathy sigh. “I feel hopeful, ya know?”

  “Yes,” I said with a grin. “I do know.”

  We got back to the hotel and on our way through the lobby, I talked to Simone at the front desk requesting that hot chocolate and pastries be sent up. Simone smiled and said it would be done. She also informed me that three hotel suites had been prepared for Katherine and her friends.

  Back in the penthouse, I shucked off my outer layers and removed Hawk from the body sling. I changed him and then put him in his bassinet in the bedroom for his nap. By the time I got back to the living room, the hot chocolate and pastries had arrived.

  “I love pastries in the afternoon,” Ash said, a glob of cherry jam on her lip.

  I laughed. “There’s just something so decadent about it.” I picked up a buttery croissant and pulled off a flaky corner. I put it into my mouth and moaned. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted. It might also be the only thing I can seem to keep down lately.”

  “Morning sickness is bad?” Ash asked.

  I nodded. “More than bad. Worse than with Hawk.”

  Ash made a face. “That sucks.”

  “It does,” I agreed. “But hopefully it will be over soon and then I can enjoy the beautiful aspects of my pregnancy. And when Flynn gets back, so can he.”

  Chapter 49

  Katherine and her two friends, Mary and Elizabeth, arrived early that evening. When I met them in the lobby, their eyes were as wide as saucers as they took in the opulence and wealth of The Rex. I wondered if they had ever been far from Dornoch.

  A handsome young bellman with a cart loaded up their bags. He doffed his hat and smiled. The girls tittered and blushed. I’d forgotten how young they were.

  Surprising me with a hug, Katherine wrapped me in her spindly arms. She pulled back to meet my eyes. “Thank you for giving me this chance to make things right. I won’t let you down.”

  I smiled at her. “I appreciate the sentiment, and I have complete faith in you and your friends.” The trio of girls chattered in their thick Scottish brogues as I led them the to the elevator.

  “You have your own elevator?” Mary asked. She was a cute, petite brunette with a bright smile. Her hand slid down the paneled wall of the elevator car.

  Sometimes I forgot the wealth I’d grown accustomed to. The power. It was dangerous; it lured and seduced and before you even realized it, you were in its clutches.

  “I didn’t realize New York got so much snow,” Elizabeth said, her blue eyes curious.

  “We’re close to the park,” I said. “I’ll take you guys out there. It’s beautiful.”

  “I’m surprised by all the people,” Katherine said. “Dornoch is so quiet.”

  The elevator doors opened, and the girls stepped out into the penthouse, gawking like tourists. Their excitement grew when they saw Ash holding Hawk. They crowded around my son, cooing their delight.

  My best friend handed Hawk over to me. “I’ll get everyone drinks,” Ash said.

  When everyone was settled, Katherine opened her shoulder bag and pulled out a tin and handed it to me. She smiled. “From my grannie. Her chocolate covered shortbread.”

  “Thank you. I’ll call and thank her myself.” I set the tin aside and got down to the matter at hand. “I want to thank you all for coming. I know I’m putting you in a difficult situation. I’m asking you to defy your families, to keep secrets from them, to help me discover who’s behind the coup.”

  They were silent, waiting, riveted.

  “I’m putting your lives at risk, but I can’t do this alone. Ash and I can’t do this alone. We need your help.”

  “Why us?” Mary ventured to ask.

  “Because Katherine mentioned to me that she had friends who believed in a free Scotland and hated that they were left out of the SINS merely because they’re women.”

  Elizabeth glanced at Katherine. Katherine nodded. “It’s okay. Barrett trusts us, so we should trust her.”

  “I didn’t think it was fair to ask this of you unless we were face to face,” I said.

  “Why are we in New York?” Mary frowned. “Why aren’t we in Dornoch?”

  “Ah, this is where it gets tricky,” I said. I gave them the abridged version of the last few weeks and then went on to explain what had happened to Flynn and Duncan in London and the faceless, nameless man actually behind the bombing at the Palace of Westminster.

  “Listen, you all grew up in Dornoch and have years of gatherings under you.” I looked at Mary and Elizabeth. “Your fathers were two of Malcolm Buchanan’s trusted few.”

  Mary nodded. “Aye. We had tons of people to our house over the years. I’m sure to remember a few.”

  “Me too,” Elizabeth added.

  “Then why am I here?” Katherine asked. “My family is low in the SINS hierarchy.”

  “You’re here because you proved your loyalty to me by reuniting me with my son—you’re here because of your courage.”

  After the girls ate a light supper in the penthouse, I had Brad show them to their suites. The wall of printed faces could wait until tomorrow.

  “Ten bucks says they’re jumping up and down on their beds like five-year-olds,” Ash said as she lay sprawled on the couch.

  “Nah, I bet they’ve succumbed to exhaustion,” I said from my spot in the chair.

  We were quiet a moment, each plagued by our own thoughts. “Why haven’t they called yet?” Ash asked, shattering the silence.

  “Because they’re not safe yet.”

  “Alive, but not safe.” Ash closed her eyes. “Hunted. What happens when we discover who The Pretender is? Are we going to let Flynn and Duncan handle it?”

  I frowned.

  “What are you thinking about?” Ash asked, sitting up.

  “I’m thinking Sasha was right.”

  “About what?”

  “I’m an outsider,” I said slowly. “I’ll always be an outsider. Even though my children will be Scottish and a part of the SINS, I can’t change the fact that I’ve never been born to them.”

  “Where are you going with this?” Ash demanded.

  I grinned. “I used to lament the fact that I was an outsider, but you know what? Not anymore. And do you know why?”

  “No, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

  “As an outsider, I have a different perspective. And so do you. It was our idea to bring Katherine and her friends into the fold—entrusting them with secrets. The SINS are a dominant, patriarchal rebel group, but this is the 21st century.”

  Ash grinned. “Change is gonna come.”

  “Oh, I think it’s already come. So answering you in a roundabout way: will Flynn and Duncan handle The Pretender? That will be up to the SINS. The men as well as the women.”

  Ash laughed. “I can’t wait to be there when you tell Flynn how it’s going to be.”

  I smiled. “I can’t wait to fight with him again.”

  “Come on, let’s go to bed.” Ash stood and stretched her arms over her head. “We have a busy day tomorrow.”

  Late the next morning, the girls stumbled into the penthouse bleary-eyed and hardly awake. I sent for breakfast and coffee, not at all surprised that they were listless. We were fighting an unknown enemy and jet lag. I made sure the coffee was strong. An hour later, the girls were lucid enough to begin looking at the walls.

  A yawning Ash finally emerged from her bedroom. She poured herself a cup of coffee and settled into a chair to watc
h the show. The girls spoke quickly and in thick Scottish brogues, and it was almost impossible to understand them. But they were excited and I could tell they were happy to feel useful. How long had they been overlooked simply because they were young and women?

  “Can I ask you guys a question?” I asked.

  “Sure,” Mary said, not taking her eyes off the wall, her brow furrowed.

  “Are there more of you—women that is—that would like to have a say in the SINS?”

  “Aye,” Elizabeth voiced. “My Mam, for sure.” Katherine and Mary added their two cents on the subject as well, admitting they had older cousins and aunts who wanted to be involved too.

  “What are you thinking, Barrett?” Ash asked, covering her mouth as another yawn escaped.

  I looked at her curiously, but she just shrugged. I turned my attention back to the girls. “Has the topic ever been brought up? About women joining the SINS?”

  The three of them exchanged a look and then finally Katherine shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?” Ash demanded.

  The girls exchanged another look, but it was Elizabeth who answered. “We don’t know.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “What do you mean ‘you don’t know’?”

  A flush spread across Katherine’s cheeks, and she dropped her gaze. “Sometimes things go on a certain way for so long that people don’t ever challenge them.”

  “I understand,” Ash said, nodding.

  I supposed I did too, but I found it strange how easy we were lulled into accepting the status quo.

  Mary pulled off a printed face from the wall and held it up to her friends. A large black X was marked across the face; the sign that he was deceased. The other two nodded and then Mary set the paper aside.

  “What was that?” Ash asked.

  “We’re just making sure your information is correct,” Katherine said. “John Hamish is, indeed, dead.”

  Ash groaned. “Fuck. You’re telling me the head of the FBI might have wrong information?”

  “Ash,” I hissed. I hadn’t wanted the girls to know about Don Archer and my relationship to him.

  “I heard nothing,” Mary chirped.

  “Me neither,” Elizabeth added.

  Katherine giggled and then three of them pretended to be the three monkeys that see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

  To my consternation, I laughed. There was something about being around the three of them. Their youth and giddiness reminded me of a time not so long ago—before my life had changed, before I’d met Flynn. I wouldn’t wish to go back and change anything though. Because after everything I’d lived through, was still living through, I’d found a family, a clan. I’d found my place, and I’d found love.

  Chapter 50

  It had been two days of non-stop staring at walls of faces and waiting for either Ramsey to call or for Flynn and Duncan to make contact. I had a headache and the morning sickness had lasted the entire day.

  “You sure you don’t want to come down with us?” Ash asked. “You could use a night off from all this SINS stuff.”

  “No, I just want some time and space to myself.”

  Ash nodded, biting a bright red lip. She was ready to go out even though ‘out’ was only the burlesque club in the lobby. She’d decided to take three Scottish chicks under her large, mother hen wing.

  “If you change your mind...”

  I smiled. “I’ll know where you’ll be.”

  “Should I move into my own suite?” she asked, blue eyes meeting mine.

  “Only if you want to.”

  “You sure? You’re overrun with people all the time. I can move out and—”

  “Stay,” I interrupted. “I mean that. I like having you here.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure.” She hugged me and then left.

  I breathed a sigh of relief and settled down onto the couch for a night of terrible TV and an early bedtime. Just as I began to doze the elevator doors opened. I groaned. I remembered why I’d wanted to move into a house with more privacy.

  Sasha strode into the penthouse, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, and black tie. His blond hair was combed off his forehead, his ice blue eyes bright and intelligent.

  “Hi,” I murmured. “You don’t call anymore?”

  “I did,” he said. “You didn’t answer.”

  I looked around for my phone, realizing it was on the nightstand in the bedroom. “Sorry,” I said, not bothering to move to sit up. “What’s up? Haven’t seen you for a few days.”

  “I was in Boston,” he said, going to the bar area and pouring himself a drink.

  “What’s in Boston?” I asked.

  He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “I was helping clean up a certain mess.”

  “Fuck,” I muttered, realizing I’d thrown one of Sasha’s friends under the bus. “Was it the Irish or the Sicilians?”

  “The Irish.”

  “I didn’t think you had an alliance with the Irish. And not in Boston.”

  He smiled. “I don’t tell you everything.”

  “No?” I closed my eyes and rubbed my head.

  “You feeling okay?”

  “Just a slight headache,” I admitted.

  “Did you take something?”

  “I don’t like meds.”

  “You’re in pain. Take something,” he insisted.

  I sighed. “I’m pregnant.” I ventured a glance at Sasha. His eyes were wide with shock. Yeah, I knew that feeling.

  “What? How?”

  I laughed. “The usual way. Do you want me to get you a pop up book?”

  “Holy hell,” Sasha breathed. “Does Campbell know?”

  “No. Not yet.”

  He opened and closed his mouth like a fish. “Still no word on his and Duncan’s whereabouts?”

  A lump formed in my throat. “None.”

  “But he’s still safe?”

  “As far as I know.”

  He was silent a moment. “I’m an ass.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “What happened between us—in the gym—”

  “Oh, you mean when you kissed me?”

  He shot me a look. “You kissed me back.”

  “Yes.”

  He looked shocked again. “You’re admitting it.”

  “Sasha, it was a good kiss. A great kiss—and if I wasn’t in love with Flynn, there could be something between us, but this—”

  “Needs to end.” He nodded. “I know. There’s only so long that a man can act like a pathetic dog hoping to win the woman he loves.”

  I smiled sadly. “I was never yours. Not in the way you deserved. I do love you though.”

  “And I love you,” he said softly. “But it’s time I let you go.” He stood up. “You’ll keep me posted? About Flynn and Duncan?”

  “You called him Flynn.”

  “That’s his name, isn’t it?” With one last look, he left. But I didn’t feel bereft or upset. Just lighter.

  I headed to bed, falling asleep almost instantly. I was jarred awake when my cell phone buzzed. In my haste to answer it, I knocked it to the floor. Thank goodness for carpet or Hawk might’ve woken up. I reached for the phone on the ground, nearly tumbling out of bed.

  “Hello?” I croaked, glancing at the clock. It was 3 AM.

  “Barrett?” asked a raspy, deep voice.

  “Duncan?” I was instantly awake.

  “Aye, it’s me.”

  “Oh, God. Are you okay? Are you safe?”

  “Aye,” he repeated. “We’re safe.”

  “Good, let me speak to Flynn.”

  “He can’t come to the phone right now.”

  “What?” I nearly shrieked. “Why?”

  “That’s why I’ve called, Barrett. It’s Flynn. He’s dying.”

  The town car zoomed towards the airstrip, the late night lights of the city bright against the sky. Ash sat next to me, still dressed in her ‘going out’ clothes.

  “I
have to come with you to Belfast,” she said.

  I shook my head. “We’ve been over and over this, Ash.”

  “It’s bullshit,” she hissed.

  “Ash,” I pled. “I need you to stay here. Take care of Hawk, so I can take care of Flynn.”

  We fell silent and Ash reached over to take my hand. She squeezed it and I wished it made me feel better. She didn’t give me platitudes or empty words that Flynn was a fighter. I knew he was a fighter.

  I hated leaving Hawk, especially since I’d just found him, but I was not about to jeopardize his safety. Flynn wouldn’t want me to.

  “How bad is it?” Ash asked.

  “He took a bullet to the stomach. He has sepsis.” I closed my eyes, fear swirling inside of me. I tried to have hope. I tried to believe that Flynn could come back from this, but I didn’t know if he could.

  “Why are they in Belfast?” Ash asked.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t think to ask.”

  We arrived at the airstrip and I climbed out of the car. I had a tiny suitcase with me—it had been packed and ready to go for just this sort of situation. Ash hugged me goodbye and then I was running towards the private plane.

  Eight terrified hours later, I landed in Belfast. Duncan was there to greet me. He embraced me quickly and then ushered me towards the idling town car.

  “Tell me everything,” I said when the car began to drive towards Flynn.

  Duncan sighed and rubbed a hand down his exhausted face. He’d lost weight in the last few months—after he’d survived his own gunshot.

  “We were in London,” he began. “And we were just outside Arlington’s gentleman’s club.”

  “Because Sasha’s men tipped you off.”

  Duncan nodded. “Only when we got there, Sasha’s men weren’t. By the time we realized Arlington had lured us into a trap, it was too late. One of Arlington’s men got off a few shots and Flynn took the hit. Brandon took another, but it was in the leg.”

  I frowned. “Brandon? Who’s Brandon?”

  “Flynn’s cousin on his mother’s side,” Duncan said.