“When I would take on a job by myself, I would study my target. I would get to know that person. It’s not the way it is in the Order. There, you’re given a command, you do it. No research is necessary. It’s the operative’s job to trust the research was done. The timing was right. The only goal is completing the mission.”
“Morehead has moved beyond being that operative,” I said. “She’s independently researching and testing us.”
“I think if I put myself in her place,” Mason said, “she hasn’t done all of this for small rewards. She wants a big prize.”
“What?” Patrick asked.
“Like the song says, she wants it all,” Mason replied.
“She’s not getting my city,” Sparrow said. “Supplying a few small factions and subsets of gangs won’t get her that.”
“I’m not sure she wants the city,” Mason said.
“She just doesn’t want you to have it,” I said to Sparrow.
His eyes narrowed. “Over my dead fucking body.”
My pulse raced as we all stared at one another. The answer was right before us. In reality, it was above us. “Take out the tower. Make a show of killing Sterling Sparrow and anyone he held dear.”
Mason nodded. “Fucking cartel 101.”
Sparrow’s head shook. “No, nothing above 1 is accessible. They aren’t even on the blueprints. These floors don’t exist.”
Patrick began working on his computer. “We need to be sure there isn’t something giving us away.”
“Do you mean like a beacon?”
“She could have implanted something in Nancy or the women,” Mason suggested.
“No,” Sparrow said, “she would have known the women would be thoroughly examined, x-rays, ultrasounds, whatever we could safely do. They’re clean.”
“She won’t give up as long as she is alive,” Mason said.
“Maybe one of our deliveries?” I suggested.
“They’re made by trusted capos and checked,” Patrick said.
“What could she possibly think would be allowed in our fortress to show her exactly where we are located?” Sparrow asked.
Mason’s green gaze met mine before I looked down at the necklace lying next to my keyboard. “Fuck.”
Lorna
Lifting my face to the warm spray, I soaked in the shower’s energy. Since Madeline had become occupied with Edward, I had begun setting my alarm for earlier. It was only a little after five in the morning and still, I woke to an empty bed.
The scents of bodywash, shampoo, and conditioner filled the humid shower stall as I prepared for the day. As I ran the loofah over my skin and down my torso, I noticed that the soreness was mostly gone. The bruising had disappeared and even the tenderness had improved. It was my breasts that ached.
It was as I dried myself that I thought about the time that had passed since our abduction in Montana. While in the beginning it seemed that days lasted for weeks, more recently time has accelerated. Edward would be a week old in another day. The tower was adjusting to the presence of a baby much like we’d welcomed Ruby.
Heck, as I thought about it, I took that timeline back further, as we’d welcomed Araneae, Mason and Laurel, and Madeline and Ruby. In some ways it seemed that it wasn’t that long since Mason had brought me here, and in other ways, I felt this was my one true home.
Wrapping the towel around my head, I reached for my robe as I felt a new twinge in my abdomen. I rolled my eyes at the mirror, recognizing the sign. I never suffered too much from menstrual cramps, but that didn’t mean I avoided them all together. That was probably the issue with my breasts. Hormones were a bitch.
How long had it been since my last period?
“Lorna.” Reid’s deep voice came from beyond the bathroom door as it simultaneously opened inward.
A smile came to my lips as I fastened the sash on the robe and I took him in. From his head to his toes, my man was all I ever dreamed of. Handsome beyond measure and exactly what Anna had said—a good man.
“You arrived too late. The robe is tied,” I said, hoping he’d take the bait.
His fingers splayed around my waist as he pulled me close. My breasts flattened against his chest and my hips fell perfectly lower than his. “I love you.”
Lifting my chin, I met his dark stare. “I set my alarm a bit early. I might have a few minutes to spare.”
“Sweetheart, I want more than a few minutes with you.”
With the tenor of his cadence and his strong hold, my core twisted; unlike before, this was wanton desire and I wasn’t ashamed. Pushing up to my tiptoes, I pressed my lips against his. Firm and inviting, our faces turned and our tongues found one another.
As Reid pulled away, I saw the concern in his expression. The small lines near his eyes deepened as did the furrow of his brow. “I promise you, I will ravage you and make love until neither of us can move.”
“But...not now?”
He shook his head and stepped back. With a tug of my hand, Reid led me to the bedroom. “I need to tell you something. Just know, we don’t have a lot of time. So listen very carefully.”
My heart pounded in double time. “Reid, you’re scaring me.”
His palm came gently to my cheek. “That’s exactly what I’m trying not to do. We’re all working so you won’t be scared anymore.”
My gaze narrowed. “What is happening?”
Reid tilted his head toward the bed. “Please sit for a second.”
I wrapped the robe tighter around me as I walked barefoot to our bed and sat on the edge. I didn’t say a word as for the next few minutes, Reid laid out what was supposed to happen. Although there were huge gaps in his plan, things he wasn’t telling me, I concentrated on one. “I don’t want to leave the tower, Reid, and neither will any of the other women.”
His lips formed a straight line. “Forever? Do you want to be stuck here forever?”
I stood, crossing my arms over my chest. “That’s not what I meant.”
“We’ve been compromised.”
My stomach dropped as I stumbled backward to the edge of our bed and sat. “How?”
Reid came to me, crouching, and rested his large hand on my knee. “Sweetheart, we had no way of knowing. It wasn’t until yesterday that we knew for certain. I want to believe Anna didn’t know, but it might be too late to save her.”
I stood and my head shook as I recalled our reunion. “What are you talking about? Anna isn’t the bad person here. You met with her.” Stepping around Reid, I walked to the windows and back. As I did, I pulled the towel wrap from my hair and shook out my damp tresses. “No. You may not kill Anna.”
A smile threatened his stern facade. “You’re cute when you give orders.”
“I’m not being cute, Reid. I’m serious. Gordon Maples was a piece of shit. Even Anna was relieved when she found out he was dead. Nothing says you’re a great dad like your kids rejoicing at your demise.” Dropping the towel, I slapped my robe-covered thighs. “Zella.” I shook my head. “According to Anna, she too was a psycho. So, fine, she’s dead, but not Anna. You saw her and her home. She’s happy that her daughter is taking classes, and she has two other children. She’s married to some guy named Steve and she’s happy.” My chest ached as I considered her dying because she met with me. “Please no. What about little Gordy? She would take care of him.”
“Or everything we saw and heard was a fucking act.”
“Or it was the truth.”
Reid gripped my shoulders. “The necklace she gave you is a tracker. You and I carried that necklace into our private garage, up our private elevator, into our apartment, and then I took it to 2.”
It felt as though the floor had just dropped out from beneath me as I staggered toward my husband. “Are you saying it was me? I compromised us all?”
“It was us and it wasn’t intentional.”
“Maybe Anna wasn’t involved intentionally either.”
Reid took a deep breath as his chest filled with air. “It wasn’t i
ntentional, but we have worked out how to use this to our advantage.”
“What are you saying?”
“Sparrow has it worked out. Hurry and get dressed. Don’t worry about breakfast. This change of plans is out of our norm and should be able to proceed without anyone realizing what’s happening.”
“Who is anyone?”
Reid didn’t answer. Instead, he went on, “Garrett, Romero, and Christian will take all six of you to the airport. Marianne and Keaton are waiting. Her flight plan is for Texas, down to Ruby’s place in South Padre. If our plan works as well as we hope, Marianne will be able to change the flight plan and circle back.”
“And if it doesn’t?” I asked.
“Then you will vacation in the Gulf surf while we deal with things here. The weather here is getting cold. This trip is not unusual.”
“Edward isn’t even a week old,” I said, my volume rising. “No one takes a week-old baby to a seaside vacation.”
“Technically, it’s his family’s home.”
“No. Hell no,” I said, breaking free of his grasp. “I don’t want a vacation. I went to Montana, and that didn’t work out well. I don’t want to leave you again, and I think the others will agree.”
“It’s all been worked out.”
All worked out by the men without our input.
I huffed and exhaled. “I don’t understand why we can’t stay here. Ever since I arrived in this tower, I’ve been told it’s safe. Hell, you once left me alone on lockdown for five days. I was scared to death about what was happening to you and the other men, but I never worried about me. You and Sparrow and Mason, hell, even Patrick, all of you have preached about this tower’s ability to keep us all protected.”
“All of that is true,” Reid said. “We’re going to give them a window. It’s a trap and maybe it won’t work, but we have to try, and we sure as fuck aren’t trying while any of you are here.”
“A window? What the hell is a window?”
“An opening. The people we’re fighting know we exist. And now they have confirmation that this is our castle—our stronghold. They should suspect we have everything well monitored. Our plan became accelerated because in the last twenty hours, there have been multiple systematic attempts on the power grid supplying this tower. I’ve watched and verified that the hits on the grid weren’t from the city or the power company. I believe that these people now know where we are and are going to try to disable our surveillance and infiltrate our home.”
I was trying to comprehend. “You’re going to let them?”
Reid swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “It’s a good plan, Lorna. Christian will accompany you to South Padre Island. Garrett and Romero have intricate roles to play here. We have to make this seem like a normal day. That’s why it’s imperative that you and the others leave soon.”
Reid
The mood was unusually somber as I opened our apartment door and carrying an overnight bag for Lorna, the two of us were met by everyone in the common area. Everyone wasn’t an exaggeration. It was barely six in the morning, and everyone, including Edward who was covered by a blanket and quiet in a car seat, was present.
By the expressions on all the ladies’ faces, I wasn’t the only husband who received pushback. Lorna walked away from me and stood by Araneae as Sparrow began to speak.
“Thank you.”
His unusual spoken gratitude was met with less-than-receptive murmurs.
“There isn’t much I can say that you haven’t already heard. I” —he cleared his throat— “we all understand your apprehension. Fuck, I...” He looked at Ruby and grinned. “...this plan is foolproof in the sense that you will be safe, every one of you. The house staff on the island has been made aware that guests are arriving. We reached out to our trusted Sparrows in Texas and they are sweeping the house, the ventilation, every damn inch to assure that you will be safe. If we can take care of business here in a speedy fashion, you’ll be rerouted. If not, I want you all to know you’re not in jeopardy while away.”
“What about you?”
Sparrow’s dark gaze went to the woman who asked the question, the only one who would. Instead of answering right away, he took a few steps until he was nose to nose with his wife. In front of everyone, one of his hands went to her arm while the other went to her enlarged midsection. For a second, there was no one else as they stared at each other. “We discussed this.”
“Sterling.” Her voice cracked with just his name.
His lips came to the top of her head before his head ducked, whispering something close to her ear that no one else could hear. I didn’t know what he’d said, but I watched as for a moment, her anguish turned to blush and a smile emerged.
Backing away, he reached for Araneae’s hands. “I promise you and our child” —he looked up at the entire group— “and every one of you that we will all be back here together. We will be here, we’ll be in fucking Texas, Montana, and Canada. The threat we’ve been facing is about to end. Our lives will go on.” He smiled at the car seat. “Better than before and a hell of a lot better than the shit we’ve been dealing with.”
Patrick tilted his head toward the elevator. “The cars are waiting. I’m riding to the airport with Romero, Maddie, Ruby, and Edward. Garrett and Christian will take Araneae, Lorna, and Laurel. The SUVs are reinforced for chemical as well as trajectory assault.
“We have room for one overnight bag per person.” He scanned the women. “Did everyone leave their phones in their apartments?”
They all nodded.
“When we get to the cars, you’ll all remove your shoes. Garrett has slippers and flip-flops.” He lifted his hand. “I’m sorry. We didn’t have time to get you all untraceable shoes.
“When you’re at the airport, pretend to be excited. There is no reason for our current problems to be watching, but there could be someone. If word gets out that you were seen boarding the Sparrow plane, it should appear that you are celebrating an impending vacation.”
“At six in the morning?” Ruby asked, before laying her head on her mother’s shoulder.
Patrick’s lips pursed as he nodded. “You can do it, Ruby. I’ve seen you in action.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“We’ll go down first,” Patrick said, scanning the elevator. “Then you can ride down next.”
As Madeline and Ruby entered the elevator, Patrick followed carrying the car seat.
Lorna left the ladies and came back to me. As she did, all three of them went to their husbands.
“I’m so scared,” Lorna said, her stunning emerald eyes staring up at me.
I couldn’t not reach out and hold her. As I lifted my hands to her waist, Lorna’s arms came up around my neck and I pulled her against me. A thought came to mind and grinning, I went with it. “Do you remember when we had to sneak around?”
Lorna nodded.
“I was never a rule breaker until your bad influence.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “You’re a good man, Reid, the best. I love you and I don’t want to lose you. You promised me fifty or sixty more years and I want every minute.”
“I also promised to ravage you until neither of us could move.”
Her closed-lip smile grew and her green gaze glistened. “I want that too. I want it all.”
It was what I’d said about Morehead.
“I’ll spend every minute,” I said, “of my life making sure you have it all.”
“Make sure you have lots of minutes.”
The elevator returned. Over Lorna’s head, I saw as Sparrow walked Araneae and Mason walked Laurel to the threshold.
Lorna’s small hand came to my cheek. “I have it, you know? I have it all. You have given me everything I never knew I wanted. Please let me continue to share it with you.”
I reached for her hand and walked her toward the elevator. Handing her the strap to the bag she’d packed, I let her walk away. “Lorna.” She turned back. “Fifty years.”
“I want sixty.”
The doors closed.
After the elevator had deposited all of our loved ones to the garage, it came back with nothing but shoes. It was a strange and unnerving feeling to take each woman’s shoes to their own residence. For a moment, I recalled the heels Lorna had worn the night we met. If I looked, I believed I’d find them in our closet.
My heart wouldn’t let me look. Not yet.
Mason looked up from his phone as I continued to monitor multiple fronts.
“Patrick said they’re all on board. He, Garrett, and Romero will wait until Marianne completes the checklist and the bird takes flight.”
After his announcement, Mason also went back to his computer screens. Together we were not only watching the systematic attack on the power grid, we were running backup programs we’d installed but never imagined needing. All of our information was secure from the world, but not from here. If this floor of the tower was infiltrated, someone with Morehead’s skills could quite possibly access data that was better left hidden.
Sparrow’s books at Sparrow Enterprises were spotless. Last night, the feds had announced that they would conclude their probe—the term they used. The media called it a raid—later today. That was his legitimate business. It would be another story altogether if our information that we had here was to become known, either by the feds or media or anyone. We’d begun the process sometime during the night.
Slowly, but surely, we were backing everything up to a securer new cloud and deleting the original from our files. It would be a pain in the ass to recover. Nevertheless, the risk of exposure would harm more than what would remain of the Sparrow world.
We had information on both friends and enemies of the Sparrows, a significant amount dating back to when Allister Sparrow shared the reign of this city with Rubio McFadden. There was intel on government officials, elected and appointed, local and federal, as well as judges on all levels of the courts. Name a branch of government and we had something. Move beyond that to local, county, city, and state personnel. Leave the acceptable world and enter that of the counterparts Sparrow mentioned to Walters: kingpins, dons, godfathers, cartel bosses, and mob bosses to name a few of the titles.
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