by Helen Brenna
“Right. Coben’s got your passports, tickets to Rome, Kate’s pack of pottery supplies and my files with the documentation on the statues. When you get to the airport, he’ll give you everything you need and then make sure you get on the plane to Italy. When you arrive in Rome, I expect you to check in with me. Both you and Kate,” March said, stressing the last.
“Let me talk to Jenny,” Riley said. “Please.”
A short moment of silence hung on the line before Jenny came on. “James?”
“Jenny, I’m sorry.”
“You did what you had to do. Ally’s safe.”
“I’m going to get you out—”
“Meet me in Istanbul.” March was back on the line. “Next Saturday by midnight with all five statues and Jenny will be fine. I’ll call you later with the details, but know this. For every hour you’re late in Turkey, your sister-in-law will suffer the consequences.”
“When this is over,” Riley said, “I will be coming after you.”
“Save it,” March said. “You have six days left, and your clock is ticking. Istanbul. One week. You try and screw me in any way, my deal is off and your sister-in-law is dead.”
A heavy silence filled the air inside the van as March disconnected the call. The sky was only beginning to brighten as sunrise approached.
“I heard everything,” Kate said. “What do you want me to do?”
Riley’s thoughts raced, considering alternatives. He had none. “Head to the airport. For now I have to follow March’s orders.”
“You can’t leave Jenny!” Ally screamed through tears. “You have to go back for her!”
“Ally, don’t.” He glanced back into her face, his heart breaking for the pain and accusation in her eyes. “I don’t have a choice.”
“I hate you,” she whispered. “Even more than before.”
It was all he could do not to hop into the back and hold her. She might be thirteen and think she knew every little thing there was to know, but Ally was still a kid, and kids needed to know they were safe. And loved. That’s why he’d left her with Jenny in the first place. Not to mention the fact that having a baby in the house was exactly what Jenny had needed after her sister had died. “Ally—”
“Don’t!” Ally made a show of plugging her ears. “Don’t even try to explain. I’m not listening.”
Snapping his mouth shut, he turned to the front.
“You should’ve taken Jenny and Ally and left,” Kate whispered. “Jenny shouldn’t have come back for me.”
“Trust me. It wasn’t my idea.”
“I’m sorry.”
Sorry wasn’t going to cut it.
“Kate, pull over!” he called as they approached a twenty-four-hour drugstore. “Right there!”
Coben might be catching up to them, but they were ahead by a few minutes, and a few minutes was all this stop would take. He hopped out as she approached the curb, ran into the store and bought several disposable cell phones and calling cards. Then he ran back outside.
Coben had pulled up behind Kate and was already climbing back into his car after presumably handing off her pack, their passports, tickets and other documentation Riley would need. “Get a move on, Riley!”
Riley ignored him and climbed into the van.
Kate didn’t say a word, only drove back out into traffic and headed for the airport.
Riley opened one of the cell phones and dialed a number, keeping his fingers crossed his call would be answered. He could organize a crew of good men to take March down and extract Jenny, but he didn’t have the luxury of that kind of time.
Finally the call was picked up and a groggy voice mumbled, “This better be good.”
“Trace?”
“Riley?”
“It is you.” Riley breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God he hadn’t changed his number. Trace was the only person in the D.C. area Riley knew who could move fast and do the job right. The man might have lost a leg in Afghanistan, but that wasn’t going to hold Trace back.
“What’s going on?”
“You always said you wanted to return the favor I did for you in Guatemala.” Until Riley had shown up, Trace had been about to lose a hand and then some in a poker game gone bad. “You ready?”
“It’s about time. You name it, it’s done.”
Riley quickly gave his old buddy the details. He wasn’t happy about having to take Ally along with him to Rome, but at least then he’d know she was safe.
“So March still has Jenny?” Trace asked.
“Yeah. He’ll likely move her ASAP.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!” Kate hung up the cell phone as she followed Riley and Ally through the airport. She’d been trying every number she had for Maggie and Nick and they weren’t answering. Most likely they were all still asleep. Although Maggie had been known to shut off the main landline when the kids were sick, she usually left her cell phone on.
Riley had managed to buy Ally a ticket on the flight March had booked them on to Rome. When they reached their departure gate, Ally collapsed onto a seat, but Riley remained standing, watching, guarding. Always on high alert. He turned toward Kate. “Maggie’s still not answering?”
“No.” Kate ran a hand through her tangled hair. She’d already talked to Shannon and warned her, so at least Shannon’s family was safe. But it was going to take Shannon, Craig and the kids close to an hour to drive to Maggie’s house in Bethesda. “I’m not getting on that plane until I get hold of Maggie.”
“Understood.”
She paced back and forth while waiting to board. “I need to walk.”
“Stay where I can see you,” he whispered.
Feeling testy, she glared at him. Who did he think he was bossing her around? Oh, yeah. A man whose sister-in-law was being held hostage. Kate had to admit she’d been wrong about Jenny. “For what it’s worth,” she whispered, “you have a very brave sister-in-law.”
He glanced away. “I owe her more than you can imagine.”
Kate doubted that, having been raised by two older sisters after their mother passed away, but for once she wasn’t going to argue with him. Walking down the concourse, she glanced at her watch and dialed again.
Wake up, Mags. Wake up.
“Hello?” Maggie’s voice, thick and slow, sounded over the line.
“Oh, Maggie, thank God you finally answered.”
“Kate? It’s so early. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Is Tessie okay?”
“Tessie? Well, she’s got a cold, but it’s not that big of a deal. Why? What’s up?”
Kate felt near tears with relief. Riley was right. Her niece had missed school because she was sick. She glanced over, found Riley watching her, and nodded. They’re okay.
His shoulders rose with a deep breath and he looked away, clearly relieved. Suddenly she couldn’t believe she’d thought him in with March on this whole mess. She might not see eye to eye with him on much—well, not on anything, really—but none of his actions had ever indicated anything other than an upstanding moral character. In fact, now that she thought about it, he’d been rather uptight in that regard.
“Can I talk to Nick?” she asked Maggie.
“He’s still dead to the world sleeping,” she whispered. “We were awake most of the night with sick kids.”
“Mags, it’s really important.”
“All right. Hold on.”
Kate could hear Maggie rustling the bed covers and then muffled voices.
“Hey, Kate,” Nick said a little groggily.
“Nick, I need you to do something.”
“Name it.” His voice turned instantly alert.
“Shannon and Craig are already on the way to your house. As soon as they get there, leave. Take everyone and go someplace safe. Make sure you’re not followed.”
There was a short pause on the line. “This have anything to do with the two guys I noticed watching the house all day yeste
rday?”
“So they are there.” She’d been hoping March had been bluffing.
“I assumed they had something to do with the Kythos family mess I was involved in years back. As soon as I saw them, I called in a couple bodyguards for Maggie and the kids. But if this isn’t Kythos family business, then what is it?”
“I don’t have time to explain—”
“Don’t worry about us. I can take care of Maggie and the kids.” He could. Of that, Kate was sure. “I’ll make sure Shannon and Craig are safe. But you need to tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s nothing you can fix, Nick.” But it was just like him to try.
“Are you safe? Maggie will never forgive me—I’ll never forgive me, Kate—if something happens to you.”
“I’m with Riley. Remember him from Greece?”
There was a short pause on the line. “You mean the bodyguard Angelo sent home with you?”
“Yes.” They were boarding the plane. She had to go.
Wait a minute. Or did she? That’s when it dawned on her. She could walk away from this entire mess. This wasn’t her problem anymore. Nick could keep Maggie and Shannon safe along with Craig and the kids and her. All she had to do was join them. But what about Ally? And Riley? Big, tough, surly and burly man? Were they going to be all right?
“Do you trust him?” Nick asked.
Trusting men didn’t come easily to Kate, never had, not with her father having walked out on their family before Kate had even been born. It hadn’t helped that her mother had never dated after her divorce. Neither had either of her sisters, for that matter. They’d found their true loves right out of the starting gate. So trust? Riley?
Somehow he was different than most other men she’d known, but she couldn’t put her finger on how. “I don’t know, Nick.”
“Kate, I’m coming to get you,” Nick said. “Where are you?”
Riley was waiting for her by the gate, his expression unreadable.
“Kate?”
She needed a moment to think, to figure out what she should do. “I’ll be home when it’s over.”
“When what’s over? Where are you going—”
“I gotta go, Nick. I’ll call in a couple days to explain. The plane’s boarding.”
“Kate—”
She clicked the cell phone off and looked up. Riley was watching her as if reading the thoughts going through her mind. Slowly she walked toward him.
“Your niece?” he asked.
“She’s safe. You were right. She stayed home sick from school yesterday. Nick noticed March’s men watching their house yesterday, so he’d already called in some security.”
“Smart man. Can your brother-in-law handle March’s men?”
“Yes. They’ll be all right.”
She could walk away and wash her hands of this entire mess. But what about Jenny? What if March hurt her simply because Kate didn’t go to Rome? Kate couldn’t stomach the thought of March using her as an excuse to hurt Jenny. She glanced at Ally, recognized that stubborn, angry teenager, and she couldn’t do it. Kate had never in her life turned her back on a problem. Right or wrong, she was a part of this.
“Good.” He nodded. “Then you need to stay here in D.C. and get to your sister’s house. This is no longer your battle.”
“What? Wait a minute.” She grabbed his arm. “That’s my decision to make.”
“Not really, no.”
“But it’s my fault March still has Jenny. She came looking for me. Besides, March is expecting me to check in with you in Rome.”
A flash of uncertainty flickered in his gaze. “Jenny isn’t your problem.”
“I may not be related to her, but March will hold me responsible for her.”
He knew she was right.
“Riley, like it or not, you’re going to need my help.”
His gaze sized her up one side and down the other. Though his assessment was primarily clinical, unemotional, there was a spark of something intense in his serious gaze that she couldn’t name. It wasn’t quite vulnerability, but it wasn’t confidence either. It wasn’t complete respect, but he wasn’t dissing her.
“You ever fired a gun?” he asked.
“No.”
“Know anything about explosives or security systems? Can you take out a two-hundred-pound man? Kick down a door? Ever driven a car at a hundred miles an hour?”
“No. I can’t do any of that.”
“Then what possible kind of help can you be?” He turned. “You’d be nothing more than a liability.”
Talk about a brush-off. A really nasty one, and it bothered her. “Everything’s black and white to you, isn’t it?”
“Yep.”
“Well, I got news for you. There are lots of gray areas in life, and this is one of them. Just because I’m not a hotshot military lug doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be of some use. Who’s going to take care of Ally?”
“She’s my daughter. She’ll be fine.”
“What if you run into a replica, a fake like March was suggesting?”
“Then I’ll deal with that when—if—it happens.”
“So that’s it? I’m kidnapped, held at gunpoint and it’s over? Like that?”
“Would you rather I put a gun to your head and tell you to stay? Would that get through that thick skull of yours?”
“You don’t need anyone, do you?”
“I sure don’t need you.”
“So that’s what’s bothering you, isn’t it? That you might need a woman?”
“Doesn’t have anything to do with you being a woman. I’ve fought practically side by side with a couple of good soldiers who happened to be women.”
“Then what is it? That you might not be entirely self-sufficient?”
For an instant something akin to uncertainty flashed in his eyes. He wasn’t sure. He knew he might need her, and the possibility obviously unsettled him. Ally, on the other hand, definitely did need her. “I’m going. Whether you want me along or not.” Kate snatched a couple of boarding passes out of his hand as she brushed past him and went to the teenager’s side. “It’s time to get on the plane, honey. Let’s go.”
Clearly dragging, Ally stood and walked beside Kate until they reached the aircraft aisle. “Will you sit next to me?” she asked, frowning at her father. “I’m not sitting next to him.”
“Sure.” Kate followed Ally down the aisle and took the seat next to her. Riley’s gaze skimmed over every single passenger, not once but twice, and the enormity of this situation sank in a bit deeper. This wasn’t a game. Things could, probably would, go wrong. She might never see her sisters and their families again.
Even so, she couldn’t seem to make herself leave the plane. Whether Riley wanted to admit it to himself or not, very soon the time would come when he was going to need her. If she had anything to say about it, he was going to say pretty please before she lifted a pinkie for him.
CHAPTER SIX
Tuesday, 12:30 p.m.
SIXTEEN PLUS HOURS of air time, two layovers, three screaming babies and no less than twelve arguments with Kate later, they arrived in Rome in the early afternoon, having lost an additional six hours as a result of time zone changes. There’d been no direct flights at such short notice, so they’d lost a day simply getting from point A to point B. The moment the plane landed, Riley checked his phone for messages and listened to one left by Trace.
“Yo, Riley. I found March as they were packing up and vacating the town house in D.C.” Trace’s matter-of-fact voice sounded clearly over voice mail. “Jenny’s heavily guarded. They boarded a private plane, but I’ve got the flight plan. You were right. They’re headed first to Tokyo. I’ve hired a jet and I’ll be on my way by the time you get this message. I’m on it, man. Don’t worry.”
Don’t worry. Maybe if the clock suddenly quit ticking.
He dialed March’s cell number.
“March here.”
“We just landed in Rome.”
�
��Good. In the paperwork I gave you you’ll find contact information for supplies you might need. Now let me talk to Kate.”
Hesitating, Riley glanced at her.
“Riley?” March paused. “Put Kate on the phone.”
“First let me talk to Jenny.”
At the mention of Jenny, Ally leaned forward in her seat and watched him.
“That’s not the way it works,” March said. “I’ll let you talk to Jenny after I’ve talked to Kate.”
Lacking any other option, he handed the phone to Kate. He was still royally pissed that she’d completely disregarded his direct order and gotten on that plane back in D.C., but he was forced to, if not admire, at least appreciate the way she hadn’t backed down. The average person, man or woman, would likely have run out of that airport the moment the realization hit that March was no longer a personal threat.
Kate put the phone to her ear. “What do you want?”
Riley couldn’t hear March’s response.
“Go to hell.” She handed the phone back to Riley.
“Now Jenny,” Riley said.
There were a few muffled sounds.
“James?”
“Jenny, are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” In spite of everything, her voice sounded strong. “Is Ally okay?”
Riley glanced at his daughter. “Ally’s good.”
“Can I talk to her?” Ally quickly asked.
“There,” March said, coming back on the line. “Now everyone’s happy. Call me again once you’ve reached Athens.” Then he disconnected the call.
Riley glanced at his daughter. “He hung up.”
Ally’s shoulders slumped.
“Is Jenny all right?” Kate asked as their plane taxied to the gate.
“For now.” He glanced around her at Ally. “Trace is on Jenny’s trail,” he said, making sure to guard his words for Ally’s sake. “He’s got to catch up to March before he can figure out a way to get her safe, but he’ll get Jenny back.”
Ally had barely said more than ten words to Riley since they’d left D.C. Now her eyes watered as she glanced at him. “Are you sure, Dad?”
“As sure as I can be about anything.”
Ally looked away from him to stare sullenly out the window.