Pausing again, she took a sip of water in an effort to stop her voice from cracking. The room was silent, everyone collectively holding their breaths for the inevitable outcome.
“The sting was planned for a farmhouse where we suspected Marek brought some of his girls when they first arrived. In his words, he ‘likes to check out the merchandise.’ We had to keep a substantial distance due to the lack of coverage in the area.”
“Katja went in okay and we could hear Marek, but only minutes later a helicopter took off taking Katja with it. The last words we heard before the bug went silent were Marek laughing, ‘Better luck next time.’ Katja was screaming in the background.”
“By the time we got the local air traffic control mobilized, the helicopter had landed so we were unable to track it. Katja’s mutilated body was discovered a week later.”
She looked up at a grunt from the audience.
“Question?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.
A solid-looking man with shorn hair, looking uncomfortable in the jeans and checked shirt he was wearing to blend into the pub scene, looked at her.
“PC Evans, Sergeant. How did Marek know she was wired?”
“Good question, we are assuming that Marek takes a high level of precaution when he reacquires one of his girls.”
It was the official line so Amory stuck with it, but it had never felt right. If he hadn’t known what he was looking for, it would have taken him longer to find the device.
“UPC Davies, Sergeant,” said another voice, “Why did it take so long to find her body?”
“The medical examiner concluded that she had been kept alive and tortured. Her time of death was five days after we lost her. Cause of death was gunshot to the head at close range with an HK P30 19mm.”
The man’s face paled as he grasped what Katja would have endured during those days. It was an old horror for Amory but no less potent for the time that had passed.
James moved beside her, and with a reassuring squeeze of her shoulder turned to face the team assembled before him.
“Berishka is a serious concern, so let’s get this one right. We failed in January but we have another chance, one we aren’t going to waste.” James gestured to the photos on the board behind him.
“This man is William Halland, Duke of Fordeshire, owner of the Halland estate and the reason we are all here. His Grace is working with us and is allowing us to use his estate for this mission.”
“What’ve we got on him then?” said a voice from the crowd as nervous laughter broke out in patches around the room.
“The Duke is assisting us, end of story. If any one of you comes into contact with him or any of his staff, you will treat them with respect,” James said, the tone making it clear he wasn’t messing around.
It wasn’t surprising he didn’t share the information about William with the team. ROCU was an experienced team, and experience had taught them that if they had a deal to keep someone’s digressions confidential, the only way to do that was to keep the secret to a select few.
Holly stood and there was instant silence. She might be petite and blonde but her experience meant she commanded total respect.
“Marek holds parties where he brings a number of key clients to meet with a group of newly arrived girls. We’ve had suspicions these parties occur for some time, but other than Katja’s testimony, have never found any substantive evidence.”
She continued. “The opportunity we have now is that Marek has advised William he will be using the house for a party on Saturday night. We are making the assumption it’s the kind of party that interests us.”
Clicking through a slide show, Holly took the team through the layout of the Halland family home, the photos Roberts had taken a few days before adding valuable detail and context to the floor plans.
“Marek’s clients will arrive at around eight p.m. We believe he then spends some time having them drink before bringing the girls in at around ten p.m. From Katja’s testimony we believe them to be highly educated girls who are only partly broken before they are taken to a party. The parties are understood to be the last stage of that breaking before Marek sells them on, often to the clients attending.”
Holly continued through the briefing, setting out the tactical plans and the triggers for action, making sure everyone was clear they would hold fire until she gave an order otherwise.
“Ideally we will get something incriminating before we go in, but we’ll be reliant on Sergeant Parker and the bugs as we can’t get anyone else inside. If we don’t get what we need we may have to go in before the party gets out of hand. We have an obligation to protect these girls.”
Chapter Thirty
Polishing off his bottle of beer Jackson stood and grabbed two more, flicking the caps off before passing one to William. He hadn’t been able to shake the image of Amory hugging a tall, lean man as he’d stood watching her leave the pub that afternoon. He’d been hanging around waiting for her so he didn’t risk missing his lift home because he’d been too stupid to ask her how long she would be, and his blood pressure had shot up at the sight. He’d been standing around like an idiot while she’d been meeting some guy.
It was only the sight of the dark shadows under William’s eyes and his wrinkled suit that made Jackson hold his peace. His brother was dealing with something dangerous and he didn’t need Jackson piling in with his own problems.
Sitting opposite William he ignored the sight of Amory hovering in the doorway. He didn’t have any choice but to support his brother and that meant he was going to have to deal with her. Didn’t mean he had any idea how to do that though.
Keeping his eyes on his bottle, he picked at the label, peeling it off in frustratingly small sections. She was still standing in the doorway when he’d removed the whole label, and reluctantly he looked up at her. The heavy shadows under her eyes hinted that she was as tired as he was, but when she met his gaze unflinchingly she seemed to glow, as though fired up by some unseen emotion. He ignored her nod of greeting and turned back to his bottle.
“Are you doing okay, William?” she asked.
His brother simply nodded in response and she finally entered the kitchen, heading to the fridge and getting a beer for herself.
“I know the next couple of days are going to be hard,” she said, addressing William. “But all the plans are in place and we will get through this together.”
“So your meeting went well?” William asked.
“Yes.”
“What? Your meeting with your boyfriend?” Jackson said. He wished he could take the question back. He sounded jealous and petty, but some small part of him was desperate to know who the man at the pub was.
“What?” she asked, turning to him with a frown.
“I saw you coming out of the pub with some guy’s arms around you.”
She rolled her eyes at his response and he wanted to kiss her so hard that it would wipe that look off her face and she would forget all about that other man, but he didn’t, he had to remember the lies, the betrayal.
“That was my boss.”
She turned her attention back to William, and Jackson tried to ignore the relief that flickered through him at her words. He didn’t care whether or not she had a boyfriend.
“Shall I run through everything and then you can ask any questions you have?” Amory asked.
At William’s agreement she talked through the plans, from first thing the next morning, when she would plant the transmitting devices that would let the tactical team intervene at the correct time, to the details of the intervention, as well as what would be expected of William.
The strain of being so close to Amory had him fighting the inexplicable urge to touch her despite how conflicted he was feeling, but Jackson found himself fascinated at the level of detail of the plans. The longer she spoke, the more relaxed and comfortable she seemed to get. This … this was what had put that glow in her cheeks. She was doing something she loved, something she was
very clearly an expert at.
The thought knotted his stomach. This was what she did—she planned, she lied, she deceived, and she was good at it. He knew firsthand just how good she was, but seeing the other side of that somehow made it worse. The level of planning and preparation she put into her deceptions was something he hadn’t been prepared for. He pushed his beer away from him, unable to stomach it anymore.
“Jackson, you need to decide if you want to be part of this or not,” she said, drawing his attention back to the conversation. He looked up to see her watching him steadily. “If you don’t, you’ll have to leave tonight.”
He frowned slightly at the question.
“You can’t force me to leave my family home,” he said, the words clipped as he fought to control the raging emotions fighting to escape since he’d heard that fateful conversation two days ago.
“I’m not forcing you to do anything,” she said, her tone irritatingly neutral. “But if you’re here when Marek and Pavol arrive tomorrow they will expect you to be with them in the evening. If you’re not, it will raise their suspicions.”
“I’ll be here for it all. There’s no way I’m leaving William to face this alone.” The words came out harsher than the sentiment behind them.
He couldn’t look at her without feeling the sharp pain of betrayal wash through him, yet somehow he couldn’t look away, couldn’t stop himself from wanting to touch her. She looked weary, her eyes showing the signs of sleepless nights, yet when she’d talked them through the plans she’d looked alive, comfortable, and beyond sexy. That was the Amory he’d always known was there but had never really seen before. He now knew that was the side of her she had deliberately hidden from him.
“Okay, I’m sure William will be glad of the support,” she replied, stretching to rest her hand on William’s shoulder.
“Thirty-six hours max and this will all be over, William,” she said.
Jackson growled, his heart lurching as she touched his brother. He mentally shook himself. What the hell was wrong with him?
“Jackson,” she said quietly, and he looked at her questioningly, taking in her apprehensive expression. “You’re going to have to at least try to get on with me if you’re staying.”
“What?” Jackson blurted before he could stop himself.
William’s head was ping-ponging between them, the tension finally seeping through the fog of his own stress.
“We need Marek relaxed and he’ll start questioning what’s going on if he picks up on this.”
“Just what is this?” asked William, clearly confused.
Jackson sat with his jaw clenched—he couldn’t pull his gaze from her to answer his brother.
“Oh, Jackson. You didn’t?” William said, the conclusion he’d jumped to clear.
“Amory and I have a very old history. Assuming Amory is even her name,” Jackson finally ground out.
“It is,” she replied, the words so quiet they were almost a whisper.
“Perhaps it would be prudent for you to leave?” William suggested as the silence drew out further.
“You’re asking me to leave?” Jackson asked, hurt at his brother’s rejection finally making him look away from her.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” William replied hurriedly. “I have no choice about her being here, and I certainly don’t have any choice about being here myself, but that doesn’t mean I want to put you through it. You do have a choice.”
“No, I don’t, William. Nothing is more important than being here for you.” Turning to Amory he added, “I’ll play my part, don’t worry.”
He didn’t know how but he would do it. Wanting to put a little space between them, Jackson stood to serve the stew Maggie had left warming. He was pleased to see William relaxing a little now that he knew the plans.
“It is certainly unusual for Jackson to be the one upset with an ex, normally it would be the other way around.” William chuckled.
Jackson frowned. Maybe he wasn’t so happy his brother was starting to relax after all.
“I’m not upset,” Jackson said, schooling his features into a hard mask.
He didn’t want her thinking he cared. He needed to build a great wall around his heart so she couldn’t get near it again, and the foundations of that had to be finding a way to appear unaffected.
Amory flinched at his expression as he met her gaze.
“I think I’ll skip dinner,” she said, standing quickly. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
****
Jackson could see William glancing at him from the corner of his eye, thankfully taking the hint not to speak to him, as they ate their meal in silence. Despite the inner turmoil he felt, he forced himself to eat, anything to avoid speaking.
He didn’t know how he was going to get through this but he really didn’t have a choice. He had to help William. Regardless of how painful it was to see Amory, to feel the same desperate need to touch her despite also feeling the sharpness of her betrayal every time he looked at her, there was a small part of him that couldn’t face the thought of never seeing her again. God, he was a mess. He needed to stop obsessing over her and focus on what lay ahead. He needed to get her out of his mind. Now.
Chapter Thirty-One
As Ed helped Maggie into the car the look of adoration he gave his wife touched Amory deeply. They were a couple whose years together seemed to have strengthened their love for one another, and while they were not generally tactile, it was clear how much they adored each other. Maggie’s cold stance with her was a pain in her ass but it was understandable—the woman behaved like a lioness protecting her cubs.
She waved as they disappeared along the winding driveway and turned to William, her shoulders easing down a fraction.
“You did well,” she said to William who, rather than relaxing now they were gone, was getting more and more rigid by the moment.
He nodded stiffly. “I didn’t think she would go.”
“Me neither, despite the fact you said she’s wanted to see that show for years. Saying you were taking Marek out for dinner was a stroke of genius.”
“She’s always been possessive of her kitchen. If she knew food was being brought in by caterers, she would have been furious.”
“We’ll have to hide the evidence before she gets back from the hotel tomorrow then,” Amory said with a laugh.
“I suppose I can just tell her everything when she’s back,” he said, the words coming out on a sigh.
“She’ll understand, they both will,” Amory said quietly, knowing her words were true.
****
With Maggie and Ed out of the way Amory got to work. Moving methodically through the ground floor rooms, she activated and placed listening devices in the locations marked out by the team. Balanced on a ladder she had propped up against one of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in the library, she sensed someone and turned to see Jackson frozen in the doorway.
Her chest tightened and her breath caught at the intensity of his gaze. Her heart screamed at her to go to him, to try and make him understand, but she didn’t move. She had to accept that unless he was prepared to take responsibility for his choices all those years ago, he would never forgive her, and there was nothing she could say that could get him there. She was fully prepared to own her mistakes but she wasn’t prepared to own his for him. He had to make the choice himself. If he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, there was no hope, no future. She blinked and it broke whatever magic held them both in place. Turning on his heel Jackson disappeared without a word.
Deep down she knew that tonight would be the last time she would ever see him and it broke her heart all over again. The brief glimpses she caught as she worked through the day were bittersweet but she couldn’t stop herself from watching out for him. It was as though the more she saw of him now, the easier it would be to carry him in her heart for the years to come.
She did a final double-check that everything was in place downstairs and went to her room to ca
ll in and make sure they were receiving the transmissions.
“Hi, Amory,” Holly said warmly before Amory had a chance to speak.
Hearing her friend’s voice she had to blink back the tears that suddenly filled her eyes. She wished she could tell her friend how she was feeling, but that wasn’t an option.
“Hi,” she managed to reply, pleased that her voice had remained steady.
Holly would be wound tight this close to an operation and Amory wasn’t about to add to that. They had worked too hard to get to this point. When the team came in, it had better be because they had what they needed, not because she was having a private meltdown. They were going to finish this today.
“Are you receiving the signals?”
“We have twenty-three signals on our screen. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Amory confirmed. “Is the sound coming through clearly?”
“There is currently active sound from seventeen of them. It sounds like the caterers are finishing up,” Holly confirmed. “Ambient sound is coming through from the rest. Have you switched on the personal ones yet? We’re not picking anything up from them.”
She had been given three top-of-the-line devices, one each for her, William, and Jackson.
“Not yet, hold on a second while I do it and you can check them while I’m on the line.”
She switched one on and waited for Holly’s confirmation that she was receiving before walking to the far end of the bathroom and back to the bed to test the tracking.
“We’ve got it,” Holly assured and they repeated the process for the final two devices.
“Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need luck,” Holly said. “Just be awesome.”
“You too.”
They had said those very same words to each other for years and the familiar exchange made her smile.
“See you on the other side,” Amory said before ending the call.
Now she just had to get William and Jackson kitted up. Conscious of time pressures, she went in search of the guys.
William was pacing up and down the landing of his floor. She’d have rather found Jackson first to get dealing with him out of the way, but William needed her to be assured, in control, and calm, and despite the nerves she felt at the anticipation of seeing Jackson she knew she was going to feel calmer now than she would after seeing him.
Shadows of Our Past Page 17