The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum

by Wendy Saunders

  ‘Temperance Beckett,’ he smiled coldly, wrapping his arm around her body and pinning her to him tightly so she couldn’t escape. ‘It has been a very long time hasn’t it? I had come to collect you but I appreciate you meeting me halfway,’ his eyes glittered maliciously. ‘I must say…I am very much looking forward to spending some quality time with you…’

  24.

  Mac shoved his shirt down into the waistband of his pants; he’d barely gotten his belt fastened as he grabbed his jacket and keys, heading for the door. He yanked it open, intending to chase after Tammy but found himself staring into the eyes of someone he’d not expected to see again. His expression turned to ice, his flinty eyes narrowing and his jaw clenching tightly.

  ‘Flores,’ he ground out.

  ‘Captain Macallister,’ Governor Flores stepped into the apartment, giving Mac no choice but to move back and allow him to pass. ‘It’s Chief now isn’t it?’ his mouth curved in amusement. ‘Congratulations on your promotion.’

  Mac slammed the door shut as he turned to face his unwelcome guest.

  Tammy’s cat Jules, who’d been sitting on top of a nearby cabinet, stood, hissed loudly and arched her back.

  ‘Your cat doesn’t seem to like me,’ he said mildly.

  ‘That’s because she’s a good judge of character.’

  Jules hissed again, before jumping to the ground and disappearing from view.

  Mac turned back to the Governor and the two men stood staring at each other, locked in a silent battle.

  ‘Are you not going to offer me something to drink?’ Governor Flores asked after a moment. ‘Really Macallister, that’s very bad manners.’

  ‘Cut the shit Simon,’ he snapped, ‘what the fuck are you doing here?’

  ‘Wasn’t that the Mayor I saw rushing out of here?’ he smiled slowly. ‘She seemed very upset; …the Chief of Police and the Mayor,’ he mused mockingly, ‘isn’t that a conflict of interest?’

  ‘What it is…is none of your business,’ he replied coldly. ‘What do you want Simon?’

  ‘Why to welcome you back into the fold, of course,’ he spread his hands in mock sincerity.

  ‘I told you a year ago I was out, all the way out.’

  ‘And we let you go,’ he replied innocently.

  ‘You shot me,’ Mac’s eyes darkened dangerously.

  ‘Phfft,’ Simon huffed, ‘it was a flesh wound only. You could call it a warning shot…what are you complaining about anyway, we let you live, didn’t we?’

  ‘I’m not coming back,’ Mac folded his arms, his lips tightening to a thin line. ‘Like I said, I’m done with the Veritas.’

  ‘You’ll never be done,’ Governor Flores replied coldly. ‘There is no out, don’t you understand that? Not until we’ve decided you’ve outlived your usefulness and I have to say Macallister you’ve been very useful this past year. It almost makes up for all that unpleasantness before.’

  ‘What do you mean, useful?’ he replied suspiciously. ‘I haven’t had any contact with you for over a year, not since the shooting.’

  ‘Mac, Mac, Mac,’ he tutted slowly in admonishment, ‘did you really think it was that easy to walk away from us? We’ve had you under surveillance since the moment you arrived in Mercy. Your apartment…and I use the term very loosely…I mean, a motel room Macallister, for an entire year? Really classy…regardless, your living quarters were bugged, your phones tapped, even you yourself have been wired.’

  ‘What?’ Mac’s face drained of color.

  Governor Flores walked over to Mac slowly.

  ‘What is the one item a cop never leaves behind, even when he’s off duty?’ he reached out and plucked Mac’s badge from where it was tucked into his belt. Pulling the metal badge free from its leather wallet he turned it over and removed a false back, underneath which were several thin, delicate looking wires. ‘It’s amazing what you can do with the right funding,’ he smirked.

  ‘You son of a bitch,’ Mac hissed.

  ‘What’s done is done,’ he shrugged, tossing the badge down onto the coffee table, which still held a half empty glass and wine bottle from the night before. ‘You did your duty, whether you like it or not and I must say Macallister…bravo…’ he clapped his hands slowly and mockingly. ‘We never would have found out half that information if it hadn’t been for you? I mean really, time travelers? The Mayor being Temperance Beckett, the daughter and sister of two of our founders? Olivia West’s twins being conceived in the Otherworld? Hell, you may turn out to be one of our most valuable assets….ever.’

  ‘Go to Hell Simon,’ Mac spat. ‘So you listened in on my conversations, illegally and immorally. That doesn’t mean a thing. I am not going back to the Veritas and I am going to do everything in my power to protect Temperance, Olivia and her children.’

  ‘It’s too late Macallister,’ Governor Flores smiled coldly; ‘everything is already in place. Events have been set in motion and cannot be stopped.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ he swallowed against the sudden dryness in his mouth, a hot hard ball of unease churning in his gut. ‘What have you done?’

  ‘The high council and I are in complete agreement that Olivia West should be taken into custody…for her own protection of course. After all she is in terrible danger right now from all the creatures congregating in Mercy and the demon Nathaniel. She would be better off under our protection and besides, she has something I am very eager to get my hands on.’

  ‘What, the book?’ Mac scoffed. ‘Get in line.’

  ‘The book is one of those items, yes…’ he replied, ‘but I am also most anxious to see the compass Hades gave to her, the one she calls the Time’dhal. I think it would make a splendid addition to our collection…for its own protection of course; we can’t have just anyone running around with an object of power, can we? Olivia West was not meant to be its owner.’

  ‘And you think you are?’

  ‘Not I,’ he spread his hands slowly; ‘I am just a servant. I serve a greater purpose.’

  ‘You’re a cheap opportunistic bastard,’ Mac growled. ‘You’ll never get your hands on the compass, or the book and you’ll definitely not get your hands on Olivia.’

  ‘We’ll see,’ he answered quietly, his eyes glittering. ‘Arrangements have already been made for her to give birth under our supervision. It will be safer for her and her children. I for one cannot wait to see how…special…her children really are.’

  ‘You sick son of a bitch,’ he stepped toward the governor menacingly. ‘There is no way I’m letting you take Olivia.’

  ‘Really Macallister, there you go again, not seeing the bigger picture,’ he shook his head. ‘Let me put this as plainly as I can. You may not want to assist us but you will keep your mouth shut and stay out of our way, or there will be consequences, severe consequences, for the Mayor. She is an oddity, a traveler in time; she has some value to us as a research project maybe, but make no mistake, the West girl is far more valuable. We will not hesitate to use the Mayor as leverage for your good behavior. Do I make myself clear?’

  ‘What’s to stop me from heading straight to Olivia’s husband and her father?’ Mac asked. ‘After all Theo isn’t just Olivia’s husband, he’s Temperance’s brother; do you really think he’d allow you to harm either of them?’

  ‘Go right ahead,’ he jeered, ‘go ahead and tell them who you really are. Tell them the reason we know as much as we do and see if you can convince them you haven’t just betrayed them?’

  ‘I will make sure you pay for this Simon,’ Mac whispered darkly.

  He laughed loudly, turning his back on Mac and heading for the door.

  ‘Just stay out of the way Macallister, like a good boy.’ He turned back for a brief second, ‘or next time it won’t just be a warning shot.’

  Mac watched silently, as the door slammed behind him. The muscle in his jaw clicked, once…twice and then he picked up the bottle of wine and threw it against th
e door, breathing heavily as it smashed, littering the hardwood floor with shards of glass. Red wine ran down the back of the door like blood, perfectly matching his mood. His heart pounded in his chest as he fought to get his fury under control.

  If Simon Flores thought he was dancing to the tune of the Veritas one second longer he was sadly fucking mistaken. Mac cursed himself for thinking he’d be able to walk away from them so easily. Of course the bullet hole in his chest had not been easy at all. He’d though he’d paid his dues, but apparently not. However he was not going to make the same mistake twice. This time he was out, all the way out, even if he had to take down the whole organization first.

  There was no way in Hell he was going to allow them to take Olivia or harm Tammy. The one good thing was they’d underestimated him, they thought that he’d toe the line. Not a chance in Hell. Tammy and the others may just hate his guts by the time this was over, but he was going to do the right thing, even if it cost him the woman he loved.

  Drawing in a deep breath he headed for the cupboard where she kept her broom; he couldn’t leave all that glass on the floor or Jules would hurt herself and the last thing he needed was Tammy thinking he’d tortured her cat. He quickly cleaned up the broken bottle wincing at the wine stains splashed across the door and wall. Okay, so he’d have to add re-decorating her apartment to his list when he groveled for her forgiveness.

  Satisfied it was as good as he could get it, he grabbed his keys once again. He needed to find her, he needed to explain, and he just hoped she would understand. He was about to head for the door again, when his phone rang. He knew it was tapped now, but it couldn’t be helped. Until he got out of the apartment and got himself a burner he was just going to have to be careful what he said.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Mac?’ Jake replied, ‘Good you’re up. You’re going to need to come in early; it’s a total shit fest here.’

  ‘What’s going on?’ he frowned.

  ‘The whole town’s gone nuts, it’s like they know something’s brewing. We’ve got DUI’s, domestics and physical altercations all over the place. The phone’s been ringing off the hook, it’s like we’ve just landed in the village of the damned and it’s not just the locals going resident evil on us. We’ve got some major monster activity going on, fresh grave robbings like we had back in February, sickness is spreading again and we’ve got a spate of animal mutilations. It’s crazy.’

  ‘Okay let’s not talk about this over the phone,’ Mac replied carefully, ‘I’m heading in now.’

  ‘Mac, I don’t know what to tell you,’ Jake sighed into the phone, ‘we’ve got serious trouble heading our way.’

  Mac picked up his bugged police badge, turning it over in his hand.

  ‘Jake…you have no idea how much trouble we’re in.’

  Danae strode down the corridor, readjusting her gun holster and reaching out to open the door. She stepped into the room to be greeted by a cloud of steam. Waving her hand in front of her face so she could see more clearly she headed for the two figures in the center of the room, her expression a mixture of amusement and curiosity.

  ‘Okay you’ve got my attention,’ she glanced down to Jake who was sitting on a wooden bench. ‘Wanna tell me why we’re in the men’s locker room?’ her gaze swept across to Mac. ‘Nice boxers by the way Mac; why are you half naked?’

  Mac’s threw her a dry look, reaching for the brand new pair of jeans he’d just bought and snapping the tags off, before sliding them on.

  ‘My office is bugged, so is my phone, my police badge, hell I pretty much can’t trust anything I own right now,’ he muttered angrily as he pulled out a new tee shirt and yanked that over his head.

  ‘Are you sure?’ Danae frowned.

  ‘Positive,’ he replied sitting down and pulling on his new socks and boots.

  ‘Who the hell would want to do that?’ she asked.

  ‘Have either of you ever heard of an organization called the Veritas?’ he asked quietly.

  Danae’s expression hardened immediately.

  ‘Are they that weird club thing Roni’s been looking into?’ Jake replied.

  ‘Please tell me you’re not mixed up with those filthy bottom feeders,’ Danae hissed in disgust.

  ‘In my defense, I didn’t know they were bottom feeders at the time.’

  ‘Mac,’ she shook her head slowly, ‘they are incredibly dangerous. Even we give them a wide berth.’

  ‘Look it’s a long story we just don’t have time for,’ he stood as he strapped on a brand new gun holster and pulled a new gun from his bag. ‘I didn’t know what they were really about when I signed up and the second I found out I quit.’

  ‘How’d that work out for you,’ she scoffed.

  ‘They shot me.’

  ‘Doesn’t surprise me,’ she shook her head, ‘but that sounds a little too light and fluffy for them. There’s no way they would have let you off the hook that easily.’

  ‘Then you’re smarter than I am,’ Mac frowned, ‘because that’s exactly what I thought.’

  ‘I take it you were wrong?’ Jake interjected.

  ‘You have no idea how wrong,’ Mac said as he turned the gun over, checking it thoroughly and loading the clip. ‘They had me tapped, literally from the moment I landed in Mercy and they’ve been listening in ever since.’

  ‘What?’ Jake gasped, ‘all those private conversations with Theo and Olivia…’

  ‘All of it,’ Mac’s face darkened. ‘Because of me, we’ve all been well and truly compromised. We have to work under the assumption they now know everything we do.’

  ‘What do they want?’ Jake frowned in concern.

  ‘That’s a loaded question,’ Danae replied dryly.

  ‘They want Olivia,’ Mac replied, ‘they want the compass and the book…and her.’

  ‘Her?’ Jake repeated.

  ‘They want her and her children specifically.’

  Even Danae gasped at that revelation, her hand going involuntarily to her mouth.

  ‘They’re very interested in the children. Not only are both their parents descended from extremely strong magical lines but they themselves were conceived in another world. You’ve both seen a fraction of what Olivia is capable of, can you imagine how powerful her children are going to be?’

  ‘My God,’ Jake breathed, ‘how long have we got?’

  ‘Not long enough,’ Mac scowled, ‘arrangements have already been made; they’re coming for her. They’ll want to monitor her pregnancy and they’ll want her already safely in their custody before she gives birth.’

  ‘Not going to happen,’ Jake’s eyes darkened dangerously.

  ‘Damn straight it’s not going to happen,’ Mac strapped his gun into the holster with a leathery hiss. ‘That’s why I called you two in now. I have to tell the others the truth and I don’t know that they’re going to believe I didn’t knowingly betray them. Right now our number one priority is keeping Olivia from being kidnapped by the Veritas; not only that, they’ve made threats against Tammy too.’

  ‘Does she know?’ Danae asked.

  Mac let out a frustrated sigh.

  ‘Not exactly, she found out this morning about my past, but she ran out before I could explain. I don’t know where she is. I can’t call her because my phone’s compromised, I can’t risk them listening to what I have to tell her. For all I know she could already be telling Olivia and Theo, but I doubt it.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’ Jake asked.

  ‘Because I know her,’ he replied quietly. ‘I know she wouldn’t go racing off to get her brother to fix everything, she’s got too much pride and she’s too stubborn. She was upset when she ran out this morning; she’s not going to listen to me right now. Although my first instinct was to chase after her, I think she needs some time to cool down before I try telling her the truth.’

  Danae pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts.

  ‘Wh
at are you doing?’ Mac asked.

  ‘Calling my brother,’ she replied. ‘Of all of us Davis has the most experience with the Veritas; we’re going to need him. Not only that, he has a friend in the bureau, someone we trust. He’s a tech guy; trust me if you’ve got a bug problem, he’s your guy. He’ll have all our phones clean and secure within a couple of hours.’

  Mac nodded in approval.

  ‘Hey,’ Danae answered sharply, ‘need you, police station now and don’t tell Charles.’

  She hung up and disconnected the call.

  ‘Short and sweet,’ Jake remarked.

  ‘Until we know whose phones have been compromised, best to err on the side of caution,’ she replied. ‘Also it’s probably best not to involve Charles at this point, he’s pretty hot headed when it comes to his daughter.’

  ‘I want you guys to know,’ Mac raked his hand through his damp hair, ‘I never meant for any of this to happen. Olivia is important to me, I’d never let anything happen to her.’

  ‘We know that Mac,’ Danae replied, as his piercing blue gaze locked on her. ‘Look, Jake and I have worked with you for nearly a year now, we know you care about Olivia and the others, especially Tammy. You’re just a guy that made a dumb ass decision, hardly shocking.’

  ‘Thanks,’ he replied dryly.

  ‘Yeah,’ Jake replied, ‘she’s right you did make a bad call but it’s not like you didn’t try to fix it. This isn’t your fault Mac, you thought you’d got out, you had no way of knowing they’ve had you under surveillance this long.’

  ‘Is there anything else we should know?’ Danae asked bluntly.

  ‘Governor Flores is in Mercy sniffing around,’ Mac replied. ‘He’s one of them, pretty highly placed too. He’s the one who gave the order to have me shot.’

  ‘Jesus Mac,’ Jake frowned, ‘this goes all the way to the governor’s office?’

  ‘Jake, it goes all the way to the fucking White House,’ Danae replied. ‘This organization has had three hundred years to grow and spread out, not just across America but across the world. We just don’t know how far it reaches. That’s why we give them such a wide berth; we don’t need that kind of attention.’