To Blind a Sniper (Women of Purgatory Book 2)

by India Kells

  Jenny nodded. “Always follow the money.”

  “Exactly. But at the lower levels, it wasn’t that obvious.”

  “I see. After the failed mission, I suppose he disappeared.”

  “Oh yeah. Even Rodriguez, considered to be in his closest circle, couldn’t reach him. It’s only because he collaborated with Calvi so much that he could offer us the strong possibility of the Day of the Dead.”

  Jenny looked at Mac. “And now, he wants to retaliate for his brother’s death, by killing yours. Logical. Frightening, but logical.”

  And Wesley, who remained silent up until now, leaned forward. “And the main reason for our presence here is to protect you until we can find a safe house.”

  Matthew frowned. “You order us to leave? To go into hiding?”

  “Only until we can neutralize Calvi and his men.”

  “This could take weeks! Months! It’s out of the question.” Matthew shook his head in a final answer.

  Her brother was ready for a fight. And if he was, she could play dirty, too.

  “Think about Jenny. You want to protect her and the baby. I wouldn’t propose this solution if we would be certain to shield you here, at Castle Mirth.”

  Jenny smiled at her husband before turning to Mac. “I agree with Matthew on this matter, this is our home, we stay.”

  “Jenny—”

  “Ellie. You know how it works, if we yield to the bad guys, we will continue to yield until the end of our lives. That’s not what I want and it’s not what I want for my baby. I know you are part of an organization that can face criminals and assholes such as this Calvi. Use your resources and protect us here.”

  “It’s madness.” Mac rubbed her temples.

  “Not really. After all, we are in a castle. It wouldn’t take much to secure it completely from intruders. And you understand as well as I do that everybody knows everybody around here. Your presence must already be known in the village of Almirth, or even in town at Everly. That would be hundred pairs of eyes ready to help.”

  Matt rubbed his wife’s belly. “Another reason we cannot leave is the Yuletide Ball in two weeks.”

  Mac got to her feet. “You can’t be serious! The Yuletide Ball will bring hundreds of people from around the country right here. Intruders could easily come inside and infiltrate the castle.”

  “I know, Ellie. But the ball is a charity event, collecting money for the health center in town and also the youth rescue center and the local elderly home. It’s money that is a necessity, not luxury. Without the ball, no funding.”

  “Can’t you use the excuse of Jenny soon to give birth to cancel?”

  This time, Jenny shook her head. “No offense, but most of those people already inquired about my situation and I told them that rain or shine, it would happen. I may not be present, but the ball will go on. I see that it frustrates you, Ellie, yet we won’t shy away from our commitments.”

  Desperate, Mac turned to Wes, who shook his head. “If they want to stay, we will protect them here.”

  “What?”

  Sullivan and Lance got to their feet to flank Mac. “Wes is right. We can do it. It will require more personnel and grandiose coordination, but it’s feasible. The castle can be secured, as Jenny told us, and it’s surrounded by wide open spaces, so safety from a distance won’t be a problem.”

  Lance nodded. “I agree. And I have a few contacts at the White House. One of their security guys owes me one. If they can protect the president, I’m sure we can do the same here.”

  Mac knew in her logical mind that the guys were right, but after she saw the sick determination in Calvi’s face, she didn’t dare to gamble. She wanted her brother and sister-in-law, hidden deep, unreachable.

  Mac looked at Wesley for a long moment and drew a breath. When she turned to her brother and Jenny, she had made her choice—decided that she would do anything to protect them, even beyond putting her life on the line.

  “Okay, you win. But there won’t be any complaint about the security measures. None whatsoever. Do we agree? Any other surprises before it’s too late?”

  Jenny and Matt looked at each other before turning back at her. Jenny smiled apologetically.

  “I’m due in three weeks. And the Yuletide Ball is in two.”

  Mac resisted the urge to grind her teeth to dust. Instead she grinned.

  “Thank you. I will keep you informed of everything every step of the way. And we will have much more to discuss, but I’m sure you would like to rest first. In the meantime, we will start planning.”

  Before Jenny would reply, Matt helped her to her feet and escorted her out.

  Lance elbowed Sullivan. “Time to inform your wife of the change of plan. And I can predict she won’t be happy about it.”

  “If you’re so smug, you could call her.”

  “No way, man. You married her, you’re stuck with the tantrums.”

  Sullivan mumbled as they both exited the room.

  Wesley rose to his feet and looked around the now empty room for a moment; silently checking out the paintings, the furniture. “So this is where you were raised?”

  Mac hunched her shoulders. “More or less. Here and in all the numerous rooms of the castle. And outside, too. I was raised in many different places.”

  Wesley ignored her sarcasm. “Was it all that bad?”

  At first she was tempted to make light of it, but when Wesley looked at her with his so serious eyes, she owed him the truth.

  “It was okay. I was a resourceful kid. When the coldness of my parents was too much, I turned to the staff. I remembered my nanny, who stayed later on as a maid. Ruddy as an apple with a smile as wide as her face. Her gray hair cut short, looking like a halo around her head. Sometimes, when she took me in her arms, I imagined she was my mother. That all her love, all her tenderness was only for me. She’s the one who showed me how to cook and bake. I would say that my fondest memories are in the kitchen. When she left to take care of her husband, she … Something broke inside me. Matthew was older and already gone to boarding school. It was a way for him to escape, to have some sort of independence.”

  She looked around. “All this luxury, I could have lived without it. I could have slept outside for the privilege of being raised by loving parents. So when you ask if it was bad, I can’t say yes. I’ve gone to the best schools, I had tutors, I had everything money could buy. But still it was a cage. All alone, I turned to Matt. He was the only one who tried to understand me, even though he often acted and sounded more like my father. I don’t blame him for that. The pressure of being the heir, the chieftain of the MacKinnon clan is a huge responsibility. However, the definition changed since the Middle Ages.”

  Wesley came and simply laid a hand on her shoulder. He was about to say something when Lance entered the room. “Gabrielle’s on the phone. And she’s not happy. No wonder. Another bad news. Reports show that someone with Calvi’s resemblance and a group of men landed at Barra airport, Outer Hebrides, three hours ago. I checked Barra to Inverness by plane, about three hours. By ferry and car, eight to twelve hours. One way or another, Calvi’s on his way.”

  Wesley nodded. “And we are sure that there is already some of his men nearby, so he knows we are here. We need to move fast.”

  Chapter 25

  It had taken twenty-four hours with most of the Purgatory team on the terrain, both in the castle and outside the castle, to secure the location. At all time, teams were patrolling the highlands. Inside, a team of six was guarding the possible entrances and upper turrets. One of the advantages of old castles was that they were designed for the sentry, for seeing while remaining invisible to the outsiders.

  Mac hadn’t had the time to have a private chat with her brother. And Matthew had purposely avoided her since he helped his wife out after tea. Jenny had been more supportive in giving her the information about the regular staff, inside the castle and on the grounds. She had gone through the planning of the Yuletide Ball with her, rel
aying all data to Gabrielle and the team for verification.

  Mac had seen Wesley in an intense discussion with Lance about camera positioning, and Sullivan had verified, sealed, and secured all lower windows, doors, or traps. If someone tried to get in, they would be alerted. Several noiseless alarms had been installed, and apart from Matthew and Jenny, only selected members of the staff had been informed of their locations. In all matters, the daily personnel returned home at night, so apart from the family and security, nobody should be found inside the castle walls.

  More discussions were planned in the morning with Jenny, Matt, and Gabrielle about the ball and the arrangements for the upcoming delivery. In the meantime, everybody was on high alert for newcomers, intruders, both through the village, but also in the mountains. Nothing was left to chance, and Mac knew Gabrielle and Purgatory too well to doubt them. If only that nagging voice in her mind would stop telling her that something was off, that she was missing something important. It kept repeating and it was no use.

  Now on the eastern turret, wrapped in a tartan blanket, Mac watched the skies. Partly overcast, it opened in small holes, revealing twinkling stars before covering them up again. The wind was cold, but smelled so familiar; like the remnants of autumn and frozen heather. It was so clear in her mind, each season, each smell, each sensation. Was that how home felt to everybody? Could home make someone forget the bad, the sad? The past dimmed a little, and she was glad for it. Her present fulfilled her more.

  Her peripheral vision made her see the guards, keeping their distance, but alert, analyzing the area. At that moment, Mac offered a simple prayer to keep Matthew, Jenny, and the baby safe. If she had to die, she asked for her aim to be true and to kill Calvi before her last breath left her body.

  As she scanned the land barely illuminated by moonlight, Mac wondered where Calvi might be. Him and his men. Last news, Rodriguez was still under lock and key in Seattle. New men, new troubles.

  Purgatory was the best independent agency in her opinion. All its operatives were at the top of their game, even if they had difficult, shady pasts. Mac didn’t worry about that. The terrain was her concern. Almost all of them were experts in an urban situation, or in Middle Eastern or Asian settings. The highlands were a totally different scenario. The weather could change suddenly, blurring distances, camouflaging threats. In the mountains, a predator became the prey in an instant. Caves lay invisible, and crevices swallowed men and beasts whole. It was too much to ask for her dear highlands to kill Calvi for her, but also too optimistic that he wouldn’t use those caves and holes to hide. This was her home, her terrain, and she knew the place like her own skin. Night or day, she had roamed those mountains as a child.

  As she scanned the land, Mac felt more and more restless. Before even realizing it, Mac was on her way down to where she had left her equipment. She had heard Jenny showing Lance, Wesley, and Sullivan their rooms and she was expected to return to her old one, intact since the old days. Another step she wasn’t sure she would ever be ready to take. Instead, she grabbed a pair of boots, her coat, and black cap, and holstered her gun in her belt before opening her case to get her rifle. Once she had verified everything twice, she went to the door. Making a quick call at the sentry in charge of the eastern quadrant, she told him that she was heading out and not to shoot, and would contact him on her way back. The man understood better than to discuss with her, but he wasn’t happy to let her out alone. No doubt he would make some calls, to Gabrielle probably. However, she didn’t really care.

  The more she walked, the more her eyes grew accustomed to the dim light of the overcast sky. Mac took a small path she used a long time ago to climb up the closest mountain. Not a well-known one, but it would hide her moving silhouette from the castle. It was impossible to access that side of the ridge apart from using this path, as the slope ended with a steep, rocky cliff. Unless they wanted to ascend, it was an impractical approach. On the other side, lying down on a small overhang offered the perfect vantage point to the valley. So, she waited. She waited for anything that moved or emitted light. Once she was certain the place was empty of threats, she would proceed on to the other mountain. She was calculating in her mind how much terrain she could cover during the night when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She didn’t bother looking—it was Gabrielle ready to blow her ear off, and she didn’t have the patience for it. Instead, she positioned herself, lying on the ground, installing her rifle, surveying each part of the valley through her visor. Instinctively, her heartbeat lowered and her breathing calmed. She was exactly where she was the most comfortable, behind her visor, in control and ready.

  Minutes passed, nothing. As a matter of fact, she didn’t expect them to be stupid enough to establish camp so close to the castle. Satisfied they weren’t there, she started to get up when rocks rolled on the path behind her. Her gun was out and pointing at a shadow coming in her direction, arms raised in surrender.

  “Don’t move.” She hissed her order, knowing that the wind and echo could carry her voice easily in the valley.

  The form stopped and spoke. “It’s me, Mac.”

  Mac cursed when she recognized the deep voice of Wes. She holstered her gun as he came forward and knelt beside her.

  “I should have shot you! What are you doing here?”

  Now closer, she saw his face, eyebrow quirked. “I should be the one asking you this question.”

  “Only doing some surveillance. Nothing to worry about. I know the terrain, it’s effortless to me.”

  “Yeah, you were a mountain goat in a past life. It wasn’t easy climbing that path without making any noise.”

  “You made noise. I just heard you.”

  “I made noise deliberately when I saw you lying there. I didn’t want you to shoot me if I closed in without warning you first.”

  “You shouldn’t have come.”

  She got up and slung her rifle over her shoulder. Wesley rose, wincing.

  “How is your thigh?”

  “Still attached to my body.”

  Mac arched a brow. “You’re getting better if you’re starting to make lame jokes like Lance.”

  “Only a side effect of being with him constantly. I will revert to my stern self when he’s gone.”

  “Be still my heart. I’m fine, Wes. You can return to the castle. And to be honest, I would prefer that you go back. Of all the security personnel, you’re the only one with Lance and Sully I fully trust to keep my family safe.”

  “I would rather you come back to the castle with me instead of being here, searching for Calvi alone. Not only is this dangerous, but you can’t be certain he’s hiding nearby. Tomorrow we are planning to canvas the area, if he’s here, we will find him.”

  “Go back, I’ll just satisfy myself and make sure the immediate area is safe. The lay of the land is burned in my mind, I won’t engage.”

  Wesley looked around before sighing. “Very well, then. I’m coming with you.”

  The stubborn warrior was back. She growled and passed beside him and started back down. After a few steps, or was it more a few hundreds of them, something began to bug her. It took her a moment to realize that it was the sound of Wesley limping behind her. Damn.

  Mac was furious he could have worsened his thigh and she was about to tell him a piece of her mind when something caught her attention. Out of reflex, she crouched, and without a word, Wesley did the same.

  “Light beams, one mile down on the left. No, make it two miles.”

  The beam was gone now. Mac wondered if she didn’t experience a hallucination. Just as she was about to stand up again, and blame it on stress, the beam reappeared, moving in a quick circling pattern before being joined by a second beam and vanished once more.

  “What’s at this location?” Wes’ voice was so close, she felt his breath in her ear.

  Mac sifted through her memories, hoping she remembered all the important details. “I think it was a cave, a small stream, and a rundown hunter’s lo
dge. More like a shack.”

  “Could they be hunters? From the village.”

  Mac also debated this theory. “Hunters would have lit a fire. And definitely would have been more vocal. At this time of night and alcohol, they would probably have started singing.”

  Wesley snorted, or did he? The sound was quickly hidden by a cough. “Okay, so let’s go down and circle around. We should be able to reach them in few minutes.”

  In other circumstances, Mac would have jumped on the opportunity, but if Wesley was limping, it was a bad idea. The path he was proposing was difficult on a clear day, and making it without revealing their presence would be virtually impossible.

  “What about you get the security team and I’ll go do some recon as I wait for you?”