by India Kells
She went to the drawing room, where the team had set up, to find Gabrielle, all alone, typing and muttering to herself.
“I just sent you the report, Gab.”
Her boss grunted something before glancing up. “Never become in charge, Mac. If you’re not writing up reports or leading meetings, you’re trying to control crazy men, pent up and too ready for action for their own good.”
“Noted. What were the errands you sent those crazy boys for?”
Gabrielle looked at her, frowning, and Mac sighed. “Don’t worry, no leaks. Wes told me before he left. He said you were sending a team on an assignment? Are we missing milk or something?”
Gabrielle pushed back her blonde hair over her shoulders, and pivoted on her chair, stretching her legs. “If only. I had our dear founder and friend Beatrice sweet talk her new husband to convince the British Army to lend us some much needed ammo and night-vision equipment. Also, if we are lucky, we should be able to have the satellite in time for the ball.”
“Wow, impressive.” There wasn’t much Beatrice Dante couldn’t access or do, in Mac’s opinion.
“Yeah, as we cannot spare you that night to play the goat in the highlands, that was my second-best option.”
“Is the security setup done for tomorrow?”
“Yes, according to our resources and time, of course.”
Mac looked through the windows. “Somehow, I wish we weren’t so thorough.”
“What do you mean?” Her boss angled her head, intrigued.
“Security is priority. Especially with all those civilians attending. But if there was a way to crack our armor up, just a little, to allow Calvi to slip in. Maybe we could take the opportunity to trap him.”
Gabrielle sighed. “I tried over and over again to twist that scenario in my mind, but there is no way to do it safely. And our shield will be used to its maximum with all those people around. Thank goodness, the weather isn’t supposed to be so good, it will keep everyone inside.”
“Don’t rely too heavily on what the skies can spit out, not around here.”
“I’m with you on this. Be prepared for everything. That’s why I brought my bikini.”
Mac shook her head, amused. Lightness couldn’t last, but only for an instant. As the thought popped in her mind, someone came running from a distance. Sullivan burst in the drawing room, a cell phone in his hand.
“Blue Team is under attack. Two cars are chasing them. The cell signal is sketchy, they just disconnected.”
“Shit!” Gabrielle turned to her computer, locating the GPS of the vehicle.
“Who’s in the Blue team?”
“Wes, Lance, and two guards.”
Her heart froze, but it was no time to wallow on that. Instead, she inhaled and turned to Gabrielle’s screen as a map appeared with a blue blinking dot. It took Mac an instant to get situated.
“They left the main road. They’re using a secondary one that won’t offer many options. They need to get off it before they hit the next village.”
Eyes still on the map, calculating their possibilities, she listened as Sullivan was trying to reach the team, over and over again. When he got hold of them, he was shouting. “Wes! Talk to me.”
How she wished she heard the other end of the line. But beside a very recognizable voice, only the noise of gunshots.
“Wes! Listen to me, we have pinged you. You’re heading to a village and a dead end, you need to get out of there.”
Wesley shouted something she didn’t understand. Sullivan yelled back to wait and he gave Mac his phone.
Mac took it, focusing on the screen, above Gabrielle’s shoulder.
“Wes!”
His voice was muffled by all the commotion. Gabrielle gestured for her to take her place. She switched the phone to hands-free mode.
“Wes, listen to me. I need you to take another road. Do you understand?”
“I am! But … wait a second.”
More gunshots and yells from the men inside the car. Waiting was the only option. Mac turned to Sullivan.
“What type of vehicle are they in?”
“Your father’s Range Rover.”
Mac looked at the blue dot slowly moving across the screen. A four-wheel drive vehicle might be for the best. When Wesley came back on the line, she didn’t hesitate. “What vehicle is Calvi in?”
“There are two sedans. He’s in one of them.”
For once, they had the advantage.
“Wes, one mile from your current position, there will be a slight curve. At that curve, you will see a dirt road on your right. You have to take it.”
“Bad idea. We’ll be in the open.”
“I know, but your car can take it, the important thing is to follow my lead to the dot. That road isn’t easy to navigate, but it will force the others to stay behind you.”
“Okay. But we need back up badly. One of the guards has been hit.”
One look at Gabrielle and Sullivan confirmed that they were already on it.
“Taken care of. In the meantime, follow my directions.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Was it a hint of amusement in his voice? How could he find something funny when his life was in danger?
“You’re one hundred yards from the fork.”
“Roger that. I see it.” He shouted for the others to hold on, and for an instant, tires screaming and heavy grunting were the only sounds on the speaker. “We’re on it.”
“Are they following you?”
“Only one of them. The sedan with Calvi in it remained on the road.”
“Okay, stay on that trail for now.”
“The other is trying to pass on my right.”
“Accelerate. Let him drive on the grass. Over the half-mile mark, that terrain will change to bog, marsh.”
“Understood. He just came back behind me. They must be low on ammo, they stopped firing since we hit that dirt road.”
“Good, is there a mountain in front of you?”
“Yes, and a big one.”
“The trail will end soon. Stay on the right side of the mountain, close to the first slope. From a distance, you should discern a rocky edge, a little like a long crown, follow it.”
“Damn, they don’t let go.”
“Listen, Wes, after the rocky edge, in front of you, there will be a ravine.”
“You’re telling me that now?”
Mac didn’t let his astonished incredulity faze her focus. “Yes, there will be a ravine straight before you. Once the rocky edge ends, let the other car come beside you. You won’t be able to see the ravine before you jump into it. So as soon as the edge ends, calculate no more than four hundred yards. Then brake. Hard.”
“Love, is your memory of this road that good after so many years?”
Mac sighed. “If it’s not, you can yell at me as much as you like when you come back.”
“You know I won’t. There is the rocky edge you were talking about. The sedan is closing in.”
“Don’t forget, only let him pass after the end of the edge.”
“I won’t forget.” Wes’ voice was so calm. Even if panic pushed at her mind, she decided to remain as stoic as he was.
On the phone, something winced from a distance. And then there was a loud noise, like an explosion.
Mac barely heard Wesley’s voice being drowned by the other ones. Lance cursed and there were more moans. Someone fired again. Was it a machine gun? More swearing and Wesley yelling unintelligible words over the phone. And then silence.
She redialed frenetically, but no one answered. It took all of her control and all of her hope not to run outside to the closest vehicle and make a mad dash through the highlands, behind that mountain, to get to Wes.
The blue point was now immobile on the computer screen. What did it mean? Did she make a mistake? Did her memory play tricks on her? Was it really four hundred yards or the deep ravine opened immediately there? Her mind was blank. She could only dial over and over again.
&
nbsp; Gabrielle grabbed her phone and signaled another number. She spoke quietly for a moment. “A team will reach them in five minutes. No sign of Calvi on the main road so far. They just turned on the dirt road and they can see smoke from a distance.”
It wasn’t Wes’ car. She would know it. Deep in her gut, she would know if something happened to him. At that moment, she prayed hard to anyone who was listening above.
Mac pushed away from the desk, to stand by the window. At a distance, there was a thin line of smoke making a straight line to the sky.
Gabrielle came closer. “I’ve notified the guards. Just in case it’s a trick from Calvi who may be running here. I prefer not to take chances.”
Her jaws were clenched so hard, Mac only nodded. Gabrielle returned to her phone and started talking rapidly.
“Understood. I’ll have Sully meet you there if you want. No problem. I’ll be waiting for your call.”
When she hung up, Mac braced for the bad or the worse.
“They’re fine. The smoke is coming from the sedan. Just before the ravine, as you said, the sedan tried to pass them, but instead of shooting, they threw a hand grenade. Wesley was able to swerve, but couldn’t avoid the entire blast and they went airborne, landing on the roof. As you hoped, the sedan crashed into the ravine. Right now, the rescue team is going straight to the hospital with them. Wesley told me that he lost his phone. That’s why he didn’t answer you.”
Mac turned her head to the mountain again as her heart flickered in relief.
“Good. Apart from the guard, is everybody unharmed?”
“Nasty shot, but other than the typical bruises, the rest of the team is fine.”
Sullivan looked at her as if she had suddenly sprouted green hair. Mac guessed he expected an explosion of some sort on her part. “I have to make the final arrangements for the ball. I’ll be back.”
Mac reached the door and kept walking. She fought against the thoughts scrambling inside of her head. She only needed to focus on the next step, about what needed to be done. Without noticing, she had climbed the stairs and went straight to the attic. Light still flooded the room and she started rummaging through different chests. At first, she didn’t even know what she was looking for. After a moment, she blinked, seeing herself sorting through her mother’s dresses.
That’s when she realized her hands were shaking. Stubborn as she was, she ignored them and kept searching. When it was her eyes turning on the waterworks, she didn’t acknowledge them. Careful of each piece of clothing, she continued digging into her past. It was then she found it; the one dress she remembered her mother wearing at the Yuletide Ball, an emerald silk slip, simple and elegant. The fabric glided in her hands like water, but what came to her undoing was the surprising fact that after all these years, wrapped up and placed in this chest, it still smelled like her perfume. Her mother always preferred musky aromas. It smelled like warmth, which she was so seldom with her own children. Maybe that’s why the scent represented her so much as she could only smell it when she buried her nose in her clothing. Only when she was that close to a real feeling of family.
The memory was so strong, Mac didn’t realize she was weeping, holding onto it, her scare of losing Wes forcing her to finally make peace with it, the image of a father and mother who loved her in their imperfect way although they never quite understood their daughter.
Chapter 33
Mac was back again on the ramparts, night surrounding the mountains like a cloak. She found comfort in the cold, punishing wind. The air smelled like rain. It was gathering as she expected and would be pouring hard tomorrow.
Mac felt pent up in the castle. It was difficult to be constantly with so many people. She let her mind wander to other places and realized she never owned anything. What a surprising thought. Gabrielle had her stunning house by the sea in Maine, Lance had that kickass apartment. Several members of Purgatory had settled somehow, if only temporarily.
The only place she had stayed for enough time to count was the apartment above the club. She liked it. She liked Seattle. Maybe she would ask Lance to get his brother’s number and discuss some longer-term rental. It wasn’t important where her home was on the continent, but instead of being a constant wanderer, she could start returning to the same place. A more central point.
Images of Margot, Lilianne, and Sebastian came to her mind, and she wondered if she could explore more of their friendship, given that they didn’t get completely freaked out about what she was doing for a living.
It could work. Only remained the question of Wesley Sorenson, what should she do with him?
“I knew you would be here.”
Mac jumped out of her skin at the warm voice behind her. When she turned, her heart still pumping wildly, she shook her head.
“I told you not to sneak up on women like that, Sorenson. It can be dangerous, remember?”
He smiled that delightfully crooked one she liked so much. “You didn’t throw me to the ground this time. It’s an improvement, isn’t it?”
There was a cut near his hairline. As she moved her hand to touch it, he caught her fingers. “It’s only a scratch.”
“Yeah, yeah. You were under fire, evaded a grenade, and flipped a car and it was nothing. Are you in good enough shape for me to hug you?”
“I was praying we would do exactly that.”
Mac knew his body would certainly be in pain, and she was careful when her arms wrapped around his waist.
The connection was all she wanted right now. She would not tell him of her breakdown in the attic, but she could do so without words.
“I worried about you, too, love.”
It was the second time he used that endearment with her. Again, she didn’t respond, but secretly relished at the feeling that maybe, that emotion was connecting them both.
“Care to tell me what happened?”
Wesley sighed deeply, his breath catching a little. Ribs she guessed.
“Calvi is a sick bastard. I think we overestimated his sanity. When we realized we were followed, the first car attempted to push us off the road. Then, Calvi came beside us and I saw him laugh. Not the kind of smug one, more like maniacal. Creepy.”
“And then what?”
“The bullets started flying. They brought in machine guns. I didn’t expect that. They didn’t even try to blow up our tires, they kept shooting at us and there was no way out. You gave us an edge out there. Thanks.”
“When I help from a distance, I’m much better.”
“I prefer when you’re this close, but I agree, watching us like a hawk is a definite bonus for us.”
“Too bad he didn’t follow you. You could have had a chance to kill him.”
“I doubt he would have fell into that trap. I fear he has something else planned. What about you? Everything is set for the ball tomorrow?”
Mac took a step back and nodded. “Yes. Every second of every minute, every inch of the castle. I can’t wait to put that behind us. Even if we do out best, it’s still a big hole we are trying to secure. So much can happen, it’s frightening.”
Slowly, his hand rubbed her arms in a soothing caress. “We’ll succeed. And part of me suspects that Calvi won’t intervene. If British citizens are wounded in a terrorist attack, I don’t think he would like to have an entire nation tracking him down. He’s known as only a criminal, and he wants to keep it that way.”
“I hope you’re right. Once that is settled, we will be able to hunt that bastard down. I don’t like being a sitting duck, not one bit.”
“Sorry to disappoint, but you don’t resemble a duck.”
Mac rolled her eyes. “Anyway, seeing Calvi captured or even better, dead, will definitely bring peace to my heart.”
“And then what?”
It wasn’t difficult to understand what he was referring to, but she decided to play coy on that one. “And then what?”
Wesley put his hands in his pockets and came beside her, gaze lost in the dark. “W
hat will be your next move, when Calvi is gone? And don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”
Mac grimaced. “I’m sorry to disappoint you but my reflection only led me to where I would stay afterward. I just realized that I never owned a place. Well, of course, here at Almirth, it’s one place. What I mean is having a place I can call my own. A place to return to.”