by Jan Coffey
For a long moment Alanna sat, speechless. She’d been played for a fool for a long time. She’d never really known the real Ray at all.
“Wow,” she finally managed to say.
He stared down at his hands. “We went along with how he wanted to play it. He’d agreed on a lump sum amount, and he was doing his part.”
“How much money did he get?” she asked.
He looked at her.
She shook her head. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. I can’t be any angrier than I am now.”
Alanna grabbed the tea cup and stared down into the dark liquid. Everything she’d told Ray on the flight here had been too close to the truth. That was why he couldn’t take it anymore.
“So he’s legally dead as far as the real world is concerned?” She had to know.
“I believe so. He wanted it that way.”
“Where did he go yesterday, when he left here?”
He again looked at her as if it wasn’t wise to know.
“I’m not going to follow him,” she told him. “And I’m not planning any revenge. I just need to know for my own peace of mind. I never want to see him or run into him.”
“He went back to where he was living during the period when you thought he was dead,” Steven said. “He lives with a girlfriend in Amsterdam. He’s established a new life and identity there.”
She didn’t want it to hurt. But it did. She wanted to pretend that she hadn’t been a victim. But she had been. She took another sip of her tea. She couldn’t taste it. The tears burned the back of her throat, but she refused to let them loose. She looked up at Galvin.
“You don’t know what my answer is right now. I might tell you no. After all these months of planning, after all the money and expense you’ve gone through, I might walk away. Was this worth it?”
There was no hesitation in his answer. “Absolutely. I had to take the risk.”
She stood up abruptly and carried the cup to the kitchen. She came back and grabbed her jacket. “I can find my way out.”
“Alanna,” he called to her as she walked away. “Your decision?”
“I’m staying,” she said, stopping at the French doors. “I’ll help.”
CHAPTER 52
Ankara, Turkey
Taking out Refik Omer was one of the easiest hits Finn could remember making in the past decade. Dikmen Valley Towers provided the perfect shooter’s perch, and the shopping area beneath was busy enough that Finn had eased the sliding door closed and drawn the shades before anyone on the ground even realized the reason Omer had fallen into the reflecting pool.
Finn packed away the rifle and went back to the computer, where he’d been reading today’s Belfast Telegraph online.
He picked up his mobile and speed-dialed Kelly. She answered.
“One hundred,” he told her.
“One more?” she asked, questioning as much as than telling him.
“Just one,” he told her. “But there’s been a bloody change of plan. I have to go to Washington.”
“Why?” she asked, sounding totally unhappy.
Finn looked at the article. The headline read that the presidential hopeful’s daughter was cutting her book tour across Ireland short. She was returning to the United States today.
“The job has relocated,” he said.
“I don’t like it,” she told him. “Maybe you should stop now.”
“No, I’m too close. It has to be done,” he said. “How are the twins?”
“They’re fine,” she answered.
“How about Mick?”
“He’s right here. Do you want to talk to him?” Kelly asked.
They hadn’t had much to say to each other for a few weeks, now. At least, he’d listen to him and was staying at the house. “No, just tell him I was asking for him.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to tell him yourself?” she asked.
“Na,” he said. Any mending they had to do had to be done face to face.
“Hurry back. I miss you,” she said quietly.
“You’ll be sick of me real soon, love. I’ll be around all the time,” he promised her.
“Can’t wait.”
Finn ended the call and read the article again. He hated when situations became complicated. Now, he would need to do some more research—decide on a new location, a new time. And Washington had surveillance-cameras everywhere. He’d done only one hit there in the past and he hadn’t counted on doing another.
One good thing, his jobber would have no trouble arranging for his rifle. America was even easier to find a safe gun in than Beirut. Still, there were extra expenses that he would have to charge to the account.
“Last one,” he told himself.
Putting it that way, Finn was almost looking forward to the trip.
CHAPTER 53
Belfast
Kelly ended the call and grabbed the milk off the table to put in the refrigerator.
“What was that about?” Mick asked, finishing up his breakfast at the kitchen table.
Kelly thought it was nice to see her nephew up and around this early in the morning. He was the most sociable she’d seen him in months. He’d played with the twins in their room this morning before coming down.
“It was himself on the phone,” she told him.
“When’s he coming back?” Mick asked.
She put water on for a new pot of tea. “I don’t know. He’s not sure.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
Kelly looked over her shoulder at him, surprised at the sharp tone. “Do you need something, Mick? I can help.”
“Where is Finn now?” he asked.
She’d never thought it made much difference to him where Finn was. “I don’t see how it matters where he is. Likely he’ll be back by the week’s end.”
“Kelly, please.” The young man pushed his plate away from him.
“You two don’t say three words to each other when he’s around,” she said shortly, facing the young man. “Now, you’re all in a dither over where he is and when he is getting back?”
He planted both fists on the table, leaning toward her. “This matters. Will you tell me where he is?”
She decided there wasn’t any harm in telling him. “He’s in Turkey, if you must know.”
“And where is he off to next?” he asked.
Kelly almost laughed. He was using that sweet tone of voice that was a signature mark of charm in the boys in their family. They were sure women had no chance when they put that on.
“He’s off to America. He’ll be coming home right after that, I’m guessing.”
Leaving his breakfast half-eaten, Mick charged out of the kitchen. Kelly watched him go down the front hall, scoop up his jacket off the bench and go out the door.
“And what in the devil has gotten into the boy now?”
CHAPTER 54
Grand Bahama Island
Since Alanna had decided to stay, there was no reason to stretch the schedule any longer than they needed.
The test cycles for the STEREO mission ran once a month but not on any preset timetable. Alanna could schedule it from anywhere. Everything was programmed. She was the one with the passwords.
Once she’d set the time, the wheels would turn on their own.
Two days after their arrival on the island, the nine other people who would be involved in the project met with Galvin. At that meeting, Alanna found out that the center of their operation was a small building on the north end of the property. The setup reminded her of one of NASA’s control centers.
With the exception of Jay and David, the others appeared to be employees of Galvin’s foundations. She wasn’t sure if any of those people knew the exact details of what they were going to do or the reasons behind it. She had an idea that at least some of them would be involved with diverting funds to charities listed among their foundation recipients.
It didn’t seem likely that Alanna was going to be involved with th
em, which suited her perfectly. On the other hand, a feeling of camaraderie quickly formed between her and David and Jay. They didn’t have to say it, but Alanna knew that both men greatly appreciated her final decision.
At the meeting, the support personnel were divvied up.
“This will be your group, Jay,” Steven said, introducing the four people assigned to work with him. “They’ll show you the files, the systems, the mock ups we’ve come up with. They’ll bring you up to speed.”
Jay seemed satisfied with that. Alanna already could see a difference in the young man. He appeared much more confident and comfortable with a computer in front of him.
“David, these are the accounts that we will be transferring funds out of.” Steven passed on a report to the banker. “They’re all Dubai accounts.”
Steven then introduced David to two people who would help him become familiar with the systems.
“And these are the accounts the funds are getting transferred into.” Steven passed on a report much thicker than the first one. “Any of you are welcome to add any nonprofit organization you want to this report. The lists include many non-U.S. accounts, as well. And don’t be concerned about traceability. By the time we’re done, there will be no way to find out how the money reached those accounts.”
Alanna noticed David delving into the reports right away. She’d lost another chess game to Leah last night. That little girl was all heart, and Alanna looked forward to her wisecracking comments. Looking at her father now, she figured an organization supporting kidney disease or cloning would soon be there, if it wasn’t already.
“Dr. Mendes,” Steven turned to her. “You’ll be working on your own until the day of the test. Jay’s group will assist you with any communication issues once the trigger is set.”
This meant that she had nothing to do until then. Alanna would call Phil just to tell him about the schedule but that was essentially a courtesy call. And it wasn’t unusual for her to plan the test at the oddest hours of day or night. In fact, the whole point was to make sure everyone was on guard twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. She also had to call her abuela. Alanna had made up a story about going on a business trip. After all this was exactly what she was doing. Alanna knew her grandmother would be happy to hear her voice. She was glad that she’d never let her abuela know about Ray’s fake death and return. He didn’t deserve to be mourned twice by a woman so good as her grandmother.
“When is the earliest time we can schedule the test?” Galvin asked her.
“I need twelve hours advance notice. That’s it.”
“How about if we go in two days,” Galvin told her.
Alanna nodded. He looked around at everyone else. She couldn’t believe it, but she was going with it. It was practically a done deal.
CHAPTER 55
Washington, D.C.
Amber used the excuse of jetlag to mope around her father’s house for two days. She didn’t call any of her friends. She didn’t contact her advisor at graduate school to let him know that she was back, and she made no arrangements to catch up with her work. She didn’t let her mother know that she was back from Europe. She didn’t even bother to tell her publisher that she’d cut her trip by a week short. She let the bookstores know that she wasn’t showing up. That was enough.
Thankfully, her father let her be, and the housekeeper stayed out of her path.
That was good for one day. The attitude wasn’t enough to get her through the second day without everyone insisting on interfering with her wallowing. The housekeeper told her that the senator’s secretary was on the phone and that she wasn’t hanging up until Amber spoke to her.
Susan was quiet, efficient. Amber couldn’t imagine what had riled the young woman enough that she was actually issuing a challenge. There had been two calls from her this morning that Amber hadn’t returned.
Susan wasn’t much for small talk, and this always suited Amber. She had no desire to chitchat about her trip. Susan got to the point.
“In the past twenty-four hours, I’ve received five calls from a man who insists he needs to get in touch with you.”
Their phone number at the house was, of course, unlisted. And Amber didn’t give out her cell phone number to too many people.
“Did he give his name?” she asked.
“Let me see, I have it right here. He’s got a very hunky Irish brogue. Did I actually just say hunky? Honestly, he sounds like he just got off the boat, although he actually isn’t off the boat yet. It was an international call.”
Amber leaned against the nearest wall. This was too much to hope. Her heart started beating so fast that she feared Susan would be able to hear it.
“Was it Mick?”
“Yes, it was Mick. He wouldn’t leave a last name,” Susan told her. “He kept saying you’d know.”
Amber knew. “Did he leave a number where I can call him back?” She kept her fingers crossed, hoping.
“No, he kept saying he wanted your number. But I couldn’t give it to him before I talked to you.”
Susan continued with a detailed explanation of the conversations. On her end, Amber felt like a two-year-old. She wanted to jump around the room.
“He said he’d call back before the end of the day.”
Amber glanced at the clock on the mantel. It was already 4:30 in the afternoon.
“Did you tell him how late you were staying tonight?” Amber asked, needing to know.
“I have a lot of work to do tonight. So most likely I’ll be around until six or seven,” Susan told her. “But I told him five.”
Amber was relieved. “Listen, Susan. Please give him my number. My cell phone number,” she added as an afterthought.
Susan laughed. “So is he anywhere as good looking as he sounds?”
“Even better,” Amber said, feeling a sliver of warmth slip through her.
“Where did you meet him?”
“At a book signing.”
“Was he buying a children’s book?”
“Kind of…well, not really.”
Amber was glad she wasn’t the only one who got rubbery-kneed at hearing Mick’s accent. And she hadn’t even seen him in person.
She wrapped up their conversation and ran to take a shower. But she stopped. She didn’t want to miss his call. She paced through the house. She couldn’t sit still. She tried to pick up a book she’d started on the flight back from Ireland. It was no use. She couldn’t concentrate. Her gaze kept going to the clock every couple of minutes. Her mind was full of memories of what they’d done. How great she’d felt.
She didn’t want to think about why he’d left without leaving a number or address. She didn’t know why he was trying to reach her. Maybe he wanted to return the money he’d taken out of her wallet. She would only accept the money if she could see him in person. She’d read him the riot act…and then she’d jump him.
Her cell phone rang at two minutes to five. The hello was enough to know it was Mick.
He talked for a couple of minutes as if he’d never left that hotel suite without so much as a goodbye. She responded to his questions, hiding how messed up these past few days had been. He asked her about cutting her trip short. She lied about some appointments she had back home.
“Listen, I’m flying over there for a short visit, and I was wondering if I might bunk in with you,” he finally asked.
Amber couldn’t believe it. She was ecstatic. But she needed to clear the air about the way he’d left.
“Before I say yes, Mick, I need to ask you about something.”
“I know what it is. You want to know about the money.”
“Okay? So?”
“It wasn’t that I needed it. I just wanted to, well…” He was searching for words halfway around the globe. “It’s difficult to explain over the phone. But I will explain. And I know you’ll forgive me.”
“Oh, you know that?”
“I’m certain of it. In fact—” His tone became much lighter. “�
�I’m thinking you’ve already forgiven me.”
“Really?” she asked.
“If you hadn’t, we wouldn’t be talking now, would we?” His voice was like a caress.
Amber smiled. This guy was too much.
“So, what is it?” he continued. “Can I stay with you for a few days?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “Count on it.”
She knew her father might mind, but it didn’t matter. She was old enough to make decisions like that herself. She’d lived on her own since she was eighteen. Just because she’d moved back to the house, it didn’t mean that he had any power to object to her personal choices.
She realized she was having this argument prematurely. She hadn’t even spoken to her father yet. In a worst case scenario, she’d stay at a hotel with him if she had to.
“Can I pick you up at the airport?” she offered.
“Sure, sure thing. I’ll call you back as soon as I’ve made my flight arrangements.”
“That’s great,” she said.
“By the by, I’m thinking it might be a good thing for you to catch up on your sleep before I get there.”
Her insides twisted deliciously. She felt her face burn. She was actually blushing. “I’ll do that…and you’d better, too.”
“Don’t you be worrying about me, darling.”
“Mick, I don’t know your last name.”
“That’s true. But it doesn’t matter, does it?” he asked.
It didn’t. She stared at the cell phone for the longest time after they ended the call. At least she had his return number.
She was acting on impulse again. The same way she’d hooked up with him in Dundalk. The same way she’d left Ireland and come back home. She wondered if he was acting on impulse coming here to see her…or if it was how he was feeling about her that was making him do this.
Amber stared at her cell phone. It had to be something more than impulse. She hoped.