“We have to have a really excellent plan,” he said at last.
Mena tipped her head back to look at him. She hadn’t expected his brain to still be functional after all the teasing and sensual torture this evening.
He met her gaze, his sober. “And until we have a plan, you’re not going anywhere near a Harvester.”
She nodded, a lump welling in her throat. It was a huge concession. She knew that. “Go to sleep, Ryder. We have time.” She brushed his hair away from his face.
“I know.” He gathered her closer and yanked the sheet over them.
She shut her eyes and took a slow breath. One step closer to the end. Hopefully the end of the curse for her and not the end of her.
Over the next few days, Ryder wished he could take back his promise. Mena didn’t try to push him to move faster, just offered ideas or suggestions, or pointed out flaws in their initial plans.
There was simply no good way to do this. He couldn’t see how taking Mena toward the Harvesters instead of away was going to let her get rid of this curse. All he could see were endless possibilities for her early death, and he refused to allow that.
He pushed to his feet, looking at the rain outside their balcony doors instead of at the papers spread over the table. He didn’t need to look at the papers to know the messy notes and scribbles there were useless.
Mena remained in her seat, silent. Calm.
He scowled at the wet glass. She hadn’t argued with him about this since he agreed to her reckless idea. No, she’d been perfectly reasonable, thoughtful. Because she knew he had to agree.
Because he wanted it all.
“Is there any way to know if Ari has stayed in Virginia?” she asked, and he heard papers shuffling.
Of course there was. He’d have one of the guys snoop around and see what he could see at the family compound there, and it would be an easy answer to one question. Too bad there were a thousand more in need of answering. “Yeah, we can find out,” he said finally. “And how many more are coming and going.”
“Then we’ll know if he’s still making plans for hunting parties.”
Ryder’s scowl deepened, but he kept his mouth shut. He slid his forefinger down the window, following on the inside the path of the water outside. Shadowing it as it trickled, weaving from one side to the other. And his frown eased a little. They could shadow some of these Harvesters, as he’d done himself.
He was a fucking idiot.
He turned around and found Mena studying one of the notepads. “We need to find out who’s there, who’s just checking in briefly. The ones who are there longer are the ones Ari will be making plans for, the ones he trusts to get the job done.”
She glanced at him. “That sounds right.”
“Of course it is.” He winked at her. “So we need to find out how many of them there are. I’ll arrange for one of the guys to find out, and then we can shadow a couple of them, see where they’re going, what they’re doing. Then we have a better idea of Ari’s strategy and can figure out our own.” Something better. Something that wouldn’t get her killed.
“Okay.” She sat back in her chair. “And then we go?”
Right back there. “Once we’ve figured out what we’re going to do, yes.” He sat again, reaching for his laptop. He shot off an email to Carys and one to Ken, briefly outlining what he needed.
“Don’t you have clients who want to meet with you?” she asked.
Ryder shook his head. “Joel is the face man right now. He’s capable of dealing with any face-to-face meetings, and probably better at it than Danny or me.” He set the computer aside. “And don’t think you’re getting rid of me. My business is in perfectly fine hands. Just as you will be in a few minutes.” He rose and held out one hand.
Her eyebrows lifted. “Really?”
“Let’s go. We’ve been working on this all day, and it’s time for a break.” He caught her wrist. “You need to get naked.”
Mena laughed, but let him pull her from her seat. “You’re out of your mind.”
“Not yet, but we can work on that, too.” He towed her over to the bed and made her sit. “I’ll work on getting you naked.”
She stopped him when he grabbed the hem of her skirt, setting her hands on his wrists. “We’re going to be fine, Ryder,” she said softly.
“I know.” He pushed her skirt higher, so her legs came into view. “Aren’t you pretty?” Higher, and silk panties were visible. “Better.” He bent to kiss her, hard, then gave her a little push so she fell onto the unmade bed, laughing. “That’s more like it.”
Philomena needed to move. Pacing the room wasn’t nearly enough movement. Not enough distance. This being in limbo thing really sucked. She resisted the urge to rise and forced her tapping foot to still. Ryder was already aware of her restlessness, and she didn’t intend to put him on edge, too. More on edge, she supposed, since he was as keyed up as she was. It had rained for the past two days, keeping them in their room, and now they were waiting to hear from Ken and Joel about the goings-on at Ari’s.
In this case, no news was not good news. Though she supposed it was good enough she was alive.
Ryder muttered beside her, and she watched him scribble something else onto his note pad. His laptop chimed quietly, and she refrained from leaning over to look at the screen. It was probably Carys, with more non-news to report.
She pushed to her feet and moved to the window when he slid the computer closer. Even though it was still cloudy, the spring-breakers were out in full force today. The beach below was crammed full of people, bright towels dotting the sand. Even with the glass doors shut, she heard the sound of shouts and bird calls mingling.
“Fuck.”
She shut her eyes for a second, then turned around.
He scowled at her. “Only two guys are there with Ari, the rest are all coming and going randomly.”
Well, that would put a crimp in his plan to shadow these guys.
“And the two who are there aren’t leaving. They’re actually staying there, with just brief forays out of the compound. Son of a bitch.” He shoved away from the table.
Mena kept her sigh in and went to sit at the foot of the bed, while he paced the room.
He remained silent as he strode around the small space, over and over, and she rested her hands flat on the bed, leaning back a little to watch him. She knew what her plan would be now, but she wondered if he would come to the same conclusion or keep resisting.
Resisting, she thought, her gaze following him to a stop inside the sliding glass doors. He would fight this all the way. She knew that. She knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t want to just wing it.
Not Ryder, who planned as much as he could.
Although, she mused, as he pressed his forehead to the glass, he’d allowed them to travel randomly for a little while, but she imagined that suited his plan to throw off any Harvesters who might’ve stayed on their trail.
“We’ll have to go,” he said finally, not moving.
She blinked. “What?” She knew he hadn’t said what she thought he’d said.
He turned his head to look at her, his expression stark. “We’ll have to go. There.”
Her heart thudded faster, and she swallowed.
“We’ll have to go. Take the fight to them.” He shoved off the window. “I don’t like it, but I can’t see any other way to finish this.”
Her heart squeezed at the mix of anger and resignation in his dark eyes. “Then we win,” she whispered, pushing to her feet.
He hauled her into his arms and held her tight. So close she heard the hard beating of his heart beneath her ear. So close she could feel the tremors in him. “If we want it all, we have to. We have to win,” he rasped against the top of her head.
She shut her eyes and slid her arms around him while she sent a silent plea to the Gods for help. They really had to win, because she did want it all with him. With this man.
The Harvesters would not be the end
of her.
They drove north the next morning, winding into Georgia, before reaching South Carolina. He found a hotel when he’d had enough driving for the day, and settled them in for the night. He didn’t care if it wasn’t dusk yet. They grabbed a quick supper in the adjoining restaurant and retreated to their room.
Mena’s green eyes were shadowed and framed by stress lines. She needed some sleep. While she kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned her sweater, he pulled up his email. One from the office with a large attachment got his attention first.
Ryder watched the attached video, studying the man Joel said seemed to be taking over from Ari. Tall, sturdy, with intelligent eyes. Wary. Elek Tassos would be formidable eventually.
But he hadn’t Ari’s years of experience in the hunt. And even with the old man’s guidance, he would still make mistakes.
Like sending his cousins and uncles home to hunt their own territories instead of focusing their energies into more specific areas. That was a mistake, and Ryder would have to take advantage of it. Somehow.
“He looks a little like Kallan, but younger. Harder. Not nice,” Mena said from beside him.
He grunted. He didn’t think any of Kallan’s cousins were very nice, no matter what the hell they looked like.
“What do you suppose he’s trying to plot, holed up there in Ari’s big house?”
Ryder shot her a sidelong glance that made her laugh.
“I know that.” She smiled wider. “I meant...how does he really think he’s going to manage this when he doesn’t have any more clues about our whereabouts and plans than we do about his?”
He didn’t answer, just closing the video and then his email before setting the laptop aside. He dropped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. “Good question. If Athena isn’t helping them, aside from their ‘special powers’, then they’re working blind, too. So he’s trying to figure out what we’re doing. And, since he doesn’t know me, doesn’t know you, he’s got to guess. Plus he doesn’t even know where we are right now, and we have the advantage of knowing exactly where to find him and his great-uncle and their computer geek. Not that knowing does us much good, when they’re safe inside those walls.”
Mena twisted to look at him, her smile gone, and her eyes shadowed. “But they come out from behind their walls, at least Elek and Ari. As do the rest of the Harvesters who visit there.”
“We can’t pick them off, one by one. Even if it were possible, there are thousands of them around the world. Unless they were all in one place at one time, and we blew it up, we can’t get rid of them all.”
“We don’t need to get rid of all of them. Just the ones here, the ones who could actually do damage to us.”
He tipped his head to study her. “Any who cross our path.” He noted her swallow, the faint shadow behind her eyes before she nodded. “That could be a lot, baby.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” She frowned a little.
He didn’t argue with her. Reminding her now of the one she’d already killed didn’t do them any good. Especially when the chances were pretty high she’d have to do it again to stay alive. To have forever.
Chapter Fifteen
They got a new rental car the next day, then continued north. They took a break around midday once they crossed into North Carolina, stopping for lunch in a small town not far off the interstate. Mena didn’t rush him, so he steered her into several little gift shops to kill time. He was in no hurry to deliver her to the Harvesters.
Eventually, they strolled back to the car, where they sat to work out the next leg of their journey. Mena tucked her laptop away, and he felt a prickle at his nape, sending him on alert.
Holy hell. Him.
Ryder watched the man stride up the opposite sidewalk to his car. The guy had no idea how close he was to his target. Good thing, or he’d be dead already.
Mena shifted beside him, her gaze on the man as he slid into his seat. “He’s the one who chased us in Philly.”
“Yes.”
Her gaze narrowed. “And shot at us.”
“Mm-hm.” He stifled a grin. She was getting annoyed all over, just thinking about it. Good.
“What do you suppose he’s doing here? If Philly is where he lives, where he works, then he’s not in his home area.”
“No idea.” Ryder did wonder, though, if maybe they hadn’t been as careful as they should have been. Maybe the guy knew they were watching, knew they were within reach. Thinking it made his gut knot.
There was no way. None. This one’s departure from his territory had to be something else. Something Ryder couldn’t have guessed. Couldn’t have foreseen.
The Harvester started his car and eased away from the curb, and Ryder let him go, before he started their car, too, whipping out into the street and cutting over to the next street at the first corner. Then he waited at the stop sign as the Harvester passed them before he eased into traffic.
“He won’t be expecting anyone to follow him,” Mena said after a few minutes.
Ryder agreed, though he kept his mouth shut, watching the car ahead slow for another turn.
She slouched lower in her seat. “Are we far enough back to keep following him?”
“For now.” He made the turn, grateful for the two cars ahead of him, leaving a sizable distance between them and the Harvester. “But if he stays on this route instead of getting on the highway, we’ll run out of cover.”
She made a soft sound, leaning closer to the door so she could see the Harvester around the other cars.
Ryder didn’t know why he thought they should follow. He wasn’t sure what they could learn trailing this one guy. If he was closer to Washington and Ari’s home, maybe, because there would likely be others around. But this guy? He was an order-follower, not an order-giver.
But what order was he following? Surely with all the close calls in recent weeks, he wasn’t just taking a break from the hunt.
The car ahead made the turn toward the highway, and Ryder wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not. The highway meant more traffic. And more likelihood the Harvester would notice them tailing him eventually.
Mena sat straighter in her seat when they got onto the ramp. “North. Heading for Virginia? To Ari’s?”
“Maybe. But we’re still pretty far away, and I have to wonder what he’s doing so far south after our meeting in Philly.”
“I bet Ari wanted him out of there after he screwed up.”
He considered that as he eased into heavier traffic. “Punishment. Which would mean some crap job, no part in the hunt?”
“Possibly. Ari’s vindictive enough to do that, even if was the first time a guy screwed up. Kallan told us some things about what happened before they found Andi, and I think he would pull this guy out of the hunt altogether, just to make a point to the others. Kallan said one of his cousins made a mess of something, way before they found Andi, and Ari stuck him in the family museum, archiving artifacts. Serious punishment to a guy raised as a hunter.” She sighed. “And very short-sighted, I think.”
Why would anyone do something like that? Ryder had seen fuck-ups during his time in the military, and later with the intelligence agency, but taking a highly trained soldier out of the fight didn’t do anyone any good. Not in the long run. Plus it made for a pissed off guy who was much more likely to go off and do what they wanted eventually, probably to leave. Worse, to go do the job he’d been trained to do for an enemy or rival agency.
Stupid.
He couldn’t believe Ari was so stupid.
“He’s getting off already.” She frowned. “Did he see us?”
Ryder had made sure that wasn’t the case, so he shook his head. “No, he’s going somewhere.” Somewhere not Ari’s. She may be right. He was out of the hunt, at least officially.
Still, Ryder steered the car off the highway, about six cars back now, far enough not to draw attention to them but near enough to see where he was going.
Mena remained silent as they wound along th
e road, heading into another small town. Until the Harvester pulled into the driveway of a townhouse up ahead. “He lives here,” she murmured.
Ryder kept going past the house while the guy unlocked his front door. “Long way from Philly.” A dead end. “At least we know there’s one less guy hunting you.”
She snorted. “Yeah, but if he’d seen me, he would’ve taken the chance to get back in Ari’s good graces.”
He steered the car toward the highway. “Okay, back on the road.” He admitted to himself he would’ve enjoyed a run-in with the Harvester, just for a chance to vent some frustration over the gnawing fear in his gut over agreeing to this idea of hers. But he wouldn’t admit it to Mena.
Philomena watched him do laps around the short length of the motel room. “You’re making me dizzy,” she said, reaching out to catch his wrist when he came near enough.
“We’re getting too close.” Still, he stopped.
“We’re nearly a state away.” She slid her fingers up his arm. “Come here.”
Ryder let her draw him down beside her on the bed, though the disgruntled look didn’t ease any. His mouth stayed sulky and tense lines bracketed his eyes.
She leaned into him. “You need to relax.”
He frowned harder.
“Wow.” She shifted onto her knees and stretched up to kiss his cheek. “Gonna make me work for it, huh?”
Realization dawned in his eyes, and the scowl eased a tiny bit. “Maybe,” he said after a few seconds.
“I like a challenge,” she murmured, sliding her hand up, past his shoulder to the hair at his nape, a little too long.
He swallowed.
She contained her smile and eased her other hand across his chest, then down to curl her fingers into his belt.
Ryder took a quick, hard breath.
“Hm, where to start?” She leaned in and brushed her lips along his jaw, trailing soft kisses to his throat, to the top of his shirt. “You should lose the shirt.” She released his belt to tug at the soft cotton. “Then I can touch better.”
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