by T. C. Clark
“The security cameras have definitely been tampered with. You can still make out the images of our silhouettes but our faces are distorted. I’m not sure what they are trying to do here. But whatever is going to come out in the news isn’t going to be the truth. I also just received a report that says we are in the vicinity.” Dmitri held up a police scanner and Lily sighed. This was just getting worse and worse.
“A video like that wouldn’t hold up in court. Without a clear picture of your face, they couldn’t prove you were here,” Alex explained. Lily smiled; he was always a lawyer first.
“This isn’t going to make it to court. I bet you after all of this is done that video is going to disappear. Someone is going to be blamed for it and most likely fired and the case will be closed.” Sandy came back into the room with a few papers in his hand. Her blond giant looked lost in thought.
“How can we help you?” Maks asked. He was holding his little girl close to his chest. His wife Leslie hovered near by holding their bags.
Nikos walked in and handed a bundle of money to Sandy. At first Sandy refused to take it, but when Eden walked up and whispered something to him, he finally relented. No one could say no to Dmitri’s sweet wife.
Lily sighed as unfamiliar guilt touched her conscious. These people didn’t ask for this and yet they were still trying to help. It was time for her to take control of the situation. She wasn’t prey. She was a predator, and it was time to start acting like one. Lily felt her brain finally click on. It was time to start assigning tasks and then they needed to get everyone out of here.
“Alex, Maks, Leslie, and Tara, you all look into NICON. It’s a new security firm that is working with the government. Be careful, don’t push too hard. I just need the information on how the company was started and who backed them monetarily. You don’t work for the government without paying to get in.”
“Julian, you head back with Bella and keep an eye on her parents.” She pointed to her cousins. “Once NICON realizes I’m looking into them, things could get dangerous. I don’t want my family suffering because of this.”
Finally she turned to Nikos. His intelligent gray eyes were completely focused on her. “Nikos, I feel like you have a private island. You look like the kind of guy that has a private island.”
He shrugged his powerful shoulders. “I may have a private island that depends. Do you want to blow it up?”
Lily laughed, the Greek had jokes. “I said that one time, and now I’m the girl that likes to blow things up. I need a place for Dmitri and his family to go.”
Dmitri remained silent. He didn’t know what he should do. He didn’t want to leave Lily and Sandy to face this alone, but he couldn’t abandon his family. They were everything to him. They needed his protection. He didn’t trust anyone else to do the job.
Also, he knew the men in that video. They were the worst kind of predators. All of this could be a setup. They could simply attack again in a few weeks when their guard was down.
Yet, he worried about the Librarian. Lily was his friend, and she was going after a man who destroyed her life. How could he let her face that alone? What kind of man would he be then?
He struggled to find the right words.
“Lily, I can’t leave you alone to deal with this.” Dmitri looked lost. He didn’t want to leave his family, but he couldn’t deny his need to go after the people who’d torn down the Sanctuary. If it wasn’t for them, he would be dead, and he would never have met Eden. The Sanctuary made his current life possible. How could he walk away when they finally needed him?
Lily smiled at Dmitri. He’d always looked out for her. He was one of the few men in her life that she could depend on. He’d always had a sense of justice. She knew he wanted to help, but he needed to focus on keeping his family safe.
“What makes you think she’s doing this alone?” Sandy asked for the first time speaking up. Lily had a feeling she was getting annoyed with Dmitri’s protective attitude towards her. Lily put a hand on Sandy’s arm and squeezed. He relaxed under her touch.
“Don’t worry about me. You have a family, Dmitri. You did it; you got out and started over. This isn’t your fight; not anymore. Your job is to protect them. We can handle this,” she said with a confidence she didn’t feel.
“And the Magician, you can handle him?” Dmitri watched her face. Lily knew he was trying to gauge her reaction to the situation. She hated that she still shuddered at the mention of his name. She’d ignored her instincts with the Magician and it had cost her dearly. Luckily, she wasn’t the type of woman to sit around and cry about the past.
“I’ll figure it out. I always do,” she said stiffly. Now that she had a target to focus her rage on, maybe she could find a little peace.
“What do you want us to do?” Luca asked. He was standing next to Aidan and Anita.
“Okay, let me think. Aidan and Anita, we may need your medical services at some point. Can we come to you if anything happens?” Lily hated to ask them for help after everything they’d been through recently. However, having good doctors around was just good planning.
“You know you can,” Anita said and Aidan nodded.
“And Luca…” she started only to be interrupted by Dmitri.
“Does this island have internet?” Dmitri asked Nikos.
“Of course it does. I’m not a savage.” Nikos frowned at the absurd question.
“Then Luca, you can help me,” Dmitri said. When Lily looked ready to argue about him getting involved he put up a hand to silence her.
“Don’t worry. This is my problem to figure out,” Dmitri said using her own words against her.
“Okay, we will go with Dmitri and Eden to the island, and I will assign everyone here a security detail. I think we all know what we need to do,” Nikos said firmly. Everyone moved to collect their children, leaving Sandy and Lily alone for a moment.
“You didn’t assign me a task.” Sandy watched her closely as if he wanted to know exactly what she was thinking.
“I don’t know what you want to do,” Lily said, looking away. She walked to the other side of the room to put some distance between them.
“What do you want me to do?” Sandy asked. He followed her slowly.
“Sandy, this is complicated, and I… care for you. I can’t ask you to follow me.” Lily turned away from him. She knew he would do anything to help her. But this was his one chance to start over. As much as she hated NICON, she was pretty sure they were telling the truth. The Chemist was too logical for that. He wouldn’t want to waste resources going after the few members who got away. Sandy was always in service to someone. This was an opportunity for him to be free.
“Don’t be a pussy, Lily. That shade doesn’t look good on you. If you want me to stay, say the words,” he said in Russian.
“Excuse me?” Lily spun around with her hands on her hips.
“You heard me.” He walked over to her and tilted her head back. She wondered if he noticed the pain in her eyes. She couldn’t hide it, not with him. He was going to have questions and knowing him, he would demand answers. He leaned down and kissed her gently.
When he finally lifted his head she spoke. “I want you to come with me, but I don’t want to force you back into this. They said we could be free.” He silenced her with another kiss. She tried to pull away when the others re-entered the room, but he held her close and only released her when he felt ready.
“Then I will,” he said simply.
“I know this is a crazy thought, but Dmitri said you could walk away?” Leslie, Maks’ wife, asked as she put a coat on her baby.
“That’s what they said, but I’ve never been one to run from a fight. Also, I can’t let them get away with what they did to the Benefactor.”
“Who is the Benefactor?” she asked. Sandy grabbed the matches from the counter and walked into the kitchen. Lily knew what he was going to do. Nikos was going to be pissed.
“He was the leader of the Sanctuary. He was like
all of us, but instead of working to protect only himself, he created an organization to offer help to people who were trapped in work they no longer wanted to do. He was good to me, his family was good to me, and they have his daughter. Those men, they are the worst parts of us. There is no telling what they are going to do to that little girl.”
“Why do I smell smoke?” Nikos asked angrily.
“No reason. We should go, though. The fire alarm is about to go off.”
“There are other people in this building,” Nikos snapped.
“Obviously,” Sandy said turning to talk to Dmitri. “This guy acts like this is the first time I’ve ever started a slow-burning fire.”
“How are you going to get out without being seen?” Ada asked. Nikos’ wife pulled her kids close to her side and followed them out.
“Do you have some hats? I have an idea.” She smiled and then she stopped cold. “Fuck, we need to go check on Rhea.”
“Rhea, the Mechanic? That girl can handle herself. Didn’t she retire from the Sanctuary?” Sandy asked.
“She only retired because she had no other choice. Well, she had a choice; it was just a difficult one.”
“Not to be an ass, but we don’t have time to go protect someone who can do it themselves. Rhea is as good as any of us.”
“Sandy, she’s not that far away. We are going,” she said firmly.
“I agree with Sandy. Why do you need to go? If the men coming after her are anything like the men that came here, she can handle it on her own,” Dmitri added.
Lily rolled her eyes at the two dumb men standing in front of her. All of the other women in the Sanctuary had recognized the signs in Rhea immediately. The Mechanic had been one of the members tasked with taking out the dreaded three. It was Rhea’s handiwork that put the scars on the Chemist’s face. She didn’t believe they would just let her go.
“Rhea’s pregnant,” she said simply. She turned away from them and grabbed her bag. Ada handed them a variety of hats and coats. She slipped hers on and walked out the door. She needed to get to Rhea quickly.
The Russians looked at each other and shrugged. “Why didn’t you lead with that?” Dmitri asked to her retreating back. Everyone moved quickly when the fire alarm blasted. According to the clock, they still had time to get out.
Lily knew Rhea could take care of herself. She was smart and damn good with bombs, but the Mechanic was also her friend. Somehow they’d become close over the years, and Lily had to be sure she was okay before they moved forward with their plans.
The Mechanic retired after being hospitalized twice for morning sickness. Lily had been with her when she’d found out the news. To say she wasn’t happy about it was an understatement. Whenever Lily asked about the baby’s father, Rhea had ruthlessly shut her down. The baby was hers, and that was that.
Lily would check on her first and then she would deal with the others.
Two
Chapter 2
* * *
Lily and Sandy arrived at the Mechanic’s house a couple of hours later. The car ride was quiet. Lily was busy checking some of their online secret forums to find out if any of the other Sanctuary members survived, and Sandy was occupied with making sure no one followed them.
Lily recited the way without looking up from her computer. She’d been to the Mechanic’s home before and knew the safest route. He had questions, mostly about her relationship with the Magician, but he knew Lily. She wouldn’t talk to him until she was ready.
Her beautiful face was a mask of concentration. So far, she’d confirmed the death of twelve other members of the Sanctuary. Apparently, the other teams sent out to take out some of the other members were better than the ones they’d sent after them.
He didn’t know how to convince her to leave this alone. He’d seen the look that passed between Dmitri and Lily; there was something more than vengeance driving her. The pain he’d glimpsed on her face tore at his soul.
They’d stopped once at a small convenience store to fill up on gas and change cars. Lily had disappeared inside and changed clothes. She slipped on some tight blue jeans, a black tank top, and a pair of white sneakers. He grew hard as his eyes traveled her gentle curves.
She’d removed her makeup. Her light brown skin was flawless underneath. He’d never seen her in casual clothes. Lily had a penchant for feminine sixties style dresses. Even knowing her skills couldn’t stop the inevitable growth of his protective feelings for her. He needed to remember why they were here. He’d tried to keep his mind focused on the task at hand, but his feelings for the Librarian were growing too fast.
She was the opposite of him. It’s why everyone liked her. She knew how to deal with people and how to make them comfortable. He’d known about her relationship with the Magician. Many of the Sanctuary members dated; they were too secluded and too busy for much else. Although, he didn’t know exactly how much that man meant to her.
He pulled onto a bumpy dirt road and she suddenly looked up. She frowned and yelled, “Stop the car!”
Automatically, his body obeyed. The car skidded to a halt, and she was thrown forward. He caught her with his arm. Lily winced from the impact but smiled up at him. “Thanks, Sandy. That was my fault. Rhea has traps all around these roads. It won’t kill a person driving but it will destroy their car and strand them. Let’s pull over here and walk.” She pointed to part of the woods that had a clearing.
He could only imagine the horrors that awaited them. Rhea had earned the codename, the Mechanic, because of her skills with explosives and machinery. She was a master at traps. Lily’s only real friends in the Sanctuary were Rhea, the Mechanic, and Willow, the Hunter. He knew she would do what she could to protect them. She was a loyal person. It was probably her biggest flaw as an agent.
An assassin always had to look out for themselves first. People in their trade were experts at lying. He wouldn’t be surprised if the Mechanic ignored the message from NICON and chose to trap them instead. She could give them over to the authorities for the large bounty. Lily wouldn’t see it coming. But that’s why he was here. If Rhea did anything to hurt Lily, friend or not, he would take her out.
He maneuvered the car into the woods and got out. Lily cut off the computer and grabbed their bags. “Okay, we have to travel down this row of trees. We can regroup when we get to that outcropping of trees up there.” She pointed off in the distance to a small cluster of Oak trees.
“It should be about two miles. Once we are there we’ll have to adjust our route. She has a lot more traps closer to the house. I’m hoping we can trigger some type of alarm that will force her to meet us out here. It’s going to get tricky the closer we get, and we haven’t even made it to the section with the electric land mines.
Sandy rolled his eyes and followed Lily down the path. They needed to get this handled as quickly as possible. He’d already formed his own plan in his head. He would contact an agent code named the Forecaster. If he was still alive, he could figure out how he could get to NICON. He would leave Lily somewhere safe.
Who was he kidding? He would have to pay a friend to politely kidnap her. Lily wasn’t a woman who would allow someone to leave her behind. He had a feeling going after NICON was going to be a nightmare, and as much as he trusted in Lily’s capabilities, he wouldn’t allow her to be harmed.
He would handle this on his own. He’d already contacted a retired Sanctuary member named the Ghost. He’d garnered his codename because he could make anyone disappear. He’d perfected his skills until it was an art. Even though he’d left the Sanctuary, his reputation was still excellent.
The guy owed him for saving his daughter. He was the one person he trusted to do this job. This is why Sandy always collected favors as his form of repayment. Ghost would make sure Lily was safe, regardless of how she felt about it.
He looked over at his woman as she carefully made her way over the rocky terrain. He whistled with appreciation when she bent over to retie her shoe. She looked back and
winked at him. He gave her a look that brought a flush to her light brown cheeks.
He had a feeling she was remembering the last time they’d been forced to travel through a forest. He’d taken her up against a large oak tree in the middle of the night. His cock swelled as the memory replayed in his mind. That was one of the only times she’d initiated the lovemaking.
She’d wanted to play out a Viking fantasy. He’d played his role well and thinking about his reward made his body grow hard in anticipation. He’d known many women in his life, some good, and most bad. Lily was different. She touched him in a way that no one else had from her playful nature to her sassy tongue. Once she’d invited him into her bed and life, it was over.
He knew she could take care of herself. For years, he’d watched her from afar. She was more than capable of taking out any entity that dared to threaten her. Still, he wouldn’t let her be involved with this. He’d lost everything he’d ever loved in his life. It was as if everything he touched he was destined to lose. He wouldn’t survive losing Lily. She’d been a light in a life filled with death and destruction.
She signaled for him to slow down. His hand went to his weapon and he scanned the area. Everything looked in place. All of a sudden he heard a noise to his left and then someone tackled Lily to the ground. They rolled, and before Sandy could react, they started fighting on the ground. The man was tall and lanky. He had a black mask that hid his face.
Lily was striking at him from her back using her elbows to land vicious blows. When he saw the glint of steel in the man’s right hand, he moved forward. Suddenly a gunshot sounded from above their heads.
Sandy turned with his weapon raised in the direction of the sound. The man on top of Lily paused. She used the distraction to roll her hips and flip him over. She reared back to deliver another blow and a bullet struck a tree to the right of her head. Sandy ran and tackled Lily off of the man and rolled her under him and fired back. He continued to shoot and only stopped when he saw two people standing at the edge.