“No. I don’t have time, and I wouldn’t comprehend most of what you’re showing me, anyway.” I could tell he was disappointed, but there was no way I could be there when Sterling came down to look at the plans. She’d hash out every last detail. Every outlet, computer hookup, and monitor placement. I didn’t have time for that, nor was it a good idea for me to even be involved. This was Trinity’s department. She was in charge. Her new office would be in the building just down from Sterling’s. Maybe planning the layout together would help them bond. At the very least, it would give Sterling some control over her space; right now, she needed that. “I trust you, Jonas. I know you’ve got this. Just make sure Sterling and Trinity are happy, and I’ll be happy.”

  I picked up my empty plate and carried it to the kitchen, feeling a little better about things. Mama D’s assurances about Talon and Micah had done their job. Especially the ones about Talon. He was not Brown, and if, by some chance, he turned out to be, then I’d take care of it. I wasn’t the wet-behind-the-ears newbie I’d been when Brown came after me. In two months, I’d either be better, or Talon would be gone. I’d have a new house and a new office. The church was being built. Trinity and Jonas had a place of their own… and I had Lars. Now if we could just do something about Micah and the guy in New Orleans, the Russians, the Chinese, and whoever else was after me, and locate the missing children in the files Jenny and Connors had given me, things would be grand. Just grand.

  I gave Mama D a hug goodbye, thanked her for my breakfast, and prepared to make my get-away. Trinity had yet to make an appearance, and I fully expected my phone to ring in a few hours calling me back, but until that time, if I was lucky — I was free. Keeping one eye on the stairs, I tip-toed through the foyer and quietly slipped out the door.

  16

  “Taylor.”

  I opened one eye at the gruff growl floating down from above me.

  “Go away,” I ordered. I flattened my palms against the cool rubber coating of the protective mat I was lying on and tried my best to disappear.

  “Are you all right?” the man persisted, obviously not catching on that I wanted to be left alone.

  “I’m peachy,” I mumbled under my breath. “Just peachy. Now go away.”

  I really wasn’t peachy. In fact, I was pretty sure I was dying. Every bone in my body ached. Every muscle screamed in pain. I was on the floor because that was where Talon had thrown me before he turned around and left the training center, and I didn’t have the energy or even the desire to get up or move. Talon had been beating me up and leaving me for dead for the past three days, and all indications were he was going to do the same thing tomorrow, so what was the point? I could just stay here and save him the effort.

  “What’s wrong?” Lars leaned down over me, concern in his voice.

  “He’s killing me. That’s what’s wrong,” I informed him. “And it’s all your fault. You’re the one that brought him here.”

  “You agreed to the schedule,” Lars reminded me.

  “That’s when I thought he had a soul. The man doesn’t have an ounce of human kindness in him. He’s brutal and sadistic, and I know he’s out there right now, planning some new torture for me for tomorrow.”

  “Two months isn’t much time to prove himself — that’s if we even have two months.” Lars lowered his bulk to the floor and stretched out on his side on the mat next to me. “He’s trying to get in all the training he can as fast as he can. If it’s any consolation, he thinks you’re making good progress.”

  “Well, it’s not — because he’s wrong. I’m making no progress. Not where my power is concerned, anyway. It’s all been testing so far. What can I do? How long can I do it? Distance? Strength? Control? Focus? It’s endless and worse — my whole team is in on it. I get here in the morning, and they have it all set up and ready to go. Four hours of testing and pushing my powers, and then four hours of one-on-one combat with Talon.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad,” he chuckled. “He can’t defend against your mental power. You should be winning those rounds.”

  “I’m not allowed to use my power in the afternoons,” I groaned. “Why do you think I’m lying here in a heap? At least he sends my team away so they don’t see him mop the floor with me.”

  “You want me to talk to him?”

  “Talk to him?” I turned my head to glare at him. “Honestly, Lars, what kind of boyfriend are you? I want you to go beat him up.”

  “If that’s what you want, I’ll do it. Just say the word.”

  “That’s what I want.”

  “Okay.” He sat up, ready to go hunt down my attacker. Despite my annoyance with him, I smiled, knowing he was serious. He would do it. Risk his career, his friendship with Talon, and possibly his life. Just because I asked him to.

  “Stop.” I put a hand on his arm and pulled him back down onto the mat. “He’s my problem, not yours. I’ll handle it.”

  “You’re sure?” he murmured, tucking in closer to me. “Because I’m happy — as your boyfriend — to take on all fiends and defend you to my death.”

  “Lets hope it doesn’t come to that. For either of us.”

  I drew in a deep breath, testing to see whether I had any cracked ribs. They seemed intact. Painful but intact. Talon knew how far to push it — short of damage, but inflicting enough pain that I wouldn’t soon forget the outcome if I didn’t follow his instructions. I had a bad feeling that I was going to be remembering this afternoon’s lesson for the next several days.

  “What are you doing here, Lars?” I asked, finally regaining some of my senses. He didn’t just happen to blunder into the training center. He’d come looking for me, and odds were it wasn’t to see whether I was still alive or not. “Is there a problem?”

  “There is,” he admitted. “Rivers is here.”

  “Here? As in at Stone Hill?” He nodded, and this time my groan was audible. “Did he say what he wants?”

  “Just to see you and that it was important.” Well, that could mean anything, and only a small fraction of the possibilities were good. “I suppose I should go talk to him, but I really don’t want to.”

  “I know.” He rolled to his feet and held out a hand to help me up. “I’ll tell you what. You go see what Rivers wants and then go steam those muscles in that incredible shower I had custom made for you. Then I’ll take you into town and buy you dinner.”

  “That sounds great, but I don’t know that I’m up to dressing up and a fancy meal.”

  “Who said anything about a fancy meal?” he said with a wink. “I’m talking food truck. We eat on the street and head over to this little ice cream place that has the best coffee ice cream you’ve ever tasted.”

  “Coffee?”

  “Uh-huh. With chunks of imported chocolate and real whipped cream.”

  “What kind of food?”

  “Latin. Not Mexican. There’s a difference.”

  “I know there’s a difference,” I snorted at him, somewhat insulted. “Can I wear my jeans?”

  “You can wear your pajamas for all I care.”

  “How many scoops?” I asked. If he was going to bribe me to go out with him, I wanted to be clear on the terms.

  “No scoops. A bowl. That’s the only way they can fit all the stuff on it. I saw it the other day, and it’s a work of art. You won’t be disappointed.”

  “Okay, I’m in.” I checked my watch. I’d give Rivers fifteen minutes and not one second more. I had a date with Lars. “Where is he?”

  “He’s at the cart shed, waiting for you,” he answered with a grin. “Try not to kill him. That would spoil the evening.”

  “There’s a problem with the girl.”

  I was going to have to kill him, whether it spoiled the evening or not. I’d barely gotten a foot in the door of the cart shed when Rivers dropped the bomb on me.

  “What do you mean, a problem?” I ground out. “Don’t tell me you lost her already. You’ve had her, what? Less than two days?”

  “I didn’t lose her,” he shot back at me, “but I wish I had. She’s more trouble than you are, and that’s saying a lot.“

  Well, well, well. Looked like I wasn’t the only one that had my hands full when it came to Micah — a fact that made me feel infinitely better. It would make Trinity feel better, too.

  She’d spent hours up in that room going over what the girls had found about Le Roi Démon. Searching for proof that just wasn’t there. In the end, Micah had chosen to leave, and nothing Trinity said could dissuade her. She had called me. I had called Rivers, and the rest, so they say, was history. Micah was his problem now. Or so I thought.

  “I’m not taking her back,” I informed him, suddenly leery. I didn’t know what the problem was, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good, or Rivers wouldn’t have come to Stone Hill to tell me in person. “If that’s what you’re after, you’re barking up the wrong tree. It’s not like you have to hold her forever. I just need her detained until I get things settled in New Orleans. Once that happens, you can cut her loose.”

  “No. I can’t. Not without signing her death warrant. The people you’re after in New Orleans aren’t the only ones hunting her.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, totally at a loss. “Who else is looking for her?”

  “The Chinese. The Russians. A variety of others. The list is extensive.”

  “You don’t seriously expect me to buy that, do you?” I scoffed, convinced he was yanking my chain. “She’s just a kid. Why on earth would they want her?”

  “Because they think she’s you.” He delivered the news with a grim face. “I don’t know why, but for some reason, they think she’s the Sword of Justice.”

  “Because she told them she was,” I said, my heart sinking. “That’s how she recruited her little band of cutthroats down there. By claiming to be me.”

  “She has enhanced abilities, and you didn’t tell me?” Rivers roared, obviously blaming me for the situation.

  “There was nothing to tell,” I roared back. “She has no powers other than being a royal pain in the neck.”

  “You expect me to believe that?”

  “Why would I lie about it?” I snapped at the implication.

  “Same reason you didn’t tell me she was impersonating you.”

  “Because I thought it didn’t matter,” I spurted out in my defense. “I thought we were just talking about a few kids.”

  “Well, it’s more than a just a few kids,” he snarled at me. “The dark web is rife with people looking for her. Bad people. Her photo is up online, and there’s a hefty reward for information on her whereabouts. The minute she steps foot out of my protection, they’ll take her. And when they discover that she isn’t you, they’ll kill her, or worse.”

  “What could be worse?” The question came from behind me, and I whipped around to find both Trinity and Sterling standing nearby.

  “How long have you been here?” I asked, ignoring Sterling’s question.

  “The whole time you and Rivers have been at each other’s throats.” Trinity pointed to the temporary walls Jonas had put in for their offices while the buildout was going on. “Need I remind you we work here now.”

  Apparently I did need reminding because I had completely forgotten they might still be in the cart shed working. I should have known better. Trinity knew when to go home. Sterling did not. She had pretty much lived in her computer lab before I burned it down, and there was no reason to believe that had changed. Especially now that her new equipment had arrived.

  “It had slipped my mind,” I admitted. “But it’s just as well you’re here. We have a problem with Micah.”

  “So I gather.” Trinity nodded in agreement, then focused her attention on the man standing beside me. “Where is the girl now, Agent Rivers? You didn’t leave her on her own, did you?”

  “No. I didn’t leave her alone. What do you take me for? A fool?” Rivers snapped at her. “She’s outside. Handcuffed to the steering wheel of my car.”

  “She’s what?” I wasn’t sure what I was more upset about. That Rivers was using his vehicle as a mobile prison or that he had brought her back to Stone Hill. “I thought I made it clear you were to keep her on ice somewhere safe. Cuffed to your car isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

  “It’s not like I had a choice. You wanted this off the books, and that limits the options. Big-time. There’s no place to keep her but my place. No one to watch her but me and I can’t be there 24/7. People are starting to ask questions, and I don’t have any answers because I’m hanging out there on the proverbial tree limb trying to protect you.” Rivers’s voice was tense and defensive. “If she gets away and they find her before we do, she’ll lead them straight back here, and stopping that from happening is my number one priority, so yes, Taylor — I cuffed her to the car, and she’s staying there until you figure out something else to do with her because this is not going to work. Not any longer. I’ve done as much as I can.”

  “In other words, you’re giving her back.”

  “That’s right. I am.” His words were firm; his tone, decisive. “I’m not leaving here with her. If she was the least bit cooperative, it would be different, but she’s not. She’s combative and argumentative. You can’t reason with her at all. Most people know when they’re backed into a corner. They have enough sense to know when they’re licked. But not her. Either she doesn’t care that she’s being hunted, or she doesn’t grasp the severity of the situation. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Trust me. I understand.” I walked over to what passed as our temporary conference table and sank into a chair. So much for the fifteen minutes I’d allotted for Rivers. My muscles were screaming for that hot shower, but they’d have to wait a bit longer.

  “She knows these other factions are after her?”

  “She knows. I made it quite clear. Multiple times.” Rivers let out a defeated sigh, then walked over and pulled out a chair next to me. “Here’s what I don’t understand. This business with Micah being the Sword — I don’t get how she convinced anyone to believe her. It’s not like she inspires loyalty, and she certainly has no leadership qualities. If, like you claim, she has no power, there was nothing to prove she was who she claimed to be, yet they believed her. Everyone believes her.”

  “Smoke and mirrors,” Sterling cut in. “It’s all just smoke and mirrors. Tell someone what they want to hear and they’ll believe you every time. Word is out on the street that the Sword of Justice is coming to save them. They want to believe it, so they do. She simply told them what they wanted to hear. It’s called manipulation. We do it all the time.”

  “So do we,” Rivers informed her.

  “Apparently, you don’t do it very well.” Sterling gave him the eye roll that only teenagers can give. The one that says you don’t have a clue. She’d had it down to an art before, but since her association with Micah, she’d put a little polish on it, and it tipped Rivers over the edge.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” The man was full-out angry now. It was time to step in before things got out of control.

  “She doesn’t mean anything, Rivers.”

  “Yes, I…” The snap of Trinity’s fingers in front of her face stopped Sterling mid-sentence, and I bit back a smile. I didn’t know exactly what had occurred over the past few days between the two of them, but the dynamics had changed. And definitely for the better.

  “If you have something to say, Sterling, we’re happy to hear it, but remember who you’re talking to.” Trinity leaned forward, the warning implicit and clear. A warning that Sterling obviously took seriously. The dragon lady was back.

  “I only meant that if he’d bothered to find out what she wanted, he could have used it to get her to cooperate. That’s all.”

  “She wants Le Roi Démon and there’s no way to give him to her,” I said, raising a questioning eye to Trinity. “Is there?”

  “We don’t know who he is,” she informed me. “We suspect, but we can’t prove anything.”

  “What about you, Rivers?” I asked, turning to him. “You get anything for me from your contacts in New Orleans?”

  “Just guesses and hunches. Not enough to move on.”

  “The tattoo?”

  “As far as they know, it’s an identifier for his street thugs. Best they can figure is it’s to strike fear in the hearts of anyone who opposes them, and it seems to be working. They’ve set some fine examples of what happens if you get in their way.”

  “Or if you don’t follow orders,” I added, having seen two such examples lying in a bloody pool on the street in New Orleans. “What about the artist? They trace the source? Know who’s doing the artwork?”

  “They tried, but no one’s claiming the fame. Whoever’s inking them, they don’t have a shingle up advertising the fact.”

  “What about arrests?” I asked. “Surely they can get someone to talk.”

  “Probably,” Rivers conceded, “if they were alive to spill the beans. So far that hasn’t happened. You leave the group, you do it in a body bag.”

  So there was no quitting and no retirement. Joining up with Le Roi Démon was a lifetime commitment. The odds of us finding someone — anyone — to pump for information had just gone from slim to none.

  “Give me what we know.”

  “We don’t know anything. We assume whoever this guy is, he’s headquartered in New Orleans,” Rivers reported. “He’s moving a lot of merchandise — meaning children. His tactics are strategic, military in nature; his methods, merciless. But the topping on the cake is that he’s an enigma. He’s able to do what he does without leaving a trail. The NOLA FBI office has hit a brick wall. Said if I find anything, to let them know. ”

  “Great,” I muttered before looking to Trinity. “What about you?”

  “What he said.” Sterling snorted a laugh at Trinity’s reply, gaining a warning glance from her boss.

  “What? I’m just agreeing with you,” she huffed out in indignation at the rebuke. “This demon guy, whoever he is, is like a shadow. He’s worse than Ghost. At least with him, you can see the red laser light before he shoots you. There’s no advance warning with this guy. No indication of where he’s going to strike next. He’s just there one minute and gone the next. The only thing you know for sure is that if you cross him — you will pay.”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28