Gambling with the Devil
Twelve hours later, we were on our way back to the palazzo. Eric drove while I wrung my hands. We’d had a busy morning and afternoon, and even with all the exhaustion, my nerves were raw and inflamed.
“Pull over.” I felt sick, so sick.
“We’re almost there,” Eric said.
“I know. Pull over. I need air and I need it now.”
He obeyed, steering the Volkswagen sedan we’d borrowed from the innkeeper after the old man had seen the bodies of the three assassins and had understood how important it was to get Benny safely to his father. Benny, headphones glued to his ears, sat quietly in the backseat, legs swinging as he stared out the window, oblivious to the tremors I felt in my stomach.
Eric had barely stopped the car before I opened the door and tumbled out, gasping for breath. He ran around to the passenger side and knelt in front of me as he helped me to my feet.
“You don’t have to do this, Aubrey,” he said. “You don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
“What if they don’t have your daughter? It may just be a bluff.”
“I can’t risk it.”
“I can take Benny back. My cover isn’t blown. I’ll say you escaped and I had a choice between you and Benny. Josh will believe me.” He chuckled halfheartedly. “He’ll probably raise my salary. It’ll buy you time to get away and it’ll buy time for me to find out if they really do have your daughter.”
I shook my head. They’d come after me again. I’d never stop running. Plus, they might really have Lilah, and how could I run away from that? “We’re too close to turn back.”
“I’ll hide the car. There’s a spot about fifty meters from here. We can walk to the gate from there.” Eric patted the disposable phone in his pocket, one we’d bought several hours before. “Josh is at the palazzo. He’s waiting for me. He’ll protect Benny. Pauline won’t dismiss me again. When I tell Josh what Caleb tried to do to Benny, do you know what’s going to hit the fan?”
“You’re going to tell Josh you hid Benny in my car?”
“Of course not. I’ll let Josh think Caleb did that, too. I know where the cameras are on the grounds. They won’t see that I was the one. And Benny will confirm how much unnecessary medication his uncle gave him before carrying him to the tower. Caleb is already in enough trouble with his father. It won’t take anything for Josh to believe me over his brother. Between Caleb and me, I’m the one with the better track record.”
I braced my hands against my knees and bent forward, sucking in air. I was glad now that we’d changed clothes in Naples and I’d traded my velvet dress for skintight leggings and a bulky red sweater that hid a utility belt underneath. I’d also exchanged my boots for athletic shoes, which were easier on my achy knee. I wished for some tiles to give me supersensitive strength, but they were well hidden, far away. Still, the aftereffects of their energy buzzed in my skin.
“I have a plan.” Maybe I was just reassuring myself. I did have a plan, but the probability of escaping with Lilah was slim to none. “The thing is to get Lilah out of there and then I’ll do what I can to get myself out.”
“And if you can’t?”
“Then… then…” I couldn’t even say it. For the past hour I’d been able to think of nothing but Caleb’s hands on my throat, almost as if I could feel them there already. “You’ve explained to Josh? The plan’s all set?”
Eric tapped the disposable cell phone on his hip. “I didn’t tell him about Caleb. Not yet. Josh’s phone is probably bugged. But I told him enough. I’m bringing you back for a trade with Simon. You’re willingly bringing Benny back and you’ll trade the artifacts for your daughter.”
I hesitated to ask. “Did he know what daughter you were talking about?”
Eric looked away. “He never said anything about a daughter. He was interested only in Benny’s safety. But he agreed to whatever swap you want as long as Benny’s unharmed. The exchange will take place on the towers, out in the open, like you wanted.”
In the open. Good. I’d be able to see everything, without the likelihood of a sniper hiding in the trees below or on top of a building. No one would be able to get a clear shot at me once I entered the eastern tower. The four watchtowers were situated with crosswalks between them and an X in the center, with stone handrails missing in some places. I was comfortable in midair, more so than anyone else would be. As long as I was up there, I’d be safe. They wouldn’t try anything underhanded up there. They wouldn’t want me to drop anything important.
I glanced down the narrow road. The shadows were growing longer, but the sun was still bright. “They’ll be watching for us. Too likely a sniper will pick me off when we get out of the car.”
“That’s why you’re going to carry Benny and I’ll carry the fake artifacts. Josh won’t dare let anyone get a shot at you. No matter how good they are. He won’t take the chance. Not with his son. And not with Caleb calling the shots or the shooters.”
“Hide the automobile then. We should walk from here. Any closer and they’ll be watching for us.”
“The walk will be worse on your knee.”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I just have to get through the day. After today, there’ll be no more hanging from threads.” I attempted a smile. “One way or the other.”
He glanced at Benny in the backseat. The boy didn’t know where he was yet. No sign of excitement at being so close to his home or seeing his mother.
“Eric? I think we should say goodbye now.”
Eric frowned and I looked away, focusing my attention on a spot in the grass.
“Once they see us,” I continued without looking at him, “we won’t want to show any evidence of camaraderie. If Lilah and I are able to get away…” I swallowed. “If I should survive… if I should… survive…” What was I saying? That if I lived, I might actually have a relationship with this man? Even if I survived the next twenty-four hours, how could I have anything with Eric Cabordes?
He planted one hand on my shoulder and with the other lifted my chin. “If you survive, I will meet you in six weeks. A friend of mine has a vacation home in London. You know him… professionally. His name is Robert Fraser.”
I jerked my head up at the name of the notorious thief. I hadn’t seen Robert in months, not since he’d appeared out of the blue with Analise Reisner in tow. The night Simon had ordered me to track Analise and retrieve a Madonna statue from her. Before that, I hadn’t seen him in years. I’d heard he was strictly legit now. “You know Robert?”
“And he knows you. All your identities, too. He and I have been working together for a while now. I’ll have business with the Adriano London office in six weeks. I’ll meet you at Robert’s flat.”
Something wistful flashed in his eyes. He moved to kiss me. I opened my mouth, but instead he kissed the side of my neck. His tenderness sent shivers through me. I wanted so badly to go back to that monastery bed and lie on his chest again and have him hold me. Wish for all of this to go away. No more worries about Lilah disappearing.
“That’s your plan?” I whispered. I sniffed. The last thing I needed was a teary goodbye, but my eyes burned and my throat lumped up. How unfair to have this promise of the kind of life I wanted, the kind of man I wanted, like a beautiful mirage calling to me, and to be faced with Simon… Caleb… the likelihood that in a few days I’d be too brain-damaged to care or to recognize Lilah’s name.
“No.” He kissed the other side of my neck. “That’s not my plan.” He brushed his lips across mine but didn’t stop for a kiss. Instead he pressed his lips against my forehead and held them there. He pulled my body in close to his chest, hard against him as he whispered in my ear.
“Don’t worry, Aubrey de Lune. I won’t let you suffer. If Caleb gets his hands on you—” his voice caught “—the only way I’ll be able to save you will be to put a bullet in your brain as quickly as possible. I’m an excellent shot.”
He stroked my hair and kissed the skin of my neck passionately. “Don’t worry,” he moaned. “I’ll make it quick.”
So this is what it’s like to walk before a firing squad, I thought an hour later as we approached the palazzo gates and the security guards opened them for us without a word.
I didn’t need a red silk scarf, either for a blindfold or to tuck into my neckline over my heart for a better mark. I wore a bright red sweater they couldn’t possibly miss, but it was part of my escape plan. They’d be looking for me in red. If I couldn’t escape—and I had serious doubts—then I’d need to buy time for Lilah to find the boat and get away. Better to call attention to myself than her, and I would gladly sacrifice myself for my daughter, just as I had for years sacrificed my desire to see her again because I’d wanted to keep her safe.
On the other hand, a firing squad would have been preferable over being given to Caleb for disposal if I failed. No doubt I’d spend my last hours bound or drugged and violated in every way imaginable. Caleb was a gifted enough lover to use my body against me. I couldn’t imagine a worse death than being brought to orgasm by a man I hated while he choked the air out of me again and again. He’d wake me every time and remind me how I’d eventually suffer brain damage and how he’d keep my body alive for a few days after my mind was gone.
I understood now why some informants carried cyanide pills or shot themselves through the temple. There are things worse than death.
I thought I’d wanted to have sex with Eric. Just sex. Exuberant, crazy, wild, passionate, hot, make-me-feel-alive-one-last-time sex. A coupling with no strings and with no thoughts of anything permanent.
I hadn’t gotten what I’d wanted.
Instead Eric had given me something I barely remembered experiencing with any man. He’d given me exactly what I really needed and hadn’t even realized I wanted.
Tenderness.
I clutched Benny to me as I limped up the hill to the palazzo and the towers. The buildings gleamed in the sunshine. Scaffolding crawled up the side of the eastern watchtower, the place I’d named as mine in the upcoming exchange.
Benny laid his head on my shoulder. I kissed his cheek and told him everything would be okay. I wasn’t so sure. Maybe he’d at least remember me when he was all grown up and the newest Duke of the Adriano family.
Eric walked behind, pointing his revolver at my lower back and hauling a tapestry filled with ceramic trivets—small tiles, some broken, that were imprinted with a red-inked Mother Mary. The sale had made a street vendor very, very happy. The real artifacts, including the manuscript, were safely hidden in a bathroom in the train station at Pompeii. Either I would retrieve them later or Eric would. The most important thing right now was for Eric to retain his cover. And that meant the gun at my back and the occasional shove forward.
My knee throbbed with every step. I knew we were being watched. If there’s one thing the Adriano Security team excelled at, it was watching. The sun was still high enough in the sky to light the deeper shades of the manicured gardens leading up to the main house.
My limp grew more pronounced with each footfall as I retraced my steps along the driveway to the main house, the same path I’d clomped along less than forty-eight hours ago with a package in hand that was indeed the most important artifact of the last millennium.
In the periphery of my vision I saw the movement of men as they stepped out from behind trees, columns, walls, gates, everywhere. Within a few slow, steady minutes, men in black and camouflage lined the way ahead. Every man had a weapon drawn. Every man was silent.
I held my breath as I pressed forward. Benny snuggled closer against me. “Keep your eyes closed, sweetheart. I don’t want you to see anything ugly.” He nodded, and I felt the muscles around his eyes scrunch up as he turned his face into my neck. Trusting, sweet. Eric was probably to blame for that.
Men kept coming out of the gardens ahead of me, lining the drive for as far as I could see, all the way to the main house and to the path beyond to the eastern tower of the four. Still, I had clear passage as long as I held their little prince. Clear passage to the tower. I’d known twenty paces ago that there’d be even less of a chance of escape for me than I’d ever dreamed. I was safe only until the “artifacts” I carried could be authenticated—or not. Simon wouldn’t kill me and risk losing the whereabouts of the real artifacts.
My knee was killing me. I grimaced with every step.
A man up ahead, a hulking blonde, stepped out in front of me, legs spread, his weapon aimed directly at Benny and me. I stopped.
“Algernon!” I heard Eric’s sharp command from behind me. “Stop being a hero and move aside! She’s been promised a clear path to get the child to his father. No one’s to touch her until the authenticity of those artifacts has been validated.”
Algernon’s smile quirked to one side. “Caleb says otherwise.”
I knew what he meant. It didn’t matter if he killed me. He needed to shoot through Benny to get to me. As the old saying goes, two birds with one stone.
I pressed Benny closer to me, holding his head tight against my cheek and his little legs wrapped furtively around my waist. He held on to my neck in a crushing squeeze.
“Algernon!” a voice above bellowed.
Benny shuddered. “Is my father angry?” he whispered. “Was my mother bad again?” I shushed him and he buried his face in my neck.
I glanced up into the sun to see a shadow leaning out over the stone battlements of the northern tower. Another figure joined him, much thinner and smaller. Pauline. Josh and Pauline, already in position and waiting for me. As long as they stood toward the center, they couldn’t be seen from below, but if they moved to the edge, a sniper could pick them off from this distance. I was glad now that Caleb had once courted me with a candlelit dinner on the western tower, so I knew the layout of the semirefurbished ruins. But step close to the edge? The men on the driveway could easily take aim at me. I’d have to remember that when I took my place on the eastern tower.
“Algernon!” Josh bellowed again.
That startled me. I’d never heard Josh raise his voice. I’d hadn’t known he was capable of it.
“Algernon! Put that weapon down! Dr. Moon has been granted safe passage to bring my son to me. If one hair on his head is harmed, I’ll come down there and kill you myself.”
I smiled to myself. I’d known Josh for a long time, but I’d never seen him so passionate about anything. Tension vibrated in the timbre of his voice. For as cold as Pauline seemed as a parent, Josh was her polar opposite. At the moment, though, Josh believed I was a kidnapper, and so our previous friendly relationship was now in doubt.
Algernon cursed in a language I’d never heard and stepped to the edge of the drive. He didn’t put down his gun, but he lowered it in deference to his employer.
In the two minute exchange, my knee had stiffened, and it creaked as I took a step forward. I winced again, took another step, and kept limping. So much for not showing my weaknesses to my enemies. They all knew I was wounded. If I hadn’t been, I might have pretended to be wounded, the way a mother bird feigns a broken wing to lure a predator from her young. But this was real, and I was in real trouble.
I limped past the main house, up the hill, a little farther. The incline would be slight but it was still an incline and I felt it multiplied in my tendons. Descending the hill would be even worse, but my plan was to escape in a different direction. Then again, most of my plans had not worked out so well recently.
By the time I reached the gaping doorway of the eastern tower, I was almost dragging my right leg behind me. Benny hadn’t seemed too heavy when I’d first extracted him from the backseat of the Volkswagen, but now he seemed to be the weight of the world. Obviously Eric had noticed. He’d ceased giving me the obligatory shove forward.
“Keep going!” he barked loudly from behind me. Then under his breath he whispered, “Keep going, Aubrey.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the henchmen on the driveway. They’d closed ranks behind us and stood at the base of the eastern tower. Not one of them came near the door or the tower walls.
I frowned upward at sunlight seeping through the stairwell openings of the stone floors above me. Stairs. Stone stairs. God, why stairs? I’d known about the stairs when I’d formulated my plan, but my weight had been off my knee at that moment and my mind had not registered how much climbing stairs would hurt. I whimpered before I realized it.
Eric moved in behind me. He must have heard me, because he scooped an arm around my waist, gathering me up and helping to pull me along the stairs beside him. No one was watching. He had to bear my weight, Benny’s and the fake artifacts in the tapestry over his shoulder.
Three stories up, I emerged in sunlight and fell to the stone floor of the upper deck of the tower. Benny tumbled down unharmed beside me, and the two of us scooted to the center of the tower floor, where we wouldn’t be seen by snipers below when we stood.
Eric didn’t bother to crouch. He stood to his full height and looked around, pointing his gun to one side but making it appear that he had the gun on me. “The players are all here,” he said without moving his lips.
“My daughter? Do you see my daughter?”
He squinted into the western sun, raised a hand to shade his eyes. Then he looked at the southern tower back to the western tower, and then to the north. “There’s a girl here,” he said. “I don’t know her. Never seen her before.”
God. Oh, God! It was true.
“Where is Dr. Moon?” I heard Simon’s voice coming from the south. Player number one on the southern tower. Josh and Pauline on the northern tower.
“It’s okay, Duke,” Eric yelled back. “She’s right here. So is Benedict. And the artifacts. It’s all here.”
“Then tell Dr. Moon to get to her feet. She’s tried my patience long enough.”
Eric didn’t move. “Aubrey,” he whispered, “are you ready?”
I shook my head. “No. But it doesn’t matter. I have to do this. Just…” I remembered the touch of his hand and the stroke of his palm against my hair. “Just remember what you said. That you won’t let Caleb take me.”
He nodded. “I swear by the Mother.”
“No snipers up there?” I asked.
“None. Just stay to the center of the tower. No one’s going to take aim at you as long as you’re carrying either Benny or the artifacts. They won’t risk anything being dropped.”
“She’s keeping the artifacts here for the exchange,” Eric called out. “I’m taking Benny back to his parents.”
I heard Pauline’s waiflike voice thanking God and all the saints in Italian. Most likely she was terrified that her little insurance policy might get hurt in the exchange and she’d lose her prize position as the wife and mother of an Adriano.
Benny opened his eyes and realized where he was. The tower. A tall tower. The poor little boy was afraid of heights, terrified of them. He grabbed Eric’s thigh and clung to him.
“Come, Benny. I’m going to carry you back to your mother and father now, but I want you to wrap your arms around my neck and keep your eyes closed and hold on tight. And I will take you there. Okay?”
The child nodded emphatically.
Eric glanced back one last time before he started across the narrow bridge to the northern tower. We locked gazes for a brief second. He seemed to will me to see the promise in his eyes.
I swear.
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© 2006 Lorna Tedder. All rights reserved. Free to read here — please don’t repost elsewhere.