Page 61 of Heart of a Devil
“Right answer.” She kisses me again, then pulls back and waves her hand in my face. “Now put that damn ring on my finger and go be a hero.”
I do as I’m told, and as luck would have it, the gold band fits perfectly. It must be the only thing about Lauren that can be described as average. I stand up and pull her to her feet, and she yelps as I shove her back against the wall and pin her wrists above her head, then moans as I bite at her neck.
“Just to let you know, I haven’t gone soft,” I say.
“Definitely not soft,” she replies, grinding against my groin.
“Fuck,” I groan. “I’ve got to go. Save that thought, okay?”
Tearing myself away from her, I try to ignore my raging hard-on. I swear when my phone rings and pick up immediately when Gabriel’s name pops up. “Everything okay?” I ask. “Sam and Max all right?”
“Yeah, all’s good. I did what you suggested, and it worked. They’re safe in the basement, though I don’t think she’s happy about it. Listen, I’ve done like you asked and called in the troops. They’re all on standby, but the problem is I don’t really know where to send them. I don’t know where you are, mate—are you and Lauren okay?”
“We’re fine. I’ve got a place I never told you about. I’ll drop you and Sasha a pin, but so far, so good. Let me try to get ahold of him, see how the land lies, and we’ll take it from there.”
If he’s upset I’ve hidden this place from him, he doesn’t show it. We all have our secrets, and I guess he understands that. “Good. One thing to mention though, Seb—Taylor.”
“What about him?”
“He’s the only one I couldn’t get hold of. I spoke to the others, and nobody knows where the fuck he is. He knows he’s supposed to be on call at all times, but he’s gone AWOL. Probably off shagging his bird, but I thought you should know. I left him a message saying we needed him, that it was an emergency, but that was more than an hour ago, and so far, no response.”
I blink at this information, wondering how or if it fits into anything else that’s going on. Our work often involves unsociable hours, working nights and weekends, and because of that, we make it clear to all our staff that they need to keep themselves available. They get adequate financial compensation and work phones we can contact them on. Taylor going missing isn’t a massive deal, and under any other circumstances, I’d give him a bollocking and make sure he never forgot again. But right now? Right now, I’m paranoid. Right now, I don’t have a fucking clue who betrayed us to Volkov, and everyone is under suspicion.
“All right,” I say to Gabriel. “Probably just what you said—he’ll be balls-deep in his girl. You get back to my babies. Good luck, mate, and I’ll see you on the other side.”
He hangs up, and I find myself still staring at the phone.
“What is it?” Lauren asks. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure, but my spider senses are tingling. I need to check out the cameras, but I need to call Sasha as well…”
“I can check the cameras. You make your call. Teamwork.”
I nod and give her ass the barest of squeezes as she goes past me. I message Sasha first, not wanting a ringing phone to give him away if he’s hiding.
Can you speak?
Almost straight away, he calls me and starts talking as soon as I answer. “I can speak. I’ve already left—the whole place was empty. I started off sneaking around, skulking in hallways and hiding in dark corners, expecting to be caught. But the house is abandoned, at least for now. No staff, no soldiers, no Volkov. Sadly, no Caroline or Nicky either. I tried to find clues as to where they are, but no luck. The only things left out were things I can’t help thinking he wanted us to find.”
“Like what?” I ask, a sinking feeling in my stomach.
“Like a file of photographs. You, Gabriel, Samantha, Lauren. Myself, looking very dashing, I have to say. He knows we’ve been helping Caroline. The question is how long he’s known. Was today’s execution and evacuation spontaneous, or did he know the timing of everything—and if so, how? Not a question we’re going to be able to answer straight away. For now, I’d suggest you stay on high alert. He is armed, he has men, he knows way too much about you—and he is, above all else, a ruthless bastard. I’m going to call in a few favors with some mutual acquaintances. Did Caroline ever mention any place she was taken to? A venue for the parties she was shared at? Anywhere other than their home?”
I frown as I try to remember and tell him I’ll check with Lauren and get back to him. “Gabriel is safe with Samantha and the baby,” I tell him. “And for the time being, I’m at my cabin—I sent you the location just in case. But I’m probably going to head out soon, and if you let me know where you are, I’ll get a couple of my men to meet up with you. The more of us looking, the better.”
We agree, and I spend a few minutes on a flurry of messages. I’ve just finished when Lauren yells my name from the office, and I take off toward her voice. “What is it, babe? Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m all right,” she says, sounding a little breathless as she points at one of the screens. “But there’s something you need to see. I don’t think we’re quite as safe as you thought.”
Chapter
Thirty-Four
LAUREN
I’d been looking at the screens for a few minutes when they arrived—two big black vehicles, parked up by the gate at the top of the path. The path that leads straight here, to the cabin. I don’t shout for him immediately in case I was mistaken. Of course I wasn’t though. This isn’t the kind of place you happen to pass by mistake. I have no idea how people have found Seb’s retreat, but someone has, and they don’t look friendly.
He swears and stares at the screen as a man dressed in black climbs out of one of the vehicles and pushes hard on the gate. The chained padlocks hold firm, and after what looks like an angry exchange through an open window, another six men emerge, half of them openly carrying weapons.
