Authors: Lara Nance
Yep, she’d dropped her guard.
“
Damn it
.” She retreated a few steps.
He chuckled and lowered his arms, shrugging. “See, I told
—”
In an angry, purely impulsive move, she tackled him around the middle, sending them both sprawling backwards to the floor.
“What the hell was that?” Rolf shouted.
“
That
was my guard being pissed off,” she said from on top of him, face inches from his, glaring until her gaze went to his lips. She ran her tongue over hers, almost able to feel the hot pressure of a kiss,
needing
to feel it. Her chest squashed against his, exquisite torture as they both gasped for air. Her breasts tightened at the contact, sending a shiver down her belly.
Her gaze flew back to his. His pupils contracted and he wrapped one leg over hers, flipp
ing her to her back. She let out a small “
Oof
” as he landed on top of her. That didn’t do anything but stoke the fire raging in her stomach.
“And again you drop it and put yourself in danger.” He held her arms down to the thick carpet, his breath hot on her face. “You
r emotions will be your downfall, Cara.”
“Get off.” She suddenly burned with embarrassment
, knowing the others observed this interchange. Squirming to escape gave her the revenge of seeing Rolf’s expression change and his body stiffen, revealing how much her wiggling body discomfited him. He pressed his lips together and drew in a quick breath then rolled away. “Just…work on your—your guard. Okay?” He grabbed his jacket, clasping it at his waist, and escaped down the stairs to his room.
Cara pressed a hand over her smile.
Now
who’d let down their guard?
###
“Ah ha!” Alistair entered the salon that evening waving a handful of papers, a book stuck under the other arm. His glasses were perched in the disheveled mass of gray hair atop his head.
Cara
turned from the bar where she’d poured herself a glass of wine. A whisper of disquiet swept over her at Alistair’s interruption. Everyone else stopped what they were doing and stared at him.
Alistair
dragged a chair closer to the coffee table and spread the pages on its surface. He brought his glasses back to his eyes and shuffled through the papers, bony fingers shaking. “Ah, here we go. Found this on the computer. Since the stone Rolf described is so large and therefore rare, I decided to see if one fitting that description had ever been up for auction.” He extracted one sheet and handed it to Rolf, who’d crossed the room to stand before him. “This is a record of an Andean opal being sold at Sotheby’s in 1993. The buyer: one Desmond Stone.”
Rolf studied the
report, eyes roaming across the paper like a pendulum. “It’s him. He lost it after I fought him in Japan. He must have been desperate to recover possession if it’s as powerful as you say.”
“I agree
.” Alistair gathered up his papers and placed them in his jacket pocket. “But at least we know what the element is. Now we might find a way to neutralize it.”
“
But, Rolf, if it’s so powerful, how do we know Bermuda is safe?” Amber shrank against Tor on the couch.
“It’s over six-hundred miles from
Norfolk. The cities in his plan were all much closer to the central location. We must assume there’s a limit to his reach. Otherwise, he would’ve just spread the Net over the whole country,” Tor said.
“We’ll know once we
arrive. If anything appears suspicious, we’ll leave,” Rolf said.
Marc
rubbed the back of his hand across his forehead and looked away, running his tongue over his lips.
“I always wanted to see
Bermuda,” Amber said wistfully.
“
Me, too,” Cara replied. “But not like this.”
###
Desmond peered over Carlton’s shoulder as he typed. Finally, they were putting their plan into action. Tomorrow the money would flow, and he would be a billionaire within days.
“
Finished. The ad is scheduled to run every hour for the next twelve hours on every major station in the cities we control.” Carlton hit a few last keys and swiveled around in his chair to face his master. “A picture of an orphanage and the words ‘Desmond Stone Saves the Poor Children’ over it. When they see the real ad asking them to send money, they’ll be subliminally ready to believe it.”
“Excellent.
Arrange for the men to pick up loads from the post office box at intervals. There will be millions of letters coming in,” Desmond said. “And the diversion of taxes to my account?”
“It’s already taken care of,”
Carlton said.
“Good
.”
“What about expansion to the next tier of cities? Will we be ready to make
the move on the next moon cycle?”
“I think not.” Desmond paced away, rubbing his chin. “I want to make sure the area we hold is secure through another phase. We can
then expand with more confidence. I don’t want to overextend given the newness of some of our members.”
Carlton nodded and returned to his keyboard. “I’ll send the
allyus
notices.”
“We need to identify more Dealers to turn, also. Tell them to be on the hunt.”
Desmond strode to the window of the computer room and gazed down on the street outside. People walked by, unaware they were no more than a flock of sheep to him. They moved more slowly than usual, and there was little to no interaction between them, but that was to be expected in their Light-reduced complacency. They didn’t have a clue about what had happened, they just went about their pitiful existences. A chuckle escaped his lips. So incredibly easy!
Today, they would start receiving the first of his subliminal ads.
Then the real ads would tell everyone to take one-hundred dollars, put it in an envelope and mail it to a P.O. Box as a donation to the charitable Desmond Stone who was saving the world’s orphans. And with the authorities in his pocket there would be no one to question his legitimacy. Millions of people, sending him a hundred dollars—it was just too easy.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Avalon
pulled into St. George’s Harbor, Bermuda at eight o’clock the following morning. The sun shone brightly in a cloudless, azure sky to glitter over the rippling crystal clear water.
Rolf
paused with his palm on the handle of the outside door in the salon. “Everyone stay inside while the crew and I check in with immigration. It’ll take a while, so relax. I’ll be able to detect any energy deviations in the marina workers, which might indicate some interference by Takers.”
Cara peeked out a window with Sha
na beside her. The others sat scattered around the salon. Tor raised a hand. “We’ll wait, but if I see any trouble, I’m coming out.”
Rolf slipped out the door and
, after a tense half hour, they were able to leave the customs dock for a marina.
“
That went well.” Cara joined Rolf at the side rail while
Avalon
maneuvered into its slip.
“No sign of anyone at less than full Light.” Rolf
scanned the busy marina area. “I think we can be comfortable Desmond’s web did not reach this far.”
“Now what?”
“I need to go into Hamilton. There’s a goldsmith there
. I hope to find some gold we can use in making the amulets. Would you like to go with me?” He blurted it out before he realized what he’d said.
She
bit her lip, then her face brightened. “Yeah, why not? I’d love to see more of the island.”
“I have to arrange for a taxi, so go get ready. We can do some shopping while we’re out and pick up anything you missed in our mad rush to leave
Norfolk.”
“
What about the others?” She jerked her head to the salon where the rest of the group waited.
“They can do
some sightseeing and shopping. Might as well have a pleasant break after all they’ve been through. While they’re roaming, tell them to keep an ear out for any news from the mainland.”
“All right, I’ll be back in a second.”
She rushed inside. Her face had lit with happiness at the mention of going to look at the island. So much for keeping her at arm’s length. It seemed even his unconscious fought to throw them together. He sighed. At least the prospect of the trip infused her with a hint of pleasure instead of constant worry. She’d been the victim of a great deal of trauma and fear for the past week. He had to admit she needed a break.
After giving
his crew their orders, he called for a taxi. Cara came up the steps to the salon dressed in white linen pants and a pink T-shirt.
“This is the closest
to resort wear I have.” She laughed, held out her arms, and twirled.
“Looks great to me.”
He was unable to restrain a grin at her exuberance. “Let’s go, the taxi is here.”
“How far?”
Cara asked as they headed down the dock to the parking lot where the taxi waited with engine running. The driver had the car’s window down and waved to them as they approached.
“Not too far. We’re in St. George
, which is on the northeast tip of the island. Hamilton, the capital, is about in the middle. So you can enjoy some scenery on the way.” He gave the driver directions and sat back to enjoy Cara’s changing expressions as she stared out the window at the passing landscape.
“It’s beauti
ful,” she exclaimed, pointing here and there with a huge smile on her face. “The buildings are like pastel pastries topped with white icing.”
He
nodded, her pleasure an infectious balm to his battered soul. Somewhere deep inside he remembered a time when he had not been on constant guard, when laughter had been near to his lips and joy to his heart. But all those times existed before Sakhet died. The emotions were old, rusty from disuse, but Cara polished them bright and brought them forth so easily.
He’d been
to the island many times, but seeing it with Cara made this feel like the first time. A thrill of pleasure shot through him every time she laughed at some new sight. Could he learn to appreciate life again with someone like Cara? He gazed out his window at the vibrant green vegetation and the bright splashes of color off buildings, churches, and awnings, all against the backdrop of a clear robin’s-egg blue sky. As they reached the outskirts of Hamilton, he marveled at the sensation of a smile stretching his lips.
The taxi dropped them in front of a goldsmith and jewelry store.
Rolf climbed out and extended a hand to help Cara from the backseat. The taxi sputtered away and a chilling, toxic aura slammed into him. His muscles stiffened. It wiped away the small hint of awakening pleasure he’d begun to feel. Reality. He was stupid to think he could have happiness again.
“What’s wrong?” Cara stared at him.
“Takers,” he said. The sensation faded and his shoulders relaxed. He’d experienced this same sensation many times in many places—the distorted energy of evil.
“Close?”
She put a hand on his forearm.
“Don’t worry. They’ve left the vicinity. The q
uestion is whether or not they’re an isolated group or followers of Desmond.”
“We should warn the others.”
“Unfortunately, our cell phones won’t work on the island. Let’s get what we need and go back to the boat.”
“Okay.” She glanced
over her shoulder.
“I’ll be inside for a short while. There’s a nice shop with women’s clothing next door. I’ll meet you at
Point Pleasant Park across the street when you’re finished.” He pointed to the area opposite them where people wandered around. He’d be able to keep an eye on her there. “Just stay with a group of people and you’ll be safe.”
She nodded. “See you in a little while.” She waved a hand and head
ed off along the sidewalk.
Rolf watched her for a moment. How disappointing to have detected Takers. It would have been nice to relax on the island for a day or so. What would it
feel like to be carefree again? To enjoy life and not worry about tracking down evil ones? This quest had been a part of him for so long, he’d all but forgotten the feeling of peace. He looked down and shook his head. Being with Cara made him crave pleasure again, but that would be dangerous for both of them.
###
Cara sat basking in the sun on a park bench, making use of her new straw hat and sunglasses. A constant breeze rendered the heat comfortable and brought smells of exotic spices to her nostrils.
“Did you find everything you needed?” Rolf
settled beside her. For a few brief moments driving over in the cab, she’d seen an uninhibited smile on his face. Now, the somber mask was back in place.