Fountain of Secrets (The Relic Seekers) (9 page)

Nathan looked around the room as if Jake might have stashed her somewhere. “Where is she?”

“In the tower room. She was hoping to have a vision.”

“Of what?”

“Her parents. Remember the child she said was born in the tower room? It was Kendall. Her mother must have died giving birth to her here.”

“Bloody hell.”

“Yep.”

“I’ve got to talk to her.”

“Can’t it wait till morning?”

“No. I have something to say that I want you both to hear.”

“Is Kendall in danger?”

“She might be.” Nathan dropped his bag on the floor and walked to the door. “You coming?”

“Give me a minute, unless you want me to go like this.” Jake pulled on his jeans, shirt, and boots, and then he and Nathan went to the tower room. They knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

“Kendall,” Jake called, banging louder. He shouldn’t have left her alone. But he had been half afraid he’d take what she was offering. He wanted her, more than he’d ever wanted anyone. But he didn’t want her sleeping with him to escape ghosts.

“You’re going to wake the whole castle,” Nathan said. He tried the door, but it was locked. “You could pick the lock.”

“You could rip it off its hinges.”

“I don’t think she’s in there.”

“Probably not,” Jake said. “She would have come to the door. She’s not a sound sleeper.”

Nathan gave him a look that made Jake wonder if he had a death wish. If Nathan went into Hulk mode, Jake wouldn’t stand a chance. He pulled out his pocketknife and fiddled with the lock. They heard the key hit the floor on the other side. “There.” Jake opened the door and walked inside. “Not here.”

“Where the hell would she be?” Nathan asked, coming in behind him.

“We’re talking about Kendall. She could be anywhere. Let’s check her room. Maybe she went back.”

“How’d the door get locked?”

“She could’ve gone out the secret passageway and back to her room through another door. This castle probably has secret doors in every room.” They checked, but she wasn’t in her room either. The velvet bag holding the crosses lay on a table next to her purse.

“She did take them,” Nathan said.

“You knew?”

“Marco did.”

“How’d he know?” Jake asked.

“How does Marco know anything? He’s a paradox. He knows stuff he shouldn’t and can’t remember stuff he should. Here.” Nathan handed Jake one of the crosses. “We might need these if she’s exploring.” He put one of the crosses over his head and put the other one in his pocket.

Jake put on the cross. He thought it was Marco’s but wasn’t sure. They looked alike in the dim light.

They checked the castle, searching the rooms that were open, but she wasn’t there. “She must be outside,” Jake said. “I did tell her it was fine to explore.”

“You’re supposed to be watching over her.”

“You’ve got a damned army here. What could go wrong? The way you worry about her makes me wonder if you’re in love with her,” Jake said.

“She works for me. That’s all. I protect my employees.”

“Bullshit. It’s more than that.”

“You’re the one who’s all over her, trying to get her in bed. Maybe you’re in love with her.”

“I don’t know the meaning of love,” Jake said.

“That’s why I’m telling you to stay the hell away from her.”

“You’re the one who keeps putting us together.”

“You know what I mean. You’re supposed to protect her. That’s it. Not that you did this time.”

“I didn’t know I needed to keep an eye on her in the middle of dozens of guards and all these damned statues. By the way, she knows you’re watching her apartment.”

Nathan frowned. “How does she know?”

“I told her. I saw the camera.”

“There’s a damned camera in her apartment?”

“Not inside. On the building facing hers. It’s not yours?”

“No. I’ve got guards keeping an eye on her place, but that’s it. I’ll have someone check it out.”

“Maybe her neighbor is spying on her. He’s trying to get in her pants.”

“Which neighbor?”

“Dark-haired guy. Looks like one of those cologne models.”

“The new one? I’m still checking up on him. She told you he’s after her?”

“She didn’t need to. I watched him talking to her.”

“She needs to stay at the mansion where I can protect her.”

“Good luck convincing her of that.”

“Someone with her talents isn’t safe. If anyone finds out what she can do…” Nathan trailed off, his tone worried.

“I can’t argue with you there. Speaking of keeping tabs on people, I don’t suppose you sent someone to spy on me yesterday? I caught someone outside my window, and Kendall said there was a woman in my bedroom.”

“What was Kendall doing in your bedroom?” Nathan growled.

“Trying to save me from the intruder. You’ve got it so bad for her, it’s eating you up inside. I’d fight you for her, but I’m afraid you’d go Hulk on me and win. She probably went to check on the treasure. She wanted to when we first got here. I told her no, but you know how well she listens.” They walked outside. The guard at the front door said he hadn’t seen her.

“She probably used the secret passageway,” Nathan said.

Jake started walking toward the graveyard. “She’s the only woman I know who’d go wandering alone in a graveyard in the middle of the night.”

“Yeah,” Nathan said, but his voice held a hint of pride.

As much as her independent streak irritated Jake, he also admired it. “There’s the path,” he said, shining his flashlight on the
stones leading to the chapel. But when they reached the chapel, the door was locked. “I don’t think she’s here.”

“She’s got to be somewhere. Let’s look inside to make sure.”

Jake put his cross—the secret key—in the opening and heard a click as the door unlocked.

The chapel was dark inside. “Kendall?” When she didn’t answer, Nathan said, “We should look underneath the floor in the treasure room to make sure she didn’t get locked in.”

“How could she be down there? It took all three crosses to open it.”

“We don’t know that it was necessary,” Nathan said.

“That’s true. And Kendall does have a tendency to get trapped in strange places.”

“She’s smart,” Nathan said, sounding defensive. “But she’s too brave for her own good. Let’s try one of the crosses and see what happens. What can it hurt?”

“You forgetting about booby traps?” The beam from Jake’s flashlight hit the center stone at the front of the chapel. It had been pushed back, exposing the steps to the secret room. “I guess we won’t need the keys after all. Kendall?” Jake hurried down the stairs with Nathan right behind him. He pushed the button on the wall, and the torches flared to life.

The room was empty.

“What the hell?” Nathan looked at Jake.

“Don’t look at me. I didn’t take it, and there’s no way Kendall could have moved it that fast.”

“It wasn’t Kendall,” Nathan said.

“Who could get in here with those statues and your security guards?”

“Someone who knows this place inside out could.”

“Marco? He’s a strange little man, but I doubt he can move things with his mind.”

“Not Marco,” Nathan said. “Raphael.”

“Raphael’s dead.”

“No he isn’t.”

“I saw him,” Jake said. “He was dead.”

“
Was
is the key word. He was dead when my men found him in the room where the round table is. Then he woke up.”

“He woke up? There’s no way.”

“I’m telling you he’s alive.”

“How?” Jake asked.

“That’s what I wanted to know.”

“Did he tell you?”

“He didn’t tell me anything.”

“Where is he now?”

“I don’t know. He escaped.”

“Escaped? Hell, is that what all that roaring was about? You had Raphael in Virginia all this time and didn’t tell us?”

“I couldn’t. You should understand that.”

“How’d he get out?” Jake asked.

“We’re still trying to figure that out. I wouldn’t have believed anyone could get past my security.”

“Actually, one of the cameras on the north side of the mansion makes a three-second sweep. If you’re fast, you can run behind the storage building and from there hide behind the other buildings until you reach the gate.”

“You walked out the front gate? I’ll fire all the guards.”

“I jumped the fence about two hundred yards north.”

“It’s got cameras and razor wire,” Nathan said.

“That camera has a four-second span, and razor wire doesn’t cut through boots and fireplace gloves.”

“That’s where the bloody gloves went. Fergus accused me of losing them. He builds a fire every night.”

“I’ll buy him a new pair,” Jake said.

“Raphael didn’t hide from the cameras. He didn’t need to.”

“How’d he get past your guards?”

“They fell asleep.”

“All of them?”

“They either fell asleep or he tossed them out of his way. You want to know how he got past the locks?” Nathan asked.

“Ripped them off with his bare hands?”

“Walked through the walls.”

“No one walks through walls,” Jake said.

“Raphael did. Or he made it look like he did. Except he wasn’t exactly walking. I’ve never seen anyone move that fast.”

Jake looked at Nathan. “I suspect I have.” Outside an inn in Italy. “So he just ran away?”

“No, he drove my Mercedes.”

Jake laughed. “Did he take Marco with him?”

“No, but he talked to him. He told Marco he was going to move the treasure and get his cross back from Kendall.”

Jake’s stomach dropped. “He’s going after Kendall?”

“Yeah. Now you know why I pounded on your bedroom door in the middle of the night.”

“She just wanted to examine the crosses.”

“You knew she took them?” Nathan asked. “Truth, huh?”

“It wasn’t my place to tell you. And that’s not the same as hiding a man who’s supposed to be dead. He’ll kill her. You didn’t see how he looked at her cross. He doesn’t just want his cross. He’ll want hers too.”

The color drained from Nathan’s eyes, leaving them amber. But he took several deep breaths and they returned to normal. “We’ve got to find her before he does. He’s not… normal.”

“Said the kettle to the pot.”

They alerted security that Kendall was missing and there might be an intruder. They reinforced the guards, most of them
stationed outside the wall to make sure no one got in, and several around the chapel. They checked with each one, but no one had seen Kendall, except one guard who thought he saw her near the maze on his way to take up his post at the airstrip.

“Jake and I will search there,” Nathan said. “The rest of you search the grounds. If she’s in the catacombs, the door should still be open. We’ve got to find her before Raphael does.”

There was no sign of Kendall as they hurried toward the maze.

“Did you get the Mercedes back?” Jake asked.

“Turned up abandoned near Great Falls.”

“Great Falls, Virginia? Why would he go there, and how the hell did he get from there to Italy in time to move the treasure?”

“I’ll ask him when I see him.”

“I think I’d stay out of his way if I were you,” Jake said. “Although you two have more in common than just your strange eyes. When I followed you from the inn a few days ago, I couldn’t even keep up. Nobody runs that fast. Sure you’re not related to Raphael?”

“I never met Raphael before the castle.”

“Maybe you’ve blocked it.” Like the therapists said he’d done with part of his past. “Or maybe you’re the Reaper.”

“You’re still hung up on that? I saved your ass. The Iraqis believed you killed the prince.”

“Do you?”

“If you did, I figure you had a good reason.”

“I wish I had as much faith in you, but it’s a little too coincidental that some rich guy hires me, insists I’m the only one for the job, and then you show up with all your power and money.”

“I pulled you out of hell. You have money, food, clothes, whatever you need.”

“I don’t have answers. All I have is a constant threat hanging over my head. I need to know what went down in Iraq. Why I was there. Why Thomas was there. Why he shot me. The prince
wasn’t working with terrorists. My entire team died, and I don’t even know why. You have some of the answers, but you’re not telling. You never do.”

“And you do? What about that wooden doll you carry around? You never talk about that.”

“How’d you know about the doll?”

“I know more than you think.”

“That’s the kind of shit I’m talking about. You know too much. Maybe you are the damned Reaper.”

“If I were the Reaper, you’d be dead. Besides, you and Kendall know what he looks like. You saw him at the inn. Remember the man with the ruby ring, and the murderer posing as the historian?”

“Yeah, posing. You’re the one who said he’s a master of disguises. He could be anyone.”

“You’re just frustrated because you don’t have answers.” There was a trace of sympathy in Nathan’s voice. “I wasn’t the one behind your mission. I found out the prince had a collection of relics that he’d gotten on the black market. I wanted to see them, and I knew the Reaper would be after them too. That’s what I was doing there. When I found out about you, I wanted to know how you were involved.”

“You thought I was working for the Reaper?” Jake asked.

Nathan shrugged. “You could have been.”

“Hell. That’s why you hired me?”

“I hire the best. You’re the best at what you do.”

“And you could keep an eye on me and see if I was working for the Reaper?” Jake gave a harsh laugh.

“Wouldn’t you have done the same?”

He would have. In fact, he was doing the same thing by working for Nathan. At first, he’d accepted Nathan’s offer because he had no choice. He would have died in prison, but Jake
could have disappeared afterward if he wanted. It wouldn’t have been easy, not if Nathan had put his money into tracking him down, but there were ways it could have been done. But despite his accusations, after the first few weeks, he’d started to doubt that Nathan was directly involved in his imprisonment in Iraq. Indirectly, possibly, and now Jake knew. Assuming Nathan was telling the truth. It fit what intel he’d collected on Nathan.