The Mercenary and the Shifters (The Turning Stone Chronicles) (27 page)

Chapter 40

After a week of waiting for Falhman to contact Fiona, so they could put their plan into action, everyone was on edge. Fiona’s sleep had been fitful, filled with erotic dreams about Mike. In spite of how they had parted, before they both risked their lives, she desperately wanted to repair the relationship.

Mike, however, had deflected every advance she made.

Mary Kate’s constant, lingering presence with Mike didn’t help matters. Apparently, Mary Kate hadn’t relinquished her obsession with him. Fiona wanted to bash her over the head and knock sense into the woman, but with the upcoming battle, she didn’t think alienating the Amazon warrior would be a good thing. Apparently, neither did Mike. Whenever Fiona mentioned Mary Kate’s clinginess, he brushed it off, telling her she had no say in the matter.

When she didn’t awaken with a painful, unfulfilled longing, Fiona jerked awake, heart pounding as she dreamt that she, or Mike, or another of the team died trying to rescue the children. That it was a distinct possibility hadn’t escaped anyone’s thoughts.

LJ, tense as a caged lioness, called Fiona constantly at work, asking if she’d heard from Falhman. Fiona had begun to pray the rogue kingpin would contact her before LJ had a heart attack. Donaline clucked over the distressed woman like a mother hen, to no avail.

At times, Alexi caught LJ’s stress. One afternoon, Fiona came upon Alexi in a corner of the garden, crying. She told her brother, who had a persuasive talk with the two mothers, and they seemed to calm down. But even his Promised One persuasive powers couldn’t completely defeat the angst of the desperate women who’d lost their sons. Some emotions were too strong to suppress. Motherly love was one of them.

Even the usually calm Keeper of the Stone seemed tense. Eli drilled them over and over on the rescue plans, including improvisational contingencies until every move became second nature.

She’d almost given up hope that Falhman would call, when her cell rang at the same time as the alarm clock, jolting her out of another fearful dream. Grabbing the phone she mumbled, “Hello?”

“Still asleep, my dear?”

At the sound of Falhman’s voice, Fiona bolted upright, shaking her head to dissipate the sleep cobwebs. “Falhman, you called.” She cringed at the desperate tone in her voice.

“I’m pleased you missed me, my dear.” She heard the smile in his voice.

She drew in a deep breath, to calm her shaking insides, grateful he could only hear her and had not taken her desperate tone to mean something other than affection for him. “I did,” she whispered, hoping the breathy tone would also be misconstrued. “Is the helicopter coming for me today?”

“Do you want it to?” A hint of surprise crept into his voice.

Fiona jumped on the opening, as Eli instructed her to do. “Yes. I’ve haven’t been able to think about anything but you this past week. When can I see you?”

“Not today, I’m afraid. I have business in New York.”

He was going to be away from the compound? How perfect was that? “Will you be gone long?”

“Only overnight.”

This might be the best chance they would have. But she and Mike had to get on the inside in order to shut off the alarms. They couldn’t do that if she had no excuse to be at the compound while Falhman was away. Then it hit her.

She could go with Falhman to New York. Mike could come to the compound as her bodyguard, and instead of leaving when she did, he could slip into the house and turn off the alarms for the team while she occupied Falhman in New York.

It wasn’t a contingency they planned for. Mike and Rhys would probably skin her alive, but at the moment it seemed the only choice she had.

“Can I go with you?” She tried to make her voice both pleading and seductive, hoping Falhman would not be able to resist.

“Overnight?”

She swallowed hard upon hearing the implication the single word held when he said it. She tried to answer, but terror stuck her reply to the roof of her mouth.

“Do you want to spend the night with me, darling?” His words were gentle and encouraging, practically begging her to answer in the affirmative.

Dear, God. It’s working. He believes me
. She fought her fear, fortified by her deception. “Yes, but not in your compound where watchful eyes can see us and gossip. Somewhere else. I’ve always thought a romantic getaway in New York would be wonderful.”

An uncharacteristic sigh floated over the line. She’d never heard Falhman sigh before. “You’re certain about this?”

If it was the way to give the team access to the compound without the rogue kingpin in residence, she was positive. “Where are you staying?”

Falhman groaned softly, the sound filled with distress. Fiona’s heart pounded out of her chest. He was going to say no.

“I really want to do this, Falhman. Please don’t say no.”

“My dearest darling, I’m immensely pleased. But as much as I want you there, I can’t bring you.”

As her plan crumbled around her, Fiona’s mind raced for a solution. “When you return, can we leave right away for another trip?”

He groaned again, his longing evident in the sound. Certain she was close to breaking him, she pressed harder. Thinking of her love for Mike, she put every ounce of emotion she could muster into her plea. “I can’t wait another minute to see you.”

“When you say it with such eagerness, my darling, how can I deny you? Yes. We’ll go away, wherever you want.”

“As soon as you come home?”

“I won’t even get out of the helicopter. You pack your bags and we’ll come get you at the airport.”

No! That would ruin everything!
“Pick me up at the compound, please.”

“Why?” Suspicion crept into his previously desire-filled voice.

She cast about for a reason to meet her there, and she remembered the closet of beautiful evening dresses. “Because I want to wear the dress I wore when we had our first dinner, and it’s in the closet at your estate.”

“I’ll have it sent to you.”

“Not just that one, but I want to choose a couple more. I want to be beautiful for you. I need to try them on to see which one you might prefer.”

“The peach one,” he suggested. “It was your mother’s favorite dress.”

Fiona fought the acid clawing up her throat. He had her mother’s dresses? The man was a psychopath
.
“Peach is my favorite color,” she lied. “When are you leaving?”

“Noon. I’ll let my staff know you’ll be coming.” He paused, filling the line with expectancy. When she didn’t say anything, because she didn’t trust her voice, he continued, “You don’t know what this means to me, my darling. I have waited a long time for you to come to me.”

Shudders racked Fiona, and she clamped her teeth together to keep him from hearing them chatter. No way could he have waited a long time for her. He’d only met her a few months ago. The man was insane. Insanely in love with her dead mother. And she’d just put herself in the same position.

“You did what?” Mike and Rhys shoved from the breakfast table, exclaiming in unison when she told them she planned an overnight rendezvous with Falhman. In his haste, Mike toppled George’s empty chair to the tile floor. It chattered backward from the force.

“It’s perfect,” she protested, doing her best to keep her fear from showing. She had to convince them she could do this. “I’ll keep him busy in New York or Paris, or wherever we go. I’ll choose somewhere he can’t return quickly from, and I’ll keep him from answering his phone.”

Mike growled. “How?”

“Womanly charm,” she replied, a tad irked he’d pushed her away every time she tried to use it on him. “I do have some, you know.”

His growl deepened.

She ignored his anger. “Meanwhile, you all grab the boys. I’ll be away with Falhman. He won’t connect me or Kyle with the plan, so we’re safe as well.”

Mike looked as if he’d swallowed a gallon of hot sauce and his head was about to blow off. “Not going to happen,” he said between gritted teeth. “You are not going to give yourself to Falhman as a sacrifice. We will find another way.”

Fiona’s gaze cut around the table. The rest of the team looked as appalled, except for Mary Kate, who sat across from her. The redheaded Amazon studied Fiona as if she were some sort of weird anomaly.

“It could work,” Mary Kate said. “Especially if he’s as besotted with her as we’ve been led to believe by Rhys. A man in love won’t hurt someone he cares about.”

She stared pointedly at Mike, who missed the glare. Fiona, however, didn’t.

“A psychopath will,” Rhys said. “That’s why she’s not going through with it. Our mother spent her life hiding from him. She gave me and our brother away to keep us from the man’s influence. He tried to kill his own sons! Now you’re going to waltz into his arms and let him have his way with you?” He shook his head. “Not as long as I have a breath in my body.”

“Or mine,” Mike added.

Mary Kate looked disappointed at Mike’s outburst.

“Bairns, bairns,” Eli said soothingly. “’Tis nothing to get all riled up aboot. The lassie has a guid plan, sae far as she’d thought it oot.”

Rhys and Mike wheeled around to the Keeper, disbelief at his agreement with her contorting their faces.

“Thank you, Eli. I’m glad someone sees the wisdom in my plan.”

“’Twas nae wise, lassie, but considering the circumstances, ye did think well on yer feet. Ye just dinna think it all through. Ye canna give yerself tae the devil. I willnae allow it.”

Mike and Rhys grunted their approval. Mary Kate frowned at her leader’s assessment.

Relief and despair filled Fiona. She did not want to
give herself to the devil,
as they put it, and appreciated Eli’s forbidding it, but they might not get another chance as perfect as this. “It keeps me and Kyle safe and rescues the boys,” she protested. “It will work. I know it.”

“Yes, it probably would. But the aftermath would not be pleasant. You won’t be able to walk away from Falhman if you do this.” Alexi put her arm over Fiona’s shoulder. “I’m certain we can adapt your plan to keep you and Kyle safe. Right, Eli?”

The Keeper nodded. “Trust us, lassie. Ye dinna want tae spend the night with the devil. However, yer idea tae get intae the hoose to shop from yer mither’s closet ’twas brilliant. We can use that tae our advantage.”

“Without letting her go for a sleepover or getting killed by Falhman because she betrayed him?” Rhys asked.

“That, laddie, will be part o’ yer job. Once we’ve grabbed the wee bairns, ye’ll hafta persuade the rogue henchmen the lassie had nothing tae do with the invasion. ’Twill keep her on the up and up with Falhman.” He addressed Fiona. “And ye, lassie, will hafta convince the devil ye’ve changed yer mind aboot consorting with him—in the sexual way.”

“How?” she asked. “I’ve already said I would.”

“After the attack ye’ll be too shooken tae go away with him. Ye’ll need time to get o’er it.”

“And later? What do I do if he keeps pressing me for a liaison?”

“Does he know aboot yer mither’s diary?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then ye tell him what ye found. Once ye’ve exposed yer mither’s real feelings aboot the man, he canna expect ye to bed him. The truth, lassie, shall set ye free.”

Eli’s gaze swung around the table. “We’ll proceed with the plan as discussed, taking Fiona oot o’ the equation as much as possible. The less the rogues see her, the less likely Rhys’ persuasion ’twill miss one o’ them.”

“And what about Kyle? How do we keep him out of the equation?” Fiona asked.

“I’ll send a security detail to Kyle’s house while we hit Falhman. We can use the Mafia attack as an excuse for the extra security. Kyle doesn’t need to know, and Falhman won’t suspect Kyle’s involvement in the attack,” Mike said.

“If ye hafta get involved in the attack at Falhman’s, lassie,” Eli said to Fiona, “do it wearing one o’ the dresses, sae it looks like ye accidentally got drawn intae the fray. Dinna be afraid tae sock one o’ us, should ye come upon us. ’Twill add to yer innocence and help keep ye safe from the rogues getting ye.” He rose, indicating the others should. “Now, get ready. We leave in an hour.”

Chapter 41

Mary Kate parked the car behind the water tower across the road from the entrance to Falhman’s estate. Rhys and Alexi’s directions to the compound, which they had tracked as hawks, were flawless. She climbed the tower’s ladder, positioning herself on the side of the narrow ledge encircling the round metal structure.

Using binoculars, she searched the compound grounds for a mark. When she got the signal, she’d transform to her animal ego, scale the wall, and, once inside, mimic shift to her mark’s image.

Her cue to get ready came over the communications system tucked in her ear.

“Thanks for bringing us,” Mike said. “Can we take our blindfolds off now? Is Pete around?”

Mary Kate remembered Mike telling her they had been blindfolded the first time he’d flown Air Falhman with Fiona. Apparently, the rogue kingpin still didn’t trust the woman he
loved
enough to let her see where he lived, even though he planned to make her his.

“Nah. He’s in New York with the boss. But I’m expecting them soon. That’s why I flew you in, Ms. Kayler.”

“I thought he wasn’t returning until tomorrow,” Fiona said.

“That was the plan, but now that you’re here, he decided to cut the trip short. That’s why we pulled the second helicopter into service.”

Mary Kate heard a metallic bang.

“She’s older, but she does the job,” the pilot said.

“Did you hear?” Mary Kate asked, hoping Rhys or Alexi was on line by now.

“Roger,” Rhys said. “At the most we might have an hour and a half to find the kids and wrap things up. Less if Falhman is already in the air. Doesn’t change the plan, just the timetable. Are you in position, Mary Kate?”

“On the top of the silo.”

“Eli, where are you, Donaline, and LJ?” Rhys asked.

“Down two piers from the estate, fishing,” Eli replied. “Ready tae bring in the lines when ye give the word. We can be there in minutes.”

“Have ye caught dinner?” Mary Kate asked.

“Aye. But we’ve thrown them back a time or two. Nae enough room in the boat for the fishes and the laddies.” Eli chuckled. “Donaline ’tis a fishing terror.”

Mary Kate heard LJ’s voice but couldn’t make out what she said.

Eli’s reply, “Soon enough, lassie. Keep yer line in the water and stay calm,” told her she was asking, once again, when they were going to act.

The woman was nothing if not predictable. The same question had been coming from her since the day the babes had been snatched. Patience, apparently, was not in LJ’s vocabulary.

Mary Kate had been dealing with the Keeper long enough to know that his patience was legendary. Too bad he couldn’t give some of it to the anxious mother.

She focused on the estate grounds, searching for a good mark. A rogue emerged from the copse of bushes, near the gate, zipping up his pants. He sat on the grass and leaned against a tree trunk, his eyes drooping shut. A couple of seconds later, his chin dropped onto his torso, his chest rising in easy, rhythmic breathing.

Perfect. A lazy rogue. All she had to do was knock out the idiot, take his clothes, and mimic shift into him. Piece of cake.

“Got my mark spotted,” she said to whoever was listening. “I’m going in to get him.” She scrambled down the ladder and hid behind the car as she shifted to her animal ego.

Bone and sinew twisted, shrinking from her six-foot frame to a mere twelve inches. When the transformation was complete, she gave her brown fur a shake, twisting to check her brushy tail. It was, she thought, the only attractive part of her animal.

No one, except the Keeper of the Stone, and her parents who were long dead, had ever seen her animal alter ego. She was ashamed of the tiny creature. Most other McCraigens’ third egos were powerful. Bears mostly. Why she had received a rodent was beyond her. She’d spent her entire life compensating for being a squirrel. The hated ego had been responsible for making her into the warrior she was. A rodent couldn’t fight against bigger creatures. All a squirrel could do was run and hide.

Eli said there was a purpose for every shifter’s animal. One merely had to wait to find it. As she bounded across the road, she supposed this might qualify as the reason. She was helping save the son of The Promised Ones and rescuing Falhman’s son from his evil father. Had she been a bear, she would have aroused suspicion climbing the wall. No one watching the security cameras would suspect a squirrel.

She scaled the wall with ease, leaping to the ground with a newfound sense of purpose. She was small, but mighty. No one else on the team, except The Promised Ones, could have done this job. That put her in pretty good company.

Shifting into her human persona with a swiftness she’d never before experienced, she scurried to where the sleeping rogue lay. As she approached him, she stepped on a twig. The loud crack snapped the rogue awake, and he leapt to his feet.

“What the—Who are you?”

Mary Kate noted his thick Middle Eastern accent. She’d need to mimic that as well. Good thing she had an ear for languages. Then she gave him a swift cut to his jaw, knocking him out cold. After she dragged him into the bushes and bound him, she quickly dressed in his clothes and morphed into his form.

“I’m in,” she said to the others. She checked the man’s ID. “And my name is Yoseph.”

“Guid, lassie,” Eli said. “Dinna I tell ye ye were destined fer greatness?”

He had, and she would not doubt him again, no matter what he told her.

As the pilot took off in the helicopter, a man approached Fiona and Mike.

“Shifter,” Fiona said as the buzzing of tingles flew over her.

“Follow me,” the rogue said. “I’ll show you to the room with the dresses.” He eyed Mike. “Ain’t I seen you before?”

“I’m Ms. Kayler’s security. I think I met you when Pete was showing me around the other week.” Mike stuck out his hand. “You were in the control room.”

The rogue shook Mike’s hand “Yeah, now I remember. Guess you can come along. If Pete let you in there, you’re cool.”

Mike fell in step with the rogue, chatting him up as they wound through the glass-walled corridors.

When they reached the bedroom, the rogue opened the door for Fiona. “You need me to send a maid or something?”

“No thanks. I’ll be fine.”

“I got rounds. I’ll be back in about 30 minutes to see if you need anything.” He glanced at Mike. “You want to tag along?”

“I might need him,” Fiona said.

The rogue raised an eyebrow.

“A man’s opinion is important when a woman wants to be at her best. Since Falhman and I—”

“Say no more,” the rogue said, backing away. “The boss said to do whatever the lady wants. You want this guy here, then you got him.”

Fiona waved Mike into the bedroom as the rogue disappeared down the hallway. “That was easy,” she said.

“Too easy. Mary Kate, where are you now?”

A minute of silence ensued, making Fiona very nervous. Had something gone wrong already?

Then Mary Kate’s voice came on line. “Just entering the front hall. Which way to the children?”

“Left,” Fiona said. “Wait for us.”

“Me,” Mike said. “Wait for me.” He pointed at the closet door. “Get into one of those fancy dresses. Then you’ll have an alibi.”

“My clothes don’t shift with me, Mike. I need to stay in my dark pants and blouse. I need to blend in with the rogues’ uniforms.”

“You need to stay safe and stick with the plan, Fiona. Stay in this room until all hell breaks loose out there. Then, and only then, are you to venture out of here.”

She stomped her foot at him, unwilling to let him go out into the danger without her. “You need me.”

“Yes, we do. We need you alive and not on the run when this is over. Please, do as we planned.” He gave her a light shove toward the closet. “Choose an ugly one. We don’t want him getting overexcited if he gets here before we’re done.”

She opened the closet door and peered in. That would be hard. Her mother apparently had very good taste in clothes. She couldn’t say the same for men.

Mike found Mary Kate, aka Yoseph, standing at ease in the entrance, her gaze scanning the area. When he neared, she angled toward the corner of the foyer and started speaking, her mouth moving with exaggerated precision. Her gaze darted to the ceiling then down. Mike furtively tracked the motion. A darkened, round camera lens hung from the corner of the ceiling.

“Mr. Corritore,” she said. “Pete told me to expect you. Are you ready for the tour he promised?”

Angling his body until he faced the camera, Mike replied, “Absolutely. I’m glad Falhman consented. We want to meet Ms. Kayler’s security needs. What with their newfound relationship and all.” He winked at Mary Kate and mouthed the next sentence very clearly. “She’s a good-looking woman. Falhman’s a lucky dog.” Then he swung his hand toward the hallway where they suspected the children were being kept. “Lead on, Yoseph.”

Her head ducked, Mary Kate whispered, “The place is overrun with cameras.”

“Which we’ll use to our advantage,” Mike whispered as he stooped to pretend to tie his shoelace. “I’ve seen the rogues in the security hub. I’m not one of them. They’ll be watching our every move, in spite of what Falhman might have said. But once we’ve lulled them into complacency, we’ll be home free.”

When they reached the door opposite the hallway in question, they paused and faced the outside, blocking the sides of the door with the locking and security measures from the cameras in the hallway.

Mary Kate gesticulated, as if she were showing him something outside, while Mike flipped open the hidden panels Fiona had told him about, unlocking and disarming the door’s alarms. Then they moved on to another section of the hallway and repeated the process two more times, unlocking a second door for Eli to enter and one for quick egress. When they reached the end of the hallway, they reversed direction.

As they passed the first door they’d unlocked, two men entered through the door.

“Mike. Yoseph,” the taller man said.

Mike breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized Rhys’ voice.

Mary Kate rotated and faced the ceiling camera, speaking distinctly. “Mr. Falhman, sir. You’re back. We were just about to tour the east corridor.”

Rhys swept a lean arm toward the hall. “Allow me, Mike.” Then he spoke to the other man. “Care to join us?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Alexi said. Then the four of them headed down the hallway.