31 Days of Autumn (24 page)

‘Ellie, I don’t have time to argue. Florie’s
fine, one of the staff is taking her home. It seems like it was a false alarm,
but the team wants you out of there as soon as possible, just to be sure.’

‘What was a false alarm, Dan? What the hell is
happening?’

‘Ellie, put Rod on now! I won’t ask again,’ he
bellowed.

‘If anything happens to my children, Florie,
Jenny, or Chris because you’ve hidden things from me, so help me God, Oliver
Daniel Davenport,’ I hissed, beyond furious with him. I stalked into the lounge
and thrust the phone at Rod. ‘He wants you.’

‘Sorry, Mrs. Davenport,’ he grimaced, taking it
and disappearing to the bathroom. I quickly picked up Jonas and pulled him onto
my lap, wrapping my arms tightly around him. Why was it so dark in here? The
curtains were still open, but instead of daylight and the view of the loch, all
I could see was black. I didn’t like this at all.

‘Mummy,’ moaned Jonas. I looked down at him and
sensed the fear on his face immediately. He was upset because I was, he was so
in tune with my emotions.

‘It’s ok, darling. We’re just going to sit and
watch some TV until Daddy comes to meet us. Oliver and Eva are coming too, ok?’
I smoothed my hand over his hair and kissed his forehead, gently rocking him as
I tried my best to calm down. I didn’t want him upset, no matter how I felt. I
looked up as Rod came back out and handed the phone back to me.

‘Mr. Davenport’s mooring up. Chris is outside
to escort you and Jonas down to meet him.’

‘Rod, I’m not going anywhere without Oliver and
Eva.’

‘My instructions were clear,’ he objected.

‘Well, let me be clear. I don’t care what
instructions you’ve had. Unless you plan on manhandling me out of this room,
I’m not going anywhere without my children and if you’re too scared to tell
that to my husband, I’ll tell him.’

‘I’m just trying to do my job, Mrs. Davenport,’
he sighed.

‘So am I, as a mother,’ I muttered stubbornly.
He nodded and headed towards Dan’s office and the door out. I heard a loud
clunking noise and seconds later, Chris strode in.

‘We need to move, now,’ he bit. He’d never been
anything but polite to me and I’d never seen him look angry before, but right
now he looked furious.

‘Not until I see Oliver and Eva.’

‘God damn it. I don’t know who’s more stubborn,
you or him,’ he muttered, reaching up to press his earpiece. ‘Jenny, where are
you? … No, proceed as planned. We’ll be with you shortly.’

‘I told you, I’m not going anywhere,’ I glared.
He looked over his shoulder at Rod and nodded. I jumped as there was another
loud noise and daylight suddenly started filling the room. I squinted, then
screamed as I felt Jonas being pulled out of my arms. Seconds later, I felt
weightless as I was tossed over Chris’s shoulder.

‘Extraction via exit B,’ his voice announced.

‘Jonas,’ I cried as Chris started striding
towards the French windows out onto the garden.

‘Rod has him and he’s right by my side. I’m
sorry, Mrs. Davenport, my instructions were clear. Jenny is already on her way
to the cabin with Oliver and Eva, there wasn’t time to bring them back up here
or to argue with you.’

‘Put me down, I can walk, and let me carry
Jonas, he’s upset,’ I moaned, hearing him start to cry. Chris was running now,
blades of grass flashing past as I dangled limply over his shoulder.

‘We’ll move faster like this,’ he retorted.
‘And next time I give you an order, I expect you to follow it. That is if Mr.
Davenport doesn’t bloody sack me.’

I was on the point of hyperventilating when I
heard Dan’s voice and the grass changed to decking.

‘Get them in, thanks. Rod, I’ll take him. I’ll
ring you when we’re all safely home.’

‘No problem,’ came Rod’s voice as I was
unceremoniously dumped on the back seat of the boat.

‘Switch,’ shouted Chris. I shook my head,
trying to rid myself of the dizziness that hit me after being upside down for
the last few minutes. I shot back in my seat as the boat roared to life and
skimmed forward over the water. I wasn’t even wearing a bloody lifejacket.

‘Mummy!’ I heard Jonas sobbing and looked
around to see Dan holding him, sitting next to me, with Chris steering us back
towards the island.

‘Where’s Jenny, Oliver, and Eva?’ I cried,
looking around frantically.

‘Hey, calm down,’ Dan urged, grabbing my hand.
‘They’re safe, they’re with Andy up ahead in the other boat.’

‘Don’t you dare tell me to calm down,’ I
snapped, ripping my hand from his and snatching Jonas off him, pulling him to
my chest. ‘It’s ok, baby, it’s ok. We’re going home.’ I rubbed his back as I
glared at Dan. He ran his hands over his face.

‘Ellie, don’t shout at me. There was a perceived
threat and the team took action. Everyone’s safe, we can talk when we’re home
and in private.’

‘We’ll be talking alright.’

I didn’t object when he pulled out a life
jacket for Jonas and helped put it on, then did mine for me. I just focussed on
calming Jonas down, pointing out the various sites we knew so well along the
route. I marvelled at children’s capacity to get over being upset. He was
giggling and laughing long before we pulled up at the jetty, whereas I was
still seething. I didn’t take Dan’s hand when he offered it, or his attempt to
take Jonas off me. We walked in silence, side by side up to the house, and I
set Jonas down on the floor. Oliver came running from the playroom when he
heard the door and threw himself at Jonas, hugging him tightly. Seconds later,
they were screaming, chasing each other around the lounge. I swallowed a lump
of emotion as I did a visual check that they were both ok, then ran through to
the playroom. Jenny was holding Eva, who was crying. She shook her head as I
came near.

‘I’m sorry, she’s ok, just a bit startled with
all the commotion. Here, take her.’

‘Thank you,’ I whispered, kissing Jenny’s cheek
as I started to cry again. She passed Eva over and squeezed my shoulder.

‘Don’t have a go at Dan. If you can thank me, thank
him. Everyone did what they needed to do to keep you and the children safe, and
you are. Zac being there seems to be a random act of coincidence, he was seeing
some clients, ok?’

‘Thanks,’ I nodded, wiping my eyes before
kissing Eva and sinking down into the sofa.

‘I’ll go and watch the boys until you’ve had
time to talk.’ She smiled and headed out, nodding at Dan, who stood leaning on
the stone wall separating us from the original part of the house.

‘Ellie,’ he sighed.

‘I’m sorry I snapped at you. You just have no
idea what it was like. One minute I’m enjoying a nice afternoon out, then I’m
suddenly separated from two of my children and no one would tell me what was
going on.’

‘I get that, but that’s what will happen every
time we think you’re in danger,’ he said softly, walking over to sit next to
me. ‘Let me have her,’ he urged when Eva wouldn’t stop crying. I kissed her
again and passed her to him, and he settled her on his chest, one hand on her
bottom. Within seconds, she’d piped down, which made me cry again. She had a
much closer bond with Dan than me. ‘Hey, she’s upset because you’re upset. Come
here.’ He lifted his free arm and I automatically snuggled under it, tucking up
against him, breathing him in as he squashed me against his hard body. I felt
Eva’s hand in my hair, so I looked up and smiled at her. She grinned back, her
green eyes looking happy again as I held her tiny hand in mine and kissed it.

‘Talk to me, Dan, before I lose my temper
again.’

He filled me in on the blanks, that Zac had
been one name that he’d thrown out as someone who might be pissed off enough to
get back at us, so he’d been put on the facial recognition system at all
Davenport properties and on our security team’s too. The team had already
pulled a basic file together on him. Dan had sent Chris to follow us, with
Jenny’s knowledge, to school, then up to the hotel, with no idea that Zac was
even there. It had been Chris who’d recognised Zac, then warned Jenny, which is
why she’d shot over. Being out of range for their earpieces to work, he’d gone
out to reception to call and alert Andy, resulting in Andy and Dan hotfooting
it in the two boats to come to the hotel, with emergency lockdown being
instigated. I had no idea that Dan’s office, and his server room, were so heavily
protected. They were state-of-the-art panic rooms, with steel floors, ceilings,
walls, and doors hidden beneath the normal looking facades, not to mention the
steel shutters over the exterior windows. While I’d been locked in his office,
Jenny had taken Oliver and Eva to the server room by reception, while Florie
was escorted out with the rest of the guests to the fire assembly point. Chris
had been left to question the guests and Zac, who it seemed was genuinely a
consultant up from London on business. Chris had checked out his story with his
clients, who were also outside waiting for the all clear. Andy had suggested
that we all be evacuated back to the house just to be on the safe side, using
the event as a training exercise to see how the team measured up.

‘Please don’t fire any staff,’ I pleaded. ‘I
refused to listen, I was so upset.’

‘Any man who’s brave enough to toss you over his
shoulder deserves a pay raise, not a firing squad,’ Dan laughed, making Eva
giggle. ‘You didn’t spank Chris, or grope his arse, did you?’ he teased.

‘No,’ I blushed, ‘but I might have been rude to
him and to poor Rod. I need to apologise.’

‘Don’t worry, they get it, you’re a mother
wanting to protect her children. But no matter how hard you may find it, if
something like this ever happens again, I’m telling you that you have to trust
them and do as you’re told. You may know what’s best for our children, Ellie,
but they know what’s best for all of your safety.’

‘I was so scared, I just hated the thought of
us not being all together.’ I buried my face in his shirt, shivering at the
thought of it.

‘I was scared too and I hated that I didn’t have
any of you,’ he whispered, kissing the top of my head.

Damien
Daniels

I chuckled as I sat in my plane seat, heading
back to London. Christ, that had been a thrill and a half. For a moment, I
thought I was done for, but his team hadn’t even realised that I had two
identities, that’s how distinct and verifiable they were. Close shave it might
have been, but I’d seen up close two of the security team in action. Jenny’s
first instinct was to protect Ellie, then the children. Chris was the one in
charge and he was a force to be reckoned with. He was seriously built and fast
on his feet. We just had to hope that he wasn’t in attendance in London on
Friday, as that could cause an added complication. I smiled at the attractive air
hostess as she wheeled the trolley down the aisle.

‘A glass of champagne, please.’

‘Celebrating, Sir?’ she asked as she popped the
cork and poured it into a plastic flute. Not quite the style I was used to, but
this would be the last charter flight I’d ever take, so I could overlook it,
just this once.

‘I certainly am. My life is about to change
beyond recognition.’

‘I’m so pleased to hear that,’ she smiled, tucking
a stray strand of hair behind her ear and licking her lower lip slowly. ‘Is
there anything else I can get you? Anything at all? We pride ourselves on fulfilling
our customers’ needs.’

‘Really,’ I chuckled, noticing her glance dip
down to my crotch. I beckoned her with my finger and she leaned down, her large
chest virtually smothering my face. ‘I’ve never joined the mile high club,’ I
whispered, ready to pass it off as a joke if she slapped me.

‘Then it would be remiss of me not to assist
you. I’d hate for a complaint to be lodged. Sit back and enjoy your champagne.
I’ll be waiting at the rear in ten minutes.’

‘Excellent, I find it much more comfortable in
the back,’ I growled, resisting the urge to bury my face in her ample cleavage
and instead pulling out my wallet.

‘Not necessary, Sir. On me, in lieu of later
payment,’ she winked.

Fuck me, my life really had taken a turn for
the better.