Dark Warrior Untamed (30 page)

He crossed the room and pressed his palm to the door, concentrating all of his senses on the person standing on the other side. He recognized Sandor’s energy pattern immediately, but there was someone else standing too far back for Grey to get a reading.

“It’s Sandor, but he’s not alone. Open the door slowly and stay the hell out of my line of fire.”

Sean nodded and did as instructed. Sandor held up his hands to show he was no threat. When Lena moved into sight, Grey immediately lowered his weapon and motioned for the two of them to come in. Tara and Kenny filed in right behind them.

Sandor took a quick look around Grey’s makeshift headquarters before speaking again. “How badly was the house damaged?”

Grey shrugged. “The front took the biggest hit, mostly broken glass and the like. But we’re also dodging Detective Byrne and company.”

“Good thinking.” Sandor shot his companions a disgusted look. “Sorry to take so long getting here.”

Lena punched him on the arm. “Don’t blame us. You were the one who wasted all that time arguing even though you knew I wouldn’t let you come by yourself. Besides, Tara and Kenny wanted to be here with Sean.”

“And I wanted all of you out of the danger zone.”

Personally Grey agreed with Sandor, but he recognized an uphill battle when he saw one. “Lena, why don’t you see if you can book another room on this floor for you and the others.”

“Already did. We’ve got the three rooms next to this one.”

A sick feeling churned in Grey’s gut. There could only be one reason they’d reserved so many. “Ranulf and Kerry are on their way back to town. How soon will they be here?”

“Soon enough. Ranulf said once they heard about
Piper, there was no keeping Kerry up on the mountain. She’s promised to be reasonable about flying under the radar, but Kerry’s definition of reasonable isn’t always what it should be.”

Great. Just bloody fucking great.

There was nothing to do except get on with the matter at hand. “Why don’t I bring you up to speed?”

Lena raised up on her toes and gave Sandor a quick kiss. “We’ll get out of the way. Keep me in the loop, and let me know if I can do anything.”

Before leaving she surprised Grey with a hug. “I’m sorry, Grey. She was a wonderful woman and deserved better.”

As Lena walked away, he decided he agreed. She might have been talking about Piper dying the way she did, but the truth was that she’d also deserved better than Grey. If he’d left her on the mountain with Kerry instead of giving in to his selfish need to keep her close, she’d still be alive. Or if he’d thought to take her in the house with him instead of leaving her in the car—easy prey for an enemy.

Enough of that. There’d be plenty of time later for recriminations and regrets. Grey noticed the look of impatience on Sean’s face. So the kid really did expect Grey to hand over the reins to Sandor for a while. Fine. But only long enough for him to catch his
second wind. After a quick nod in Sean’s direction, Grey led Sandor over to the bank of computers Rolf had set up.

“I’m tracking Harcourt. It shouldn’t be long before we find him.”

“So you think he’s behind the attack that …” Sandor’s voice trailed off, clearly unwilling to finish his sentence.

Grey ignored the flash of pain in his gut. “No, not really. Harcourt might want the throne for his daughter, but I still think he and his cousin Reggie would’ve tried legal channels first if they thought they could build a case against Kerry. I’m not saying he couldn’t have turned violent if things didn’t go his way, but Harcourt wouldn’t have started off that way. However, he wouldn’t be trying to hide his tracks so carefully if he didn’t know something about the real culprit and wanted to protect her.”

“You really suspect his daughter Adele?” Sandor sounded doubtful.

Grey didn’t blame him. It was hard to reconcile his memory of Harcourt’s daughter with the image of a stone-cold killer. But once he’d started digging into her lifestyle, he’d found enough evidence to make it seem at least possible, if not likely.

“Let’s just say that I won’t be surprised to find out she’s the one behind the scenes pulling all the strings. She has her father’s fastidious nature, but all along I’ve suspected there was at least one complete unknown involved. Bomb makers of that talent aren’t very common.”

After they had talked for a few more minutes, Sandor gave Grey a hard look. “How long since you’ve had any downtime?”

“God, not you, too. I thought Sean was our resident nursemaid.”

The teenager had been talking to Tara, but he obviously had a Talion’s enhanced hearing because he immediately protested. “Hey, now!”

Grey exchanged a weary smile with Sandor. “As I was saying, I was told once you got here to take over, I should rest. Who am I to argue?”

He was only doing it because he couldn’t bear another minute of everyone watching him. Half the men in the room kept him in their peripheral vision as if they expected him to explode. The rest, Sandor included, stared at him with so much sympathy it made him physically ill. Pretending to sleep would at least give him a few minutes of relief.

“We have these two adjoining suites for a command center, but I also booked one across the hall for whenever someone needs sleep. I’ll be in the bedroom on the right. Anything breaks, send the kid to get me.”

He started to walk away. “I mean
anything,
no matter how small. I … I need to … I just need to, that’s all.”

“Will do.”

The room across the hall was blissfully quiet. Despite Grey’s reluctance to leave his post, he was running on a combination of adrenaline and caffeine. If he didn’t
downshift soon, he’d risk total burnout at a crucial moment.

He kicked off his shoes and stretched out on top of the comforter. Concentrating on relaxing one muscle group at a time, he ratcheted his tension down to a more manageable level. Gradually, his eyes drifted shut.

Floating just short of slumber, there was nothing he could do to keep the memories of Piper from slipping in, filling his mind and breaking his heart. He needed to rest, but even more, he craved something to soothe his soul. If he couldn’t sleep, maybe he could still dream; rather than fight the images, he let them come. Remembering. Cherishing. Loving.

And if a few tears slipped down his cheeks, too damned bad.

Piper bit back a cry and cursed under her breath when she ripped another nail off. What kind of criminal would do such a crappy job of tying her wrists together, but then use the grandfather of all knots to bind her ankles? She probably had minutes at best to make good on her escape, so she did what she could to block out the pain, as well as the knowledge that her captives were just in the next room.

If there had been a phone anywhere in sight, she could have wormed her way across the room to call Grey and pray he reached her before her captors decided she’d outlived her usefulness. Not that they’d used her for anything at all. If they were going to hold
her for ransom or for leverage, why hadn’t they put their evil plan into action? She had an awful feeling that her time was running out.

Frustrated with her lack of progress, she looked around. If worse came to worst, she could always wrap the rope around her wrists and pretend to be unconscious. It wasn’t much as plans went, but it was all she had.

She eased her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. It was difficult to balance as she inched her way across the floor to the window. The thick carpet helped muffle any noise. At the window, she braced herself and looked out.

Whoa!
She was on the first floor! If she could get the window open and her feet free, she could reach the neighbor’s place in a few seconds. The lock creaked as she turned it. Despite the noise, the small victory spurred her on. She threw all her strength into opening the window and got absolutely nowhere. After three more tries, she dropped her head against the glass. The darn thing was painted shut.

Across the room, there was another window. What were the chances of it being any different? She’d never know unless she tried. The shortest route was across the bed. Easing herself back down on the mattress, she started to roll.

A noise caught her attention—footsteps. She quickly wrapped the rope around her wrists and assumed the position she’d been in when her captors left her. Hopefully, whoever was about to come through that door wouldn’t pick up on her racing pulse.

A finger poked Piper’s shoulder.

“Wes, how much of that stuff did you give her? I thought she was waking up a while ago, but she’s still out. Should we dump water on her head or something?”

Her boyfriend yelled from the other room. “Give it another thirty minutes. I followed the guy’s directions, but he also said that it’s different for everyone. Maybe she’s extra sensitive to the stuff.”

“Okay, fine, but then I want her awake or it will mess up my plans. Grey already thinks she’s dead. Think how much fun will be to let him find out his lover is very much alive, only to have her die again, but for real.”

Wes’s voice came closer. “Adele, have I ever told you how much I love the way your mind works?”

“Several times. All right, thirty minutes and then the games will begin, with or without Grey’s plaything’s cooperation.”

As soon as they left the room, Piper yanked the ropes off her hands again. She stared at the closed door, her entire body shaking with fury. What had Grey ever done to this woman to make her want to torment him? Obviously there was some history there, something to ask him the next time she saw him.

With that thought in mind, she started for the second window again. No way did she want to stick around and be a part of any games that Adele and Wes had planned.

•   •   •

“Grey! We need you.”

The note of excitement in Sean’s voice bounced
Grey to full awareness. He rolled off the bed to his feet.

“What’s up, kid?”

“Sandor has a lead on Harcourt. We’re getting ready to roll and figured you’d want to lead the charge.”

“Damn fucking straight. Let’s go.”

The tension in the suite across the hall had ramped up to a new high, but the aura was different. Now that the Talions had a live target, their sense of purpose was back. Each man had his weapons out, checking them over, pocketing extra ammo clips, his game face on—as the Americans would say. Grey drew strength from their excitement, the extra hit of energy bringing his own warrior instincts into sharp focus.

Sandor looked up from the computer screen. “Ah, there you are.”

“What have you got?”

“A couple of things. Ranulf called a few minutes ago to say they’d be here within the hour. And Harcourt just made a call to the airline, probably to change his flight. I’ve narrowed his current position to a hotel near the airport.”

Grey stared at the map on the screen, memorizing it. “Let’s go get the bastard.”

He snapped out orders. “Rolf, you’ve met Harcourt. Pick a team and go hang at the airport in case we miss him. Station men near both check-in and security. Keep it low key because we need to snag him without anyone noticing.”

He looked at the other Talions. “The rest of you will stay here and continue to monitor the situation until we need you. Rolf, check in regularly.”

“Will do. Let’s go,” Rolf said, nodding to several of the others. As his team prepared to file out, they all stopped and looked back at Grey. They placed a hand over their brands.

Rolf gave voice to their thoughts. “Here’s to good hunting, sir. This we vow.”

Sandor, Grey, and even Sean echoed their sentiments. The Talion connection made Grey grateful to be part of such a dedicated group.

Grey and Sandor were preparing to leave just as Lena joined them, a grim expression on her face. Sandor reached out to touch her cheek.

“I know you hate this. I wish it could be handled differently, but—”

Lena’s shoulders sagged. “It’s how Talions protect their people. I might not like it, but I understand it. Be careful out there, big guy. Don’t show up back here sporting any new scars.”

Grey winced and looked away, unable to see the love the two had for each other without being reminded of what he’d almost had. He turned his attention to the one other person in the room.

“Sean, I know you resent being left behind, but I need you here. Hang out with Lena, and watch my phone. If it rings and it’s anyone other than the cop, answer it and then report to me. Can you handle that?”

“Yeah.”

He was obviously disappointed, but at least he didn’t argue. Instead, he looked Grey straight in the eyes and echoed Rolf’s words. “Good hunting, Grey.”

“Thanks, kid.”

Outside, Sandor tossed Grey the keys to his sedan. “You drive. I’ll navigate.”

Soon they were on their way to Harcourt’s hotel. Sandor kept his eyes on the computer screen, watching for any more hits.

“I’m going to kill him.” There. It had to be said.

Without looking up, Sandor asked, “Even if it’s Adele behind the attacks?”

“Even if. The bastard knew what she was up to and didn’t warn us. If he’d called us, we would’ve been able to track Adele down before it got this far.”

“Adele is his daughter, Grey. I’m not defending his actions, but maybe he thought he could stop her himself.”

“She might be his daughter, but Kerry is his Dame. That’s treason any way you look at it.”

“Maybe, but you’ll need to wait until Kerry issues the order. If she does, I’ll be right there beside you.”

There wasn’t much Grey could say to that. Even if Kerry hesitated, there was no way he could leave anyone who was responsible—even partially—for Piper’s death breathing.

Luckily, the traffic gods were smiling on him. They made it to Harcourt’s hotel in record time. Sandor shut down the laptop.

“Nothing new.”

They both stared at the hotel. “Got any ideas about how to find him? There must be a hundred rooms in that place.”

A slow smile spread across Sandor’s face. “You might as well put that snooty British accent of yours to good use. American women seem to have a real thing for it. Tell the clerk at the counter that you’re Harcourt’s driver and ask her to tell him know that you’re here for him.”