Merchants with Evil Intent (16 page)
Read Merchants with Evil Intent Online
Authors: Kerrie DuBrock
John risked a glance her way. She had an
attitude because she woke up late. He’d have to tread more lightly now. He
cleared his throat. “Did you forget anything?”
She snorted, “Well, duh. If I forgot
anything how would I know until I needed it?”
Ouch
. Maybe it’d be best if he just kept to
himself on the long drive to the airport.
She turned her attention to the road. The
sunlight reflected off a car’s rearview mirror, momentarily blinding her. She
rifled through her purse and pulled out big red sunglasses. Tamara called them
her ‘sassy’ sunglasses. She wasn’t feeling sassy today. Bitchy was more like
it.
*
*
*
Declan stood in the terminal saying
goodbye to his sister.
It wasna easy, that.
He’d
always had a problem expressing his feelings. When Da died he didn’t shed a
tear at the funeral.
He held strong when he noticed the unshed
tears pooling in Colleen’s eyes.
Coming to America had its pros.
He was able to talk aboot Teaghan,
something he never thought he’d be able to discuss.
Coming to America also had its cons.
He met an interesting gel he wanted to
spend time with who wanted nothing to do with him.
*
*
*
John pulled into a parking garage at the
airport. The ride was quiet after Cam’s outburst. There were so many things he
wanted to say. To apologize again for not telling her sooner, but she was in a
mood and he didn’t need her to bite his head off again.
“I’d been okay if you left me at the
door. Now you’ll have to pay for parking,” Camryn murmured.
“No need for you to be alone any longer
than need be,” John replied stiffly.
She removed her sunglasses and tucked one
arm into the top of her shirt. “I’m kind of nervous.”
John hesitated as he pulled her suitcase
and tote bag from the trunk. “Look, you don’t have to do this. You can stay and
I’ll find a way to protect you, be it myself or Travers full time.”
“Greg has a full-time job and it’s not
babysitting me. Besides, I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland. I just didn’t
think I’d be going alone,” she frowned.
“Tell ya what, I’ll book a ticket and
meet you in a week or so. That way you won’t be alone for too long,” he
offered.
She grabbed the tote bag from him, slung
it over her shoulder along with her purse and walked towards the terminal.
“Part of the reason I’m going is to get away from you, too.” She stopped and
touched his arm. “I need time to sort things out.”
John nodded sadly. “I know. I only did
what I thought was best for you, Camryn.”
A harried group of travelers brushed past
them, breaking the moment.
“I’d better leave or I won’t be going
anywhere,” she half-grinned.
John picked up his pace to catch up. She
seemed to forget he was old and tugging her heavily stuffed suitcase. Did she
plan on staying there forever?
*
*
*
Declan sat as comfortably as he could on
a plane. He had a window seat because he believed that it’d be the only way
he’d see America.
With any luck the seat next to him would
stay empty. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes.
He felt someone sit in the seat next to
him, causing him to grimace.
Slowly opening one eye he peeked at the
intruder. He smiled and opened the other eye to get a better look at the gel.
Perhaps the trip home wouldn’t be so bad
after all.
*
*
*
The sun was low in the sky when Viktor
arrived at Camryn’s. Her car sat in the driveway and the street empty except
for a red sedan that belonged to a neighbor.
He walked around to the back, whistling a
tune and noticed all the curtains were drawn.
His eyebrows knitted together. He reached
the back door and knocked. After a few minutes he turned the door knob.
He shrugged his shoulders and reached to
the ground where she had a stepping stone in the flower bed. She once told him
she grew rocks in her garden since she couldn’t grow anything else.
That was the night of their first date.
They were in a rush to get to the theater and she pulled the door shut without
grabbing her keys. Later, when he brought her home, she led him to the back
door and lifted a corner of the stepping stone, retrieving her house key. After
she unlocked the door, she returned it to its hiding place.
He smirked when he lifted the stone and
saw the key.
Ready
or not, Camryn, here I come
.
Chapter
7
Camryn stepped onto the plane and glanced
around, ready to head to the coach seats when the flight attendant waved her on
to first class.
She didn’t realize she had a first class
ticket. As she turned towards first class she looked back towards coach.
Was that?
Nah.
She shook her head. It couldn’t have been Declan.
She stowed her small carry-on bag and sat
next to the window. As far as airplane seats went, this was roomy and
comfortable. Hopefully the seat next to her would stay vacant. She’s not one
for small talk.
*
*
*
Viktor walked at an easy gait through her
darkened apartment. His disappointment grew to fury when he stood in the
doorway of her bedroom. The bedding was a total wreck. Either she had a hard
time sleeping last night or she had a good time with Travers,
not
sleeping. His jaws flexed at the
thought.
This looked wrong. If he knew nothing else
about her he knew she was a neat freak.
He checked the kitchen again. No empty
coffee mug in the sink or dishwasher. She once told him she was a bear without
coffee in the morning. Okay, he knew a few things about her.
The phone rang causing him to jump. Her
answering machine picked up after three rings.
“Camryn,
it’s
Paul. It’s good to hear you’re getting away for a while. We can discuss the
extra time you’re taking when you come back; maybe a temporary leave of
absence? Enjoy your vacation and I’ll see you in a few months.”
Viktor’s mouth hung open. Where the hell
did she go?
*
*
*
Declan blinked his eyes to clear them.
“Camryn?”
She smiled and shook her head. “You must
have me mistaken for someone else, I’m afraid.” She held out her hand. “My name
is Maggie. Maggie O’Mara.”
Maggie’s auburn hair shined under the
over head lighting and her eyes were also the color of cinnamon. Nonplussed,
Declan replied, “You look so much like a gel I met.” He took her hand into his.
“O’Mara, ya say? Are you by chance related to Camryn O’Mara?”
She tossed her head back and laughed.
“Aren’t we all related in one way or another?”
Her answer was ambiguous, but the
similarities were uncanny. This gel had the beginnings of crow’s feat around
her eyes and laugh lines creased the sides of her mouth. She looked like an
older version of Camryn.
“I’ve left you speechless,” she grinned.
He laughed a little. “A wee bit, I’d say.
Me name’s Declan Corrigan.”
“Pleased to meet you, Declan. Are you
heading home?”
“Aye and you?”
“Oh heaven’s no. I’m from Chicago,” she
murmured.
“Vacation then?”
Declan asked.
“You could say that,” she hedged.
He turned his head and looked out the
window.
“Oh you poor boy.
You’ve left something haven’t you?” Maggie said softly, touching his arm.
Declan’s eyebrows knitted together.
“Nope, I’ve got everything I brought with me.”
She shook her head, “No, you’ve left part
of your heart.”
*
*
*
Viktor nosed around Camryn’s apartment
searching for clues.
He walked to her computer and turned it
on. While he waited for it to boot up he rifled through the desk drawers.
Nothing but old bills and office supply crap.
He did a slow burn until something caught
his eye.
Camryn left her notebook with her
passwords.
*
*
*
Four hours into the flight and Camryn
couldn’t stand it any longer. Her legs tingled. She stood and walked to the
washroom. She took her cap off and pulled her loose ponytail tight and splashed
cool water onto her face.
She planned on stretching her legs by
walking the length of the plane when they hit turbulence. She was quickly
directed by a flight attendant to take her seat and buckle up.
Camryn cursed under her breath and pulled
out her book.
*
*
*
Declan didn’t know why he felt compelled
to tell Maggie, a total stranger, of his time in Chicago but he did
nonetheless.
“Oh, you
poor thing!
Not to worry. You’ll see her again,” she cooed patting the
back of his hand.
“I doona think so. I’ll no’ be going back
to the states any time soon,” Declan vowed.
“You won’t have to. She’ll come to you.
What you chose to do afterwards is another thing entirely.” She leaned her head
against the seat and closed her eyes.
*
*
*
Back at home Viktor sat at his computer,
leafing through the pages of Camryn’s notebook. Why the hell did she have so
many different e-mail addresses? No matter. He had plenty of time since he
called in sick.
He grabbed his fourth beer from the
fridge and sat to check out e-mail address number four. He hoped this inbox
would be more interesting than the past three. As the page loaded he flipped on
the television and put on the local news. He lowered the volume while he
scanned her messages.
Several spam messages and a message from
Claire. The subject line read ‘call mom the minute you land at Dublin airport’.
Dublin airport?
Ireland? Fuck!
*
*
*
The captain’s voice came over the
intercom and woke Camryn from a deep sleep. She didn’t hear what he said so she
waved to a flight attendant.
“Did the captain say anything important?”
“Just that we’re on time and we’ll be
landing at Dublin International within the hour,” the pixie looking flight
attendant replied.
Camryn thanked her and looked around at
the other passengers who chatted idly. She couldn’t believe she slept for so
long without the help of alcohol. Lately she needed a few drinks to be able to
sleep so soundly.
One hour and she’d be in Ireland.
Alone.
She was excited and scared at the same time.
*
*
*
“Camille.”
“Camille!” the voice quivered.
Camille did her best to ignore the voice.
She was too wrapped up in a happy dream where she basked on a beach. A fancy
drink with an umbrella clutched in one hand and a good book in the other.
Whoever was calling her name could fuck
off.
*
*
*
“You have to protect Camryn, Declan. Keep
her safe,” Maggie begged.
“Protect her from what?” he shouted,
frustrated.
“Not what, Declan, but whom.”
“Who then?” he asked, agitated. He was
never one for riddles.
“The blond man,” she whispered.
He shook his head, aggravated. “How can I
bloody protect her when she’s in the states?”
She smiled at him, palming his cheek.
“She’s here with you.”
Maggie O’Mara drifted like wisps of white
smoke as she walked away.
Only the sound of her voice remained.
“Protect her, Declan. Protect my baby.”
*
*
*
Camille Mayden awoke from a fitful sleep.
The room was quiet, save the sounds of steady breathing from her cell mates.
She twisted her wrists in the leather straps. She was close to freeing one
wrist. She licked her dry lips determinedly and kept twisting until it was
free.
She would’ve howled in excitement, but
she didn’t know where the monster might be lurking. She feverishly untied her
other wrist and pulled the IV from her arm before untying the straps bound to
her ankles.
She pulled the sheet covering her and
stifled a scream. She was naked and a catheter had been inserted. She gingerly
removed it and pulled her legs over the side of the bed.
She placed her feet on the cold, concrete
floor and held onto the bed for support. Her legs wobbled after being on her
back for some time.
Camille scanned the room and wrapped the
sheet around
herself
hobbling to Sam’s bed. She nudged
her gently and Sam moaned and opened her eyes.
“How?” she croaked.
“Determination,” Camille whispered as she
worked Sam’s wrists and legs free. She’d let Sam deal with her own catheter.
Camille went to the other women, but they
were so out of it she couldn’t shake them awake.
Together they slowly walked towards the
door. Camille pressed her ear against the door and when she didn’t hear
anything, she turned the door knob. She almost fainted with relief when it
turned in her hand.
She was weak, but wound with adrenaline.
She’d bulldoze anyone that tried to stop her from leaving. She pulled the sheet
up, to free her legs and nodded at Sam to do the same. Before she opened the
door she whispered, “Run like hell and keep running until you’re safely away.”
Sam replied, “No shit.”
*
*
*
Declan woke with a start. He looked
around but didn’t see Maggie.
The flight attendants moved down the
aisles asking people to put their seat belts on because the plane would be
landing soon.
An attendant walked past and smiled at
him.
“Lass?
I think the gel sitting here is in the
washroom. You might need to let her know we’re landing soon.”
Susan, the flight attendant, looked at
him curiously. “Sir, no one has been sitting in that seat.”
Declan’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Aye.
She has shoulder length auburn hair, brown eyes,
middle aged?”
Susan looked around the plane and
shrugged, “I can assure you no one sat here and no one here that matches your
description.”
The gel was barmy! Of course Maggie was
here. He didn’t have a conversation with air!
Declan unclasped his seat belt and walked
towards first class. He poked his head through the curtains and scanned the
passengers.
He noted several older women, a few men
and one gel with a ponytail sticking out of her cap and red sunglasses. Perhaps
a celebrity was on board with them?
“Sir, you’ll have to return to your
seat,” a voice said behind him.
Declan smiled sheepishly. “Just ‘avin’ a
look is all.”
He started back towards his seat and then
decided to check the washrooms, just in case.
The door didn’t read ‘occupied’, but he
knocked anyway. When he didn’t hear a voice on the other side of the door he
slowly turned the knob.
The washroom was empty.
