Mine Until Dawn (34 page)

More memories returned to haunt her and tears filled her eyes. Vince tied to a chair, bleeding, but unbreakable. Her baby never stood a chance, not against Yannick. Even if he had miraculously defeated the psycho, Yannick’s men had guns.

Her breath hitched and Jade covered her mouth to stop sobs from escaping. It was a futile effort. She doubled over, tears streaming down her face.

As her sobs tapered off, anger overrode pain. The two men responsible for taking everything from her could be aboard the plane this very minute and she was wallowing in self-pity. Nothing would bring her Vince back. She would mourn later. Now she needed to be strong. It was what Vince would expect from her.

Jade scooted to the edge of the king-size bed, stepped on the plush carpet, and walked to a window. It was dark outside and she had no way of knowing what time it was. She turned and warily approached the first door on her left. She hesitated briefly, then opened it.

Light came on, casting a gold glow on the Jacuzzi, gold-plated plumbing and light fixtures in the bathroom. Annoyed, she started to close the door. Then a case of make-up and toiletries beside the sink caught her attention. Jade stepped inside. The body wash, creams, and the make-up brand were all the ones she favored. A creepy feeling unfurled inside of her.

She hurried out of the room, closed the door, and leaned against it, her heart close to bursting. Why would Bouchard have her brand of cosmetics? Maybe it was just a coincidence. There could be another female on board the plane.

This time, she didn’t hesitate before yanking open the next door. Dresses, casual and formal, pants and tops, sweaters and skirts filled racks. She recognized her cousin Faith’s designs. She didn’t want to look, knew what she’d find, but she still grabbed a dress and checked the tag. Her size. Shoes, boots, and sandals. Drawers filled with lingerie and under garments. All in her size. Inside her, the sickly feeling intensified. Blood roaring in her ears and breath coming out in spurts, she backed out of the room.

“I’m delighted to see you’re finally awake,” Bouchard said in French from behind her and Jade froze. She hadn’t heard him open the door. “I hope you’re pleased with my selection.”

Repulsed was more like it, but she couldn’t voice that, not if she wanted to outwit him. Her mind raced, her pulse throbbing on her throat and temples. There was two ways to handle this. She could make it clear she didn’t appreciate being abducted and demand to be taken home, or play along and wait for an opportune moment to act. One thing her Vince had taught her this past week was patience.

Vince. Her throat closed with grief and she struggled to swallow. She must stop thinking about him or she’d cease functioning. The wish was already there, clawing at her.

Jade swept her hair away from her face, pasted a smile on, and turned to face Bouchard. He wore black dress pants and a black silk shirt, like the men he’d sent to kill the man she loved. Despite his words and the smile on his lips, his gray eyes were cold.

“Your taste is impeccable, Monsieur Bouchard. I couldn’t have done better.” She spoke in his language, too.

The coldness left his eyes. “Renard,
ma cherie.
There’s no need to be formal.” He stepped inside and closed the door, his gaze running over her. “You cousin was very helpful. She believed the clothes were for my niece, who is about your size.”

Hands clammy, knees threatening to give, Jade’s arms tensed about her. The man was insane and she needed her wits to deal with him. It took all her effort to play dumb.

“It’s very generous of you to replace the things Montague and his men destroyed, but you didn’t have to.”

Anger flared in his eyes. “You should have called me about studying my antiques, Jade. I wouldn’t have resorted to underhanded means to get you here.”

Yeah, sure, blame the victim, you psycho. “I was going to call you, but—”

“You were distracted.” His lips tightened with distaste. “Knight wasn’t worthy of you. In time, you’ll forget about him.”

Never. Not as long as she lived. Jade looked around the bedroom, hating every minute she spent in this man’s presence or breathed the same air as him. “Where are we going?”

“Saint-Noel for now.” He smiled. “Later, I’ll take you to places and show you things you’ve only dreamed of, Jade. You’ll come to appreciate my dreams and what I can offer you.”

Appreciate him? He disgusted her. Did he think he could snatch her and keep her hostage without her family coming after her?

“Am I supposed to forget you’ve taken me against my will and killed someone I care about?” His eyes grew colder at her outburst, but Jade refused to back down. “What about my mother? Are you planning to kill her, too?” His ruthless expression indicated indifference to her mother’s plight. Jade’s stomach dropped and she swallowed.

“I’m not sure why she’s associating with a man as vile as the general, but I could be persuaded to let her go.”

“What do you want from me, Renard?”

He ran a possessive glance over her and smiled. His eyes flashed what she assumed was triumph. “You and I have a lot in common,
ma cherie.
For now, I want to show you something.” He went to the door he’d walked through, open it, and beckoned someone forward.

A man in some type of uniform wheeled in a metal case on a trolley. “Dinner will be ready in ten minutes, sir.”

Bouchard nodded. “Any word from Yannick?”

Jade held her breath and waited for the man’s answer.
  

“No, sir. We’ll alert you as soon as he calls.”

Bouchard dismissed the man, sat on the bed, and pulled the box closer. He patted the bed beside him. “Sit down.”

Jade sat on the edge of the bed, a fair distance from him and his stupid box, but inside her, hope rekindled. If Yannick hadn’t made it to the plane, her Vince could be alive.

Bouchard, oblivious to her inner turmoil, punched in a combination of numbers to unlock the box. “These,
ma cherie,
are my most precious possessions. It’s taken me years to find all the pieces. Almost all the pieces. The statue with your mother is the last in the collection. But tonight…,” his eyes glazed with an emotion Jade couldn’t define. “Tonight they’ll be together for the first time in thousands of years.” A click, then he pushed the lid of the box back.

Jade recoiled at the whips, weird shaped knives, and daggers strapped on the box’s lid. The articles Eddie’s girlfriend e-mailed Vince had mentioned unusual weapons. The twenty years Bouchard had been in diplomatic corps, he’d been posted in four different countries, and in each place, an ancient Mayan statue had gone missing—two from museums, two from private collectors. In all the cases, people had died in the same method—lethal cuts by unusual weapons. In every case, he got away because no one could pin the murders on him.

“This is what started it all. My Rosetta stone.” Bouchard carefully lifted a round slab of granite from inside the box and offered it to her.

Jade cringed, then she caught the hard glint in his eyes and accepted the stone, studying it with both fascination and revulsion. Even without close examination, she knew it was genuine. The patina was thin and natural, the writing Mayan. On the stone was a weird eight-sided symbol with drawings. It looked like a Mayan calendar, but like nothing she’d ever seen.

“You see these drawings at the corners of the octogram?” Bouchard touched the surface with reverence. “Each symbolizes a figurine. My figurines. Apart, they’re just artifacts, nothing special. But together, they have unbelievable powers. All I need are the four with the general to finish the outer ring, the one with your mother in the center and my blood then the gateway will open.”

Bloodletting by the ruling elites, divination and magic played an important role in ancient civilizations, but for someone to believe in them in the present was ridiculous.

“The Mayan language has never been completely deciphered. You couldn’t have translated the text,” she said.

“That’s where you’re wrong,
ma cherie.
Yes, I tried to use translations by different linguists and got nowhere. Then I learned about this man.” He placed a slim, leather-bound book beside her. “He personally translated the writing on the stone.”

Jade barely glanced at the book. She knew the scientist’s reputation, or lack there of. His work had been challenged by numerous philologists. She opened her mouth to tell Bouchard the scientist told him what he wanted to hear, but changed her mind. Antagonizing the man wouldn’t get her what she wanted, her freedom. Better to play the interested party and learn more about how his twisted mind worked.

“This gateway you mentioned, where does it lead?”

His breathing became short and shallow, beads of sweat dotting his forehead. The look in his eyes grew wilder. “To the next world. In the year 2012, the gods shall show a royal son the gateway to the new world, the inscription says. I’m the direct descendant of
K'inich Janaab' Pakal.
”

“Interesting,” Jade said, feigning interest.
K'inich Janaab' Pakal or
Pacal the Great was famous for commissioning the building of the famous Temple of Inscriptions, the largest step-pyramid in Mexico.

“Do you know what’s going to happen in the year 2012?” Renard asked, intruding on her thoughts.

“According to popular belief, this world will end and the next one begin,” she said though the present day Mayans believed it would be a time of transition, a shift in consciousness, not a physical destruction of the world.

“I plan to be the chosen one to repopulate the next world.” He turned the opened metal case so Jade could see its contents.

Jade barely glanced at the four figurines, but she recognized them as the stolen pieces. She struggled not to drown in bitterness. Her Vince had gone through so much crap because of this man’s lunacy.

“What does all this have to do with me?” she asked.

He smiled. “As an art historian, you’ve studied ancient cultures. You know customs of past civilizations, what worked and what didn’t. You shall be my partner, my mate. We will repopulate the world and avoid present and past mistakes.” He went still. “But first, the general. I must get the figurines from him.”

That was the second time he’d mentioned his grandfather. Jade decided to play dumb, to see how much of his depraved plans he could reveal. “Who’s the general?”

“General Descartes, the man who took everything from me. The man who slaughtered everyone I’ve ever loved—my grandparents, my mother, my little sisters—and stole my heritage.”

Hatred burned in his eyes and nothing he said made sense.

“My father, once a powerful man, had to beg him to work on a land that was once ours, a land my family had owned for thousands of years. It destroyed him. The general killed him, and I vowed to avenge him. To avenge my whole family.”

What a psycho. “So you and the general aren’t related?”

“No.” His lips curved in a sneer. “I may share his name, but his blood doesn’t flow in my veins. He adopted me and dangled his ill-gotten wealth to try and control me.”
 

A knock at the door interrupted him and Jade released the breath she hadn’t known she was holding. Bouchard got up, walked to the door, and yanked it open. One of his men whispered something to him and left.

He turned to her. “We’ve less than two hours before we land. Shower, change into something comfortable, and join me in the dining suite for dinner.” He put his stone back in the box, locked it, and left the room.

There was no way she could possibly share a meal with that man. Jade stared around the room, her mind racing. She must find a way out of this predicament. Her eyes locked on Bouchard’s box and an idea started forming in her head. The more she thought about it, the more she knew it was the only way. The question now was when to act.

CHAPTER 25

Vince ignored the tightness around his chest as he got up and followed Eddie out of the plane. He had refused the pain killers the paramedics tried to shove down his throat at Eddie’s precinct, but they’d wrapped his ribs tighter than a mummy and he hurt like hell. The medication might have helped, but being groggy on this mission wasn’t an option. As for the bandages, he would take them off at first opportunity.

The nine-hour flight, with stops in Fort Lauderdale and San Juan, Puerto Rico, had gone excruciatingly slow, straining his nerves. He’d tried to keep his mind off Jade by going over the articles on Bouchard. For the third time. Every detail of the man’s life—his career and sexual exploits, his obsession with ancient artifacts and strained adoptive father/son relationship with General Descartes—was engraved in his brain. Bouchard was one more psycho the world didn’t need.

 
“Where’s the guide going to meet us?” Eddie asked, interrupting his thoughts.

“Here at the airport. He said he’d carry a placard with my name.” He’d contacted a tour company in Liseux and asked for an English-speaking guide after they learned Bouchard hadn’t used John Wayne Airport. Dana Point officers had found the Nissan Yannick’s accomplice had used in the parking lot of a private airstrip west of Capistrano Beach. A talk with the airport officials confirmed the brief stop the diplomat had made at their airport to pick up his ailing niece before taking off, again. Eddie’s friend had provided their flight plan. The plane had left U.S. straight for Mexico airspace, heading south.

“He’d better be here,” Eddie grumbled. “I want this over and done with tonight.”

Vince didn’t say anything to that. Eddie’s crabbier than usual attitude wasn’t surprising. Dana Point sheriff had called his captain and as soon as Vince and Eddie arrived at his precinct, the captain had taken him aside for a talk down. The older man’s angry voice had penetrated the thin walls of his office. “I want your badge on my desk right this instant, Eddie….that’s right, you’re suspended pending investigation on what went down at that beach house…because you never do anything by the book, hotshot…handing me incomplete reports…not calling for backup…of course she was in trouble, the more reason not to go in alone…and where’s Jade now, huh?...that’s right, you don’t know…I don’t care that you caught that bastard…an officer died today and Jade’s still missing…go home, Eddie...we’ll find the ambassador using proper channels and bring her home…yes, I still want a complete report on my desk by the end of the day…a complete report, Eddie or kiss whatever little is left of your career goodbye.”

Eddie had stormed out of the office with the captain on his heel, still looking pissed. Every cop within hearing distance had suddenly become preoccupied with something else, until the captain zeroed in on Vince.

Vince grimaced as he recalled the long lecture he’d received from the man about civilians taking matters in their own hands instead of letting police do their work. He was lucky fingerprints and a statement from Cohen’s assistant had linked the Hudson brothers and Montague to Cohen’s death, the captain had added. Next time he knew a crime had been committed, it was his civic duty to report it, the captain had dictated before letting him go.

Outside the station, Vince had found Eddie waiting for him. He wasn’t sure whether the detective later handed in the report the captain wanted, but Eddie had gone back to his precinct before they left for the airport.
 

Detective Fitzgerald?” a tall mocha-complexioned man called out in a heavy accent as Vince and Eddie exited the arrival gate.

 
“Yes? And you are?” Eddie asked, eyes narrowed.

The man flashed his badge. “Jean-Yves Lafontaine, Chief of Police, Liseux Police Department.” He pointed to his younger companion. “Officer Ralph Gaillard. And you,” he nodded at Vince, “must be Monsieur Knight.” Vince didn’t say anything. “Shall we? We have a car waiting outside.”

Vince exchanged a look with Eddie. How did they know their real names? The ones on their passports were fraudulent. Being met by cops at the airport didn’t look good. For starters, they were operating outside police channel. Even Eddie’s captain didn’t know they’d left the country. Or rather they hoped he didn’t.

“I’m sorry gentlemen, but we can’t accompany you anywhere until you explain what’s going on,” Eddie said slowly and carefully.

“Not here, please,” Jean-Yves said.

“Do you guys make a habit of harassing tourists, sir?” Vince added.

The chief smiled. “If that’s your official title, Monsieur Knight, I’m all for it. As long as unofficially you’re here to help me catch that, uh, what would you Americans call him?” He added something in French.

“Scumbag?” his colleague offered.

“That’s the word…scumbag Bouchard.”

Vince felt a little better. Anyone who thought Bouchard was a scumbag was okay in his book. Eddie obviously felt the same because he nodded. They followed the officers downstairs, where Vince picked up his bag at the baggage claim before they left the building and piled inside a black jeep. The two local cops sat in front, with the shorter and younger one behind the wheels. Vince and Eddie settled in the back.

“How did you know we were coming?” Eddie asked the question burning the tip of Vince’s tongue.
 

“Your captain called our office to tell us about Bouchard’s latest escapades and to ask for our help. He and a team of his men will be arriving tomorrow. He also gave us your descriptions and the names on the false passports you used to obtain visas at our embassy. Just in case you arrived on our soil before him, we are to place both of you under arrest for obstruction of justice. Finding out that you were on this flight wasn’t very hard, so here we are.”

Vince smothered a curse. This was worse than he’d thought. He should have ditched Eddie and traveled alone. He always worked better solo.

“Are we under arrest?” he asked the officer.

The chief shifted to face them. “No,
Monsieur
Knight, otherwise you’d be in cuffs. You see, I have a slight problem. General Descartes is a national hero, a man revered by my people
and
a very close friend of our president. Men like him, willing sacrifice so much for our people, are the backbone of this country. His mines and factories keep food on tables and his generous donations educate our youth. Bouchard Descartes, on the hand, is a disgrace, a criminal cloaked in respectability because of the general. Every country he’s served in, his name has been linked with criminal activities yet he’d never been charged. Why? He doesn’t leave any witnesses.”

“Doesn’t the general know about his activities?” Eddie asked.

“No one would dare tell him without evidence. The general doesn’t like modern technology, so he’s not going to read about his grandson’s escapades on the Internet or watch it on T.V. My mentor and our former chief’s daughter disappeared fifteen years ago after attending one of Bouchard’s parties. The man spent the last fifteen years of his career trying to get proof, anything to show the general, but he failed. Not finding his daughter’s killer left him a broken man. This is the first time we have proof of Bouchard’s criminal activities. His plane landed an hour ago. First, he sent a team of his men to the general’s island before he and the woman joined them.”

“How many men does he have with him?” Eddie asked, again.

“Eight, but we have the element of surprise on our side. We know the island very well. The villa can be approached from any direction without being seen. Plenty of trees. We must act tonight. If we wait until your captain arrives, it might be too late. Like I said, Bouchard doesn’t leave witnesses.”

His matter-of-fact words sent a chill down Vince’s back. “How many men do you have lined up for tonight’s operation?”

The local officers exchanged a look before the chief answered. “Just the two of us, and you two as our backup”

“Why only the two of you?” Eddie interjected.

“Bouchard has officers in his payroll. Since we don’t know their identity yet, we can’t trust anyone. I trust Gaillard because I personally recruited him when I took over.”

A brief silence followed as they sped down a street, which suited Vince just fine. Despite enlisting their help, the local chief had his own agenda, which was catching Bouchard with his hand in the cookie jar. He and Eddie had their own, getting Jade and her mother out safely.
 
Bouchard was ruthless and wouldn’t hesitate to kill either one of them. But it wasn’t happening on his watch.

His attention shifted and he watched the passing scenery without much interest. The nightlife was at its peak, people milling around local clubs and discos, music audible inside the car despite the closed windows. High rises in the background, palm trees everywhere, and the scent of the sea in the air, Liseux was your typical paradise. Too bad it contained a serpent he planned to skin.

Charter yachts, motorboats, and sailboats of various sizes vied for space along the docks. They piled into a medium size, inboard-outboard with the young officer, once again, at the helm. Vince took his bag and headed downstairs to change.

It was a relief to remove the constricting bandages from around his chest. He didn’t waste time checking his bruises. He pulled out a knife belt from the bag, snapped it around his waist, and made sure all the knives were secure before rejoining the other men.

No one spoke until they reached the island and hid the boat in an enclave on the south side. “Knight, you’re not an officer and therefore not license to carry firearms,” the chief said while securing two small guns in his belt and one with a silencer under his jacket.

Vince shrugged. “I know.” He lifted the lapels of his jacket and exposed the knives. “I hope I don’t need a license to carry these around here.”

“No, you don’t.” He turned to Eddie and Officer Gaillard and offered each two guns, one with a silencer. “We stick together until we reach the villa. If the guards are patrolling the compound, we take them down one at a time.” He passed out night vision monocular goggles to everyone. “Okay. Let’s go.”

They headed north in a single file, but kept close to the beach. The chief was in the lead, his officer behind him, Vince next, and Eddie in the rear. Vince studied their surrounding in the moonless night. There was a volcanic relief to their left, plenty of trees and creeping plants for cover, and a heavy scent of wild flowers in the air. With their dark clothes, blending shouldn’t be a problem. Everyone was quiet, too, which was perfect. At night, sound traveled.

After a while, the pungent smell of tobacco mingled with the flowers. Fresh smoke. The chief lifted his hand and everyone stopped. Turning, he pointed ahead and indicated they were close and should move with more stealth.

Vince removed a knife from a sheath and continued forward. If it weren’t for the local cops, they would have walked right into the general’s compound and been spotted by one of Bouchard’s men. There was no wall, fence, or gate separating the wild foliage from pruned bushes, palm trees, and flower gardens.

Vince crouched low beside the two officers and took inventory. The villa was old and colonial. A large sundial sat in the center of the driveway, and the compound, though huge, had only one security light near the entrance. Dim lights also shone from a partially sunken window close to the entrance. He counted three guards in total, one very close to them.

The chief waited until Eddie joined them before he pointed at a palm tree to the left of the house. A red light flared and dimmed, indicating a guard was smoking a cigarette.

“He’s mine. Knight, you’re with me.” He nodded at the two guards on the balcony to their right. “Gaillard and Fitzgerald, take those two down. Fitzgerald, take the lead. Anything moves, shoot to kill. We’ll circle the house and meet in the back. Once the outside is secure, we’ll move inside.”

Vince was right behind the chief as he crept close to their quarry. His heart beat with a sizzling fervor, each second dragging, stretching his nerves. All his years of training had come to this, and making a mistake or miscalculating was unacceptable. Jade’s life was at stake.

The chief stepped on a twig and they froze. The guard must have heard the crack because he crushed his cigarette on the ground, got up, and started toward them. Vince watched him through the night vision goggles, his grip firm on the knife. His breathing slowed. If the chief hesitated, he’d take the guard down in one swift motion.

The chief didn’t and the guard went down with minimal sound.

***

Jade’s gaze traveled to the only window in the room. No chance of escaping through it unless she could melt the metal security bars. As for the door, the guard had dragged a chair and planted himself right beside it. That left her initial plan, which required the items in Bouchard’s box. It was now on top of an elegant antique sideboard at the opposite end of the room. She had to find her way to that box.

Maybe she could distract the guard. After all, it was just the two of them. Several of Bouchard’s men were outside and he’d taken two with him to meet with the general. Jade didn’t give credence to Bouchard’s promise to let her mother go, not without leverage. She had to get that leverage.

Her heart in her throat, hands and knees shaking, Jade stood.

“Sit down, miss,” the guard ordered, speaking in French.

“I, uh, just want to take a look at that.” She pointed at a Monet on the wall and attempted to smile.