Storm Ravaged (Storm Damages 2) (Storm Legacy) (13 page)

Chapter 16

______________

Gabriel

MONDAY MORNING I’M BACK IN LONDON, much as I hate to be. I’d rather be back in D.C., but there are things in London I must deal with. Business issues, personal matters. So here I am.

I arrive at Heathrow to find Jake waiting for me. With Samuel left behind to manage Liz’s security, Jake’s hired a new security guard, Travis Webber.

Travis is the size of a lorry, has the nose of a prizefighter and his arms resemble small tree trunks.

“He’s smarter than he looks.” Jake says after I shake hands with his newest hire.

Travis laughs at the semi-insult. “Don’t you worry, Mr. Storm. I’ll take right care of ye.”

He’s got a sense of humor. Good. He’ll need it working for me.

“I don’t doubt that for a second, Travis. Where’s Bri?” I ask Jake, sliding into Benz.

“Home with her latest project.”

Bri and her men. You’d think I would have gotten used to her promiscuity by now. “Who is it this time?”

“An artist who meets all her requirements.”

“Good looking, none too bright, and hung like a moose?”

“Can’t attest to the last trait, but yes, to the other two. And, no, I didn’t leave her unguarded. I assigned someone to watch over her while I rode to Heathrow to meet with you. Why so late?” Jake asks once we’re on the motorway to London. “We expected you this morning.”

I’ve arrived mid day, rather than my usual pre-crack of dawn. “I was detained.” Truth to tell, I had to tear myself away. In the past, I couldn’t leave a woman’s bed fast enough after we had sex. But with Liz? All I want is to cocoon and let the world spin on its own.

“You’ll have a long day ahead of you.”

“I slept on the plane.” In fits and starts. Still, I did get some shut eye. “Any news?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact.” Glancing toward Travis, he activates the button that divides the front and back seats. Only when it clicks shut does he say, “I found your mother.”

Bloody hell
. Wasn’t expecting this. “Did you?”

“Yes.” The steel in his gaze is not lost on me. “Or I should say, the actress you paid to impersonate her and travel to France.”

Fuck.
I should have known Jake would figure it out.

“What are you up to, Storm?” His eyes narrow.

I hate like hell having to explain myself. But if I want his cooperation, or at least his reluctant compliance, I’ll have to. “I executed a preemptive strike. As an ex-Navy Seal, I’m sure you understand exactly what that means.”

“I’m familiar with the term, Storm. Go on.”

“With Tilly gone, the Countess would have realized I was on to her nasty blackmail scheme and that I’ve reestablished relations with Liz. Since my mother would do everything in her power to prevent our child from being born, I did what I had to do.”

“And my operative, Sarah Simmons? She agreed to your ‘preemptive strike?’”

“She’s not ‘your’ operative, Jake. She’s mine.” I cringe at the arrogant tone to my voice. Can’t be helped. That’s what happens when my emotions are involved.

“You may pay her salary, but I hired her. I’m responsible for her.” A muscle ticks in his jaw. He’s not happy about my use of one of ‘his’ operatives.

Before I further alienate him. I take a deep breath, modulate my voice to sound less like a prig. “Yes, she agreed. I asked her to pretend she’d do anything for money. She must have done a good job because the Countess took the bait and offered her a sizable sum to help her escape.”

“How the hell did they get out of the castle? My team was watching every exit.”

I grow weary of this interrogation. But I must make him understand, so he won’t throw a spanner in the works. “They weren’t watching the coast. A tunnel leads directly from the castle to a cave below. It’s the way the castle was provisioned during medieval sieges.”

His gaze narrows. “That passage does not appear in the castle plans.”

“The passage caved in at one point, so its existence was lost in time. But it’s still there. My mother knew about it, Probably pried the information from my father during one of his drinking binges. She sent Ms. Simmons to reconnoiter. When Sarah reported there was enough room to get through, they planned their getaway. The night of their escape, a ship waited for them offshore. It was supposed to take them to France.”

“Where did they end up?”

“Scotland. In a hunting box my family owns. Far away from any roads or towns.”

He fiddles with his mobile, one of the best satellite phones in the market and a twin to my own. “Sarah blocked my calls, but I assume you’re in communication with her.”

“She sends me a status report every evening.”

He jams the phone back in his jacket. “I can’t imagine your mother went willingly once she landed in Scotland.”

“There was some sedation involved.”

“Christ, Storm. Kidnapping, drugging her? What you’ve done is immoral, never mind illegal.”

“She did worse than that to me.”

“That doesn’t justify your actions.” He glances out the window where cars whizz along the busy motorway. “How long are you planning to keep up this farce?” He doesn’t bother to look back at me.

“Until I marry Liz and our son is born. Then the Countess can go to blazes for all I care.”

He turns back to me. “And how are you going to keep your mother quiet afterward? Have you thought about that?”

“Of course I have. Did you really think I wouldn’t?” I choke out a laugh. “There’s no love lost between her and the castle staff. Everyone hates her. They’ll swear to a man and woman she’s been at Winterleagh the whole time. If I have to, I’ll get a physician to certify her insane. She’s not that far off, so it won’t be much of a stretch.”

Jake’s steel gaze drills into me. “There’s a lot of your mother in you, Storm. Much more than you realize.”

I gnash my teeth. I learned from the best, didn’t I?

“And you planned all this behind my back.”

“You wouldn’t have approved my scheme.”

“Damn right, I wouldn’t.”

I expected his anger, so his reaction is not a surprise. I’d hoped, no prayed I could talk him around to my point of view. But things are not looking good. I may need to recalibrate my plans. Until then there’s something else I need to know. “What’s the latest on the security in D.C.?”

“Samuel’s arranged for a company to wire the apartment—cameras, motion sensors. And of course Marisol and Jorge are fully capable of handling anything that comes up.”

“The Cuban couple was quite a find.” Trained as operatives by the American government, they’d retired two years ago. Having worked as servants to the elite for many years while spying for the CIA, they made the perfect cover. “Anything else?”

“A couple of your mother’s acquaintances have called. How do you want to deal with them?”

“Our official line will be she suffered a nervous breakdown caused by the stress of dealing with my father’s illness. Her doctor thought it best if she were in total isolation to get the rest she needs.”

Another tick of his jaw.

“If you’re worried about being connected, don’t be. You can rightfully claim you had no prior knowledge.”

“I have knowledge now. Do you think I won’t be implicated as an accomplice? And what about Sarah, have you thought about the repercussions if things don’t go your way?”

My conscience lies clear. Given a chance to do it all again, I would do the same. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t suffer any consequences, Jake. And you must do as your scruples dictate. Are you in or are you out? Because if you’re not, I’ll have to make other plans.” I have no idea what those plans would be.

His jaw juts. That body part is getting quite a workout today. For a couple of minutes he doesn’t say anything. But then there’s a subtle shift to him, a relaxation of sorts. “You did the right thing, even if your methods are illegal. Your mother would have gone after Ms. Watson. Of that I have no doubt. I may not like what you’ve done, but I understand why you did it.” His gaze cuts to me. “So I’m in. I would feel better if I knew the security measures being taken to ensure she does not escape. Maybe I should travel to this hunting box. Where is it by the way?”

I trust him implicitly, but I don’t want him directly involved. In case things head south, he still could claim ignorance. Doubt he would. His honor would demand an admission of his knowledge. “No need. I will visit her this week to find that out for myself.”

“Very well. One more thing we need to deal with. Photos of you and Elizabeth appeared in the British papers. It will take them only a day or two to figure out who she is.”

The same thing happened in D.C. “It was foolish to believe no one would find out about us.”

“Did you arrange for those photos to make their way to the media?”

So, he suspects me of complicity. That’s the problem with committing one transgression. You’re suspect in everything else that goes wrong. I turn away from him to stare out the window. We should be in London proper soon. “You give me too much credit, Jake. Not hard to see how it happened with the Cathedral of the Nativity right next door. My guess? Some tourist recognized me and took our picture. And a couple in the cafe where we ate lunch took a keen interest in us.”

“How would anyone know who you are?”

“Probably from the pictures that surfaced from the closing. They made the business section of
The Washington Post.
And
The Wall Street Journal
wrote a full article about the deal and me.
” I brush nonexistent lint from my trousers. “I imagine things will get sticky at her job. It can’t be avoided, I’m afraid. They won’t fire her. I’ll withdraw my business if they do. But they may take measures she won’t like.”

“They’ll have rules in place to deal with that kind of thing.”

“Yes, they probably do. I just hope they don’t go overboard with their ‘rules.’”

Chapter 17

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Elizabeth

“SEE YOU AT 5:30, MS. WATSON?” Rick Blaine, my new guard, asks. Of average height and build, he’s not much to look at. But there’s a look in his eye that tells me he’s no one to mess with. The three members of the team will take turns watching over me. I’ll meet the third guard tonight. Martha Rawlings, hired because they need a woman to accompany me places men can’t go. Apparently, I need a bodyguard while I pee. Lovely.

“Yes. I’ll call if there’s a delay.”

When Rick climbs out and opens the door for me, a couple of co-workers witness it. I wish them good morning as I breeze into the building along with them. They don’t comment upon my new mode of transportation, but then they don’t have to. Their raised brows speak for them.

My message light’s lit up on my work phone. One call from Carrey, four from CeCe. HR requests a meeting as soon as I’m available. Wonder what they want to talk about, as if I don’t know.

Carrey’s tied up in a meeting, his secretary tells me, but she’ll let him know I called. By the time I hang up, CeCe’s standing at my door, excitement clear on her face.

“Girl, you’ve gone and done it now. The place’s buzzing with the news.”

Even though I expected that reaction, my stomach flip flops. “So everyone knows about Gabriel and me?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Well, at least I won’t have to worry about it anymore.” I rub my baby belly. I just have to worry about the fall out sure to occur.

“A lot of people are disappointed. Nobody won the pool.”

Serves them right.

My phone rings. Carmen, Mr. Carrey’s secretary. “He can see you now if you’re available.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“What time you want to do lunch?” CeCe asks.

“One?”

“You got it.” I’ll need to call Samuel and arrange for security. I grit my teeth before I grab my netbook and head for Mr. Carrey’s office. Maybe he just wants to give me a substantial assignment.

The foolish hope’s dashed when I arrive at his office and he greets me with a frown. “Good morning, Liz. Please take a seat.”

I do, fearful of what he’s going to say.

“I understand you and Gabriel Storm . . .” He leaves the rest of the words hanging in the air.

Not much I can say but, “Yes.”

He heaves a heavy sigh, drops into his office chair. “This puts us in a bit of a sticky spot, Liz.”

“Yes, Sir. I understand.” Even though I know what’s coming, I wait, hoping the damage won’t be too great.

“As you know, Storm Industries has hired us as their outside counsel. Unfortunately, that means we will need to take some cautions.” He fiddles with the pens in his pencil cup, always a bad sign.

“What kind of cautions?”

He leans back into his seat and fixes his gaze on me. “We’ll need to build a Chinese wall between you and any transactions involving Storm Industries.”

A Chinese Wall is
a barrier implemented within a firm to prevent exchanges of information that could cause conflicts of interest. Because of my involvement with Gabriel, I won’t have access to any data having to do with Storm Industries.