Somewhere I'll Find You (44 page)

Erik held Jenny’s lifeless body in his arms, crooning softly as he rocked in a soothing rhythm, although Daniel didn’t know if it was meant to calm the cooling body that he held or himself.  Turning away, he wiped a shaky hand over his face before allowing his usual efficiency to take over.  Dispatching a phone call to the studio, he quietly informed them of the events that had taken place.  As the legal wheels began to turn, he gently replaced the receiver before moving to Erik’s side.

“Erik,” he began softly, averting his eyes from the blood that pooled around the actor.  “We have to be
getting you
home.  Someone will be here to take care of . . .” He couldn’t bring himself to say the words that choked in his throat.  “Someone will take care of everything, but the police will be here shortly and you can’t be here when they arrive.
”

Carefully, he reached out a hand only to swiftly retrieve it as Erik snapped at him, his dark eyes crazed with grief.

“Don’t touch her!” His
elegant voice trembled roughly
as he clutched the lifeless body closer.  “She’s mine . . .
all that I ever wanted.  If you’re our friend, you’ll leave us alone.  I trusted that bastard and look what he did to us . . .
to Jenny.”

Fearing the man’s sanity, Daniel stood by quietly listening as Erik poured out all the details of the previous days. 

“I swear to you
,”
Erik finished
, his voice hoarsened by sobs
,
“
I will never rest until that bastard is brought to justice.  Until I can avenge Jenny.”

* * * *

Michael sped down the highway, ignoring the squeal of tires and the dust pools streaming off in the distance behind him.  His gut was screaming at him, telling him that he should never ha
ve left Paige alone, not even to
square off with O’Brian and pull the information he needed to get all of them out of this mess.  But he felt as if he had no choice.

Paige is just going to have to take care of herself for now… Dear God, I hope she can … I should never have left her, should never have left her alone. God damn you, O’Brian, and damn Carver, too. Come on, where’s the bloody turn I need?

The vibration of his cell broke into his thoughts.  “What?” he snapped, too angry for courtesy.

“Sorry Commander, but it’s that man, O’Brian
, again
.”  The voice on the other end sounded as exasperated as Michael felt.  “I’m afraid that he’s cut line and
he’s
headed in your direction.  We couldn’t hold him once learned that neither you nor Miss O’Neal were at the residence.”

Michael unleashed an explosive string of curses in several languages, resulting in the man on the receiving end, smothering strained laughter.
  “Where is he now?” Michael said quietly.

“We have no idea, but he said he was coming for Miss O’Neal.  He’s one smart customer,
Commander;
he took one of my men out cold.  Do you wan
t us to put out a BOLO on him?”

Michael laughed
shortly
.  “No, I’ll deal with him.”  Clicking off the cell, he tucked it into his pocket before wheeling around hard, sending the Rover in a crisp about-face.  He slammed the accelerator to the floor, while he prayed that he would get back to the cottage before Miles muddied things.
 
Maybe you’re actually doing me a
favor
, old man, by making sure I can get back to Paige … I just hope I can get back before
you
do. 
Knowing Miles as he did – he was far too uncomfortable in the States to drive with any sort of confidence, especially when he wasn’t quite certain of his destination despite the urgency the situation was demanding, Michael thought he had a fairly good chance of managing that.

He was right.

When he arrived back at the cottage, the sun was glazing everything in its brightness
, and he caught no sight of Miles’ rental
.
  As he studied the surroundings, flicking his eyes up to the sight of the cottage in the distance, Michael felt the silence pressing in on him, and recognized how
wrong
it felt.
 

Narrowing his ey
es, he parked the Rover a good
way
s from the house. S
omething was nagging
at
him, warning him that walking straight in was a bad idea. 
There’s no harm in taking a look around.  Paige is safe inside
, after all,
and when Miles gets here, I can grab him before he mucks things up.
A look around won’t take but a …

Stealing around to the side of the cottage, he skidded to a halt seconds before disaster struck.  There, gleaming in the sunlight, lay a fine-gauge wire stretched almost knee high, well hidden in the tall grass.  It would have taken him out, no doubt about it. 
Nasty little trick, that,
he mused as he studied the wire.  Carefully, he traced it to a clump of bright pink Azaleas.  There, it turned upward, only to slide around the trigger of a braced and fully loaded rifle. 

Cautiously, he detached the wire before emptying the rounds, feeling beads of sweat streak down his forehead.  When the task was over, he knelt where he was, counting the seconds as he took deep calming breaths.  He looked towards the cottage, gleaming in the sunlight, wondering again at the cold, deep fear in his gut. 

She’s inside, perfectly safe.  And, if there is one trap out here, there’s bound to be others, and I’m not going in there just to have her step on the equivalent of a landmine
when we come back out
.
His mouth set in a grim line, he moved off slowly, unable to shake the feeling tha
t Paige was in terrible danger.

****

Paige’s eyes grew tense with strain even as Alistar frantically searched the room, his eyes still glancing back to where she stood, unmoving.
She was waiting – waiting for one chance to break free.
But that damned gun never strayed far enough for her to move away safely.

When gunfire
from outside
crashed down on her ears, shattering the silence, she jumped as much as Alistar, her amber eyes growing wide.
“What was that?” she whispered.

His agitation was replaced with calm as he jabbed at the cell he had stolen from the dead agent.
 
He knew what the sound had been, of course, and his heart began thudding in his chest with gleeful anticipation.
“Sinclair?
Sinclair!” 
His vo
ice was shrill with excitement. 
“I’m here with Paige; I’ve got her in my sights.”

There was no response, not that he expected one, but still he tried once more, only to be met with silence.
Pocketing the phone, a gleeful smile crossed his lips as he looked at Paige.
“I’m afraid,” he said slyly, his voice oily with elation, “that was the last you’ll ever hear from your poor, inept lover.
 
It would seem that the man wasn’t quite as smart as everyone thought.”

Squeezing her hands into fists, Paige tried to ignore Alistar and the brutal evidence of her own hearing.
It can’t be
true
, she
thought frantically.
Michael
can’t
be dead - I’d feel it.
She turned wildly, until the gleaming muzzle of the gun in Alistar’s hand reminded her of her own danger.
“Not yet, my sweet,” he warned, indicating with his weapon for her to move aside.
“Not until I have those papers.”

Biting her lip, she purposely turned her back, shutting him out completely, blanking her mind to everything except any indication that Michael was
still
alive.
 
At long last, she found it, sensing Michael’s grim determination and need for revenge.

The sensation was nebulous
and had slipped away before she could grasp it firmly
, but she knew in her hea
rt that it belonged to Michael.
B
ending her head, she tried to hide the joy that burst through her like the fireworks at a Fourth of July picnic.
 
Turning to a window, she gazed out,
trying to school her thoughts. 
Michael was alive, and he would come to save her; she could carry out a deception until Michael found
her
.
 
In the meantime, she was forced
to deal with
Alistar,
whose entire focus was put towards
finding those papers.

Her first priority had to be fac
ing what was at hand.
And to
prevent a repeat of what he had attempted
decades
before.

* * * *

The second wire had been well hidden.

Trailed
through the lacy fronds of a row of ferns lining the path
,
the steel was little more than a blur against the ground.  A man moving
too
quickly would not have noticed it, Michael thought, as he stared down at what could have been his last resti
ng place.  Sliding carefully to
his knees, Michael gently tugged at the hidden wire, closing his eyes as gunfire exploded, quickly cutting up a narrow path.  He counted ten seconds before his cell hummed to life.  Knowing it was Alistar
,
Michael let him eat
silence
. 

His lips curved
as the cell rang a second time,
and then
fell silent as Michael savagely depressed the button that shut the phone off
. 
Now, I have the element of surprise,
he thought with great satisfaction.

He moved quickly, carefully disengaging two more traps that had been set to take out a man. As concerned as he was about Paige, walking into a trap wasn’t going to help either of them.
If he could have prayed, it would have been only one word.