Ree considered what Alex had just told her. She was certain that she loved this man, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for marriage. And becoming queen was so far out of what she’d planned for the rest of her life that it was almost ludicrous. Almost ...
“And how would your ... ” She searched for the right word. “Your kingdom like having a queen who used to assassinate people for a living?”
“Many of our queens have led armies,” he said. “We have a tradition of warrior women. It’s why Anuata will fit in here.”
“But for me, if I take this gig ... no more hunting bad guys.”
“For me either. And, I thought you’d given up on that occupation, at least with—what did you call them—the organization?”
“I’ve got unfinished business with Varenkov.”
“He’s in Greece. On an island.”
Ree sat up. “I’m going after him.”
He shook his head again. “
I’m
going after him. You’re staying here until you’re fully recovered.”
Anger flared in her chest. “You’re not king yet, Alex. I have as much right to settle with him as you do.”
“It isn’t personal for me,” he said. “You’ve let it become personal. That’s when it gets dangerous. The council has declared Varenkov guilty of murder and other crimes against the people of the sea.”
“He profited off those innocent children.” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “The children! How could I ... Is there any sign of Anuata and—”
“They’re here, all of them. They all made it this far. Morwena told me that the kids are all being treated in our medical facilities. Don’t worry. Atlanteans cherish every child. They’ll be well cared for.”
“I want to know what happens to them. And I’ll want to see them.”
“As soon as it’s permitted,” he promised.
“All right.” She let out a long breath. “It’s important to me that we save them, Alex, not just physically, but really save them.”
“I can see that.” He nodded. “They’ll have a future, one without pain.”
“Good.” She brushed the hair away from her eyes. “And I have to make certain Varenkov never harms another child. And if that’s personal, so be it.”
“Let me take care of Varenkov.”
“I owe him. He tried to kill me. I do take it personal.”
“When you do that, it becomes vengeance. You stop acting as an agent delivering a sentence and become a predator.”
She sat up and pushed away from him. “You’ve asked me to become your wife. You’ve told me all this crap about Atlantean women being equals, and then you expect me to sit here counting seashells while you go off to hunt down Varenkov. He has Nick working for him. And Nick is very good. I know Nick. I know how he operates.”
“I can’t risk your life.”
“But I can, and I will. And if you expect me to consider your offer, then you’ll give me the respect you’d give a man, the respect you offer Dewi or Bleddyn, or even Anuata. You’re taking me with you, Alex. I’m going to be part of this mission or the two of us don’t have a chance in hell of making a life together.”
Dewi found Alex several hours later as he left the king’s apartments where he’d been closeted with Morgan and Orion. “They’ve offered me the throne,” Alex explained to Dewi as they took refuge from the crowded palace corridors in a walled garden. “I told them I’d think about it, but I had to finish my last assignment first.”
“Varenkov?” Dewi asked.
“He’s at one of his villas in Greece.”
Dewi nodded. “I’m in, but I’ve got to ask a favor.”
“Anything. Just name it?” He looked at Dewi with open curiosity. “Does this have to do with the kids? I should have asked. How are they?”
“Pilar seems to be improving. Remi is just hanging on. They’ve promised Anuata she can see them in a little while.”
“They’ll pull through. Kids are resilient.” His thoughts were still on Ree. How could he take her with him? Risk her life when they had so many possibilities ahead of them?
“If they don’t let Anuata in soon, I think she may tear the doors down.” He laid a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “You know I’ve never asked you to use your position for me before, but this is ...”
“Since when have you ever been at a loss for words?”
“It’s Anuata. She wants the kids.”
“Wants them how? If they’re getting medical treatment, how—”
“No, you don’t understand. She wants to adopt them, all five of them.”
Alex grimaced. “That’s not going to happen. She’s not Atlantean. There won’t be any problem with her being allowed to remain here. I already spoke to my brothers, told them what she did for me, that she’s sworn her loyalty. But adopting? The kids will be Atlantean. They can’t go to a Lemorian, no matter how much she cares for them.”
“Try and tell her that.”
“You know I’d do anything for you, but I doubt that the bureau of children’s rights would—”
“You just said it. An Atlantean could adopt them. The favor I asked for? I want you to ask that we dispense with the bans and allow Anuata and me to marry immediately. Tonight. There’s nothing to prevent me from petitioning the bureau for the kids. And, as my wife—”
“She’ll have automatic citizenship.” Alex dropped onto a bench. “Are you sure this is what you want? I knew you two were—”
“I want her to be my wife, with or without the kids,” Dewi said. “You know I have an estate and the means to support them. Anuata can never have children. When she was young and chosen for the military, they sterilized her. She didn’t have a choice. This may be the only chance she ever has to be a mother, and she wants it. I want it for her.”
“Neither of you has to go with me tomorrow.”
“I’ll go. I can tell you now, if any of those kids are in the slightest danger, she won’t leave the temple steps. I can’t get her to eat. Not a bite.”
“And this is what you want? Marriage and a ready-made family?” Alex asked him.
“It is. A man’s luck only lasts so long. I have an idea I’ve used mine up. I promised Anuata, that after this one, I’ll find another occupation. Maybe breed and train giant sea horses. I asked Bleddyn if he was interested in going partners in the venture.”
Alex chuckled. “And?”
“He told me where I could put my bright idea.”
“Sounds like Bleddyn.”
“So you knew I was planning another mission. Bleddyn?”
Dewi nodded. “He and this sexy merman ...” Dewi grinned. “I think the gentleman has a friend who works for Lord Mikhail. Bleddyn knew Varenkov was in Greece. I knew you wouldn’t pass up the chance to get him in your own backyard.”
“So you want to get married? Tonight? I suppose Bleddyn is going to stand up with you.”
Dewi shook his head. “He said I was crazy. He’d have no part of linking me to a barbarian Lemorian warrior-woman.”
“So you’re in need of a priestess, a special permit to marry, and a companion?”
“Looks like it.”
“I can’t perform the ceremony, but Morwena can. I’m certain Poseidon would sign a dispensation to allow the two of you to circumvent the law and marry tonight.”
“I still need a couple to stand up with us.”
Alex offered Dewi his hand, and they gripped forearms in the custom of blood brothers. “I’ll be glad to stand with you,” Alex said. “And even though Ree isn’t speaking to me, I think you can persuade her to act as Anuata’s companion.”
“She’s not speaking to you?”
“We had an argument. She wanted to go with us after Varenkov, and I won’t let her.”
“Why not?” Dewi asked.
“Why not? I love her. She’s my woman, and I want to protect her.”
“You can’t forbid her,” Dewi said. “You’ve never gone back on your word. You accepted her as part of your team. And if she wants in, you have to allow it.”
“You’re as crazy as she is.”
“Maybe, but if you’re going to be king, you need to think of the good of your people. You can’t change laws to please yourself.”
“How can I let my future wife put herself in danger?”
“She’s a professional, she’s tough, and she’s as stubborn as Anuata. The only way to hold a woman like that is to let her make her own decisions.”
“Since when are you giving your prince unasked for advice?”
“When it comes to women, I’m the expert. Believe me; a man has to know when to pick fights he can win.”
CHAPTER 31
R
ee pulled herself hand over hand up the sea-grass rope to the ledge of volcanic rock where Alex and Dewi waited. Alex caught her hand and helped her to scramble up the last few feet. “Careful,” he warned, and Dewi reeled up the dangling rope and coiled it over one shoulder. “It’s a long way down.”
There was no moon and not a single star cast light on the island below. Ree glanced back over the edge. The ocean more than two hundred meters below was only an inky void. Caught between thick, low-hanging clouds and the algae-covered stone, the normal sounds of the sea were muffled and distorted. Humid air and an earlier rainfall made each step slippery and precarious.
Anethikos, Varenkov’s private island, lay to the east of Ikaria in the Aegean, not far off the coast of Turkey. Travel here from Atlantis had taken the better part of two days, during which time, Lord Mikhail’s mermen had scouted the property and assured Alex that Varenkov was still in residence.
As Dewi had predicted, his bride Anuata had elected not to accompany them on the mission. While all of the children had survived the transformation from human to Atlantean and were on the road to full recovery, she had been unwilling to leave them, even for a few days. Having lost all memory of their former lives, but still emotionally fragile, the children were all too glad to be fussed over and coddled. And Anuata, as stalwart in motherhood as she’d been in battle, was determined to be foremost in her son and daughters’ future from day one.
“What if we both were killed?” she’d asked Ree. “What would happen to the children? They might be split up, and if any kids deserved to be a family, it’s the five of them. I’m staying, and if Dewi knows what’s good for him, he’ll come home in one piece and become a responsible father.”
A rock shifted noisily under her right foot, and Alex grabbed her shoulder to steady her. “Shh,” he admonished. Quickly, she regained her balance, and he removed his hand. Although they were out of the water and could have spoken to one another by voice, they continued to communicate silently, using only the power of their minds. Any sound might alert the guards or be picked up by the ultra high-tech sound and motion security system.
Most islands had more than one beach, but Anethikos had only one, a small pebble and rock cove on the south side of the island. Sheer rock rose from the sea on the other three sides. There had been two boats anchored at the concrete dock, a high speed bullet-shaped vessel and a squat pontoon craft. Varenkov hadn’t reached the island by either one. According to Lord Mikhail’s contacts, two men had flown in by helicopter. A crack unit of sixteen security guards maintained the roughly eleven-acre island at all times. There were no paved roads and no motor vehicles on Anethikos, other than a single golf cart and a half-dozen four-wheel-drive ATVs. All other travel on the island was done on foot.
The helicopter pad and guard compound was located on the north side of the island; the villa stood alone on the highest point, flanked by an infinity swimming pool, and a stone terrace, featuring a sunken hot tub. The security force worked in twelve-hour shifts with all cooking, cleaning, and serving done by guards. Three would always be on duty in the house, five maintaining watch at stations and vantage points around the island.
Tonight, there were only fifteen guards and five ATVs remaining on the island. According to one of the mermen Alex had spoken to, one member of the security force had gotten drunk several nights ago, missed a steep turn, and ridden his machine off the mountain into forty meters of ocean. Neither ATV nor human had surfaced or been retrieved, and apparently no replacement had yet arrived.
Landing in the cove would have been simple, but Ree worried that the beach might be rigged with explosives. Varenkov’s Ukrainian country estate was surrounded by a mine field he had planted, a rumor which had proved true when an undercover agent from the Polish Secret Service had accidently activated one and blown himself into small unidentifiable shreds. Thus warned, Alex elected to climb the rock face, directly below the villa.
The plan was simple. Bleddyn had gone ahead to disable the helicopter to prevent Varenkov from escaping by air. The rest of them would find the Russian and kill him before the security force realized the Atlanteans were on the island. “The odds aren’t bad,” Dewi had remarked. “If it comes to a fight, the odds are just over four to one. The day I can’t best four humans is the day I’d be better farming oysters.”
“Sixteen including Nick,” Ree reminded them. “And don’t forget Varenkov. He’s not going to lie down and roll over for us.”
“You worry too much,” Dewi said, sketching a map of the villa and adjoining grounds.
The traditional whitewashed stone house with domed ceilings was modest for a man with such a lavish lifestyle. The villa consisted of a tiny kitchen, a dining-lounge area, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a wine cellar. The bedrooms and wine cellar were on a lower level, dug partially into the bedrock.
There was an exterior door leading into the lounge, and another opening to the kitchen. The windows throughout the villa were quaint, narrow and deep-set, too small for an adult to fit through; and the archway on the far end of the lounge led to the bedroom wing, which had no windows, only skylights set high in the ceilings. Ree surmised that the house, an odd choice for Varenkov who’d spent a lifetime evading his enemies, was a trap. She’d voiced her concern to Alex, but he shrugged off her suspicions. “He thinks he’s safer on Anethikos than on his yacht. He has state-of-the-art electronic security and his own private army. If trouble did come, he’d expect it to be by helicopter or boat. And if the dock is rigged with explosives, as you think, then the helicopter landing pad may be as well.”
It was the most that Alex had spoken to her since their argument other than to give general orders to her as part of the team. She knew that he was still furious with her for insisting that she be part of the hit. Still, she’d hadn’t expected him to relent and agree for her to come. If they survived this, there would be time to mend fences. The question of marriage still hung over her like a guillotine. She couldn’t begin to make a decision until Varenkov was dead.
As for Alex’s becoming king and her a queen ... that was beyond belief, let alone consideration. She’d face that obstacle if and when she decided to marry him. “One crisis at a time,” as her favorite instructor had once said. If she died here on Anethikos, worrying about becoming queen would be a waste of energy, and if she didn’t ... She refused to think about it anymore tonight.
Regardless of Alex’s disapproval, she was glad she’d come. Remaining behind, wondering what was happening would have been worse than anything Varenkov could throw at her. She reconciled to fully accepting Alex’s underwater world, but she knew that she’d never find peace until this chapter of her life was fully closed.
The Russian had to die, and there was no way she’d allow Alex, Bleddyn, and Dewi to come after him alone. He was too dangerous. Nick was too dangerous. As for Nick, she knew that she was as likely to have to kill him or be killed by him as she was Varenkov. Strange that as much as she’d once loved him—or believed that she’d loved him—Nick meant nothing at all to her now. He was Varenkov’s man, and it would be too bad for Nick if he got in her way. Alex motioned to Dewi, and Dewi braced himself against the mountain and made a cup with his hands. Alex stepped up into the handhold, onto Dewi’s shoulders, and then leaped for the edge of the concrete terrace. Alex pulled himself up and swung over the side.
For long minutes, there was absolute silence, and then Ree heard Alex’s voice in her head. “One guard down, fifteen to go.” His head and shoulders appeared over the rim, and Dewi tossed the coil of rope up to him. In less than a minute, she was standing beside Alex. Dewi quickly followed.
The terrace was as dark as the surface of the ocean had been. Ree could make out a faint mechanical click and a hum. She instinctively turned toward the sound, and she heard Alex say, “Invisible fence. You want to bend, step high, and duck your head. You have three feet of clearance.” He gave exact measurements, and took the lead, successfully crossing the force field. Again, she went next, while Dewi came last.
She nearly stumbled on the body of a man sprawled between a table and chairs and the hot tub. The dead guard’s face was dimly illuminated by a string of twinkling Christmas lights that ringed the hot tub. “I wouldn’t step too close,” Alex warned. “Some of the flagstones have a different consistency than the surrounding ones. I’d venture they have a nasty surprise for anyone who steps on them.”
Ree nodded. She didn’t know how Alex had arrived at that conclusion, but she didn’t doubt that he was right. Her respect for him as a professional jumped a notch. His many talents continually surprised her.
What did concern her was that Varenkov’s security force was armed with the latest firepower, including grenades, mines, and who knew what else. Alex’s force, in direct contrast, carried bows, javelins, knives, and tridents. Being a traditionalist, Ree knelt beside the dead guard and slipped his Glock from his belt holster. She took the time to find additional ammunition, much to Dewi and Alex’s amusement.
“Ree, you circle the house,” Alex ordered tersely. “Watch for a second guard. I’ll take the right door. Dewi, you go in by the kitchen. Varenkov should be in the larger of the two bedrooms, the one at the end of the hall. I’ll go for him.” He winked at Ree and grinned. His face, darkened by camouflage, flashed green in the Christmas lights. “Don’t shoot one of us by mistake,” he teased.
Ree gritted her teeth. She’d wanted to go into the house, but she knew better than to question Alex’s orders. First rule—never argue with your team leader during a mission. Curse him out later if you want, but knuckle under and obey. Alex and Dewi moved toward their respective doors while she started around the house, keeping to the shadows.
She was halfway around when a violent explosion and the sound of automatic rifle fire split the night. Another burst of gunfire and then alarms blared warnings from a dozen places on the island. Searchlights flared, followed by more shots and a second explosion.
The house, which had been dark, lit up like Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Two shots rang out from inside the house. Ree hit the ground and rolled out of the light, barely missing a rain of bullets that originated somewhere to her left. She slid down a slight embankment, took shelter behind a stone flower urn and returned the favor. She fired off three shots and was rewarded by a cry of pain. Something heavy clattered against rock, and she heard a distinct thud.
She kept her head down, counting to one hundred. When she reached ninety-nine, she started to move to a new position, then checked herself and started silently counting again.
A stocky figure dashed away from the house, automatic weapon spraying fire and shot. Stone chips flew from the planter and she ducked again, rising up seconds later to shoot back.
“Get out of the house!” she screamed silently to Alex and Dewi. The sound of ATV engines roared in the distance. “Alex? Alex, answer me!” Why wasn’t he answering? No one but Atlanteans could hear their communication.
Icy fear gripped her. Pistol shots in the house. Not Alex or Dewi. They didn’t have firearms. “Dewi!” she called. “Speak to me! Get Alex out of the house. Reinforcements coming fast!”
Abruptly, Alex appeared around the corner of the house, pistol in hand, and dashed directly into the path of the searchlight. “No!” she screamed. “Go back!”
Behind her, the automatic rifle chattered. Bullets sliced into Alex’s head and unprotected throat, knocking him off his feet. Blood gushed from the gaps in flesh and bone.
Time slowed to a crawl for Ree. Stunned, she still reacted as she’d been trained. She rose to her feet, turned, and took aim at the source of the shots, emptying the Glock into Alex’s killer.
“Get down!” Alex yelled.
Ree dropped to the ground, frantically reloading. The thought that she could still hear Alex barely registered. He was dead. Not even an Atlantean with the luck of a Vegas blackjack winner could survive the force of those high powered bullets tearing into his body.
Another volley of shots came from inside the house. Someone was shooting through the windows. Bits of dirt stung Ree’s face and arms. She whirled and started to fire back, but the other gun went silent.
“Move it, Ree!” Alex shouted. “Back to the terrace!”
She lowered her weapon. She heard the command, but was incapable of obeying. She had to go to him, had to look into his ruined face, had to touch him one last time.
“Run for it!” the haunting voice came again.
Tears filled Ree’s eyes as she walked to Alex and dropped to her knees beside him. She could hear him still, not understanding how, but knowing it was his ghost she heard, knowing that the man she loved was lying dead, and still calling out to her to save herself.
“Alex,” she said. He was lying face down, thrown back by the force of the bullets. “Oh, Alex,” she murmured. “I would have married you. I would have done anything for you.”
“Even be my queen?”
She rolled his body over and stared into what was left of Nick’s face.
“Have you lost your mind, woman?” Strong arms seized her and threw her over a familiar shoulder. “Didn’t you hear me? I said to get out! The mission’s over!”