Fatal Wild Child (19 page)

When he opened them again, Cameron's smile had faded. The older man was simply looking at him. "My daughter really is stronger than you think, Seth. After growing up in this family she is uniquely fitted to deal with the independence needed and the high risks associated with a soldier's life. You might want to think about that before you throw away happiness because of a fear of hurting people you care about."

Seth pushed to his feet, propelled there by an urgent need for fresh air. "Thanks for breakfast," he said stiffly.

"Seth."

Seth looked back reluctantly.

"Tell me you'll protect her," Cameron pressed.

"With my life," Seth said instantly. Truthfully.

Cameron closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. "Then it's done," he said cryptically. "I can finish it now."

Seth had no idea what Cameron meant and right at that moment he didn't care. The need to hold Ellie was overwhelming all other concerns.

Chapter Fourteen

Sam pushed her fingers through the top of her hair and let it rain around her face. "Like this?"

Gabrielle pursed her lips. "Close. It helps if you've got three tons of gel in it and two hair dressers have been working over it for an hour, but for now we'll go with it." She held up her clasped hands and pointed her joined forefingers like a fake gun. "Then you have to do the smoky bar room voice. And don't forget the hips."

Sam giggled.

"God, don't giggle!" Gabrielle said and giggled.

Sam clasped her hands together the same way as Gabrielle had, for a fake gun. She spread her legs, cocked one hip and sighted along her fingers. "Give it up, McHenry. You've got nowhere left to run."

Her voice was at least an octave lower than natural and raspier than usual. She sounded sexy and sultry and with her hair tousled, she looked very beddable.

Then she straightened. "I feel totally stupid. That's ridiculous!" she said in her normal voice, pulling the top of her half-opened shirt together.

"No, you were great!" Gabrielle said. "That was perfect!"

"Really?" Sam said doubtfully.

"It's a pity we don't have a video camera here so you could see the difference for yourself," Gabrielle said.

The front door of the cabin opened and in that instant, Sam shifted. Magically, there was a gun in her hands. A real gun, lined up on the front door. Gabrielle shivered. She didn't even see Sam reach for it, she was that quick. Gabrielle stared at the Mauser, her heart fluttering.

Seth moved into the room, his hands held out. "It's me," he said simply. He hadn't removed his coat or boots.

"You're moving fast," Sam said. It was a statement, but seemed like a question. She straightened up.

"I think the quarry is in the compound and was all along," Seth said. "I called Tyler on my way back. Head over to the main chalet. Get yourself introduced to Cameron Sherborne. He's not expecting you, but I've vouched for you as a friend of mine, so there won't be any problems. Tell him I've told you to move no further than three meters beyond his elbow for the next little while. No matter where he goes, Sam, even the men's washroom, so don't let him try to embarrass you out of the radius, okay?"

"I've seen the inside of the men's room before," Sam said evenly.

"Good. I want you there because you're the small arms crack shot."

"Sherborne is a target now?" Sam asked, tucking her gun away behind her back.

"He was the primary target all along," Seth told her. He reached for Gabrielle, his hand soothing her, stroking her back. "I'm sorry, Gabrielle. You were—are—just leverage. This is all about your father, it appears."

She shivered. "I don't know if I'm pleased or not. This is falling back into the same old pattern where everything revolves around my father once more. But I'm happy to know that it isn't because of something I did that someone is trying to kill me." She frowned. "I can't believe I just put those words into a sentence and said them out loud, in the real world."

Seth was smiling and she felt his chest wheeze.

"Are you laughing?" she asked.

He shook his head, but his eyes were sparkling.

"You are!" she said.

He sighed. "Your sense of humor slays me, it's so dry." he said and kissed her. It was a hard, firm but brief touch of his lips and she blinked, her breath snatched.

Both Seth and Sam turned, tensing, as footsteps sounded on the verandah outside.

"It's me!" Tyler called, before he even opened the front door. He pushed inside, scraped his feet, but didn't take off his shoes. He took a few steps inside, enough to sight Seth. "It's been taken," he said simply.

Sam threw on her coat. "I'm gone, sir," she told Seth.

"Hourly reports," Seth said.

"Yes, sir," she murmured and left.

Seth let Gabrielle go and moved closer to Tyler. "Signs of forced entry?"

"Not that I could see. I looked around in case you hid it somewhere else and forgot."

Seth rolled his eyes.

"Well, it possible, sir," Tyler pointed out. "But the cabin is empty and very clean. Nothing. It's gone."

He held out a keycard, which Seth took and pushed into an inner pocket of his coat. He sank onto one of the dining chairs.

"God, what a mess." He sounded almost ill.

Tyler looked at Gabrielle and she caught what looked like pity in his expression.

"What am I missing?" she asked.

Tyler glanced at Seth and lifted his brow. Seth nodded. "Call it in. Deep background on Ronny Hewitt. And we need help here. The fox has jumped the fence and is in the yard now."

Gabrielle felt her heart lurch as the questions slammed into her, but Seth was still speaking, still saying terrible things.

"We're down to a three meter radius. Sam is on Cameron Sherborne, I'm on Ellie. Until we get more help, we survive on coffee and stay-awakes, and you shuttle between us as relief and errand boy." Seth's expression was grim. "Cameron can't talk. They've got a hold on him, so we have to find out some other way. Call the information in and let's start from there, and in the meantime, we hunker down and wait."

"Yes sir," Tyler said. He backed out of the cabin, pulling out his phone. Gabrielle heard him dialing and then talking into the phone, as he walked up and down the small verandah outside.

Seth pulled her gently to him and sat her on his knee. His blue eyes were dark. She knew already that the change in color meant that just like the ocean, stormy weather was ahead. Seth had bad news to impart.

"Tell me," she said, her heart hurting.

"How much did you understand from what I just told Sam and Tyler?" Seth asked her. "You've done enough action movies, Ellie. You know the language and you're a smart woman."

She swallowed. He was making her deal with it. Making her put it together for herself. "My father is in trouble. You sent Sam to cover him. They took the brakes out on my car to either kill me, or harm me as a way to...threaten him? Hurt him?"

"Make him cooperate, probably," Seth murmured. He kissed her temple. "That's why he offered me a million dollars to marry you and get you out of the picture. I imagine that if I'd agreed, the wedding would have proceeded on the spot and we would already be on our honeymoon in some distant land a long, long way from here. Go on."

"Then killing me was just a warm-up for them?" Gabrielle felt horror wash through her. "Who
are
these people?"

"We're working on that," Seth told her. "I can tell you that they're foreign and use terror as their preferred method of persuasion. They're known to my people, Gabrielle. The explosive device on your car sent up alarm signals in Ottawa. When I sent photos of the device back to my superiors I was put on immediate duty and told not to move away from your side. They recognized the handiwork."

Gabrielle closed her eyes. "My family is involved with these people? Ronny is involved with them?"

Seth's arms came around her. "I thought you'd figure that out," he murmured. "I'm sorry, Ellie. He's the weak link in this. We have to look at him. Someone stole the device from my cabin. Only the family knew I was staying here and only the family knew I'd retrieved your camera and laptop from the car and might have also seen the device."

She rested her cheek against his shoulder and sighed. "I'd look at him, too, Seth." And she wept a few hard, stinging tears, mostly for Destiny. "I can't stop thinking of that photo of them at Thanksgiving...at the table, when they actually looked happy."

"Sir?" Tyler pushed open the screen door and leaned inside. "They want you."

Seth held out his hand and Tyler tossed the cell phone to him.

"This is Captain O'Connor," he said into the phone, but his hand continued to stroke the back of her shoulder in gentle, soothing motions. She knew the moment his mind switched completely to military matters, though, for his fingers stilled and his gaze became unfocused.

He listened for a full minute without saying a word, while Gabrielle's heart just went crazy.

"Yes, sir," he said at last.

He disconnected the phone and put it on the table behind her. For a moment he said nothing.

"What is it, Seth?" she whispered. "Are the orders secret or something?"

"Or something," he murmured. He took a breath, making his chest lift and looked at her. His expression was bleak. "But there is worse news." He put his hand on her thigh. "Tyler!" he yelled.

Tyler stepped into the cabin fast enough that Gabrielle knew he was expecting this call. "Sir?"

"They tell you about the Scorpion?"

"Yes, sir."

Seth put Gabrielle on her feet and stood up, reaching under his coat. He pulled out his Glock, checked the load and put it back. "Let Sam know. We're going to have get the family together in one room until reinforcements arrive. This is too big now for just us. And we can't wait for the background on Ronny. I'm going to have to go get him myself. We'll keep him separate until it's confirmed."

He turned to Gabrielle, his mouth a straight, grim line, his eyes stormy blue again.

"Ronny has someone else here, helping him," Gabrielle guessed. "An expert. This Scorpion."

Admiration flickered across Seth's face. "Yes. You're not going to like this, Gabrielle..."

She sighed. "The name is bad enough, Seth. Is it the Triads? Ronny was doing business with Hong Kong, importing clothes for his fashion company. If the business was ailing, he might have fallen in with the wrong sort of business people." She thought of the photos she'd taken when Ronny had been on the phone, highly stressed and arguing, even on Thanksgiving Day.

Seth pressed his temples. Hard. "
There's
the connection. Damn!"

Tyler dug out his cell phone. "Already dialing," he said.

Seth kissed her briefly on the mouth, but thoroughly. "You're brilliant," he said. "Ottawa couldn't figure out from over there why a Sherborne would be in bed with the Triads."

 
"Ronny isn't a Sherborne," Gabrielle said. "Not anymore." She swallowed hard. "I don't think he ever really was."

Seth held her, wordlessly telling her he understood her distress. "I have to leave you for a bit," he murmured, his voice echoing in his chest against her. "I want you to do what Tyler says and do not under any circumstances move away from his side. Okay?"

Gabrielle nodded. "Okay."

His hands were stroking her arms, the thumbs moving in restless circles, Gabrielle knew with sudden clarity that he didn't want to let her go. Seth was afraid that if he did, he would lose her, because that happened sometimes in his line of work.

She rested her hands on his chest. "I'll be fine, Seth," she told him softly. "You need to go and do your job."

His hand slid into her hair and he kissed her, his tongue caressing her mouth, his arms crushing her to him. He was telling her what he would not say in words—all the things he didn't know how to say. He was still looking to find the right words and the right time to say them and she was still willing to wait, because moments like these spoke for themselves.

"Go," she whispered, when he released her. Her vision was blurring, but she didn't dare blink to clear it case that made the tears fall and she wouldn't cry in front of him. There was little else she could do, but she could do that.

Chapter Fifteen

Seth ran to the main cabin, adrenaline spiking in his system. Action usually calmed him, but not this time. The stakes were too high, the odds too weighted.

He pushed into the main cabin and didn't bother knocking the snow off his boots. Cameron was in his office. Predictable. Sam's gun was already out when Seth opened the door. Good.

"Trouble," Seth said shortly. "Ronny has help. The Scorpion. And he's here. Possibly in the compound."

Sam got to her feet. "Sweet lord," she said slowly. "There's only the three of us."

Seth nodded. "We're centralizing. I'm going to get Ronny. I want you with me." He switched his attention to Cameron.

The man's eyes had narrowed as he took off his reading glasses. Now Cameron speared Seth with a penetrating look. "Is this Scorpion some sort of hit man?"