INVITING FIRE (A Sydney Rye Novel, #6) (26 page)

I looked toward Daniela. She was getting hauled out of her helicopter and dragged toward one of the Black Hawks. I heard the door opening and aimed my gun at it. Bobby stepped out of the kitchen. He looked at Doyle. "Kill him," he said.

"No."

"He can confirm you’re alive."

"I don't care," I said, standing up. Then I felt the cut on my leg. It burned. I looked over at Blue, his left ear was drenched in blood but his tail was wagging. I looked back at Daniela, she was being forced into a Black Hawk. Bobby looked up. "Ah, the cavalry," he said, smiling as the first four helicopters appeared above us, headed right for the Black Hawks. I ran toward them. "Sydney!" Bobby called after me, but I didn't stop.

Doyle's men were flooding out of the hotel, coming out to face the new arrivals. There was no room for Maxim's helicopters to land. Lines dropped from the hovering crafts and men began to descend, their long ropes the same as Doyle's men’s. Gunfire exploded in both directions. I saw the bullets sparking off Maxim's helicopters. I ran up to the Black Hawk that held Daniela with my gun butt still forward. The soldier guarding her was firing his weapon up at the men descending from the sky. I hit him in the back of the head. Daniela saw me and tumbled out of the helicopter, falling onto the crumbling cement pad.

I pulled her up. Bobby helped me. One of his men landed next to us and provided cover, firing at the surrounding combatants as we ran the short distance back to Daniela's helicopter. She climbed in. A bullet hit the windshield cracking it, but she kept moving, strapping herself in, getting the rotors going. Bobby, Blue, and I climbed in the back.

"Cover us," Bobby yelled to his man. He spoke into his radio and the helicopters above moved over so that we could take off easily. Doyle's men were in defensive mode now, moving back toward the building as Bobby's men stalked forward, their gun muzzles blazing as the second wave of Fortress Global helicopters approached. Daniela lifted us off the ground. I wasn't wearing earphones and the sounds were overwhelming. Looking out the window I saw one of Bobby's men fall. I looked back where we'd left Doyle. He was gone. "Hold on," Daniela yelled as the helicopter banked left. Robert fell into me and I gritted my teeth against the pain in my leg.

Robert righted himself and looked down at the wound. Blood was oozing slowly out of it. Daniela straightened the helicopter and the sounds of the battle were behind us.

Daniela was breathing hard, her hair wet with sweat. "Put on the blindfolds," she said.

"I don't think that is necessary," Robert said.

"Put them on now!" Daniela yelled, her voice loud and angry.

"Okay, okay," I said, grabbing them and handing one to Maxim.

He smiled and leaned close to my ear so to be heard over the blades. "I have thought about blindfolding you many times," he said, his breath hot against my ear.

"Ew-w," I said back, pushing him away. I grabbed a set of earphones before handing him a pair. He put on the blindfold and then the ear covers. I did the same.

"K
eep your blindfold on," Daniela told Bobby as we landed.

"If you prefer," Bobby said.

I pulled off mine and the earphones. Daniela cut the engine and the rotors began to slow. Bobby looked relaxed, his legs parted, hands resting on his thighs, a small smile on his cruel lips. Blue's ear was no longer bleeding I was happy to see. My leg was stiff and I felt the scab cracking as I climbed from the helicopter. I limped as I stepped toward Merl who waited, his arms crossed, in the dark. His dogs were next to him. Lucy on one side, Chula and Michael on the other.

"You brought him," Merl said.

I nodded. "Yes, he wants to help." Merl raised his eyebrows. "He's been here before," I said. "I was right, there was someone in the jungle that night Blue went beyond the perimeter." I looked away, almost ashamed for being correct.

Bobby yelled from the helicopter, leaning out the open door, his earphones gone but the blindfold still in place. "Really excellent security though," he said. "I'm impressed. Almost blew myself up," he said with a chuckle.

Merl frowned looking past me at Bobby. Mulberry came down the path then. "Sydney," he said, smiling. Daniela shook her head and he frowned. "What?"

"Robert's with me," I said.

Mulberry's eyes roved over me, he saw the wound on my leg. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said. "But Blue needs medical attention."

"I think you both do," Merl said, looking at Blue.

"Fine," I said, my leg throbbing. "Though I think it's too late for stitches."

"I'll take you," Daniela said.

Merl nodded. "Fine," I said, limping down the path following Daniela.

Mulberry followed me and took my arm for a second. "You trust him?" he asked, nodding his head back toward the helicopter.

"I think he can help us like no one else can. Hear him out. I think you'll agree." He nodded, his expression difficult to read in the dark. Mulberry released my arm and looked over at Daniela. "Come to Merl's office after you drop her off. We want a full report." She nodded.

Blue and I were patched up. He had lost a small piece of his ear but would be fine. My wound wasn't that bad but I had a dose of antibiotics to ward off infections. After, I was told to go to the conference room. Merl, Mulberry, and Bobby were there. Robert sat closest to the door and turned when I walked in. He smiled. Merl and Mulberry faced him, frowning.

"I was just getting to the good part," Robert said.

"Which part is that?" I asked as I sat down, stretching my injured leg out straight. Blue, his ear bandaged, climbed under the table and curled up at my feet.

Merl sat forward, his long fingers relaxed on the table surface. "So far we've heard about how Joyful Justice is going to miss every deadline it set for the upcoming week."

"Just until Fortress Global's shares are sold," Bobby pointed out.

"And in exchange," Mulberry said. "We are going to get a bunch of money."

"And my expertise," Bobby said, laying a hand on his chest.

Mulberry smiled. "Of course," he said.

"But the part that I think will make you happy right now is this." Bobby pulled over a piece of paper and a pen, which had been sitting in front of Mulberry. He wrote on the sheet and, turning it upside down, slid it over to me. "I've arranged to have this money transferred into Sydney's account." I checked the paper. I was impressed. Then I passed it across the table to Mulberry. His eyebrows rose and he passed it to Merl before returning his attention to Robert. "Call the bank," Robert said. "They will confirm the transfer. And there will be much more once FGI goes public.”

"Sounds like an offer we can't refuse," Mulberry said.

Robert smiled. "You can, but why?"

Merl answered, "You're in bed with a lot of the people we are fighting against."

"True," Robert said, looking down at his hands thoughtfully. "But I agree with you that things need to change and I want to help make it happen."

"Switching teams?" Mulberry said.

Robert shook his head. "I'm always on the winning side." I laughed and he turned to look at me, smiling. "So, then, Ms. Rye has agreed," he said, still looking at me. "What about the two of you?"

"Fine," Merl said. Mulberry just grunted.

"Excellent," Robert said, turning to them. "Now, I really do need to get going. But could I get a shower first?"

Merl nodded. "I'll show you." When he stood, so did his dogs. They left with Robert. Mulberry and I stared across the table at each other.

"So, you're joining the council?" he asked.

"Yes. And I have some demands."

"Demands?" Mulberry raised his eyebrows. Merl came back in then.

"What?" he asked, as he returned to his seat.

"Sydney was about to make some demands," Mulberry said, his eyes twinkling. Merl turned to look at me.

"It's simple, I'm not joining the council. I'm accepting you as my cabinet. From now on I will run Joyful Justice."

Merl went to speak but I held up a hand. "I will continue to go out on missions. I will do what I think is best. Like you said Merl, I know what to do. But I promise to seek and heed your counsel. All of you. Including Robert Maxim." Merl and Mulberry looked at each other.

"Merl, you’re going to look for Mo-Ping. You need to go to China and find out what is going on.” His head whipped back to me. "Mulberry will stay here and oversee the camp until your return. I'll give you a month. Stay in close contact." Mulberry nodded, looking over at Merl who didn't speak.

"I'll go to meet with Dan," I said.

"We were going to suggest that," Merl said. "He can provide you with a good overview of where we are. Look, Sydney, I'm willing to follow your leadership if you'll agree to allow an overwhelming majority vote, say four out of five members of the council, to act as a veto."

"Done. Anything else?"

"Obviously, we need to speak to Anita as well."

"I will speak with her. Do I have your agreement?"

"You have mine," Mulberry said, his green eyes unreadable.

"And mine," Merl said.

"Good. Merl, I want to look at a map of our property here and the sales records. And I want to see the ownership paperwork for the place where Maxim took me."

"That's something Dan could provide," Merl said. "I mean I can show you the map and deeds of our property, of course, but to get the others you're going to need his help. I can email him."

"He found this property?" I asked.

Merl's head cocked. "Yes, why?" he asked.

I stood up. "I'll talk to him when I see him. I’m anxious to go, I'll leave tonight with Bobby."

"I'll make arrangements to get you to Dan," Mulberry said.

I cleared my throat. "Where is that?" I asked.

"A private island," Merl said. "An inactive volcano."

I smiled. "Perfect."

Mulberry walked back to my villa with me. He watched me pack my few belongings into a bag. Not much stuff, just enough. Then he walked me to the helipad. "Be brave," he said when we hugged goodbye.

"I will," I promised before joining Robert and Daniela in the helicopter. There was no need for blindfolds this ride. The landscape was pitch black until a smattering of lights that grew thicker as we approached a small airport.

Two planes waited in the darkness. "I'll call that number," I told Robert, "at the end of the week."

"I'll pick up on the first ring."

"I expect nothing less," I said, and turned away from him, heading toward the plane waiting for me.

"Sydney," he called as I went to climb aboard. Robert raised his hand and brought it up to his forehead to salute me. It was something Dan used to do to me. Joking that I was his leader. The gesture confirmed a suspicion for me. It tingled up my spine, I'm sure just the way Robert meant it to. The shiver of betrayal.

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E
mily splits her time between the Hudson Valley and traveling the world with her husband, Sean, and her dog, Kinsey (named after Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone), researching exciting locations for the Sydney Rye Series. Kimelman has a passion for traveling and spends as much time as possible in the pursuit of adventure.

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hank you for reading INVITING FIRE. I'm excited that you made it through my whole bio right here to my "note". I'm guessing that means that you enjoyed my story. If so, would you please write a review for INVITING FIRE? You have no idea how much it warms my heart to get a new review. And this isn't just for me, mind you. Think of all the people out there who need reviews to make decisions. The children who need to be told this book is not for them. And the people about to go away on vacation who could have so much fun reading this on the plane. Consider it an act of kindness to me, to the children, to humanity.

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