Sweet Revenge (18 page)

Last Chance Rescue headquarters

Noah flipped through his thick file of notes on Reddington. He’d been through them so many times he knew them by heart, but still he searched. What information they had on the man was a whole lot of nothing. They knew his family had moved to Madrid from Newark, New Jersey, when Stanford was still a child. Horace Reddington had held strong Mafia ties, but things had gone wrong, and he’d fled in disgrace.

Horace died when Stanford was in his early twenties. From all accounts, the elder Reddington had had several legitimate businesses and did slave trading only on the side. After Horace’s death, Stanford maintained those legitimate businesses, but he used them as cover for the less savory but much more lucrative business of human trafficking and slavery.

Each bit of information they had on Reddington should have added up to something—at the very least, the location of his hideout. But no records could be found to tie him to any locations other than the homes Noah and the rest of the world knew about. And none of these places was where Reddington was hidden away.

At the sound of a soft sigh from the other end of the conference table, he looked up from the file. McKenna and Lucas sat together, reading their copies of the information. Jared Livingston sat across from Noah. The gloomy, dour expressions of the three LCR operatives reflected his own thoughts.

Lucas closed the file in front of him. “What about Raphael? Anything else from him?”

Noah shrugged. “Nothing but those two damnably vague emails. The one about canceling his subscription to
The Lark
magazine. And then the one about a month after he arrived at Reddington’s.” He held up the sheet of paper with the printed email, though he had memorized the short, uninformative message by heart:
“Dude, forgot all about our lunch plans. Sorry about that. Will call you in a few months when I get back.”

McKenna sighed her frustration. “He’s already been there almost four months. Just how much longer is he supposed to stay?”

A familiar tension swept through Noah. He should have figured out a way to prepare Raphael better. Should have given him an untraceable device instead of the cellphone Reddington’s men had made him discard. Hell, he should have found a way to keep the kid from going. Now, not only did they not know where Raphael was, they had no way to find out if he had been caught snooping. Noah refused to consider that Reddington might have disposed of him. Just what the hell did the bastard want with the kid?

Aware that McKenna was waiting for some kind of response to her rhetorical question, Noah said, “Dylan will get him.”

“What’s Savage’s status?” Lucas asked.

“He’s in Madrid. Embedded. Using the name John Wheeler. He’s already attended two auctions. Reddington wasn’t at either of them. The bastard’s second-in-command, Armando, has taken a liking to him. When we arranged for Dylan to bring him two attractive candidates for their auction, that sealed the deal.”

“How’d that happen?” For the first time since he’d walked into the conference room, Livingston spoke.

“The women are LCR operatives. They took down the purchasers and handed them over to the authorities.”

“I wish the information Jamie gave us had panned out,” McKenna said. “Going in as a domestic would’ve been a good setup.”

“If and when he ever hires another domestic, we’re ready to go. Our people confirmed that he does use Superior Services. Problem is, he doesn’t use them that often. Hasn’t hired a new employee from them in over a year.” He shot her a searching look. “Any word from Jamie?”

“Not for a couple of weeks. She’s teaching this summer, so I know she’s busy.”

Everyone had been relieved when Jamie had announced that she was returning to teaching. What no one, especially McKenna, had expected was that she’d return to the States to work.

Noah had seen Jamie right before she’d headed back to the United States. Though she had thanked him for arranging the training and told him she hoped Reddington could be caught soon, he’d seen a toughness and grimness that hadn’t been there before. Had she gotten that way from her training or from the obvious anger she had at Dylan? At the mere mention of his name, an expression had come into her eyes that warned him not to go further.

Dylan had been even more closemouthed. He’d returned to Paris, gotten his assignment, and stormed out the door. Noah hadn’t asked about what had happened. He had known going in that he was assigning his operative the toughest job he’d ever been given. Dylan had been doing his best to deny his feelings. Being that close to Jamie had to have been tough, especially since he’d been delving for information, too.

And now Dylan was doing everything he could to work his way inside Reddington’s organization and then his home. If he could do that, he could rescue Raphael and get the information they needed. And the revenge Jamie had wanted.

“Maybe getting into a normal routine is what she needs,” Noah said.

McKenna nodded. “That’s what she told me. I just wish she’d wanted to do that here.”

“We’re waiting for her next break, and then we’re going for a visit,” Lucas said.

Though McKenna smiled at her husband, Noah could see the shadows. He had deliberately kept her out of the loop regarding Jamie’s training. Details of missions were shared on a need-to-know basis. Having McKenna know that one of Dylan’s priorities had been to retrieve information from Jamie would not only have been none of her business but would have put a division between the sisters.

McKenna spoke again: “Knowing that she can take care of herself in any situation is a relief, though. And she told me she’s going to continue training.”

Noah nodded. Things might not have ended happily for Dylan, but the man had to be relieved that Jamie could defend herself if she ever found herself at risk again.

“So what’s our strategy now?” Jared asked.

“Dylan’s the only operative we’ve been able to plant. Reddington’s still being extra cautious. We anticipate that Armando’s endorsement will get Savage into his inner fold soon.”

“So we just continue to wait?” Lucas asked.

Noah stood and went to the giant map of the Canary Islands he’d put up after he’d heard from Raphael the first time. “It makes sense that his home is here. There are dozens of small, uninhabited islands. Reddington has the money and clout to own one and hide under mountains of dummy corporations. Angela’s been digging into the records, but there’s still no indication, at least on paper, that he’s there.”

Noah sighed, then continued: “LCR doesn’t have the resources to check every individual island. Our best bet is to wait until Dylan notifies us with a location.” He turned back to the group and said, “So yeah, as much as I don’t like it … we wait.”

“What is the largest city you’ve ever visited?”

Raphael raised his head from the book he was reading and looked over at Giselle. After getting caught peering behind her grandfather’s portrait, he’d had little choice but to distract her as quickly as possible. Explaining that he was straightening the crooked frame, he’d grabbed her arm and told her how glad he was that she’d come into the office. That it was too beautiful of a day to stay cooped up inside. Within seconds, he’d shut down the computer, grabbed his files, and herded her out the door.

That’d been a close call, but it’d been worth it for the most useful piece of information he’d gotten since arriving. There was indeed a wall safe behind the picture. When he was a teenager and living on the streets, he’d learned some questionable skills, including how to break into and hot-wire cars. Too bad he had absolutely no experience opening safes.

Aware that Giselle was eagerly waiting for a reply, he answered, “Probably Mexico City.”

Giselle sighed. “You’ve been to so many places, seen so many things.”

Raphael couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Yes, she had every luxury, but she was like a beautiful caged bird. And though he’d been warned by Reddington to discourage talk of the world outside her island home, he couldn’t help but ask, “Will your father ever allow you to leave?”

Her mouth wobbled slightly before curving up into her inevitable bright smile. “I love my home.”

“I’m sure you do, but there’s a whole world out there to explore.”

She gazed toward the distant horizon with such longing on her lovely face, Raphael instantly regretted bringing up the topic. Though Reddington appeared to be a loving father, putting Giselle in a position to question the man wasn’t smart. If cornered, Reddington would lash out, and Giselle could very well get hurt in the process.

Criticizing Reddington could be dangerous for him, too. If Giselle mentioned their conversation, he could be booted from the island, or worse. Didn’t Noah say they believed Reddington did away with people who didn’t please him?

Quickly changing the subject, he asked, “Where’s Amelia today?”

“Mrs. Jennings, her new teacher, arrived yesterday. They’re going over some lesson plans with Mama.”

Amelia was Giselle’s eight-year-old sister and often their shadow. The news of the arrival of a new teacher wasn’t a surprise. One thing he had to give Reddington credit for—whatever his family seemed to need, the man provided. Giselle had confided that Amelia’s former teacher hadn’t taken the job as seriously as the Reddingtons had hoped. She had been gone when Raphael arrived, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d left the island alive. If Reddington wanted to make sure no one could find him, how did he ensure that when someone left the island they’d keep quiet? A hollow feeling developed in his stomach. Another reason he needed to stay on Reddington’s good side.

“Mama says she’s young but very serious. She recently lost her husband in a car accident and wanted solitude.”

She would definitely get that here. Other than the Reddington family and a dozen or so servants, there was no one else on the island. Did she know that she was likely here for the rest of her life?

“Raphael, will you kiss me?”

Giselle could change subjects with lightning speed. This was one subject he’d been avoiding. Even though Reddington had made it apparent that a match between them would be welcomed, Raphael knew he dare not cross that line. Her heart would be broken when her father went to jail; finding out that her boyfriend had been instrumental in seeing that take place would devastate her further.

He gave her a fond, teasing smile. “You’re too young.”

She snorted delicately. “I’m seventeen. You’re only four years older.”

He felt many years older, not only in experience but in knowledge of the world. Giselle had never even had a boyfriend.

“When you’re eighteen, we’ll kiss.”

“But that’s months away.” Her pretty lips puckered into a sexy pout, and it was all he could do not to lean over and give her what she wanted.

He affectionately tapped her nose with his finger. “It’ll give me something to look forward to.” Glancing at the water, he turned back to her. “Now, are we going sailing or not?”

“I guess.”

Raphael stood and pulled her up to stand beside him. It took every bit of his willpower not to pull her into his arms. Needing to get both their minds off what they couldn’t have, he threw her a grin. “Race you to the dock.”

A delighted smile erased her forlorn expression, and she took off running. Relieved to see her usual exuberance return, Raphael grabbed their towels and loped after her. He hoped that someday he and Giselle would meet under better circumstances, but he had grave doubts that it would ever be possible. The best he could do would be to protect her when her father’s kingdom came tumbling down.

Karen Jennings held back a sympathetic smile at the sullen expression on her new student’s face. Miss Amelia Reddington was not a happy camper. Not only was she apparently missing out on some fun on the beach with her sister and her boyfriend, but having to listen as her mother and new teacher discussed lesson plans and teaching theories was about to put the child into a coma.

She couldn’t blame the girl. More than once, she had suggested to Sarah Reddington that the discussion could wait until tomorrow or could be done without Amelia’s presence. Unfortunately, the woman seemed to be on a roll and had barely acknowledged the suggestion. But Karen had known before coming here that, where her children were concerned, Sarah Reddington had very definite ideas about their education. Having that knowledge had helped secure her the job.

Mrs. Reddington was a beautiful woman with ink-black hair, an olive complexion, and coal-black eyes. Since Karen hadn’t known what to expect, it had been a surprise that the woman was not only lovely but also incredibly young-looking. The Reddingtons had a twenty-one-year-old son, but Sarah Reddington didn’t look like she could be older than her mid- to late thirties.

The older woman’s warm, caring demeanor was disarming, and she had conducted the interview with poise and grace, asking pointed, intelligent questions like a seasoned professional. If Karen hadn’t known what she did about the family, she would have been very impressed.

The interview had taken place on the island. She’d been told to come prepared to stay; if, during the course of the interview, it was decided that she wasn’t right for the job, she would be returned home. Thankfully, she and Amelia’s mother had hit it off, and she’d spent her first night on the island last night.

The island was a marvel. She’d been told almost nothing about where she would be living. She’d thought her explanation of needing to know what clothes to bring might have given her some idea. Instead, the answer had been to bring what she liked. If she needed different clothes, they could be provided. She’d also had to sign a contract saying that she would remain on the island for as long as they deemed she was needed. She’d had no problem making that commitment.

From what she could tell, the Reddingtons had created a tropical paradise that was independent from the surrounding islands—and the rest of the world, for that matter. Before she’d made the commitment for her extended stay, she’d been told that on the island, television was limited to only certain channels, computers were nonexistent and telephones were scarce. She’d asked a few questions to waylay suspicion, but she hadn’t probed deeply. None of those things had mattered.