It got me thinking. Unfortunately, Franz didn’t have any more than that, other than a promise to keep his ear to the ground if he heard anything new.
It was more than enough for me, however. I picked up my phone and fired off a text to Pyke, letting him know that I wanted to speak to both the guys and Vic ASAP. He got back to me right away, telling me that he’d get the word out.
There was another email in my inbox, too—one from Anders, Vic’s brother. He’d been emailing me regularly, wanting updates on what was going on around the chalet. I understood completely that he’d want to be reassured that we were taking good care of his sister.
All the same, telling him information about our defenses and security could cause an issue. Maybe Prince Anders was good at keeping secrets, but maybe he wasn’t. For all I knew, he was blabbing to his own security team information about the chalet. If Jurgen was interested in finding Vic, getting someone in the palace on his payroll would be a smart bet. Last thing I wanted was to be relaying information to the last guy on earth we wanted to have it.
I took one more scan of the perimeter through the camera feeds, grabbed my coffee, and headed out.
The night was cool and still, the sort of perfect summer night where you wanted to do nothing but toss around the ball with your boy, then maybe crack open a beer on the porch and watch the fireflies dance. As I made my way across the stretch of the property toward the house, I flashed back to one such night back in Boston, Conner and I tossing the ball around in the backyard of our lakefront home, Shannon watching as she sipped a big glass of iced tea.
It hurt too much to think about. I pushed it out of my head as best I could as I stepped up to one of the back doors, pulling it open and heading into the kitchen dining area.
Everyone was there, just like I’d asked. Vic was with them, a worried look on her face.
“What’s up?” Hud asked, his hands wrapped around a big mug of tea.
I took a moment, trying to decide where to begin.
“The place is as secure as I think we’re going to get. So, that’s good news. All the same, I just got some intel that Jurgen’s dropped off the face of the earth.”
That got the guys chatting to one another. I held up my hand to get them to return their focus to what I was saying.
“Fell off the face of the earth?” Vic asked. “What does that mean?”
“Means he’s keeping a low profile,” I answered. “I don’t know the guy, but it could also mean he’s planning something. Maybe it’s nothing, but in this line of work, we don’t just sit back and assume that everything’s fine and is going to work out for the best on its own.”
18
HUD
The day hadn’t been easy. I didn’t like being out of touch with my ma, didn’t like it one bit.
I wanted to be available in case she needed anything. Just the idea of her needing her son and not being able to get in touch was enough to give me a low-level tension in the belly that didn’t go away.
Pyke and I had gotten up bright and early and headed down to the gym to find Vic already waiting for us in her workout clothes. I liked her attitude about getting right to work, butdamnwas it hard to ignore how good she looked in her skintight outfit. We’d all busted Kid’s balls over the kiss he’d laid on her, but standing there in front of her, all Vic’s luscious curves there on display, it was easy to see why he’d gone against his better judgment.
The rest of the day had gone by without incident. There’d been meals and patrols and resting when we could. Kid and Ajax had night guarding duties, which meant my duty was to get some rest and be ready for the next day.
It was impossible. As I lay in bed in the darkness, all I could think about was Ma. Part of me wanted to say screw the rules and go out to the panic room computer and send her an email on the encrypted line. I pushed those thoughts aside, however. We needed to be able to trust that everyone was following the rules if we were to be able to work together. Our job was as much keeping one another alive as it was keeping Vic alive.
All the same, I needed to do something other than lie in bed with my eyes wide open. I threw off the covers and planted my feet on the floor. I stepped over to the window and looked out, spotting Kid making the rounds, rifle in hand.
Some ice-cold water sounded good. I stepped out of my room and began heading down the hallway. The house was quiet, not a sound other than my bare feet on the carpet runner.
Quietly, I went downstairs and stepped inside the kitchen, the lingering scent of the spaghetti and meatballs Pyke had made for dinner faint in the air. My stomach grumbled, a small smile forming on my lips at the thought of leftovers. I stepped over to the fridge, pulled it open, and spotted the big Tupperware container of pasta. Peeling the lid open, I plucked out one meatball, then two, popping them into my mouth and chewing them hungrily.
Once I’d had my fill, I secured the lid back on the container and closed the fridge. I opened the cupboard, grabbed a glass, and poured myself some water.
I set the glass down, turning my attention to the woods. My mind went back to the piece of steel I’d found out there, the supposed explanation for what Ajax had seen. It’d made perfect sense that it was as neat and tidy as that. But the longer I looked at those woods, the more I began to distrust them.
A noise behind me pulled me from my thoughts. My eyes went wide, and my muscles tensed in anticipation. The sound was followed by soft footfalls on the floor as if someone were sneaking around behind me.
I didn’t wait a second to move.
I turned around, cutting the distance between me and the noise in an instant. Sure enough, a figure was behind me. With a few quick moves, I put my right forearm over their neck while barring their arms behind their back with my left hand. The moment I had the assailant in my grips, however, I noticed something.
The body against mine was very, very soft.