13. Remy
Chapter thirteen
Remy
I don’t know how the hell she did it, but she fucking did it. I don’t know whether to laugh or thank her when we roll up to the airfield to see the plane ready and waiting, the door open with a set of rolling steps pushed up to it. We won’t have steps when we have to get the captives into the plane, but we will make it work.
“Where the fuck did you find a guy with a C-17?” Rich laughs, staring at my housekeeper like she’s a witch who just conjured that up out of nowhere.
It took a few days, which meant our mission had to be delayed. That wasn’t an easy decision—every day means more suffering, but it also means that everyone gets out alive. Or at least, we hope it does.
“Don’t thank me yet.” Elaine says under her breath. “You’ll see what I had to do to get this in a minute.”
The man coming down the steps is dressed in a black suit rather than any kind of military gear, and my confusion only deepens… until he looks up and flashes me a smile. “Remington!”
“Massarini.” I blink, trying to process his presence and turning to Elaine for an explanation.
“Senator.” She says pointedly, stiffly. When her eyes flicker to me, realization settles deeper.
Senator .
At my father’s wake, I remember him talking to her, her hurry to get away from him. In addition to what I learned about her work history the other day, I can surmise that the senator must have been the person who employed her all those years ago .
“Good to see you again.” I shake his hand, trying to work out the details. If this is the senator that Elaine worked for, that makes him a suspect in Lauren’s disappearance all those years ago.
“Well, there’s not a lot I wouldn’t do for Elaine.” He smiles fondly at her. “Besides, she told me you have something to tell me?”
“We do.” Elaine nods. “And it’s important.”
I blink, shifting my eyes to the plane behind him. “You were able to accrue a military plane in a few days’ notice just because your former housekeeper asked you to?”
That makes him laugh a little. “Once a marine, always a marine. But I’ve got friends in high places.” He shrugs. “She said it was a matter of extreme importance. Besides, Remington, our fathers were friends for years. They may be gone now, but I think it’s still important to honor those relationships.”
“Victor—” A shrill voice from the top of the stairs draws his attention away from me long enough for me to glare accusingly at Elaine.
“Excuse me,” Victor smiles warmly at us before turning to jog up the steps toward the woman demanding his attention.
“You could have just fucked our entire mission, Elaine!” I hiss, searching her face to try and figure out what exactly she is thinking by bringing a stranger into the fold. Having the plane he procured for us is great, but if it lets the enemy know that we’re onto them, it’s useless.
“Maybe I did.” She says, wringing her hands together nervously. “But I think we can trust him.”
“Trust him?” I almost laugh. “When you told me about Lauren,” I say her name in the quietest whisper, though I don’t think the senator is focused on us at all. “You made it sounds like he was part of the problem.”
“No.” Elaine shakes her head swiftly. “He may have had something to do with it, but I don’t know. I don’t think so. ”
“You don’t think so? Jesus, Elaine, you gambled sixty lives because you don’t think he’s a bad guy, but you don’t know for sure?”
“No,” she licks her lips. “I don’t think he’s a bad guy. I think he’s Claire’s father.”
Her words take a minute to process, and I don’t get a chance to react to them because he’s headed back to us with the woman at his side now and a smile on his handsome face. “Remington, this is my wife, Addison.”
“Nice to meet you, Addison.” I say, holding out a hand as I assess the woman before me with her deep red hair swept back into a clip that glints in the sunlight. She takes my hand with a cold smile, her blood-red nails shaped like talons matching the shade of her lips. She looks like a vampire, and it does little to quell my suspicions of the senator.
“Addison?” Elaine says slowly, looking at the woman like she recognizes her. Probably from childhood nightmares since she looks like she’d carve your heart out with those wicked nails and eat it for breakfast.
“Yes.” Addison says, her cold eyes glancing over Elaine like she’s expecting something more. But whatever it is, nothing comes of it. She looks away before Elaine can say anything, and the senator misses the chance to introduce them when she asks him something I don’t hear.
“Is there anything I can do for you, Senator? In return for this generous favor, I mean.”
“You can explain.” The senator laughs. “I mean, strictly speaking, what we’re doing isn’t legal. Of course, I’ll figure it out when we get there, and we’ll have to delete the flight logs to stay off the radar, literally and metaphorically,” he laughs at his own joke. “But if you guys are willing to tell me what this is all about up front, I sure would appreciate it.”
“You’re… coming?”
“Of course.” Victor laughs, showcasing his politician’s smile. “It was described as a matter of extreme importance. ”
“And extreme boredom.” Elaine laughs suddenly. “It’s not the sort of flight an esteemed woman such as your wife wants to take. I’m sure you’re exhausted from the trip here.” Her voice is simpering, catering to the senator’s wife. And it appears to work, whatever Elaine is up to, because Addison sighs.
“Painfully so. I haven’t slept much since Mason was born, and it only got worse after Brantley.”
“Two boys?” Elaine asks. “Oh, you poor thing. I can’t even imagine your fatigue.” She tuts her tongue like she is thinking of something. “Why don’t you come relax at the house with me? We can leave the men to their manly business, and I’ll treat you to a wonderful dinner. And we have some of the best spa treatments in the world, right here at our disposal.”
Addison glances at her nails, thinking that offer through, and then turns to her husband. “I do need the rest, you know. It’s the whole reason I came along.”
“Of course,” he agrees quickly. I’m not sure yet whether the senator is a man used to agreeing with everybody or if his wife has just trained him well, but either way, he seems eager to please.
“Make yourself at home,” I say with a smile, taking Elaine’s lead.
“Thank you.” Addison says, and I have no doubt that she absolutely will.
The senator and his wife kiss goodbye, and then Elaine ushers her to the car we brought to the airfield. She even shepherds the woman to her door like a chauffeur, closing it behind her. Addison did an impressive job ignoring the rest of the crew, but once she’s safely inside the car, her husband turns his attention to the people he hasn’t met yet.
“I’m Victor,” he says, sticking his hand out for whoever wants to take charge and shake it first. Not surprisingly, that person is Michael. He’s just closing his hand around the senator’s when Elaine pulls me back just enough to whisper to me.
“Tell him everything. I’ll distract the wife, but lay it all out, Rem. If he’s the guy I think he is, he will help. ”
I’m not so sure she’s right, but I don’t say that because she steps quickly away and slips into the driver’s seat. A moment later, the car disappears from the airfield, turning onto the paved road outside, and everyone has been introduced. I can feel the distrust coming from the crew I’ve assembled as they assess the senator with his suit, and I can feel his confusion as he assesses them, looking for their commonality, looking for mine.
“Let’s get inside,” I suggest, tipping my head toward the front of the plane. “And I’ll explain everything.”