Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
ALEX
Moving with the stealth I’d honed to perfection in the Royal Marines, I left Ciara napping soundly in her bed. Between the concussion protocol and her parents’ fussing, I suspected she hadn’t slept well in days. Gathering up my clothes, I slipped out of the bedroom and dressed.
The plan had always been to eliminate the threat. But now that a second chance with her was a real possibility, I was doubly motivated. I had a lot of work to do, and I’d exhausted what I could manage entirely on my own. It was time to call in my team. But first, I needed to invoke protocol.
Pulling out my laptop, I logged into RealmQuest, a popular, massive multiplayer online role-playing game set in a fantasy realm with lots of clans and quests. There were millions of accounts all over the world, so piggybacking on their player messaging system was an easy and nigh untraceable means of contacting my handler. Especially as I’d managed to hack in and add a custom “shop” location that no other player was likely to find. I portaled my character, Echo—a throwback to my call sign—to The Craggy Coast, a remote, rocky beach area in the far northwest corner of one of the upper-level maps. It was a treacherous landscape, filled with cliffs, tide pools, and sea caves, which were home to a multitude of mythical sea creatures like kelpies, selkies, and other threats that could be friend but were more usually foe.
Carefully checking the map to make sure no actual players were around me, I dropped off the side of a cliff and into the water. I had a narrow window of breath to swim my character through a narrow tunnel to a hidden sea cave with no other access. I was down to my last bar of health by the time Echo surfaced inside the cave. Clambering onto shore, I made my way to the other character on the screen, a solitary orc shopkeeper NPC named Grumlik. Functionally, Grumlik sold obscure magical supplies not available anywhere else. It was through his custom order capability that I left my message for a “special order” that was our signal for a meet.
I had no idea how long it might take my handler to get back to me. It had been more than a year since we’d used this channel for communication, and I could only hope it was still being monitored. I was out of the game, and I needed someone on the inside to tell me what had been happening that I couldn’t find out myself. I sincerely hoped I hadn’t been cut off and hung out to dry. But, even if I had, I knew I could count on my friends. There were no other men I trusted more to watch my back and Ciara’s.
Me: Need you both to pop by Ciara’s flat.
Finn: Might there be food involved?
Me: There can be.
Food would probably be a good idea. I’d certainly worked up an appetite, and Ciara would be hungry when she woke.
Finn: I’m in.
Callum: What’s this about?
Me: Sitrep.
Callum: Understood.
I knew they’d come when they could. Meanwhile, I had a lot of logistics to work out.
Under the circumstances, I wasn’t leaving Ciara alone, which meant either I was moving in here, or she was moving in with me. As she had a lot more stuff, and I’d already made some security upgrades to the flat, it made more sense for me to move. I’d just need to pack up some clothes, my computers, and Saffron. I had no idea how she felt about cats, but we’d cross that bridge when we came to it.
I was still working on my list when my friends arrived.
“Keep your voices down, aye? Ciara’s resting.”
They both stepped inside the flat, then stared at me. Belatedly, it occurred to me I probably looked like I’d been thoroughly shagged because—well—I had. Making myself presentable hadn’t been on my radar of priorities, other than making sure I was dressed. They weren’t stupid men, but I wouldn’t address the issue unless directly asked.
Moving past them, I dropped into the armchair, leaving the sofa for both of them. “I need to read you in.”
Predictably, this shifted them into mission mode. I gave them more or less the same story I’d told Ciara, minus the part where she featured in. “I can’t get into any more specifics without violating clearances, but it is my belief that Ciara is in danger because of me. And I’m asking for your help to keep her safe.”
“Understood,” Callum rumbled. “This is your mission. How do you want to handle it?”
“Right now I’m doing what I do best and gathering intelligence. I’ve got a line into my handler to see if I can find out anything from that side. I need to know the status of certain parties that were involved in this operation before I can begin drilling down on who might be behind this. I’ve spent the last several days going over the entire scope of my original mission, racking my brain to figure out what I missed from before. Because so far as my superiors and I were concerned, this situation was resolved and everyone who was behind it was dealt with.”
“Except, clearly, it’s not,” Finn pointed out.
“Aye. So, at the moment, security is my biggest concern. Making sure that Ciara has coverage. I’m sorry to leave you two in the lurch with the renovations, but for now, I’ll be functioning as her bodyguard. When I can’t, I’d appreciate it if one of you could step in. And otherwise, I’d like to set up additional security measures for monitoring.”
“When are you going to tell Ewan?”
I didn’t have a good answer for that, especially as I knew perfectly well that Callum meant about Ciara and me as a real thing. But I chose to deliberately misinterpret the question.
“I’d rather wait until I have more information.”
The bedroom door opened, and I whipped around to warn Ciara that we weren’t alone. But she was more aware than I’d given her credit for. Not only was she dressed, but she’d taken the time to wash her face and tidy her hair, so she didn’t look thoroughly mussed.
“Hey. Are we having a summit meeting, then?”
“Aye. Something like that. You’re going to be under full-time security. One of the three of us—mostly me—will be with you until all this is sorted.”
I braced myself for an argument. Ciara was a woman who prized her independence.
But she only nodded.
“Then I guess you’d better go get your cat.”