CHAPTER THIRTEEN
William Groome looked out over the turquoise waters of the Pacific. The white sand of his little Mexican beach home looked like crystals in the morning light. It was heaven on earth. Or purgatory. Anymore, he couldn’t tell which.
Once a respected and revered military officer, he was now shamed and humiliated. He ostracized himself from his colleagues, knowing that he would never be allowed to return to Washington or the military. He had no friends, no family. Only enemies. At least one enemy.
Karena Viskoff.
Once upon a time, he was a man that had dreams and visions of accumulating a vast army and empire, which he would control with the woman who made his loins stir. No more. He saw the witch for the woman she is. Evil, pure to the bone evil, and shame filled him once more.
He wasn’t sure when it all changed for him. One minute he was all in, one hundred percent on board with her plan, and then the next minute, well, the next minute, he regretted every move he made. She’d sat on the boardroom table, her legs split apart, begging him to take her right there in front of everyone, and his stomach rolled. He couldn’t do it any longer.
He knew that the other men, Tom Cullen, Dan Henry, Uri Bellum, and Norris Fredericks all got out alive and, last he knew, were helping the gifted. He should have gone with them. He should be helping them too. But right now, he was wallowing in his own pity and self-deprecation. He needed a little more time to do that before he could be of any use to them.
He wondered where the woman disappeared. She wasn’t one to give up, and if he knew anything about Karena Viskoff, she found a way to survive and a way to exact revenge on her perceived enemies.
If you were smart, asshole, you’d be proactive and find out where she is before she finds you.
“Yea, if I were smart.”
William suddenly had a horrific thought. What if she were looking for him? She wouldn’t let his rejection of her go without punishment. It wasn’t her style. He humiliated her in front of the other men, and she was not going to forget that any time soon.
Looking up and down the beach, he scanned the horizon for signs of boats. His tiny home was built on a small piece of land, water on both sides, and only a small dirt road leading in and out. There was no other way in. He could easily see cars coming in. He’d installed extensive security when he purchased the place years ago.
The water was a different story.
He wouldn’t have three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision of the water without cameras. Resigning himself to the fact that the area was clear for now, he grabbed his keys and headed to the old jeep. Better safe than sorry. He would pick up some additional cameras and install them in the trees, all pointing out to the water. Any boat within a hundred yards of the shore would sound alarms for him.
It was the best he could do. For now.