Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
TEN MINUTES EARLIER
“What are you thinking?” Ella quietly asked Sydney, hoping to get her thoughts on this strange situation. She’d been noticeably quiet since Henry Rochella had picked the three of them up, and Ella was curious to know if Sydney’s radar was in sync with her own. That there was something a little fishy about . . . well, everything.
Ella joined Sydney by the window inside Henry’s second-floor study and looked out at the property. There were enough antique-style lampposts illuminating the grounds that the coat of snow on the ground sparkled.
“Yeah, what do you think?” Savanna softly chimed in, clearly curious for Sydney to share her thoughts as well now that they were alone for the first time.
Ella twisted her neck to view her best friend sitting in a leather armchair next to a lit fireplace, the flames from the blazing fire throwing shadows and effectively hiding whatever emotions Ella was certain were visible on Savanna’s face.
Savanna had witnessed her fiancé brutally tasered that morning as she’d been taken from Griffin’s arms, same as Ella had been pulled away from Jesse. And the horrific sight of both men stubbornly resisting the effects of the tasers made Ella sick to her stomach every time she remembered the scene. She’d never felt so helpless as she watched Jesse on the ground, trying to reach for her and failing, his body convulsing. Veins prominent at his neck.
“We’re pretty secluded out here,” Ella commented when Sydney continued her silence. “Don’t you think it’s strange that the French didn’t take us to their main office?”
“It’s also weird that the place where they did take us just happened to be near Henry’s mansion,” Savanna pointed out. “Oh wait, millionaires have mansions. Billionaires like the Rochellas have compounds.” And from what Ella could tell, Savanna was right. The place was multi-building-huge. “Plus, it seemed like the French officers knew ahead of time to release us into Henry’s custody.”
Ella mulled over Savanna’s theory. “So you don’t believe what Henry said in the car?” Why would he lie about that? He’d explained that he was contacted to pick them up because of the information on Ella’s visa. She’d listed Rochella as her temporary employer, and as such, her stay in France would be longer than ninety days. He’d gotten two more women than he’d bargained for, but . . . “How else would the French officers know I’m in Paris because of Rochella if not for the visa application?”
“True, but the guys did mention Thatcher on the plane. Asked Jesse if he still trusted him given our welcome to Paris by the police,” Savanna reminded her. “I remember Griffin saying Thatcher was Jesse’s old boss. Maybe we’re here because of him?”
The boss who wanted Jesse back, as in back to being a hitman. “But what motive could Thatcher possibly have to turn on Jesse like that?”
“Hell if I know,” Savanna remarked, grit to her tone. They were both growing more frustrated the longer they were separated from the others. “But maybe the French knew you’d be on the plane, and for whatever reason, they chose that house to detain us all, anticipating they’d be handing us over to Rochella. Because their target is Carter. That female MI6 officer Carter said hated him was there this morning, so.” Savanna’s words must’ve had an impact on Sydney because she turned to face them.
“Thirteen hours,” Sydney said, finally breaking her silence, looking back and forth between them. “We were held for thirteen hours without a single question. We were denied a phone call, and any attempts to see my team were refused. Hell, they wouldn’t even let us stay when we objected to leaving without the guys.”
“A.J. would have hijacked Air Force One if we’d been allowed to call him,” Savanna commented, clearly trying to remain as calm as possible.
They’d both spent the day doing their best not to fall to pieces in that holding room. Sydney, of course, didn’t have to “try,” she was just flat-out calm. Level-headed. But also super quiet, which made Ella nervous.
Sydney had been worried there were people listening or watching the holding room, so she’d advised them to keep their mouths shut and not entrap themselves in any way. But they were alone now, and Sydney was still a solid 2 out of a scale of 10 on sharing her thoughts or emotions. And Ella only gave her the two points because she’d finally said something just now.
Sydney’s eyes narrowed, her gaze falling to the floor, and Ella could practically see the wheels in her head turning. “Then night falls, and as you said, we’re whisked away to Henry’s, a five-minute drive from a DGSE safe house,” she finally continued her line of thought.
What are you getting at? Who set this all up? Why?
“Henry didn’t question why our plane was intercepted by the police on the car ride here. I guess that’s an oddity in itself,” Savanna said, raising a point Ella had thought about as well on their drive there. “Maybe the officers gave him a fake explanation, though?”
“Henry barely said a word in the car, period.” He’d sat in the passenger seat of the Range Rover beside his driver, eyes straight ahead and fingers drumming his thigh. He’d definitely seemed nervous, but Ella had assumed it was because he’d been called to pick up one of his “gems” from police custody, at some off-the-books location, no less. And well, he was probably stunned, perhaps questioning whether he ought to kick her out. Boot me back to Bama. “I’m a little surprised he agreed to pick us up in the first place unless the police sold him a convincing story.”
“I’d like to know what that story was since we’re so in the dark.” Savanna shifted in the seat, clutched the chair arms, and tipped her head back, eyes going to the ceiling.
Ella looked back to Sydney, who was once again staring out the window. “Do you think someone is coming for us? That Zoran guy?” She’d done her best to avoid asking because she didn’t want to hear any other answer than no, and she was worried Sydney would give her a yes.
Sydney glanced at her. “I’m certain someone is coming.”
Ella stumbled back at Sydney’s words, but it was the stone-cold look on her face that frightened Ella even more.
Sydney had flipped a switch and was now in operator mode, preparing for a battle. But how would the three of them, even with Henry’s security team, go up against such a calculating criminal as Zoran? The man was so dangerous the CIA had ordered Jesse to kill him.
Savanna quickly stood. “My fear that this has all been a ruse just to get us away from the guys, like a plot twist in a romance novel . . . that’s possible?”
Savanna had already been through so much, and it crushed Ella that she was dealing with more, especially so soon after she’d narrowly survived the hell of being hunted down by criminals herself.
“But why would the good guys help the bad ones?” Ella asked, more so speaking her thoughts aloud rather than expecting Sydney to provide another answer. She may have been one and done in the answer department. But when Sydney peered straight at her with a slight nod, Ella blinked at the unspoken message a few times before speaking. “Oh. No, I don’t believe it. Henry’s not helping Zoran. He didn’t tip off the police that we were coming to Paris. No way.” She adamantly shook her head. She wasn’t someone who blindly trusted people, but Savanna said Griffin had checked out the Rochellas, and they were clean. Too clean, though? Now she was thinking like Jesse, damn it.
“Why would a billionaire fashion mogul help Zoran?” Savanna asked, backing up Ella, or at the least, not quite ready to throw that particular fashion mogul under the bus, which is what Jesse would most likely do when he was free. He’d bulldoze right over Henry and flatten him without remorse if he was in any way responsible for endangering Ella.
“A number of reasons,” Sydney said in a low tone. “Blackmail. Threats of harm to his family. Tit for tat.”
What possible tit for tat could have Henry, the billionaire, helping a bad guy? Unless, well . . . Hmm. But before Ella could process her thoughts, Sydney set her palm to the window and, in an eerily calm voice, announced, “I need a gun. They’re here. The property has been breached.”
“What?” Savanna and Ella said at the same time, just as the door to the study opened, and Henry rushed in.
“My security team has alerted me to a threat.” Henry looked straight from Ella to the bookshelf off to her left. “I have a safe room. They’ve advised us all to go inside. It’s impenetrable.”
“Your security team is running for the hills,” Sydney remarked. “Or, in this case, the forest.”
Still in a bit of a shocked daze, Ella did her best to snap herself back to the reality of the situation. Looking out the window, she saw Range Rovers rolling up the driveway in the distance, and sure enough, men running away from the property.
“Your crack security team seems to have abandoned ship,” Sydney said, still not a hint of fear in her voice, but Ella’s heart rate was maxed out, and from the look on Savanna’s face, hers was too.
Henry and Sydney were the only ones who remained calm in the midst of what would surely soon become chaos.
Sydney stalked straight for Henry as he slid the bookshelf to the side, revealing a steel door. “Who are you helping? You’re involved, but which side are you on?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I did you all a favor, and you’re going to question me?” Henry cursed under his breath while punching in a four-digit security code, and the door electronically opened outward. “Now get in.”
“We’re not locking ourselves in a room with you.” Sydney stepped directly in front of him, and Ella wasn’t sure what to do or think. They had limited options at the moment.
Safe room with Henry, who may be aligned with the bad guys for whatever reason, or stay out there and for sure get hurt. Both options sucked, but she had to go with option one. Safe room with Henry and hope for the best, not assume the worst. “Sydney, we don’t have a choice.”
Sydney looked back at Ella, then over at Savanna. “I need a weapon. A few. Provide me with those, and you might temporarily earn my trust.”
“What do you plan to do? Go up against them yourself?” Henry pointed toward the window, his jaw strained.
“Now that your team has taken off, someone has to do something.” Sydney went back to the window and shifted the drapes to the side for a better view. “I count ten tangos. They’re fanning out. Getting into position. I need to make my move now before they infil the main house.”
“Fine.” Henry tossed both hands in the air. “It’s your death wish.” He hurriedly moved into the safe room and came back out a moment later with a sidearm and a knife.
Sydney eyed the gun, checked the mag, then tucked the weapon at the back of her jeans. The knife remained in hand. “You’re rich. Rich people like archery. Where do you keep your bow?” Her monosyllabic tone, so cool and calm, almost had Ella feeling like everything was okay too.
“My office downstairs. Three doors down from the foyer, you’ll find the bow displayed on the wall behind my desk,” he answered, then moved into the safe room.
Ella wrapped an arm around Savanna’s back and pulled her in tight, hoping it’d ease her friend’s trembling body as they stood outside the entrance to the safe room. Savanna was probably in flashback hell after what happened to her in October.
“We’ll be okay,” she whispered reassuringly, trying to channel some of Sydney’s badass strength.
“Phone lines are down,” Henry announced from the safe room. “My mobile doesn’t work either.”
Sydney peeked into the room. “And yet, I see they kept your security cameras and lights on.” With her back to Ella and Savanna, she said, “If anything happens to them while they’re in the room with you, if you so much as touch them in any way, I will come back up here and gut you with this knife, are we clear?”
“Come on.” Ella lightly patted Savanna’s shoulder, prompting her to head into the small space, sidestepping Sydney.
“You’ll be okay.” Sydney gave Ella a nod and shut the door, securing them inside the room. Ella swallowed down the lump in her throat when she heard the bookshelf slide into place.
Henry dropped onto the only chair in the room opposite the wall of security screens and kept his focus on the changing views of the property. Only eight screens, but there had to be dozens of cameras across the sprawling estate. “She’s not the most likable woman I’ve ever met,” he said in a deep voice while Ella and Savanna stood next to him and watched as well.
Ella didn’t bother to respond, too stunned this was all happening. And with Sydney suspicious of Henry and his motives, how could Ella not be? There was more than just a little something off about this whole thing. “We just happened to be in the study where your safe room is located when men stormed your property. Little convenient, don’t you think?”
“Almost as if you knew this was going to happen,” Savanna added, her fingers racing over the screen where Sydney headed down the back stairs.
“Well, considering French Intelligence was holding you today for some reason, a guy can’t be too cautious, can he?” Henry’s tone was clipped, and Ella figured it’d be best to keep one eye on the man in case there happened to be another weapon in the room that he decided to go for with Sydney gone.
Before Ella could respond to him, what felt like an explosion from beneath them rocked the floor and had Ella stumbling, but Savanna grabbed her arm to keep her upright. “What was that?”
“They blew a hole in my front door,” Henry said through gritted teeth. Oddly, he sounded more frustrated than scared.
Ella watched two figures in all black, faces covered by masks, rifles in front of them, enter through what was once the double doors in the foyer of the home. Two more quickly followed. They’re inside now.
“One of those guys turned down the hall where Sydney is,” Savanna softly said.
Ella tapped at the arrows on the keyboard, trying to sort through the camera views to find Sydney. “There. She’s in the office. She’s got the bow.”
“And she has company,” Savanna pointed out, but Sydney was clearly aware she wasn’t alone. She dropped to one knee, twisted her torso toward the open doorway, and let an arrow fly, hitting the would-be assailant standing there directly in the jugular. “Yeah, wow, okay, she just did that.”
“Where are the other three guys who came inside?” Ella shifted screens again, but froze at the sight of one image, then clapped a hand over her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.
“Our guys,” Savanna said when Ella was unable to get her voice to work. “They’re here.”
Ella lowered her hand from her mouth. “They were released just in time.” With their weapons?
Jesse stealthily maneuvered across the property toward the house, his shoulders hunched slightly forward and his rifle trained ahead.
He’s a skilled operator, Ella reminded herself, while at the same time trying not to think about what he’d admitted to her on the plane. That Zoran was alive because he’d been “off his game” that day, distracted by Ella’s impending marriage to Brian. Hopefully, he won’t be off tonight with me here. She couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him, let alone see it on camera the way Savanna had seen her husband executed by terrorists in 2015.
And, oh, Savanna. This couldn’t be easy for her. Ella reached out and squeezed her hand in support.
The sight of Griffin had her clutching Savanna’s hand even tighter as they watched him moving alongside Jesse, then shooting someone . . . on the roof?
The rest of Jesse’s team seemed to fan out to different locations, but Ella’s attention was riveted to Jesse. To his every move as she followed him from screen to screen. “They’re inside now.” She brushed her fingers over Jesse’s face on the screen, which now showed him in the foyer.
She gasped when Jesse discharged his weapon. She couldn’t hear anything from inside the safe room, and she wasn’t sure if that made watching the action better or worse.
Griffin and Oliver were now behind Jesse, who held up a fist, a signal for the guys to remain in place for a moment. Jesse allowed his sling to catch the rifle, then withdrew a sidearm from his hip and a knife from his thigh. He motioned toward the stairs as if letting the others know he was moving up a level. Griffin and Oliver remained downstairs, one going left and the other right.
It was killing her to remain in the room while they were out there risking their lives, but there was no other option. She and Savanna were decent shots, but they couldn’t join the fight. Not with an unknown number of “tangos,” as Sydney had called them.
“No one has found the study yet. That’s something,” Henry spoke up for the first time in a few minutes, but Ella didn’t bother to respond.
Regardless of whether or not he was involved, and her gut was leaning toward “he was,” she knew her role as a “gem” was over. Her main concern right now was that everyone walked away from the night alive and preferably uninjured.
“I lost him on camera. You see him?” Ella frantically searched the screens, but just as she was on the brink of panicking, she found him, thank God. But also, just in time to see Jesse draw a knife across a masked man’s throat. She covered her eyes with her hand like she did when watching a horror movie. Even though she loved crime shows and podcasts, she’d never cared for blood and gore. And especially not when her “husband” was the one to cause the red river to flow.
She was going to lose the three bites of food she’d forced down when the French had provided them with dinner earlier.
Ella slowly lowered her hand, watching Jesse on the move again, gun in one hand, knife situated in his other.
And before she knew it, another tango had turned the corner, catching Jesse by surprise. But Jesse dropped him to the ground a moment later and wrapped a leg over the guy’s chest.
He sliced yet another throat, the man’s blood spurting all over Jesse, and Jesse brought his gun to the man’s chest and shot him next. End his suffering quicker?
How could she watch any more of this, even if the killings were justified? Seeing Jesse perform his job in vivid detail on screen was too real, too much for her to handle.
And now it was Savanna squeezing Ella’s arm for support.
Was that their new friendship motto? Real friends help each other watch the men they love kill people .
Griffin was the next to take a life. His rifle instead of a knife.
Ella spotted Oliver on another screen in time to see him take down an enemy with his sidearm, after which Sydney ran into the room poised and ready to release another arrow seconds before she realized it was Oliver.
After they exchanged a quick word, Oliver peered straight at one of the cameras. “We’re coming,” he mouthed.
“I’m sure Sydney told them we’re here,” Ella softly said, the sick feeling in her gut easing up some.
“Gray’s inside now. Carter too,” Savanna announced. “Perimeter must be secure. That’s a good sign.”
“Jesse,” Ella cried out at the sight of him entering the study on screen a minute later. She hurried to the door and set her hands against it, not sure what to do. She needed him to give her the OK.
She looked back at the screens and discovered Jesse peering around the room searching for a camera, and when he spotted it, she read his lips: “It’s all clear. You can come out.”