Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jesse nearly squeezed the breath from Ella’s lungs, holding her so tight against his frame that his ammo vest dug into her ribs, not that she cared. She didn’t want him to let her go.
“I want a bow,” Ella mumbled, thinking about Sydney and how she’d handled herself while waiting for the cavalry she hadn’t known was coming.
“What?” he whispered, still cupping the back of her head with one palm while the other remained firmly against her back. At least he’d shifted his rifle to his side before hugging her, so she was grateful that wasn’t digging into her as well.
“Everyone okay?” The deep voice belonged to Carter.
“We’re good,” Savanna answered, but Ella remained quiet, not ready to leave Jesse’s strong embrace.
“Did anyone touch you? Did Rochella?—”
“No,” Ella cut Jesse off, her voice trembling. “No one hurt me.”
“Thank God. I’m so sorry,” he rasped into her ear before easing up on his hold and slowly releasing her. Ella reluctantly untangled herself from him when that was the last thing she wanted to do.
“I’m okay. We’re all okay,” she whispered, letting her tears flow as the shock of what had just happened tried to take hold. She’d held herself together while in the safe room watching the scene unfold, but now her resolve was faltering. The attack on Henry’s estate was the proverbial cherry on top of a day from hell. And she needed to keep moving forward, or the fears that were right on her tail would overtake her. Not gonna happen. “The timing of this . . .”
“I know.” His tone was grave, but as he stared into her eyes, she swore she saw what looked a bit like hope. “Shit,” he said, breaking the moment. “I, um, got blood in your hair. Probably on your sweater too.”
“It’s okay.” She set her hand to his chest, needing to feel the comfort of his heartbeat, but the chest plate and ammo vest were in the way.
He took another step back and peered around the room as if remembering they weren’t alone or that he’d taken the lives of multiple men only minutes ago.
Ella followed his gaze and did a headcount of who was now with them in the study. Henry was parked in the armchair by the fireplace, as still as a mannequin, but that was probably because Carter stood beside him, a sidearm in hand and a look on his face that would put the fear of God into anyone.
Griffin and Savanna stood near the safe room, as far away from Henry as possible. The grim expression Griffin was aiming at Henry pretty much said it all—he didn’t trust the man. He probably shared the same concerns Sydney expressed right before she’d gone badass operator mode on the intruders.
When Gray and Sydney joined them in the room a second later, Ella had to assume Jack and Oliver were outside, keeping an eye on the property for any unexpected visitors.
“They didn’t cut the lights or security cams, just jammed the phone and comm feeds,” Sydney shared, stating the obvious, which seemed uncharacteristic of her based on what little Ella knew. Which meant Sydney was going somewhere important with that line of thought.
“That’s because he’s watching us.” Carter lifted his gaze to the camera above the doorway and aimed his weapon. Ella squeezed her eyes shut but still flinched when he fired.
“Who?” Ella asked as Jesse reached for her waist and pulled her to his side.
“What’s going on? Who were those men?” Henry spoke up before anyone could even contemplate answering Ella’s question.
“A man like you would have security, but there were no bodies other than the ones we put down.” Carter crouched before Henry’s chair and set the muzzle of his gun to the man’s knee, which had Henry pinning his back to the red leather and his hands gripping the chair arms. The corner of Carter’s mouth twitched before he tilted his head to the side and studied Rochella as though deciding whether or not to kill him.
Carter wouldn’t, would he?
“They didn’t stay and defend you. So, why’d your guards cut and run?” Carter’s smooth tone could melt butter, and yet somehow, that made him come across as almost more intimidating.
Were it not for the firm hold Jesse had on her, Ella’s legs would most likely have given out ten minutes ago.
Dead bodies littered Henry Rochella’s home. And Jesse’s boss was holding a gun to the fashion mogul’s knee. This was the stuff of movies, not her life.
“I pay my men to protect me. Not enough to die for me. They warned me of a threat, and we went into the safe room. They’re not trained fighters, which you all clearly are,” Henry answered, his tone a bit sharper than she’d expected, given Carter’s proximity. Nothing timid, and certainly not charming, about Henry right now.
“I’m only going to ask you this one time.” Carter’s even-tempered voice inched lower this time, deep-blue-sea kind of low and dark. “Are you working for The Chechen?”
“The who?” Henry’s eyes widened, and maybe he was a good actor, but to Ella, he seemed as surprised by the question as she was.
Because who in the hell was The Chechen? Was the word “The” part of his name, like the actor The Rock? The two words had rolled from Carter’s tongue with such a heavy weight.
“ Those were The Chechen’s men?” When it was Sydney’s voice that broke the silence, Ella looked at Sydney in shock. Emotion, damn near a 6 out of 10, which seemed to be a lot for her, crossed her face. Tight draw of the lips. Sharp line across the brow. And oh-shit creases around Sydney’s eyes.
Yeah, that’s not good. Sydney showing fear? The woman cut down those men in the house like she was playing paintball.
Carter stood and lifted his gun from Henry’s knee, then set eyes on Sydney. “That was his team. But I don’t think he had plans to hurt anyone tonight. He wanted confirmation we were here in Paris.”
“And most likely to study our moves and learn how we operate,” Gray said while pointing to the blown-out camera. “He was watching us.”
“I’ll go destroy the footage anyway. We don’t need it falling into any other hands that we were here,” Sydney said, blinking slowly and suddenly appearing pale and exhausted. She looked to Gray and waited for his nod before quietly making her way to the safe room, eyes focused on the floor and bow still in hand.
A cold bluster of air shot up Ella’s back. Ella had yet to see Sydney act like anything other than a badass. Nothing seemed to scare her. And now it felt as if Sydney had seen a ghost.
Jesse must have sensed Ella’s fear because he tightened his hold of her. It had to be hard for Jesse to stand down and watch Carter handle Henry when she knew he most likely wanted to tear the man apart if he was in any way connected to what happened tonight. The fact he’d reined in his anger instead of attacking Henry, that he’d chosen to stay by her side and comfort her, meant more than he could possibly know.
“We should get out of here soon,” Griffin announced, but Ella had a feeling the guys wouldn’t be going anywhere without Henry or prying answers from him first.
But did he have answers? Or was this all a misunderstanding?
“You still haven’t answered his question with a yes or a no.” Gray’s menacing tone drew Ella’s focus to see Gray had moved next to Carter.
The two team leaders stood before Henry, and it seemed to be enough to put that fear of God back into him.
“No, I don’t know any Chechens.” Henry looked toward the fire, away from the two men. “But I am working with French Intelligence. This,” he began while opening his palms, keeping only his profile to Ella, “was not a coincidence.”
Ella closed her eyes at his words, her head falling. Shoulders drooping. She’d hoped and prayed for a misunderstanding.
Jesse maintained his hold of her and began moving his thumb in small, soothing circles over the small of her back. The way he’d maintained control of his anger, especially at the revelation from Henry, had her breath stuttering a little. Because so much of her was still afraid that control would soon snap.
“Talk,” Gray prompted.
Henry nervously settled his hands on his knees and focused his gaze there as well, then cleared his throat. “A week ago, I was contacted by French Intelligence and offered a deal.”
“Why? Your record was clean,” Griffin said.
That’s right . Griffin had been the one assigned to look into Henry, and Ella knew he’d be kicking himself in the ass for missing whatever this was.
“I may have purchased some hard-to-get furs and other fabrics through less than legal channels this year. There’s been a lot of supply chain issues if you haven’t been paying attention to the news,” he said, defending himself, which was going to be a wasted effort in this room. “The police knew, but they turned a blind eye to it.”
“Money tends to shut people’s eyes,” Gray remarked, then made a get-on-with-it motion, directing Henry to keep talking.
“Well, the police no longer wanted my money. They wanted my help. And they promised me I’d avoid charges and they’d permanently look the other way if I agreed to do one thing.”
No . Ella squeezed her eyes closed, knowing what was coming. And she wasn’t sure if her heart could take the news. She’d been so excited when this icon of the fashion world had sought her out and said he loved her designs, offered her a chance to work with Rochella. But it was all fake. My God, she felt like a fool. How could she have ever truly believed a billionaire would stumble upon her Instagram account with only fifty-nine followers? “There are no Southern gems. No retirement-birthday party for your mom in June. It was all fake,” she whispered, tears choking her up now.
“The retirement and party are real, but no, there are no, um, gems.” Henry’s words had her opening her eyes, her heart breaking. “I was instructed to help them draw a woman to Paris. A woman whose interest was fashion. And well, that’s why they picked me. They seemed to already know so much about you, I—I don’t know.” He looked at Ella, and there was a hint of apology in his eyes, but she refused to accept any sorrys from him if he were to offer. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” Jesse spoke up this time, and unlike Carter’s tone, Jesse’s was cutting. Knife-across-the-throat cutting. And she almost closed her eyes again at the memory of him doing exactly that.
“What was the plan?” Carter holstered his weapon, but Gray and Jesse kept hold of their rifles at the ready.
“They said I had to come up with a believable way to get you to Paris the first week of the new year,” he revealed. “The wedding was a surprise.” He cleared his throat again. “For the American too, from the way he reacted when I told him.”
“The American?” Jesse lowered his hand from Ella and took a step forward, slowly leaving her side. The rational part of her brain said it was okay, but her heart . . . it squeezed a bit as he did so. “The guy happen to resemble Harrison Ford?”
Wait, what?
“Yes, I suppose you could say that,” Henry answered. “He didn’t share his name, but he was accompanied by French Intelligence in our first meeting, and then he spoke to me on the phone a few times after that.”
The way Carter looked over at Jesse had Ella’s stomach knotting for the hundredth time that day. Impending doom? Apocalyptic-kind?
“Your MI6 friend left out that detail,” Gray said. “She didn’t tell us they’re why we’re in Paris to begin with.”
Carter looked away from Gray as if he wasn’t ready to address that problem. “When did they tell you the second part of their plan?”
“At what point did they let you know Ella would be coming to your house as bait?” Jesse asked this time, and she saw the transformation happen, even with his profile to her. The man who’d comforted her moments ago was prepared to kill Henry right now.
And based on the slope of Henry’s shoulders, he realized Jesse was now the major threat in the room. She was Jesse’s “wife,” after all.
“Late this—this morning, I swear. I had no clue about this when I went to Alabama,” Henry answered in a breathy voice. “Officers showed up at my estate and told me they’d be calling me later in the day to pick up Ella and two others. Then they sent my security team home for the day.”
“The guards that were here before the property was breached, were they actually French operatives?” Gray asked.
Henry nodded. “They said if their plan worked, then armed men would show up at some point after Ella was at my home. And they’d stick to the woods out back and keep an eye on the property in case you all needed an assist once you showed up.”
“So, they waited for your home to be breached before releasing us,” Gray summarized the situation. “That’s why we were being held so close to your property. How fucking kind of them to make such arrangements.”
“I’m assuming they didn’t tell you their actual plan?” Carter probed a moment later.
“No, they only told me they were after someone dangerous, and well, they didn’t think he would personally come tonight, but they’re hoping to somehow catch him. I, um, don’t know. They were vague.”
“Of course they were,” Gray said under his breath, and his attention moved toward Sydney, who’d reentered the study from the safe room.
“The DGSE will follow us when we leave here, then.” Carter turned toward Gray. “They’ll keep tracking us in hopes The Chechen will come after us himself now that he knows we’re really in Paris.”
“What does he want with us? This, um, Chechen?” Ella softly asked, still trying to wrap her head around the fact one of her fashion idols had used her like bait to save his own ass.
Carter looked at Ella with regret. “It’s me he wants.”
Ella set the heel of her hand to her forehead and massaged, her head hurting from trying to understand it all. “Let me get this straight. Henry helped get me here, and the agencies only wanted me here because then Jesse would come. And if Jesse came, then Carter would too. And if Carter’s here, then this Chechen will eventually come because he wants Carter?” What-the-what?
The fact Carter nodded meant he’d followed her rambling, and it was on point.
“We really need to go,” Gray insisted, tipping his head toward the door.
“I just need a minute alone with him first before we do.” Jesse let the sling catch his rifle, then bent over Henry, fisted the lapels of his suit jacket, and jerked the man to his feet.
She knew Jesse’s “reined-in control” was too good to be true. Henry had used Ella, placed her in danger, and that was something a man like Jesse wouldn’t be able to forgive and forget.
“He’s not worth it.” But the question was, could she calm Jesse down? Would he listen to her?
“Just one minute,” Carter surprised her by saying while twirling his finger like a helo blade to signal to the guys to head out.
“Take her out of the room,” Jesse said without looking back at Ella. “Griffin, please,” he urged, never losing his focus from his target. From the man he was about to destroy. Or . . . kill?
At the feel of Griffin’s hand on her arm, Ella yanked herself free of his touch. “No,” she rejected, the stubborn fight in her replacing her fear.
Jesse kept his grip on Henry, who seemed smart enough to realize he shouldn’t resist or try to fight back at the moment. His blue eyes caught Ella’s, and he tipped his head, his mouth drawing into a hard, firm line.
Ella drew her hands to her hips and did her best to stand her ground. “If you want that minute with him,” she began, “then you’re going to have to take it while I watch you.”