Chapter Seventeen
Palma
Mallorca, Spain
Through a narrow gap in the curtains, Caspian stood by the window, watching the quiet street two stories below.
The studio apartment he and Liesel had found refuge in was tucked inside a nondescript residential building.
With only a small LED night-light near the kitchenette offering illumination, it was mostly dark inside the apartment, but it was enough.
Caspian didn’t want to silhouette himself.
The apartment was located in a sleepy corner of Palma between rows of aging buildings with wrought-iron balconies.
It was the kind of street that didn’t see much foot traffic even during the day, and now that night had fallen, the neighborhood was practically deserted.
Across the street, a small family restaurant had gone dark thirty minutes ago.
Caspian had watched as the last employee had stacked the terrace chairs on the tables and rolled up the awning.
Samantha Ranger had booked the apartment through an offshore shell company run by the Strategic Support Unit.
The building had no front desk, no doorman, and access to its minuscule lobby required a key or a five-digit code.
There was one tiny elevator, but it was out of service.
Caspian had deadbolted the front door of the apartment the moment they’d walked in.
Apart from a two-story jump from the Juliet balcony, the apartment had no secondary exit.
Still, Caspian believed he and Liesel were under no immediate threat. They were safe. For now.
Behind Caspian, the room was quiet. Liesel sat slouched on a gray couch. Her body was heavy with fatigue, and she looked at him with hollow eyes.
He’d seen that look many times before, and more recently on Florence Aldrich when she’d realized her dad was dead. He knew the emotions Liesel was going through.
Loss. Shock. And heartbreak.
Caspian felt he needed to say something to break the silence.
“Ranger’s digging into it, you know? The Azimut yacht, Paul Hobb, Hearts United. All of it.”
Liesel shook her head.
“I’m not holding my breath,” she said. “Hearts United has been investigated before. Nothing ever sticks.”
“Maybe that’s because there’s nothing to stick,” he replied.
“My sister wouldn’t lie.”
“I’m not saying she did, but Hearts United? I mean . . . Everett Westcott is a highly respected philanthropist. He’s—”
“Did you ever meet him? In person?” Liesel interrupted.
“I haven’t, but my—”
“You haven’t? So, you’ll agree with me that it’s possible it’s all smoke and mirrors, right?”
Caspian didn’t think it was. “Sure. It could be, but what I was going to say is that, even though I’ve never met the guy, Nelson has.”
Nelson Anderson, Caspian’s brother, was an emergency room physician who had joined Doctors Without Borders more than a decade ago.
He was now the organization’s medical director in Kenya.
The fact that Nelson had met Westcott seemed to take Liesel by surprise, but only for a second. “So what?” she asked.
Clearly, Liesel wasn’t ready to let go just yet.
“Nelson spoke highly of Westcott. And as you know, my brother isn’t someone to throw around compliments if they aren’t warranted.”
“What did Westcott do to impress him so damn much?”
“Why don’t you ask him yourself at the end of next week?” Caspian said.
“Next week?”
“We’re all meeting at my parent’s place to celebrate my mom’s birthday, remember?”
“Of course,” Liesel said quickly, though it was obvious that, with everything going on, it had slipped her mind. “But why don’t you tell me now?”
“Hearts United financed Nelson’s new project in Kenya,” Caspian said. “Entirely.”
“Doesn’t mean he isn’t crooked,” Liesel said.
“Right. But I think you need to—”
“What?” she snapped back. “What do you think I need to do? Say it.”
Caspian paused, aware that he had to choose his next words carefully. But there was no point in sugarcoating them too much either.
“I think it’s possible the Sofie we saw tonight wasn’t the same woman you once knew. She let you believe she was dead, for God’s sake. Who does that to her sister?”
Liesel blinked at him. “What are you saying?”
“She disappeared for years, only to resurface in Kenya. She admitted to us she took out one of Dolores Araujo’s bodyguards.”
“Yes. To protect me!”
“I don’t disagree,” Caspian said gently. “There’s no doubt in my mind Sofie loved you very much. What I’m saying is that logistics officers aren’t trained to take out bodyguards. And there’s the fact that Sofie had access to intel about you very, very few people had.”
Though there wasn’t much light in the room, Caspian could see that Liesel’s eyes were brimming with tears.
“I know,” she whispered. “I . . . I just don’t know what to think anymore. I feel . . . lost . . . betrayed. And so damn stupid.”
Caspian crossed the room, sat next to her, and wrapped his arms around her. For a beat, she resisted, but then she melted into him, clutching his shirt.
“So, what now?” she asked moments later, her voice muffled against his chest.
“Now? Now we sleep. We’re safe here. At least for tonight.”
Liesel took a long breath, then said, “I need a hot shower first.”
Caspian watched her walk toward the bathroom. Once she had closed the door behind her, he returned to the window. He scanned the parked cars, looking for anything remotely suspicious, but none of them had moved since he’d arrived.
His phone chirped. It was Ranger.
“How’s Liesel?” she asked.
“Holding together,” Caspian said. “She’ll be fine.”
“We think we found the Azimut,” Ranger said.
Caspian cocked his head to one side, his curiosity piqued. “Where?”
“Anchored about a nautical mile south of Cabrera Island.”
Cabrera was a small rugged island that was part of a national park roughly twenty-five miles south of Palma.
It was known for its steep cliffs and crystal-clear coves.
The island was largely undeveloped and uninhabited, which made it the perfect spot to lie low or stash someone you didn’t want found.
But it was a popular boating destination, so the Azimut wouldn’t have gone unnoticed forever, but it had likely bought whoever was on board some time to deal with Hobb.
“Do you want us to go check it out?” Caspian asked.
“It’s not that I don’t want you to, but I can’t get you transportation until morning. Every charter operation in Mallorca is closed.”
“If Hobb’s still aboard—”
“Then time is of the essence,” Ranger said, finishing his thought.
“That’s why we’ve sent a discreet back-channel alert to the Policía Nacional.
We didn’t give them too many details, it would raise too many questions, but the message was urgent enough that I’m confident they’ll get eyes on the yacht shortly. ”
Caspian agreed it was the right move. “If Hobb’s alive, the local authorities are indeed his best shot,” he said.
“They are.”
“So . . . I guess you want us out of here?”
“I do. But I need a bit more time to make sure you and Liesel aren’t compromised,” Ranger said.
“So far, your pictures haven’t popped up anywhere, but that doesn’t mean the authorities haven’t circulated them internally.
Getting out of Mallorca on a commercial flight is too dangerous at the moment.
It would be a different story if I could get my hands on an air asset, but right now none are available. ”
“What do you want us to do?”
“Get some rest while we continue to monitor the situation. I’ll check in with you again in the morning.”
“Understood. What about Westcott?” Caspian asked before Ranger could end the call. “Did you find anything?”
“No, but what did you expect? We just started working on this. The man has powerful friends and a halo around him the size of a solar flare. If we poke too hard, too fast, we’ll draw attention.”
“We need to get our hands on Hobb. He knows something. Something that may have concerned Westcott,” he said.
“Careful, Caspian,” Ranger warned him. “Ask anyone in the street what they think of Westcott, and they’ll all tell you the same thing. Everett Westcott is a stand-up guy that put his money where his mouth is. Heck, I would have told you that, too, three hours ago.”
“Liesel’s sister was convinced otherwise.”
“Maybe. But the good that man has done is undeniable. Even you have to admit that,” Ranger said.
“Well, Hobb could clarify all of it. But someone got to him,” Caspian said.
“I’ll keep working back channels, of course. And if tonight’s operation near Cabrera Island bears fruit, I might get a shot at seeing the reports, but no promises.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“Then give me something better,” Ranger snapped. “Because if Sofie was right, and Everett Westcott isn’t the demigod people think he is, there could be trouble. You have no idea how much reach Westcott has.”
Well, I’m starting to, Caspian thought.
Behind him, Caspian heard the bathroom door open. Liesel stepped out, steam curling around her in the dim light. She wore a white towel wrapped snug around her.
“Did you hear what I said?” Ranger asked.
“Yeah,” Caspian said absently.
“Get some sleep. I’ll contact you tomorrow morning,” Ranger said, then ended the call.
Liesel crossed the room slowly. Her gaze was clearer now. Tired, yes, but steady. There was something raw about her posture, something vulnerable and unguarded, but also unmistakably strong. And it was intoxicating.
My God, she’s beautiful.
“Ranger?” Liesel asked.
He nodded.
“Do we need to leave, or do we have until tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.”
She dropped the towel and pressed her body to his.
“I need you right now,” she whispered, reaching for his belt.
Once they were both naked, she leaned into him, her forehead resting lightly against his chin.
For a moment neither of them moved. Exposed in every sense, Caspian felt his heart pounding in his chest. But this time, it wasn’t from the adrenaline but from the sheer weight of the emotions going through him.
Here he was, standing skin to skin with the woman he loved, having escaped death once again.
How many more times would they have to do that?
At some point, their luck would run out.
He felt a slight tremor ripple through Liesel’s body, and he lifted her in his arms, carrying her to the bed without a word.
Later, as he lay there with her beside him, her breath warm against his shoulder, Caspian couldn’t shake the feeling that death was closing in on them.
For once, he hadn’t been the instigator of what had happened.
This time, trouble had found him. But that didn’t bring him any comfort.
He knew the risks of the job. So did Liesel.
They had both accepted that long ago. But here, in Mallorca?
On what was supposed to be a break from it all?
Caspian closed his eyes. Will it ever stop?
Of course it wouldn’t. Not unless he made some drastic changes. And even then . . . would Ranger ever really let him go? Would she allow someone like him to walk away? With everything he knew, everything he’d done? He doubted it. They didn’t let operators like him fade into civilian life.
At least not without strings attached.
He thought of his parents, Elizabeth and Richard. Their love for each other had weathered time, and Caspian had always admired them for it. And now, not for the first time, he realized he truly wanted that too.
With Liesel.
Was that too much to ask? That was a question he didn’t have an answer to. And then his phone vibrated. It was Ranger.
“Yeah?”
“Two things. Number one, I just heard back from my team in the field. Florence is fine. But in an abundance of caution, someone will be keeping an eye on her until we know what’s going on.”
At last, some good news, he thought. “And number two?” he asked.
“You and Liesel need to leave the island. You have two hours to get ready.”
“Okay . . . what changed?” he asked.
“An air asset has become available, but I only have a short window to divert it to Palma. It’s presently in Madrid.
I’m having someone from the Madrid office prepare documents for you and Liesel.
I can have the plane at PMI’s private terminal in two hours, but it has a schedule to keep.
It’s on a priority flight to Algiers to pick up a high-value target.
The plane won’t stay on the ground for more than fifteen minutes. Understood?”
Caspian looked at Liesel, who was still sleeping soundly.
A high-value target. Well . . . that explains why a plane has suddenly become available.
“Understood,” Caspian said. “We’ll be there.”