Chapter 21
21
Finn lay on the bed with Elise in his arms, her even breathing telling him she was asleep. The sun had been high overhead when they’d all started to crash, the adrenaline and coffee wearing off until they’d retreated to their rooms to try and sleep.
Finn had closed the curtains against the afternoon light and pulled Elise into his arms in bed. She’d fallen asleep almost instantly, but he hadn’t been so lucky.
Now weak rays of evening light leaked in through the curtains, the suite beyond the bedroom utterly silent. He hoped it meant Ronan and Julia had gotten to sleep too.
The scene at the gala played through his mind for the thousandth time. He tried to rewind it, scanning the event from the beginning, looking for Aldrich Cromwell, for something he might have missed when he hadn’t known what to look for.
Sometimes he thought he remembered seeing Cromwell’s security detail, but when he tried to focus his memory on them, they blurred together with the rest of the tuxedoed men at the event.
He suppressed a sigh of frustration, not wanting to wake Elise. He’d thought she might have a panic attack after what happened at the museum, but she hadn’t been as shaken as he expected.
She didn’t give herself enough credit. She might still get scared when she got lost or was in an unfamiliar situation alone, but when it counted, when keeping herself safe depended on thinking clearly, she’d more than risen to the occasion.
He wanted to talk to her about their future, needed to ask the question that had been lurking at the back of his mind for weeks.
Will you come with me?
The thought scared the hell out of him. Not because he wasn’t sure he wanted her with him, but because he wasn’t sure she wanted to go, wasn’t sure she was willing to say goodbye to the life she’d built in Boston.
And because he wasn’t sure his heart could take it if she said no.
The uncertainty was killing him, but when was he supposed to bring it up? After he’d killed a man? While they were dodging bullets at the Boxgrove gala?
The fight they’d had in the park hadn’t been right either. He didn’t want her to think he was asking her to come with him under pressure. She had to know that he wanted her with him, that he didn’t want to live without her.
A knock sounded from the bedroom door and Elise startled awake.
Finn smoothed her hair. “Yeah?” he called out.
Ronan opened the door and a column of light leaked into the shadowed room. “Clay’s on the line.”
“Be right there.”
Elise scooted off the bed. “That was fast.”
“It’s probably preliminary,” Finn said. It would take awhile to dig deep, but no time at all to give them the basics on Aldrich Cromwell.
“Better than nothing,” Elise said.
Ronan and Julia were already set up at the table by the windows, Julia’s laptop open to an image of Clay. He looked even younger onscreen, like a teenager about to talk to his bros about their latest video game exploits.
Sometimes Finn really couldn’t believe Clay was a hacking wunderkind.
“Hey, Clay,” Finn said, placing himself in view of the camera.
“Can’t even go to London without getting yourself shot up huh?” Clay joked.
Finn forced a smile. He hoped Clay wasn’t going to draw this one out. “We managed to avoid getting shot up, thanks for asking.”
“What do you have?” Ronan asked.
“The easy stuff,” Clay said. “I sent it to the encrypted account, but the short version is that Aldrich Cromwell is an old-money recluse with an interest in prehistoric history.”
“What kind of interest?” Finn asked.
“Well, interest might be putting it too mildly,” Clay said. “Apparently, the man is obsessed. He donates to organizations like Boxgrove, but he also funds private expeditions where they seem to be promising.”
“Interesting,” Ronan said.
“Know what else is interesting?” Clay asked, the gleam in his eyes visible on the screen.
“No, but I hope you plan to tell us,” Ronan said.
“Cromwell is on the Omni board of directors.”
Ronan shook his head. “Why am I not surprised?”
Back when they’d been tailing Isaac Fleming in Scotland, Clay had traced the private jet Fleming was using to the Omni Group, which was why Elise had tried to gain access to her former boss’ computer.
“That’s not all,” Clay said. “Sit tight. I’m sending you a satellite image.”
They waited while he tapped a few keys. A moment later a satellite image filled Julia’s screen. A house, a big one, surrounded by open fields bordered by thick woods.
“What are we looking at?” Elise asked.
The image got tighter as Clay zoomed in, the house not a house at all, but a real-life castle, something that looked like it had been ripped from a medieval history book.
Finn watched as a long road came into view, leading to a circular drive with a fountain. Clay zoomed in on the fountain, an enormous sculpture at its center. Finn had to remind himself to breathe as the sculpture became clearer: a man wearing the helmet of a Trojan soldier, kneeling on one knee, an arrow piercing his ankle.
“Achilles,” Finn said, his eyes glued to the image. He had a flash of Eudorus, the tattoo on his arm smeared with his own blood.
“Want to know the name of this place?” Clay asked.
“I really, really do,” Finn said quietly.
“It’s on the Isle of Skye, and it’s been in the Cromwell family for generations,” Clay said. “It’s called Blackridge. Castle Blackridge.”
“Fucking-A,” Ronan muttered. “It’s him. Aldrich Cromwell is Achilles.”
Elation surged through Finn’s body. The elation of discovery, of possibility.
Of completion.
Aldrich Cromwell was the man who’d ordered the murder of Fedir and Iryna — and who knew how many others.
He had to be.
“There is one, uh, problem,” Clay said, suddenly nervous.
“What’s that?” Ronan asked.
“Cromwell is protected.”
“We know,” Finn said. “We saw his detail at the museum last night.”
“Not that kind of protected,” Clay said. “I mean, yeah, that kind of protected. His security team is large and well trained actually, a mix of former military and foot soldiers from organized crime. But also…”
Ronan sighed. It had been a long night, a long day. “For fuck’s sake, Clay. Just say it.”
“He’s got ties to the Syndicate,” Clay said. “He’s been protected by them for years.”