Winter's Magic (The Order Book 1)

by H. M. Clarke

  Kaitlyn began to walk ahead of him.

  “Gisborne here.”

  Richard listened as they walked to the front entrance.

  “What?”

  Kaitlyn felt a hand on her arm, stopping her in her tracks. She looked back to see Richard’s bright blue eyes burning into her as he continued to listen to whoever was on the other end of the line.

  “Wheeler, she’s here. Here with me.”

  Abruptly Richard pulled the phone away from his ear as David loudly let loose with a string of profanities that even Kaitlyn could hear.

  When the phone fell quiet Richard placed it back to his ear. A smile began to form as he listened.

  “I can’t bring her back to the office, we’re with the AFP and about to talk to Summerby.”

  This time Richard flicked his phone off before David had time to reply. Kaitlyn could see the satisfaction on Richard’s face at being able to deny David. Kaitlyn guessed that his talk with The Old Man about getting George back on his team did not go the way he had hoped. But whatever satisfaction he had quickly disappeared when he focused his attention back on Kaitlyn.

  “You should have told me, Kaitlyn. You should have told me that Remy and Cassandra had specifically targeted you.”

  Richard’s grip was still tight on her elbow; Kaitlyn resisted the impulse to twist herself out of it.

  “Kaitlyn, they’re dangerous.”

  “So David told me.” Kaitlyn glared back into those burning blue eyes. “But I am not going to sit around and wait for something that might or might not happen to me.”

  The anger in those eyes began to fade.

  “You have no Talent Kaitlyn.” Richard left the implications of that unsaid. But Kaitlyn felt the bitterness in the pit of her stomach begin to rise.

  “No. I have no ‘Talent’.” If I did, the men I’m attracted to might show a bit of romantic interest in me instead of the boring paternal kind. “But I can still defend myself.” Kaitlyn yanked her arm from Richard’s grip and began to rub it.

  God, that stings.

  “I’m going in to speak to Phil. I found out that the AFP might have some information that could be useful to this case.” Richard stared at her, saying nothing. “You did tell David that we were going to speak with Phil. If you come with me now, you won’t be caught in a lie.”

  Richard’s face suddenly lit with a grin. “That’s very true. I have a reputation to maintain.”

  “No ranting about how I’m being a damned idiot? And that I should think about my own safety yadda yadda yadda?”

  Richard shook his head. “You are in charge of your own decisions, Kaitlyn. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of just how dangerous this situation could get.”

  “I’m very much aware.” Kaitlyn brushed a hand over the gauze pad taped to her temple. It did not throb as much now that her mind was focused elsewhere, and she hardly felt the bruises that were surely breaking out over the rest of her body.

  “Yes. Yes, you are.” As Richard spoke, his hand reached out and tucked her loose hair back behind her ear, keeping it away from the bandage. As his fingers brushed her skin Kaitlyn felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest. She jumped.

  “Sorry, did I spark you?” Richard jerked his hand away and his face collapsed in concern. Kaitlyn could not help but smile at him.

  “No.” She could still feel the touch of his fingers on her ear. She looked into his eyes again.

  This is not the cold, forbidding Richard I’ve seen in the office. This is not the Richard she had heard George describe. This Richard actually seemed human.

  Kaitlyn shook her head, smiling.

  “We’d better get off the street,” she said, trying to distract herself from where her thoughts were leading to.

  CHAPTER

  ELEVEN

  ◆◆◆

  Phil Summerby was on the phone when Kaitlyn and Richard stepped into his office. He waved them into waiting seats while he grunted responses into the handset. Phil did not look surprised to see them.

  “Wheeler is on the phone,” Richard murmured to Kaitlyn as they sat down. “I can hear his whining from here.”

  “David does not whine,” Kaitlyn snapped back. She did not like to hear her best friend criticized. She was the only one who was able to do that. “He’s just worried.”

  Richard smiled but said nothing as he relaxed back into his chair. Kaitlyn watched as the friendly Richard who had walked with her into the building disappeared and was replaced by the familiar grim and cold persona.

  Phil suddenly leaned forward, his face creased in anger. “Don’t push me, Wheeler.” A pause. “She’s here with me now, but I will not keep her here against her will.” Another pause. “I will try to reason with her Wheeler, but you know Kaitlyn better than I do.” Phil then hung up the phone.

  Phil shot up from his desk and in the blink of an eye was around next to Kaitlyn in a fiery fury worse than any she had witnessed from David.

  “What in hell do you think you are doing, Kaitlyn?”

  She was now beginning to feel a little like a punching bag. First there were those two maniac women, then Daf and Richard, and now Phil. This was getting annoying.

  “You go traipsing about the Central Business District when you have been marked by two known killers. I taught you better than that.”

  “You also taught me to never hide away and to chase a lead to the very end, Phil. I never saw you back down when threatened. Why should I?”

  Kaitlyn rose from her chair as she spoke and stood nose to chin with Phil. She had never felt so angry in her life. Phil was the one person Kaitlyn thought would see things her way.

  Phil stared at her, studying her. He then gave her a small nod and relaxed. “You shouldn’t. But I had to be sure you knew exactly what the stakes are.”

  “I know.” Kaitlyn gave Richard a quick ‘How many more times today am I going to hear this’ glance before she relaxed and sank back into her chair. She knew Phil would never let her down.

  Phil’s eyes moved to study Richard. “Nice to see you, Richard.”

  Richard gave Phil a brief salute. “And you.”

  “What brings you here with Kaitlyn?”

  Kaitlyn could hear the unspoken: You have nothing to do with Wheeler’s new team behind his words.

  “Kate needed someone to come with her, so I came.”

  “You’ve got Wheeler pissed. I’d watch it when you show your nose in the office next.”

  Both men smiled at each other, and Kaitlyn had the distinct feeling that this type of banter was a common occurrence between them. Looking shrewdly at Phil, she made a mental note to quiz him about it at a better time. But now she had some more important questions that she hoped Phil could supply the answers to.

  “Look, Phil,” Kaitlyn said to get his attention. “David is trying to keep me out of whatever is going on. I also think The Old Man knows something more about this situation and he is not willing to tell anyone. No one is letting me make my own decisions about what I want to do. Instead, I’m set aside to watch hours of security footage while your brother is assigned to watch over me.”

  “He didn’t do a very good job of that, did he?” Phil angrily crossed his arms and glared down at Kaitlyn.

  “I just need you to answer some questions for me Phil.”

  “You want to know what information I gave to David this morning.”

  Kaitlyn nodded.

  “It wasn’t anything much, just the locations of several buildings and commercial warehouses that The Sharda have either rented or acquired into their ownership in the last six months. And also that LeBruye has not come to Adelaide to assist the Sharda in whatever they are planning. In fact, it looks as if the Sharda are scared shitless of him. I felt certain that they would have sent their assassins after him. I find it interesting that they chose you instead.”

  Kaitlyn blinked. “They used me to deliver a message.”

  “And Wheeler told me who the two message beare
rs were. They’re dangerous, Kate.”

  “One of them found out that even those without Talent could bite.” Why does everyone assume she cannot take care of herself?

  Phil raised an eyebrow and Kaitlyn heard Richard move forward in his chair, now suddenly attentive.

  “I shot the blonde after she took a shot at me. I hit her in the shoulder.”

  Richard suddenly shot up from his chair, his face was completely unreadable. If she did not know better Kaitlyn would have thought he was worried about her.

  “You shot Remy? What are you thinking walking about in the open by yourself? You know that woman won’t rest now until you are dead. I thought Wheeler was overreacting, but now I don’t think he was reacting enough.”

  “Calm down.” Phil had his hands up as if they could blanket Richard’s rage.

  “I wish everyone would stop treating me like I’m fragile and might break with the slightest breeze. I’m now an active agent, the same as you Richard, and The Old Man wouldn’t have authorized my new status unless he thought me capable of standing on my own.”

  “No one is saying you’re fragile, Kate. It’s just that it’s your first day and you’ve been thrown right in at the deep end.”

  She opened her mouth for a retort, but could think of nothing to say. Damn it. Kaitlyn shut her mouth and looked away.

  “Kate, stop acting like a child. You were better than this when you worked with me.”

  Kaitlyn had the grace to look ashamed.

  “I think a cup of coffee will do us all a world of good. I’m in the mood for some caffeine and I’ve got hot chocolate for you, Kate,” Phil added before Kaitlyn could object.

  Phil left to get their drinks and Kaitlyn noted that Phil did not ask Richard what his hot drink preference was. She looked at Richard as the hairs on the backs of her arms began to rise. He was still angry and Kaitlyn had no idea of what to say that would mollify him, so she just let him stew in silence. She had done nothing wrong. After all, if it had been John or even Mark in this position, they would not have been set aside from the case. They would have been involved.

  When Phil returned with his fingers entwined around the handles of three mugs Richard’s temper had calmed, the prickle had gone from the air. Kaitlyn had to restrain the urge to rub at her arms to rid them of the itchiness.

  Phil held out two of the mugs and Kaitlyn and Richard quickly took them. He then sat back in his chair and took a long drink from his own mug.

  “God. I needed that,” Phil said as he set his mug down on the coaster on his desk.

  “I always said you should have coffee drip fed into your system, Phil.” Kaitlyn took a tentative sip of her chocolate. Phil always made it too sweet. A good hot chocolate should never need sugar.

  Her lips twitched in surprise. It actually tasted good.

  “Just like Coca Cola should be injected into yours.”

  “Touché.” Kaitlyn replied before taking another sip from her drink.

  “Do you know why LeBruye is here? If he’s not here for The Sharda, then for what?” Richard cut straight to the point not letting anyone forget, not even for a moment, that everything was not right in the world.

  “The tracking of Restricted Practitioners is more your mandate, Richard. We have enough trouble managing the Straights.”

  The corner of Richard’s mouth twitched. “Considering that we did not know that this man was still alive until recently…” Richard left the thought hanging.

  “And the RPU was hoping that the AFP might use its local contacts to help fill in the blanks. Richard, what information we have has been passed on to Rothe and Wheeler. And Rothe already knew that LeBruye was not here to help The Sharda.” Phil picked up his mug and took another sip of this coffee. He then turned his gaze on Kaitlyn.

  “If you really want my advice. I suggest you go and talk to Rothe. He seems to know a hell of a lot more about this situation than he is letting on.”

  Kaitlyn felt all the blood quickly drain from her face. “See The Old Man?” A bark of laughter made her look at Richard.

  “You’re not the slightest bit worried at having The Sharda’s best assassin on your tail, but the thought of actually meeting The Old Man scares you. Oh, that’s priceless.”

  “Thanks for the vote of support, Richard,” Kaitlyn said a little defensively. “I’m glad I could give you some enjoyment.”

  Richard ignored her comment. “Phil is right. We should go and see The Old Man, he knew LeBruye when they were stationed in Norway.”

  “We?” Kaitlyn arched an eyebrow in surprise.

  “We.” Richard firmly repeated. “You are not going anywhere on your own.” Richard again sat back in his chair. “Plus my car is in the Public car park behind this building, which you will need if we’re going to see The Old Man.”

  “I will issue you both some body armor and some extra firepower. Knowing your luck, Kate, you’ll need it.”

  CHAPTER

  TWELVE

  ◆◆◆

  “You own a Merc?”

  Kaitlyn tossed the body armor into the back as she slid into the passenger seat.

  “You’re supposed to wear that.” Richard glared at the offending object as he buckled his seat belt.

  “I’m supposed to do a lot of things. But I don’t.”

  “I’ve realized that.”

  Richard started the car and backed out of his parking spot and then began the long spiral down towards the car park exit.

  “You haven’t answered my question.”

  “That I own a Mercedes Benz? Why should I answer when it is obvious that I do?”

  “I’m just surprised. I would never have pegged you to be a Mercedes man.”

  “What did you think I drove?”

  “I thought you more a BMW or even a Holden type of man.”

  Richard let out a bark of laughter. “I suppose I should be glad that you didn’t think me a paranoid Volvo driver,” he said with a grin.

  Kaitlyn did not answer; instead she stared out of the passenger window as the car pulled out of the car park and turned right down Waymouth Street. Chris drove a Volvo.

  As Richard moved smoothly through the lanes along West Terrace, Kaitlyn began to feel anxious. She had never met The Old Man face to face, but all the horror stories she had heard around the office about Rothe came crowding around her, making Kaitlyn very much doubt that she was doing the right thing in going to see him.

  “Ishmael isn’t as bad as people make him out to be. There’s nothing to worry about.”

  Kaitlyn glanced across at Richard. “That’s easy for you to say. You and he are friends.”

  “But being a friend does not give you any special privileges.” Richard made a grimace. “As what you heard this morning should have proved to you.”

  “I’m sorry about that, Jenny, and I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

  “You weren’t eavesdropping. I think most of the office would have heard it.” Richard sighed.

  “But my reaction was justified. I’d just had my team gutted and my best man taken, and then I find out that you were activated and placed into Wheeler’s team instead of mine-”

  “David asked for me.” Kaitlyn could not help being defensive. David is her best friend.

  “It shouldn’t mean that I end up with virtually no team.”

  Richard’s words held a restrained anger, and Kaitlyn thought she could see the ends of her hair rise with static. This was a side of office politics that she was not comfortable with. Kaitlyn looked back out of the passenger window.

  After a moment, Richard’s Mercedes was zooming down ANZAC Highway.

  “Look. I didn’t mean to snap like that,” Richard said as he steered the Mercedes into the center lane. “I’m not angry at you.”

  “You shouldn’t be angry at David either.”

  Now it was Richard’s turn to say nothing, but Kaitlyn noticed that the electric feel had gone from the air. The silence in the car began to work at her. She ha
d never been very good at staying quiet. The office and the boss were not topics to talk about, so that left Kaitlyn only one other logical topic.

  “What do you know about Remy and Cassandra?”

  Richard grimaced. “Cassandra is unemotional. She’ll complete her orders to the last letter and then leave it at that. To her it is all business. Remy is a different matter. I know enough about her to realize that you will not be safe until Remy is either restrained or killed. She is emotional and truly believes in the idiom an ‘eye for an eye’”

  “She won’t be happy until I’m dead?”

  “Yes.”

  Richard’s voice gave little away, but Kaitlyn caught the smallest glimpse of emotion flitter across his face. The so-called ‘Man of Stone’ was worried. It did not reassure her.

  “If she’s truly that dangerous, then why haven’t you turned this car around and have me locked back in the office again?”

  “Because Ishmael’s house is the safest place in Adelaide to keep you at the moment.”

  “I will not be left out of this.”

  He met her gaze and raised an eyebrow. “So I gathered. But we’ll be safe while we try to work out what to do next.” Richard returned his eyes to the road. “Also, once the office knows you are safe, then they can return to the work that needs to be done.”

  Kaitlyn could not help but smile at the relief she felt. Phil and Richard were willing to help her. All she had to do now was convince The Old Man to give up any information that he knows could be of help to them.

  Richard flipped his indicator on and moved into the left lane, readying for the turnoff onto Brighton Road when a car flew out of a side street and arrowed straight towards them. She barely had time to scream a warning before the car clipped into their rear, making the Mercedes jack knife across the highway.

  Traffic screamed to a halt around them and Kaitlyn clutched desperately at the dashboard even though she wore a seatbelt. The car was now facing back the way they had come. Richard immediately shoved his foot hard on the accelerator and the Mercedes leapt forward past the car that hit them before mounting the central island and crossing over to the city bound lane.