In the Shadow of Malice Book 3

by Nancy C. Weeks

  The two men behind the sofa rushed Adam. He pivoted and shot one of them in the right leg, while flipping his weapon out of his hands into the air. His foot landed squarely in the man’s lower groin area. He dodged the other man’s swing, sending a lightning blow into the guy’s nose, bone to bone. The man lost his footing, leaving him wide open for a hard gut punch.

  Calista’s mind ran in slow motion, detached from the scene until Anna jerked. One minute, the child was leaning against Calista with her head buried into her side, and the next, she dashed around the man guarding the hallway. Another blast from Ludis’s weapon sent shockwaves through Calista, rattling her bones. The white fabric of Emil’s shirt began to turn red. His eyes widened in horror and he clutched his abdomen just below his rib cage.

  God, Anna!

  Calista turned toward the exit. With her heart pounding violently against her chest, she slammed her shoulder into the man as they reached the doorway simultaneously. She wasn’t strong enough to knock him down, but he did lose his footing and stagger backwards. That slight hit gave Calista the leverage to race after Anna.

  At the stairwell landing, since there was no sign of Anna on the staircase or ground floor, Calista kept moving. A second and third gun went off behind her until the sitting room began to sound like a shooting range. She gasped for air and peered down the wing directly beyond the stairs. Anna wasn’t there. Pivoting, she raced to the entrance of the third wing. A quick glance over her shoulder gave her some relief. The hallway remained deserted. The guard hadn’t followed her.

  She caught sight of Anna just as she entered the third room on the right. A loud crash sounded from Emil’s sitting room followed by more rapid gunfire. Calista clamped her lips tightly together to keep from screaming out. She darted through the doorframe behind Anna.

  The room, once an elegant ballroom, now housed an odd collection of deserted furniture. A long bar took up most of the back wall. She spotted Anna immediately as the child struggled to open two cabinet doors under the bar.

  “Anna, come. We can’t stay in here. We’ll be trapped if anyone comes through the door,” Calista said. She reached for Anna’s hand, but the little girl jerked free and shook her head. Anna continued to yank on the knob of the left door, but it didn’t budge.

  “What are you doing?” Calista bent and glanced under the bar.

  Anna’s lips moved and a rasping sound came from her throat. She slammed a frustrated palm against the door and peered at Calista. Her eyes filled with tears and a soft sound escaped her lips.

  “Anna, try again. Talk to me.”

  “Help me, please.”

  Calista dropped to her knees. “Oh my, you have the sweetest voice. Do you want the cabinet opened?”

  Anna nodded.

  “Okay. I don’t know why you want to get in here so badly, but it must be important. Move over and let me at it.”

  A slight smile appeared on the child’s face. Calista took both cabinet knobs in her hands and gave a hard jerk. The doors swung open, almost knocking Calista on her butt. The doors hid a very narrow staircase that disappeared into blackness.

  “Yeah…no. We don’t want to go down there.”

  Anna let go of a sweet giggle. “It’s safe.”

  Calista could only gape at the four-year-old. “How do you know? How did you even know this was here?”

  Anna swallowed and tried to speak, but the sound stuck in her throat.

  “Try again.”

  “She said this was the way out.”

  “Who is she?”

  “My friend, Annija.”

  This time it was Calista’s eyes that filled. “Dear God, how is this happening?”

  She pulled Anna into her arms and held her. If Adam’s mother was helping her granddaughter, who in the hell was she to argue?

  “Does Annija know where there is a flashlight?”

  Anna laughed again and shook her head. The wooden stairwell was dark, like hellish dark. At best, the steps led to a cellar. Great, she could use a good, stiff drink.

  “Okay, you win. I’ll go first, but I want you to hold on to my belt loop very tightly. Can you do that?”

  “Yes.” Anna nodded, a smile beaming on her face.

  Her voice sounded so wonderful to Calista that she couldn’t help smiling. She opened the cabinets wide and took one step, then another. Placing both hands against the walls on either side of the stairway, she rocked gently back and forth, but the stairs remained steady. At least she and Anna wouldn’t fall to their deaths into the dark pit.

  Anna’s small hands clutched onto Calista’s belt.

  “We’ll take two more steps, but then we have to close the cabinet doors. It’s going to be much darker.” She turned and glanced at Anna. “Are you okay with that?”

  Anna peered into the darkness. It took her a moment, but she nodded.

  Calista took the steps slowly, then reached over Anna’s head to pull the cabinet doors shut. The small knob came off in her hands. She tried to grab the edge of the wood, but she couldn’t get the right side of door to latch. She heard angry voices in the wing, sending a chill down her spine. There was no time to take care of details.

  “Hang on tight, Anna. Just stay close to me,” she whispered, and they quickly began to work their way to the bottom. The stairwell opened into a room, but the light from above gave only a hint of its features. The only thing Calista could tell was the walls were carved from stone and had a circular slant.

  Anna had a death grip on her belt. Calista reached back and placed a hand on her shoulder. She wasn’t feeling a bit brave, but the child needed her to be. She took one step into the cellar and paused.

  “Crap. I forgot all about my phone.” Calista dug into her pocket.

  She raised the phone above her head and pressed the flashlight. The chamber filled with a hint of blue light. It wasn’t much, but at least she could see where she was going.

  Across the chamber, two tunnels came out of the back wall. Calista glanced down at Anna. “Which way?”

  The child shrugged, tilted her head to the side, and studied the two tunnels. Then she pointed to the one closest to them.

  Calista took three steps into the dark tunnel then staggered backward. The invisible webbing that extended the length of the opening now covered her from head to toe.

  “Oh, I hate spider webs,” she yelped, as she brushed the sticky threads from her hair, face, and body. She wiped a hand down her bare arms. “If the web was that huge, where’s the spider?”

  “Yuck.”

  “I really, really hate spiders,” she hissed. “Now I’m going to feel those creepy-crawly little monsters all over me.”

  Anna let out a giggle. The innocent sound, even in her spider-hating moment, eased the tension from Calista’s shoulders.

  With the cell phone light on, she could see only a couple of feet in front of her. The passage narrowed slightly, and the chill in the musky air gave her goose bumps. She kept her fingertips on the wall, despite her repulsion at what she might find there.

  The short tunnel led into another room that wasn’t quite as dark as the first chamber. Rows of old wine racks filled the space. A few still contained bottles of forgotten wine, covered completely in dust and spider webs. The air was thick with dust, and it chilled Calista to the bone. Anna let out a loud sneeze. Moving into the room, she was still holding onto Calista’s belt loop.

  “Where to?”

  Anna tried to speak, but when the words wouldn’t come, she pointed to a door at the opposite end of the room. Calista began to cross the room. An instant later, Anna froze, pulling on Calista’s waist.

  “What’s wrong, Anna?”

  She pointed to her foot.

  Calista stared down at the floor. “Where is your shoe?”

  Anna shrugged and glanced toward the tunnel.

  Shining the cell phone light back the way they’d come, she could just see the tip of a sneaker peeking out in the dark. “Wait right here. I’m going ba
ck into the tunnel for your shoe.”

  Anna seemed okay until Calista entered the tunnel. She let out a loud gasp and choked out, “He’s coming!”

  Calista scooted a couple more inches into the tunnel, grabbed the shoe, and hurried to Anna. She lifted her up and dashed across the room to the door.

  “No, hide,” Anna said, as she struggled out of Calista’s arms.

  Calista reached for Anna’s hand and edged down the side of the wall. She shut off her phone but kept her fingers clenched around the base in the now darkened room. At the far wall, they eased around a stack of discarded, broken wine crates. The last rack in the row sat at a slight angle, leaving just enough room for Calista to ease Anna into a space against the cool stone wall and then crouch down next to her.

  Angry voices sounded close. Calista rose, but Anna grabbed her hand.

  “I’ll be right back, but I have to borrow your shoe.”

  Anna nodded and released her hand. Calista charged out of the row and heaved the shoe toward the large wooden door. It landed with a soft thump. Calista quickly settled down next to Anna. The scared child squirmed into Calista’s lap and hid her face in her chest.

  Placing a hand over Anna’s head, Calista drew her tightly against her, as loud, heavy footsteps echoed from the tunnel. Someone was heading right toward them, and she had nothing to protect Anna but her cell phone. Calista tried to slow her rapid breathing and whispered in Anna’s ear. “Are you still talking to your dad?”

  Anna shook her head no.

  Calista couldn’t see the men who entered the room, but Ludis’s deep, gruff voice came out loud and pissed.

  “Search every inch of the fucking place.”

  A moment later, a beam of light shot down the row. Anna stared at Calista. With her finger to her lips, Calista mouthed, “Don’t move.”

  Staring through the tiny cracks in the backboard of the wine rack, Calista shuddered as a man holding a handgun in one hand and a high beam flashlight in the other paused in front of her. Fear gripped her heart and she reached out to her personal angel. Hanna, keep Anna safe.

  Anna soundlessly pressed her face into Calista’s shoulder while Calista held her breath. Just as he moved to shine the light in their direction, one of Ludis’s men shouted, “I found something.”

  The man eased away from the wall and headed back the way he came. Calista leaned her head against the cold stone. Anna shifted and glanced at her. The men were close, only a few feet away. Any sound would bring them back, and there would be no place to run.

  The noise from Ludis and his men lessened until there was only silence. Calista glanced at Anna.

  “Are they gone?”

  The child closed her eyes and breathed in. Time stilled as Calista waited. A hint of a smile formed at the corner of Anna’s lips and she opened her eyes.

  “He’s gone.”

  Calista set Anna down next to her and stood. She eased out from behind the rack and took one step into the row when the cellar door screeched open, spilling a dim light into the room. Slowly, she moved behind the wine rack. Anna’s breathing grew heavy. Even Calista’s arm wrapped around her had no effect.

  They both froze as Ludis strolled into view. He took two steps past them and looked toward the back wall. His flashlight ran from the top to the bottom of the rack. Then he positioned his light over the racks on the opposite side of the row. He turned toward them. Calista eased away from the hole and held her breath. She could feel Ludis’s glare piercing through her, sending a chill through her spine. After an eternity, he turned and made his way out of the row.

  “I know you are in here. Tell Blake all I want is the disk. I will leave you alone if he just hands it over.” She heard the door scrape open and close.

  Calista’s lungs burned. She exhaled. Rooted to her spot, she glanced at Anna. “Your dad? Is he okay?”

  “I don’t know.”

  The horrific image of Emil’s blood-stained shirt flickered in her head as the memory of the rapid gunfire roared between her ears. Adam had to be okay.

  “Let’s go find your father.”

  She left the hiding place and reached her hand down to Anna. Just as they moved from behind the rack, they heard pounding footsteps in the tunnel.

  “Shit,” Calista whispered and eased Anna between the rack and the wall again. Neither made a sound as their eyes bore into each other. Several beams of light flashed down the row and bounced off the back wall. Heavy footsteps headed right toward them. The light shone right into the hole, making Calista squint. A hand clamped down around Calista’s elbow and yanked her out from behind the rack. Her chest slammed hard into a man’s muscular chest.

  “Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” Adam’s deep voice cracked.

  Fifteen

  “Anna, come out from behind there.” Adam picked her up and gave her a fierce hug. Setting her down, he kept his arm around her, as he wrapped his other hand around Calista’s waist, lifting her so they were eye-to-eye. “God, Calista…”

  The rest of his words stuck in his throat. He didn’t know how to convey his fear, nor the overwhelming gratitude for the woman in his arms, so he did the only thing that made sense. He brought his lips down on hers quick and hard, and it left him wanting so much more. The dim light kept him from reading her expression, but she wasn’t struggling against him. Her hand clutched his neck and she molded her body to his. It was as if she were holding on to him for dear life. That had to be a good thing.

  “I heard the gunfire. I thought you...”

  Her breath hitched and she brought his mouth back to hers. Again, the kiss was too damn short.

  “I watched you shoulder-slam one of Ludis’s men with a semi-automatic and go after Anna.” As he held her against him with one arm, he brought the other up and cupped her face. “Thank you. That’s crazy brave of you, Calista Martin, but don’t do that again. My heart can’t take it.”

  Adam curled a hand around the nape of her neck and lowered his mouth to hers. It was meant to be just a kiss, but the moment their lips joined, something wild and feral coursed through his veins, making him forget for an instant all that surrounded him. He owed her everything.

  The instant Ludis broke free of Robert’s hold and went after Anna and Calista, something dark broke from deep inside Adam. He tore through Ludis’ men like they were paper dolls and dodged the bullets flying about the room.

  Anna wrapped her arms around his knee. He broke the kiss, but keeping his left arm around Calista, he picked up Anna with his right arm. He couldn’t prevent the tremor that sliced through him as he held them both to him.

  “How did you know where to find us?” Calista asked, her voice rough and husky.

  “Anna told me.”

  Robert joined them. “Are you two okay?”

  “We’re fine. Ludis and his men left through there,” Calista said, pointing to the old wooden door across the room.

  Robert placed a hand on his shoulder, then reached for Anna. “Come with me for a moment, sweetheart. Your dad needs a moment alone with Calista.”

  Adam kissed his daughter’s cheek, then handed her over to his friend. “Give me five,” he said, barely able to form words. “Don’t go upstairs without me.”

  “We’ll be in the first chamber. Take your time.”

  Robert wrapped his coat around Anna and headed down the row. Adam didn’t wait to pull Calista back into his arms. They clung to each other, both breathing hard.

  Several moments passed before Calista broke the silence. “We were both fine.”

  “I’m so damn sorry. You were never supposed to be part of any of this…I just needed to be with you once in a while…see you, be close to you, but…”

  “Don’t. Stop blaming yourself for things that are completely out of your control. Ludis left a message for you.”

  “He found you and let you go?”

  “He stood right here.” Calista pointed to the spot on the floor. “After what seemed like a lifetime, he t
urned and glared right at me through the crack in the wood, spoke, then just walked away.”

  “And his message?”

  “If you hand over the disk, he will leave us all alone. It’s all he wants.”

  The last words were muffled. Calista had buried her head into his chest. Adam drew her hard against him as she kept the tears at bay for his daughter.

  “I promise it’s over for you.”

  For the first time in a long time, he held a woman in his arms and didn’t immediately start calculating how he was going to walk away. There was so much depth underneath that sweet, girl-next-door persona she proudly wore, that he ached for just one chance to get to know the real Calista Martin.

  “No, it’s not over, Adam. Your uncle will never stop until he has what he wants, and you will never give in to him.”

  There was no greater truth. Whatever was on that disk, if he ever got his hands on it, he sure as hell would not be handing it over to his uncle.

  “What are you going to do?”

  One way or another, he was getting Calista and Anna out of his nightmare. “I have to find the disk and then take care of Ludis.”

  “By yourself?”

  “No, not this time. You were right. I need help. Jared and Noah will back me up. And Calista, I’ll come back for you and Anna.”

  Her eyebrow raised and her forehead wrinkled, as if judging whether he was sincere or merely trying to hoodwink her into staying out of the way again.

  “There is something you need to know before you leave.”

  “What?”

  “Anna is talking to your mother.”

  He didn’t think it was possible, but those six words jolted his heart. “What?”

  “I knew about this place because Anna led me here.” Calista eased around him and moved down the row to the center of the cellar. “Anna is speaking to me. Not long sentences, but a few words. When I asked her how she knew about the secret passage in the bar, she told me her friend Annija told her.”

  Adam ran both hands through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s …”

  “Impossible?” Calista raised her arms. “Look around you. How would I ever have found this place? What you have here, Adam, is a miracle.” Her voice grew soft, but it echoed against the stone walls. “You are not alone in any of this. I don’t think you have ever been alone. Your mother is trying to help you, and Anna is your connection to her.”