Breaking: Fall or Break, Book 2

by Barbara Elsborg

  “Which is why I’m going through these files. Maybe you should mull over your last few jobs and try and figure out if anyone could have discovered your identity.”

  “I already have and I came up with nothing. Prior to the last job, the previous two were for different brokers. No problems, I wasn’t followed, I was paid on time, there were no repercussions.”

  “So you think it’s connected to the last one? How did whoever shot at you know who you were? Where you’d be?”

  “He had a photograph of me printed on a piece of paper. He could have tried to take me out before I made the hit but he waited until after.”

  “Who was your target?”

  Archer hesitated.

  “You might as well tell me.”

  “Farouk bin Abdullazin. Arms dealer.”

  Conrad sipped his coffee. “So the shooter wasn’t someone protecting him. Whoever controlled the guy who shot at you wanted Farouk dealt with, which is why they let the hit go ahead but maybe they didn’t want to risk it being connected with you or your broker or his client. Your broker could be behind it.”

  “Doesn’t say much for my skills. He thinks I’ll get caught so he makes sure I won’t talk? I don’t think that’s right. He knows me better than that. I am better than that.”

  “Or he’s worried you might speak out if you discover something else about the man, maybe a different reason they wanted him dead? What if he wasn’t an arms dealer but something else? A guy who wouldn’t sell his land for development, or he’d slept with the wrong woman or man.”

  Archer swallowed hard. Had Phoenix lied to him? The food arrived and he slipped Deefor the bacon.

  “Doesn’t have to be the broker, just someone who works for him,” Conrad said. “Or maybe it’s a rival of yours, a person who wanted the job and didn’t get it.”

  “I have no idea of the identity of any other operative.”

  “That doesn’t mean they don’t know you. The one you killed did.”

  Archer still wondered about that.

  “Why did you decide to stop?” Conrad asked.

  “I’d had enough, taken one too many risks. Started to think about what I was doing.”

  “Did anyone know you were thinking of stopping?”

  “No.”

  “You might not have written a resignation letter, but did you do something they might have found out about?”

  “A while ago I paid for several new IDs. I chose a city I’d never been to and put a car in a garage with money, clothes and a new phone. It was still there when I went for it.”

  “Tracker on the car?”

  “Not that I found.” But…if I didn’t find it?

  “What about in your bag? On your clothes?”

  “I’d have seen one. Even the smallest devices are as big as a fifty pence piece. If there had been one, it would have been on the car. But then how did they find out about the car? Although my identity was compromised after my name was in the paper. It was probably only a matter of time before they found me.” Archer took a deep breath and exhaled. “The guy I paid to create my ID gave my name up. I’ll have to change it again.”

  “Getting a dog might not have been the brightest move. By now they probably know you did that. Why did you? Was it really to warn you of intruders?”

  Archer pushed his half-eaten lasagna away. “Yes, but I wanted to see if I had…the capacity to take care of something. I wanted to know what it was like to have something that cared for me, was happy to see me, relied on me.”

  He stared across the table and Conrad met his gaze.

  “I’m broken,” Archer whispered. “I have been for a long while and I wish to hell I could put you somewhere safe where nothing could hurt you. While you’re with me you’re in danger, but for the time being at least, you’re in danger without me. Until I figure out who’s behind this, I’ve doomed you to my fate. I’ve only ever had one good friend and I…fucked that up. I don’t want the same to happen with you.”

  Conrad’s lips twitched into a small smile. “We’re friends then?”

  “The nearest I have. Apart from the dog.” Archer took out his wallet and put thirty pounds on the table. “Come on.”

  Conrad pushed himself up and put on his coat. When they were outside the restaurant, Archer let Deefor out and took Conrad’s bag from him. “I need you able to move as quickly as you can. We have to get out of the city.”

  Archer hailed a cab and they climbed inside. “Station, please,” he said to the driver.

  “Where—?” Conrad shut up when Archer gave his fingers a warning squeeze.

  Without turning and staring out of the back window, Archer couldn’t check whether they were being followed. It would be so easy to slip into paranoia. He was probably already there.

  Once they were out of the car and inside the station, Archer pulled Conrad to a halt and handed him a wedge of notes. “Buy single tickets for us to three different destinations south of here. Use different clerks and pay in cash. All the trains should leave in a time period of around sixty minutes. Choose large cities, preferably on routes with a few stops. If they depart from adjacent platforms even better. Get us something to drink and then take a seat on one of the benches near the ticket office. Keep Deefor with you.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To change these bags for new ones, to buy a couple of phones, and check for pursuit. If…if I’m not back fifty minutes from now, use one of the tickets. When you’re on the train call the police and ask them to meet you at the next stop. Then tell them everything. Hire bodyguards if the police won’t give you protection.”

  As he started to move away, Conrad caught his arm. “Make sure you come back.”

  Archer nodded.

  “Remember you have something that belongs to me,” Conrad added and glanced pointedly at his backside.

  Archer let out a small chuckle. He hurried out of the station and headed for Princes Street. With purchases to make, he didn’t have long to take many counter-surveillance moves but he did the best he could, doubling back, going into and coming straight out of stores, alert for anyone watching or following. Although if it had been him, he’d have stuck with Conrad, assuming Archer would return.

  He bought two bags and transferred the contents, checked for possible tracking devices but found nothing. He hid his gun between the packs of money and wrapped the lot in a T-shirt. Armed with two phones and biscuits for Deefor, he hurried to the station, still alert for anyone following.

  Conrad sat with the dog in the middle of the concourse and Archer ran his gaze over the entire waiting area. One person caught his eye and looked away a little too quickly. A woman wearing a short black leather jacket and ripped jeans. Archer followed the line of her gaze to a man in his twenties who set off toward the ticket office. Could be something or nothing.

  Conrad’s smile when he saw Archer approaching did more to reassure Archer than anything else.

  Archer scooped Deefor up and put him in Conrad’s arms. “Lead the way.”

  “Don’t you want to know where we’re going?”

  “We might not be going there.”

  Conrad’s smile faltered. “Right.”

  “Keep smiling. Do exactly what I do.”

  “You’re not smiling.”

  Archer laughed.

  “That’s better.” Conrad’s grin looked forced.

  “How long between the departures?”

  “Five minutes and ten minutes. First one leaves in three minutes. We’re cutting it close.”

  “Good.”

  When they moved through the ticket barrier, Archer caught sight of the woman. Shit. Despite all the measures he’d taken, he hadn’t really believed anyone could know they were in Edinburgh. It had to be the car. A tracker he’d not found. The woman followed them to the same platform
. Still didn’t mean anything. Archer pulled Conrad to a stop and they doubled back toward the end of the train. The woman stayed where she was. Archer spotted the guy from the concourse on their other side.

  “Where does the next train leave from?” Archer asked Conrad.

  “The platform behind us.”

  “Brilliant. Come on.” Archer walked to stand in the middle of the platform and saw the couple exchange a fleeting look. Idiots.

  “What about the last one?” Archer asked.

  “Next platform along. Over the bridge. You’re worrying me. Is someone watching?”

  “Possibly. You just need to be as quick as you can when I tell you, okay?”

  Conrad huffed a resigned sigh.

  They climbed onto the train to Glasgow and when Conrad moved to sit down, Archer held him back to stand by the door and picked up Deefor.

  There was no sign of the woman on the platform but the guy was still there, trying hard not to look in their direction. As the doors began to close, Archer hit the button to open them. “Off,” he snapped and jumped down.

  Conrad stumbled onto the platform and a moment later the train pulled away. Archer hurried him across to the newly arrived train and watched the guy get on a carriage farther down. Archer smiled as if nothing was wrong and went through the same procedure. This time, they won a mouthful of aggravation from a railway employee but the train left without them. Archer saw the guy glaring through the window as the carriage passed. Amateurs.

  “Someone was following us?” Conrad asked.

  “Two someones.”

  Seven minutes later, he and Conrad were on their way to Oxford via Durham with Deefor sitting on Conrad’s knee looking out of the window. When a ticket inspector pointed out that Deefor needed to be on a lead, Archer took one of Conrad’s ties out of a bag and fastened it to the dog’s collar.

  “Don’t chew it,” Conrad said. “That’s the most expensive lead you’ll ever get.”

  Deefor tried to lick him and Conrad reared back. The guy looked white with fatigue.

  “Okay?” Archer asked.

  “I might need a rain check on your arse.”

  Archer pressed his lips together. It seemed a year ago that they’d fucked and it wasn’t even twenty-four hours.

  “Think we’re safe, 007?” Conrad asked.

  “Yes and no. I don’t think there’s anyone after us on this train but they could be waiting at every stop.”

  “Whoever it is has an infinite number of people to do that sort of work?”

  If it’s MI5 or SIS, the CIA or Mossad. “Probably. If it’s just Phoenix, probably not.”

  “So do you have a plan?” Conrad asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Am I going to like it?”

  “No.”

  “Are you going to tell me what it is?”

  Archer quirked his lip. “No. You’ll freak out.”

  Conrad slumped. “Oh God. Tell me we’re not going to break a hole in the bottom of the carriage and drop through onto the track while the train’s moving.”

  “You’ve watched too many films. Try and sleep.”

  “I’m too worried now.”

  But he did sleep, cuddling Deefor, his head resting against the window and then against Archer and a well of…something surged in Archer, a knowledge that he’d let this guy get close without meaning to and it wasn’t something he could back away from. Archer was by nature a selfish bastard. In his line of work, he had to be. His own safety and survival were his priority, but the fact that he was still sitting beside Conrad showed he’d changed. He could care. He did care. It was just bad timing.

  No one passed them, apart from the ticket guy and a woman pushing the catering cart. While Conrad slept, Archer took out one of the phones and called Phoenix.

  “Yes?”

  “Ten.”

  “I thought we weren’t speaking anymore.”

  “I wish we weren’t.”

  “I take it you want to continue with my offer? I find whoever has it in for your little friend and you’re back working for me?”

  Archer breathed in the scent of Conrad’s hair. “Yes. But I won’t be doing anything unless you get the hounds off my tail.”

  “What hounds?”

  Archer said nothing.

  “You still there?”

  “Get rid of them or the deal is off. One week for you to sort things out or the deal is off.”

  Archer ended the call, switched off the phone and took out the battery. He felt guilty for lying to Conrad and it was an unusual feeling, but he couldn’t deal with danger coming from two directions. Archer wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

  Conrad stirred at his side. “Are we there yet?”

  “No.”

  Conrad pushed himself upright and winced. “What’s your plan?”

  “Now it’s dark, pull the emergency cord, and when the train stops force open the doors, jump off and hide.”

  Conrad looked at him in horror. “That’s not a plan. It’s against the law to pull the cord unless there’s a real emergency. The driver talks to the passenger via a two-way link and there are CCTV cameras.”

  “I can deal with the cameras. Do you have a better idea?”

  “Can’t we do what we did before when we get to Durham? Pretend to get off and then get back on?”

  “Not sure they’ll fall for it again.” He pushed to his feet. “I’m just going to have a word with the ticket guy.”

  Ten minutes later, Archer dropped back into his seat. “We arrive in Alnmouth in a few minutes. It’s a small station, I don’t think they’ll expect us to disembark there.”

  They got off along with a group of people who’d been doing their Christmas shopping in Edinburgh. Even though Archer thought it highly unlikely there would be anyone at this station waiting for them, he sent Conrad into the Gents while he had a look around. Once he was sure they weren’t under observation, they took a cab to Alnwick. Conrad looked even paler. He was too quiet and Archer guessed he was in pain.

  Conrad said nothing when Archer made him walk from where the cab had dropped them off and trek around in a circle to get another cab. It was twenty to six and it didn’t give him long to sort out a car.

  “Know a good secondhand car dealer?” Archer asked the taxi driver.

  “Sure.”

  Fifteen minutes later, the owner of the garage was counting eight thousand in cash and a few minutes after that Archer was driving Conrad and Deefor away in a silver Lexus with tinted windows. The pair fell asleep before Archer reached the A1. He drove carefully and stayed within the speed limits. Once he was south of Newcastle, he pulled up outside a Travelodge and left Conrad in the car while he went inside. He paid cash for two rooms and extra for the dog. They wanted a credit card imprint but a hundred quid changed the guy’s mind.

  Back at the car, Archer gently shook Conrad awake. “Come on. I’ve got you a bed.”

  Conrad groaned as he levered himself out of the vehicle. He leaned against it for a long moment before he straightened, his face pinched in pain. Archer grabbed the bags and Deefor’s tie lead and they headed for the entrance. He guided Conrad toward the lifts and pressed the button.

  “Two rooms?” Conrad glanced at the keys in Archer’s hand.

  “One’s for Deefor. We’re not doing anything in front of the kid.”

  “You’re optimistic. I can barely walk.”

  “You don’t need to walk. You just need to lie down.”

  “Or you could.”

  “I’ll sort out the dog and go and get us something to eat.”

  He opened one door for Conrad, then settled Deefor with bowls of water and food in the room next door. He pulled a pillow off the bed and laid it on the floor for Deefor to sleep on.

  “Be good,” Archer said. �
��Because I’m not going to be.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Conrad pushed open the bathroom door and sighed with relief when he saw the tub. Not big but better than no tub. He started the hot water running, threw in a bottle of shower gel and returned to the bedroom. Once he’d drawn the curtains, he stripped.

  I’m on the run with a hitman and two lots of people are trying to kill us.

  He almost laughed.

  For a moment, he considered whether this had all been set up by Malachi, feeding on Conrad’s weird fantasies in an attempt to distract him from the slow recovery process. It wasn’t as farfetched as it might seem because a few days ago he hadn’t been able to move without the crutches. But he couldn’t quite convince himself Malachi would go to this much trouble, that he cared this much.

  He felt shattered physically but even more mentally. Part of him still thought he ought to go to the police and tell them everything, but worryingly a larger part of him wanted to protect Archer. Conrad suspected he wasn’t thinking logically about any of this, that there was some explanation he just hadn’t yet seen. But trawled too far into the morass, he’d be unable to get out. It could easily mean the end of his career as a barrister, a compelling enough reason to step away, yet he felt more alive than he had for months. Maybe years.

  How long did Archer intend them to keep moving? They couldn’t run forever. As soon as he’d had a bath, he’d keep going over the details of his past cases. People he’d dismissed before as unlikely to have wanted him dead, he’d reconsider. Maybe if he and Archer swapped information, they might spot something the other hadn’t. He didn’t want Archer owing anything to his broker. People like that didn’t listen to no.

  Before he stepped into the foam, he checked the temperature. Perfect. He had to bend his knees to lie with his back flat but once he was in hot, deep water, thighs rising out of the bubbles like black diamond ski slopes, the tension and chill he’d felt for most of the day begin to seep out of him. He’d call Sev and ask him to check if anyone he’d ever been involved with had been released from prison shortly before the incident with the car.

  The bathroom door opened and Conrad started but it was only Archer.