Earth Enchanted

by Brynna Curry

  He just smirked. “What were we, Nicolette? Certainly not partners. Casual bedmates at the most. It was your idea, after all. You didn’t want more.”

  “Well, now I do.”

  “Well, sorry. I don’t. I didn’t make any promises to you. You couldn’t call us lovers, Nicolette. That would require love. I never had any for you. Go away. I wanted you. I had you. Now I’m done. I don’t have any more time for you.”

  She raised her hand to strike him, took aim and swung, but he stilled her without a touch. She saw the change in his tawny eyes then, something there that appalled even someone like her.

  Her fist burned though it had never been touched by more than his power.

  “What in the hell are you? My hand? It’s burning.” She watched in horror and pain as the flesh melted off her bones. “Stop it, please. What did you do to me?”

  A blink later and all the effects were gone. “You’d rather not know. Do as you’re told. Ever heard the old saying, ‘if you play with fire you’re going to get burned’? You played.”

  She backed away slowly as if from an angry dog, or a rattlesnake that might strike at any minute. Only when he closed the door did she turn and run, threw her things into her suitcase, and swore never, ever to lay eyes on him again. They weren’t a team anymore, and she had her own agenda. She wasn’t leaving Washington without the Hope.

  Chapter 17

  Ryan answered the ring at his door in his favorite ratty blue robe with a cup of coffee in hand. He was expecting no one and nothing this morning. He had to be in the office at nine and hoped whoever it was would be easily gotten rid of.

  He eyed the messenger boy at the door with suspicion. He didn’t look old enough to be out of school in the middle of the morning. “Can I help you, son?” Ryan asked.

  The kid took a pen from his pocket, tapped the clipboard in his hand, and gestured toward the box sitting on the step beside his feet. “Package for you, sir, and sign here please.”

  “I’m not expecting anything.” He frowned and made no move to take the package. It could be a bomb.

  “Maybe it’s a surprise from family. There’s a letter that goes with it.”

  Ryan scribbled his signature and took the box and letter into his study. Maybe Liv had sent him something. He’d been purposely avoiding her for her safety as well as to ease his guilt. She was safe with Jack. He had to believe that, if he didn’t want to lose his mind. He recognized the flowery script before he reached for the letter opener that he kept on the desk. Christophe LeFleur. He was usually warned when he would be holding a package.

  He opened the letter and read it to himself. Corrigan, I’m to instruct you to hold this until tomorrow night. Be at pier 10 at exactly 1:45 AM. You will be met.

  Ryan opened the container, though he wasn’t really supposed to. Inside the foam peanuts rested a velvet jeweler’s box. Flipping open the lid, he breathed, “Jesus!” One look at the necklace and he knew. “I’m in a hell of a lot of trouble.” He laid the case on the desk and backed away from it as if it were explosive. His free hand reached for his cellphone.

  “Spiller.”

  “I’m in a lot of trouble. I need to meet you somewhere. I got another package.” Ryan’s stomach twisted into knots at the thought of what was in it. He didn’t know the necklace’s identity, but he knew it was old and had to be a museum piece. Baubles weren’t his thing.

  “I told you not to call this number, Corrigan, unless you have vital information for me. I contact you remember?”

  “You’ll want to see this. Trust me. It came by messenger service a few minutes ago. I hadn’t been expecting anything.”

  “Fine, I’ll be in your office by nine-thirty.”

  Ryan cleared his schedule for the morning. He should have cleared it all day. When the agents took one look in the box, he might be in jail this afternoon. June had been good natured about all the scrambling, especially when he’d told her to take the day off after she had finished. He didn’t want her involved in this mess, no more than she already was. His secretary had checked his head for fever, though. Finding none, she shook her head and went to her desk to get back to work.

  He heard several voices coming through the intercom on his desk phone. June must have flipped the switch on with the intention of hearing the conversation. That meant she was either afraid of the men or worried for him.

  “Good day, how may I help you, gentleman?” June’s cheery greeting spoke to him.

  “Special Agent Spiller, FBI, ma’am, this is my partner, Agent Wyatt, and Captain Samuel Berringer with the police. I believe Mr. Corrigan should be expecting us.”

  Ryan took a deep breath. If she was curious, she kept it under her hat. Good for her.

  “Of course, a moment please?” She pretended to buzz Ryan’s office. “Mr. Corrigan, Agent Spiller to see you.”

  “Send him in, June.”

  “Yes, sir. Will your guests need anything?”

  Ryan paced the floor anxiously. “No. We’ll be fine, June. See you tomorrow.”

  “This way, gentleman.”

  Ryan had been anxious to see the agents now standing in his office, but at the same time had dreaded the meeting. Now here they were, along with the local police. He might be locked up by this afternoon.

  “Well, let’s have it then, Corrigan. I don’t like being held in suspense. This had better be good or you’re going to find yourself in a great deal more trouble, as if that were possible.”

  “Make yourself comfortable, I’ll get it.” He reached under the desk where he kept a small bolted down safe not visible from the other side. He slid the box out and laid it on top of the desk.

  Ryan watched the agent take the box and flip the lid. A collective gasp echoed in the stillness of the room.

  “See what I mean? This is bad. It’s been weeks since I’ve gotten anything and it’s never been this caliber. Do you recognize the piece?”

  “If you tell me you’ve never seen nor have any knowledge of this jewelry until today, I might be able to still save you. Do you have any idea what you’ve been carrying around?”

  Ryan shook his head. “It’s old. It’s made of diamonds. It’s a bloody bauble. That’s all I know.” Some of the brogue he’d tamped down over the past ten years had slipped back.

  Both agents laughed, but Ryan noted it was strained.

  “This necklace, Mr. Corrigan, belonged to one Marie Louise of Austria, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, and was given to her after the birth of their son. It is very old, very priceless, and is supposed to be in the care of the Smithsonian Institute. It’s had to have been missing for at least a day or two. Why hasn’t the bureau been notified? Did you get the information on the meeting?”

  Ryan handed him the note that had come with the package, then sat in silence for several minutes while Spiller considered the options.

  “This is what you’re going to do. Put everything back exactly as you found it. I don’t want them knowing you’ve seen what’s inside. Other than that, do nothing, except follow the instructions for the meet.”

  Ryan nodded, gratefully, and for the moment locked the necklace in his safe.

  The agents and Sam took their leave.

  * * * *

  Shadow was planning. In his hole-in-the-wall of a rat infested room, he slowly drew the hunting knife across the whetstone. The grind and screech of his efforts sang through his blood like a song. With every strike he saw Olivia’s lovely flesh sliced by his hand. He could hear her screams, and they were music. He’d been watching her, while she’d been shacked up with the writer. He’d seen her alone. He’d seen them together. It was no longer a job to him, but an obsessive vengeance that sent him spiraling toward madness.

  She had taken from him, and now he would take. He wanted to kill her, but he wanted her to suffer first. He wanted to break her spirit, her body, her mind. Then and only then would he grant her death. It would soon be time. He drew steel across stone once again and enjoyed the feeling of h
is mind slipping toward insanity.

  Chapter 18

  Jack was happier than he could ever remember being, even when he had been married to Serena. The thought sent a shaft of guilt through him. Would he always remember her whenever he found some bright spot in his life? Maybe. Liv brought out the best in him, and he knew he was going to fight her tooth and nail before he’d let her go back to Ireland. They’d spent the past two days together like a honeymoon. He didn’t want it to end. She belonged with him. He only had to get her to see it. Then she would stay. It’s what he wanted now, forever with Liv.

  Something was bothering him. In the back of his mind he wondered why no one had tried to attack Liv since he’d insisted she stay with him. It had been weeks—a lot more than either of them had expected—since the attempt on her life and it was like nothing had happened before. Maybe they had made a mistake and it had only been an irate fan, discouraged now by the failed attempt. He wanted to believe that, but he knew it wasn’t true. The air felt heavy, as if time were only waiting for the curtain to drop.

  Lying next to her, listening to the sound of her deep, even breathing, Jack knew she slept. Sometimes he would wake before her just so he could watch her dream. Cursing when the phone rang, annoyed at having these quiet moments interrupted, Jack hoped it wouldn’t wake her. He slipped out of bed and went into the other room to answer it.

  “Hello?” Jack mumbled into the receiver in a bid for quiet.

  It was Sam.

  “Do you have any idea what time it is?” He took a peek through the bedroom door. She hadn’t heard a thing, still sleeping.

  “Ten o’clock in the morning, fairly late for most folks, usually for you too.”

  “Not when you’ve been up all night.”

  “Been writing have you? Got your muse back? Now myself, I’m just anxious to read the next one, but Ellie’s itching to get back to work.”

  Please, he thought, if it were only that simple.

  “I haven’t had the time. You must have a reason for calling?” The morning was rainy and quiet. All he wanted to do was crawl back into bed and sleep it away with Liv, or wake her up and make love with her the rest of the day. Either sounded good to him. What he didn’t need was trouble or work.

  “I did. Guess what suddenly turned up in Ryan Corrigan’s possession?” Sam gave him no time to answer but barreled on in his usual style. “Know who Napoleon was?”

  “Duh. Where are you going with this?” His brain switched over into cop mode.

  “After the Josephine thing, he married Marie Louise of Austria. He wanted an heir, you see, with the oldest royal bloodline. He didn’t just want France, he wanted the better part of the free world under his control. Between them they had a son. When he was born, Napoleon gave her a diamond necklace to celebrate the birth. That necklace was housed in the Smithsonian Institute, and as far as everyone else knows it still is.”

  “The one in the museum is a fake like the others we’ve tracked?”

  “Bingo. You win the prize.”

  Then the meaning struck him. Oh, hell. Ryan. Liv.

  “Ryan didn’t take that necklace. It’s someone else.” Please let it be someone else. He didn’t question, but automatically jumped to her brother’s defense.

  “I’m surprised at you, Jack. After the other night, you’re awful quick to defend him. Didn’t think I’d hear about that, hmm? Calm down. He’s not being charged at the moment. Feds have a little gathering in the works. I want you to be in on it. Mind you, the agent in charge isn’t too happy about it either.”

  “Why? I’ve been out of this for a year.”

  “You’ve got your badge, Jack. I could pull rank and tell you to do it, but I’m asking. As far as the world, and the paperwork, is concerned you have been under deep cover for a year. He needs someone on his side, Jack. You may be at odds with each other, but she’d want you to help him.”

  “Who, Liv or Sissy?”

  “Both of them, the first because he’s family and the second because it’s what’s right.”

  How was he supposed to argue with that?

  “When and where?” Jack listened as Sam related the details. He didn’t hear Liv creep out of bed, but he felt her in the room when she came to stand beside him. Jack reached up and laid a hand over the one she rested on his shoulder and heard her sigh. The sound was one of comfort and understanding, laced with finality and helplessness.

  Jack pushed the talk button on the cordless phone to end the call. “That was Sam.”

  “I know. I guess I had a feeling. Has there been a break in the case? Have they found out any more about the gunman?”

  He shook his head. “No. Ryan is in trouble, much worse than before. This morning he got a package containing a centuries-old diamond necklace that is supposed to be in the Smithsonian Institute. The drop is a trap. Ryan knows it. Everybody involved knows it. The first thing he did was call the agent in charge. Whoever he’s working for has decided he’s too much of a risk.” Jack watched Liv go pale and falter before the inner steel kicked in.

  “They’re going to kill him, aren’t they? That’s what you don’t want to tell me. You have to help him, Jack. You’re the only one who can.”

  “I don’t want to make you a promise I can’t keep, Liv. The feds are using him for bait, hoping they’ll catch a bigger fish out of this. The department wants to close the case on a murdered cop.”

  “What do you want, Jack?”

  “I want justice, for everyone. I can’t stand by and watch him die, Olivia, that I will promise you. I’ll do all I can. It’s all anyone can do.”

  “I won’t ask you for more than that. When do you have to go?”

  He saw the first tears spill out of lightning blue eyes and gathered her to him. “We have a few hours. Liv…”

  Jack didn’t think about where they were. He’d never loved her here. Not where Serena’s memory could reach up and jump out any time. Not in his room, his bed. It had felt like a betrayal when he could still see so much of his dead wife in what had been theirs. That time was a lifetime away now. Liv was here and real. Fear and uncertainty became a beast nipping at their heels. He tipped her back into the pillows and effectively wiped Serena from his thoughts.

  Jack sank into her kiss and the madness they could bring to each other with a look, a touch. How was it possible to feel so much in such a short time? He let his mind shut out what had to be done, and dragged her into the tempest.

  Liv drifted back to sleep in his arms. For a long time he just held her and wished he didn’t have to go, but this was something he knew he needed to do. If they had any kind of chance at a future together, he would have to put a lock on the past and Serena. He needed some sense of closure. Maybe tonight he would finally have it. As he drifted off, he murmured Serena’s name.

  Jack slipped out of bed, and out the front door, without a goodbye to Liv. If he died tonight he would rather what they had brought to each other be her last thoughts of him, not a miserable tear-filled goodbye.

  He checked with her guards, asked them to move closer to the house since he would be gone. It was best to take all precautions. Jack was terrified at the thought of leaving Liv alone, but he had no choice now. He’d given his word to too many people, including her. He had to go.

  He pulled into the parking lot with a screech and stalked into the war room, as the desk clerk termed it. His appearance garnered more than a few looks. Dressed in black jeans, t-shirt, and boots to match, he must look like a dark avenging angel on a mission.

  Addressing the woman at the desk, Jack smiled. “Hello, Iris. Where’s the war room?” He saw her waggle her eyebrows and pat her sixty-year-old heart.

  “Conference room one, Roarke. Watch out for the agent in charge. He’s nasty as they come, but my he’s pretty to look at. Turn around.”

  Spinning around, Jack came face to face with his polar opposite, gilt blond curls, blue eyes, an archangel on the attack, Agent Spiller would have made a great romance n
ovel hero, until he opened his mouth.

  “You’re here only as a courtesy, Detective Roarke. Remember that. What, where, when, and how high, do you have it?” Gabriel sneered and walked off without another word.

  Jack was left with the need to slug him. “If that’s how you want it, fine.” He took in his surroundings instead.

  Someone had decided to paint since he’d last been here, a particularly nasty shade of sea foam green. The tables and chairs were the same, and the list of decoration consisted of a gigantic water cooler, three paper cups, and a lonely half-dead fern on a table in the corner.

  He took his seat when told and made an attempt to listen to Spiller’s half-baked plan. Pathetically simple, he thought. Take position in the harbor, keeping radio contact while the pickup was made. After he had the necklace in his possession, snag the delivery boy before he could get back to the boat. He let his mind drift back to Liv.

  Chapter 19

  Ryan checked the time on his watch with its Indiglo light, one forty-five. He stood there on the docks waiting for his contact with millions of dollars in historical diamonds strapped to his back. He was surprised to find he couldn’t see any of the agents or locals who were hiding out behind him. Just their presence made him nervous enough to consider calling it off. He paced back and forth, alternating oaths and prayers with each step. His ears pricked up at the sound of an engine coming through the darkness across the water. Time was up.

  Ryan watched the figure of a man secure the boat and approach him. Something was off about the man, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He heard the man holler. There was just no other word for it,

  “You got the rocks or don’t ya?” He had a drawl to his voice, but Ryan couldn’t place it. This was a different contact, but why?

  “Yes. I have them.” Ryan heedlessly tossed the duffle to him, as if he didn’t know or care what was in the bag.

  The man left it where it lay and drawled back. “Nice doing business with ya.” He bent down to get the bag and when he came back up, the gun was in is hand. “Just one more thing.” He pointed it at Ryan’s head.