by Imogen Wells
I sit for a little while longer thinking about everything I’ve learnt in the last few days. I think about the what ifs every day; what if I’d argued harder to not have Kuffs with me; what if I’d never taken the op in the first place, but part of me understands, and believes on some level, that our lives are mapped out for us from the start. There is no way to know that if I’d taken a different path, veered away, the two roads wouldn’t meet and come together again at some point in my life. I’m reminded of the film Sliding Doors and how a split-second decision or moment in time can change everything. No matter the path I’d have chosen, Sam would still have died giving birth to our son, so does that mean that I would have met Jess? Most likely, yes, just under different circumstances.
My philosophical thoughts at an end, I get up and head back to my room. Sliding into the bed beside Jess, I watch as she frowns in her sleep and wonder what she’s dreaming about. I hope they are happy dreams because the pit of my stomach tells me that we are about to be dropped into a nightmare.
Thirty-Four
Jess
I roll over, stretching out and brushing my hand across where Rick should be, only to be met with cold, crumpled sheets. Raising my head, I look around the room, which is bathed in the softly muted tones of the early morning sun and see that it’s empty.
Dropping my head back down, I stare at the ceiling and watch as a fly darts to and fro before diving towards the slightly ajar window but still fails to find his escape.
I shove the sheets from my body and snatch up Rick’s t-shirt from the floor. I chuck it over my head, inhaling Rick’s scent, and gather the rest of my things before heading to my room.
After a quick shower, I dress and hurry from the room, hoping to catch Rick before he leaves for his meeting. The one he thinks I don’t know about. Admittedly, I don’t know who it’s with, but whoever they are, I know they’re integral to what’s happening.
There’s no one in the main room when I arrive, but I do hear laughter coming from the direction of Seb and Jamie’s room.
After making a cup of tea, I carry it outside and sit at the small bistro table overlooking the lake. The sun is up, casting a beautiful golden hue over the water. There’s a cool breeze blowing over the treetops, rustling the leaves, along with the sound of bird song. It’s peaceful, and I just relax, allowing my mind to wonder.
I think about my father, The Archer, and I still can’t get my head around the idea that he had anything to do with Christian’s death. He’s always been ruthless in his pursuit of political gain, but I just never thought he would sacrifice his own son to get to the top. What kind of man does that? How does he sleep at night?
I get why he did what he did to me. I don’t like or agree with it, but I’m a girl. In his eyes I’m no use to him in his world, unless I marry for his benefit. And that’s exactly what he planned for me.
I have so many questions still unanswered, and I can’t swallow the thought that what happened to Christian, and Rick, was punishment for me pushing back against him.
The other thing that’s been on my mind is, why now? Me looking for answers as to what happened to Christian isn’t new. I’ve spent the last five years searching for them. What’s happened that has set off this chain of events? The more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion that the kidnapping was never about Lottie; it was about me. And that makes my heart break. To think that an innocent life was destroyed, lost, because of something I did.
I let out a little laugh at the irony of my thoughts, and I understand, on a much smaller scale, exactly the burden Rick has been carrying for the past five years.
It’s easier for me to see reason though. Not because I didn’t care for Lottie, I did, but not in the same way that Rick cared for his wife, and even my brother.
It’s cause and effect.
Rick believes that his actions, whether inadvertently or not, are the cause of the deaths of his wife and my brother and what is happening now are the effect of that.
He’s wrong. So very wrong.
Just above the sound of the birds, I hear the soft bristle of feet over the carpet inside the house behind me, but I’m not worried.
“Morning, Jamie. The kettle should still be warm.” The movement stops at my words, then starts again. Jamie comes into view just as I lift my cup to my mouth, taking a sip.
“How the fuck did you know it was me?” she asks, pulling a chair out and sitting.
I take another sip of my tea before answering her, “You’re not as light on your feet as Seb and Rick, and as Rick’s already left, that leaves you.” I give a little shrug at the surprised and ever so slightly offended look on her face.
“That’s kind of creepy, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know.” I continue to drink my tea while Jamie looks out across the lake.
“Are you okay?” she asks after a couple of minutes.
I look over to see her watching me carefully. “You mean after almost getting blown up or finding out that there’s a high chance my father was involved in my brother’s death?”
“You left out the part where your car was tampered with and getting shot at.” Her words hang in the air before we both laugh, and it breaks the icy tension between us after the confrontation at the hospital.
“Look, I’m not going to apologise for being so hard on you yesterday, but I will admit that I may have gone over the top. Just a little.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not one to hold a grudge against someone who was protecting their friend. That’s not who I am. There are people far worse that deserve my anger.”
“Fair enough.”
Seb comes out carrying two cups and places them down, then kisses Jamie’s head before taking a seat beside her.
“It’s beautiful here. I don’t understand why anyone would live in London when they have this place.” I say, as I watch a flock of birds dip low before soaring back into the sky.
“Rick always planned to move here, but things changed. I don’t know what he’ll do with the place once it’s finished. Although, I can’t see him getting rid of it.”
I steer the conversation away from this place and ask about the escort agency they were talking about yesterday.
“So, this agency you guys were talking about, what’s the story there?” I try to keep my question casual, but I see I wasn’t casual enough for Seb.
“That’s an out of the blue and completely random question. Want to tell me why you’re so interested?”
“No reason. I was just curious as you were talking about it yesterday.” I shrug and turn my lips down in a completely non-interested way.
“I don’t buy it, but fine.” And Seb tells me all about the agency job Jay is working on. I didn’t miss the look Jamie gave him when he agreed to talk to me about it, so I’m guessing spilling the beans on their jobs to anyone outside their circle is a big no no.
I get the feeling he’s only giving me basics anyway. Just like they did when we talked about Tempest last night.
I throw a few questions his way, nothing invasive just vague queries, and other than learning they are being investigated for underage girls, nothing jumps out at me.
When I ask Seb where Rick has gone, he clams up completely. Not long after that, he and Jamie disappear inside while I look around the barn before settling in the lounge to watch some inane daytime TV.
My mind won’t switch off, and despite not learning anything that comes close to connecting the agency to Tobias or with Christian’s death, I can’t help thinking there’s more to it, but without access to a phone or laptop, there’s not much I can do.
I found a small library when I was looking round earlier, and I trudge back there and pick a book to alleviate some of this boredom and constant whirring of my brain.
An hour later, I’m engrossed in The Time Traveller’s Wife, TV still on with the news playing in the background when I hear a familiar name.
‘The headless body of a man discovered two days ago
has been identified as that of Lincoln Carter. Lincoln and his brother, Lewis, both disappeared within a matter of weeks of each other last year. The two brothers were wanted for questioning in connection to an investigation into Sean Donovan, who was killed in April 2020…’
“Fuck. Donovan, now there’s a name I don’t miss hearing about.”
“You knew Sean Donovan?”
Startled by the voice, I whip around to see Rick standing behind me, eyes hard and fixed on the screen that is currently displaying several photos of Donovan, and when the last picture pops up, I can’t help the gasp as I recognise the woman at his side.
“Holy shit! Is that Cam?” I say, swinging back round to look at Rick. He gives a firm nod, but his eyes are no longer fixed on the TV, but me instead.
“Answer me, Jess?”
“There isn’t a cop in the whole country that doesn’t know that name, Rick. Did I know him personally, no, but I’m not going to lie and say I wouldn’t have minded some one-on-one time with the vile bastard.”
“Who’s a vile bastard?” Seb says as he and Jamie enter the room.
Neither of us speak, locked in a stare off. My mind is working overtime as a reel of memories from my time as a cop flash behind my eyes.
“Oh my god. She’s Kasey Smith, Donovan’s fiancée and mother of his daug—” My voice trails off as I remember the news report about Donovan’s daughter and mother-in-law’s death and my conversation with Cam at the hospital. “Fuck!”
“Why the fuck are we talking about Donovan? And how do you know about Kasey?”
I look up at to see all eyes are on me, and I’m not usually easily intimidated, but with these three’s eyes, hard as stone, trained on me, I’m not embarrassed to admit I feel uncomfortable.
“You better sit down,” I say, and my eyes find Rick’s. Fuck, he looks hot standing there with his arms folded across his chest. His eyes have gone a stormy sea green, turbulent and deadly, like he could suck you under and you wouldn’t know a thing about it.
I watch every muscle in his body flex, including his jaw, as he pushes off the wall and strides over, sitting on the sofa beside me. The heat coming off him is enough to scorch you if you so much as dared to touch him at this moment.
Seb and Jamie take a seat too, and then they’re back to doing the whole uniformed and uncomfortable stare, which has me shift in my seat.
“Not long after I became a cop, we arrested a guy for soliciting. At the time, Donovan was still relatively unknown, but he was on his way up the ladder. The girl he had in the car with him had just turned sixteen, barely legal. He claimed that he was helping her out, giving her a lift, but we all knew it was bullshit. Besides, my colleague had previously arrested her for shoplifting, so we knew she was most likely a runaway living on the street.
“It was several more years before I would meet Donovan again, although we all knew who he was by then. This time it wasn’t in circumstances I expected. I’d had a row with Alistair and gone to my father’s house to have it out with him, but when I arrived, my father wasn’t alone. At first, I didn’t think he was home, but as I neared his office, I heard him shouting. He was livid. Cursing and ranting about how stupid whoever he was talking to was, and how if he wasn’t careful then he’d ruin everything. I thought he was on the phone until I heard the other person speak.
“I didn’t understand their conversation as I’d obviously missed most of it. Donovan told my father he’d take care of it, not to worry and that it wouldn’t be a problem soon. Three weeks later, Donovan’s daughter was killed in a car accident along with Kasey Smith’s mother.”
I watch as all three of them exchange looks, and Rick rubs a hand down his face, blowing out a breath. Jamie doesn’t say a word, instead she gets up, pacing and biting her thumb nail.
“Someone going to explain to me what’s going on?” I ask, looking between the three of them and waiting expectantly. “Look, when I spoke with Cam at the hospital, she mentioned she had a daughter before she had Jamison, and I understand it might not be your story to tell, but you can at least give me the basics so we can try and connect the dots here.”
Seb finally breaks the silence. “We had an inside man working for Donovan way before Faye died. It was with his help that Cam escaped and how we all met her. Obviously, there’s a shit load more to the story, but that’s for Cam to tell. It’s clear to me that your nefarious bastard of a father was in bed with the fucking devil. They’re the only dots that need connecting.”
“I don’t understand. If there was a connection, other than the one I just told you about, between my father and Donovan, how come your man never discovered it?”
Instead of replying, I see Rick throw a set of keys to Seb. “In my office is a cabinet with a folder containing details from Sean’s case. Bring it all.”
Seb hurries off to Rick’s office, while Jamie sits back down, still gnawing away at her thumb nail.
“What are you thinking, Rick?”
He turns to me. “The reason the connection was never made by our guy was because the judge involved in the case from the start was Archie Collins.”
Thirty-Five
Rick
It’s been three days since my revelation to Jess about her father, and the tension between us is palpable. I know she’s not angry with me, but this distance between us is unbearable and driving me insane. I even returned her phone to her after I ran a check for tracking software and devices, and it came back clean.
Seb and I trawled through everything in the case file and came up blank at every turn for another connection to her father. The man is damn fucking good at covering his tracks.
Seems to me that Collins putting his name to our case sheet was an attempt to get rid of Donovan as legitimately as possible. The only reasons I can think of as to why he would do that are either because he was a rival or a liability. It’s clear from Jess’ revelation yesterday that they were working together at some point, which leaves him being a liability.
There’s no mention of him or The Archer anywhere, not even in Tyler’s reports from his undercover work.
I contacted Roxy for an update on Lincoln’s death, but she doesn’t have any leads yet. She also filled me in on what happened after we left the services. The two men were both shot by armed response after they injured several bystanders. There’s still no news on the ID of the man posing as a waiter at the hotel, and I’m beginning to feel like everything is against us. I don’t know Roxy, but I trust her, which is unusual for me, so I told her about Jess’ father being The Archer. She’d heard the name and wasn’t in the least surprised. She may even have a lead, which she promised to check out.
I filled Seb in on my meeting before he and Jamie left for London yesterday. Seb wants to do some digging into his father. My meeting with Richard went as I expected. He’s claiming he doesn’t know anything more than we do and is just as concerned. I’m not sure I believe him, even though I’d like to. I just hope it’s to protect his family and not because he’s involved in whatever this fucking shit is.
When we were in the army together, I would have trusted him with my life, and I did more than once. Something always felt off about the op, but I trusted his role as my commanding officer. He was a fucking major for Christ’s sake.
When I questioned him about the videos, his only answer was that someone at the house Kuffs and I were held at filmed it. Fucking genius. Why didn’t I think of that? Why film us if there wasn’t a specific reason to? It makes no sense.
I’ve barely slept since my meeting with Richard. Instead, my nights have been filled with the nightmares of my past. Swirling visions of Kuffs and Sam begging me to help them, and every time I’m too late.
A month ago, these nightmares would have just about finished me off, but not now. I have something, or should I say someone, that’s keeping me focused and helping me heal, even if she’s not currently speaking to me.
I shove the papers aside as my phone vibrates on the table. It’s S
cott letting me know that he’s just sent the information from Jake Danvers file to my secure dropbox. I collect everything up and head inside.
As I approach Jess’ room, I see her door is ajar, and she passes by, stripping her t-shirt off as she goes. I pause and like some fucking creeper peer through the gap to see her disappear into the en suite in only her underwear.
Her phone is on the bed and lights up as the bathroom door closes and the shower starts up, drowning out the ringing. Pushing the door open, I step up to the bed and look down at the caller ID. There’s no name, but I see it’s a London area code. The call rings off, and a second later it pings to indicate a new voicemail.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I quickly type in the number and dial it. It rings three times before a female voice answers.
“Good afternoon, Rendezvous, how can I help you?” I end the call just as the door to the bathroom opens and Jess steps out in nothing but a small towel that barely covers her.
“What the fuck, Rick!”
My eyes rake over her, taking in her toned, olive tanned legs, up over her body to beautiful blue eyes that are blazing with fury.
“What the fuck indeed,” I drawl, unable to hide the effect she’s having on me standing there pissed and only a towel hiding her sinful body. Yes, a sinful body. I’ve spent five years trying to right my wrongs, atone for my sins, only to go and fall in love with a woman that can’t be described as anything other than pure sin.
I’m snapped out of my thoughts as her hand comes out and grasps my chin. “Eyes are up here, arsehole!” I hadn’t even realised she’d moved, that’s how lost in my thoughts I was. Damn, three days without touching her, hearing her call my name as I bring her to the edge, and at the sight of her body, I’m lost.
“What are you doing in here?”
I chuck the folder I’m holding to the bed and snatch her round the waist. “Three days, Jess. Three fucking days. How long are you going to ignore me?” I grind my teeth against the need to lean in and kiss her. However, I’m not strong enough to deny myself the urge to bring our body’s closer together, making her breath catch.
