No matter how disappointing Ame’s decisions were, Sloan never pressed her. When she came home in tears in the sixth grade, he wanted to know why. She wouldn’t tell him. In fact, that was the time she pulled away from him. Without her asking, he stopped attending her performances and game. She knew he hated it. He went to every one of her activities before then without fail. But not anymore. He just obeyed her wishes. And that included now, when they were all confused and scared.
The whole incident with the three men at school gave Ame nightmares. She tossed and turned at night feeling the blade of a knife pressed to the bottom of her chin. She relived every moment in her dreams but couldn’t tell her parents about it. They held secrets, really scary ones. She knew her dad’s but what was up with her mom? Could she trust them?
Dark shadows stretched across Ame’s bedroom as she startled awake. This was ridiculous. Maybe a glass of warm milk would help. She frowned to herself. Did she know how to make warm milk? How long do you nuke it in the microwave? Thirty seconds? One thing was for certain. Both the milk and the source of heat to warm it were downstairs in the kitchen. Ame scooted out of bed and tiptoed down the hall. She froze when she heard her parents’ voices in the living room.
“She hates me,” Sloan moaned as he slumped into the leather sofa and buried his face in his hands.
“She does not,” Abbey assured.
He picked up Ame’s sketch pad and pens and tossed them into her lap. “Really? Don’t try to convince me that the image she drew isn’t me. She thinks I’m Satan.”
Ame's heart sunk deep into her chest as guilt washed over her. Her father continued. “I never wanted her to know. She’s my little angel. She always has been. Now, in her eyes, I’m evil.”
“She’s fourteen. She’s a smart cookie. I think it’s time to tell her the truth.”
Sloan glared at Abbey. “Really? Are you prepared to tell Ame that we’re mercenaries?”
“Not really. But can you think of a better time?”
“How’s never sound?”
“Sloan, it may be overwhelming at first. But I think she’ll come around.”
“I want her to stay innocent.”
“Well, sweet baby, that ship has sailed.”
“Well aware of that fact.”
Abbey wrapped her arms tight around his waist. “Just let me handle it. All right?”
“All right.”
“Has B found out anything more about those three men? Does any of this have to do with the Butcher?”
“All he found is that they have worked for him at one time. He doesn’t know if he was behind the attack or not. I have no idea why the Butcher would be after us. Yes, we were on the opposite sides of the war. But we never crossed paths.”
“We’ll figure this out, Sloan. We always do.”
“I won’t have you and our children in danger. You are my world. I will end the world to protect you.”
“And what about you? You are just as precious to me. I’m not about to let anything happen to you or our kids.”
Sloan turned to her and pressed his forehead against hers. Moments later his mouth dipped low to cover hers. Abbey melted into his kiss, pressing her body tight against him. Ame spun on her toe and raced back to her bed. Her mind was already a muddled mess over what happened at her school. She sure didn’t need to see her parents getting busy on the living room couch.
The next day dragged on for Ame with little sleep. Her mother dropped her off without a word. Ava met her with a worried look in her eyes. By the end of the day, Chelsea and her groupies made her cry twice with their brutal attacks. Even Dakota looked concerned. She couldn’t wait to get home to her bed. But once she saw her parents she knew she wouldn’t sleep.
The moment Ame stepped in the house Abbey met her at the door with a smile. Behind her, she could see Aunt Maggie playing with her cousins and siblings. “Ame, let’s go talk in Dad’s office.”
“Mom, I have homework,” Ame mumbled.
“This will only take a moment.”
Ame huffed as she dropped her backpack in the foyer and followed her mother into the large, luxurious office. Abbey crossed around the dark stained desk and pulled out the plush leather chair. “Have a seat.”
Ame slumped into the seat. Abbey shook the mouse to wake the computer then brought up the Internet. “Google your father.”
“I have.”
“Do it again.”
Ame sighed as she typed Sloan’s name. “See? There. He’s the CEO of Sloan Enterprises. He’s a world renowned artist and a children’s’ illustrator. And he’s married to you.”
“All right. Now add the letters IRA.”
Ame was quiet for a moment. “I don’t need to, Mom. I already know that IRA doesn’t stand for a retirement fund. And I know about retirement funds because I’m the child of billionaires. I know it stands for Irish Republican Army. Dad’s a terrorist. I didn’t know you were too.”
“Neither your father or I were ever terrorists.”
“Then you’re mercenaries. Isn’t that what Dad called you the other night?”
“Wait, what? What the hell were you doing out of bed?”
“Getting a glass of warm milk to help me sleep. I went back to bed before you and Dad started working on my next sibling.”
“Seriously, Ame.” Abbey sighed.
“Terrorists. Mercenaries. Same thing.”
“Hardly the same thing.”
“You kill people. Don’t you?”
“No. We right wrongs.”
“Really? How many people have you killed, Mom?”
“One. And since you’re on this little tirade, ask why.”
“Why?”
“Because he was literally a millisecond from putting a bullet in your father’s brain. Had I not killed him, sweet pea, you wouldn’t have a daddy. I couldn’t let him kill the man I loved.”
“But what about Northern Ireland.”
“Look it up. Type in what I asked you to.”
Ame near growled as she typed the letters then gasped. Her father’s name was plastered in each of the news stories that covered the screen. But they were joined with the words “Northern Ireland”, “exonerated” and “bombing” and “murder”. “They arrested the wrong man,” Ame protested.
“Yes. Tom Morrison was an errand boy. Nothing more. He was forced into this life when he was implicated in that bombing. One he didn’t do.”
“What made him get involved in the IRA in the first place?”
“When your dad was ten, he watched his father and brother be killed in a shootout outside his father’s butcher shop. Dad was shot too. He almost died. He spent quite a bit of time in the hospital recovering from his wounds. The tattoos he has covers the scars he received.”
“I knew about what happened to him. I didn’t realize that’s what led him to the IRA. Is being a mercenary how you met Dad?”
“No. Your dad was my illustrator. Believe it or not, when I met your dad I was just a children’s author from Iowa.”
“The how’d you get involved with that sort of thing?”
“When they caught Dad and arrested him for the bombing, I helped Grandpa figure out the truth. To do it I had to work with some not so great people. And I committed breaking and entering, possibly crossed some legal boundaries. From there I was trained to be an assassin.”
“An assassin?”
“I shoot things. I’m pretty good at it.”
“Does Grandpa know?”
“Oh, Pumpkin.”
Ame typed in Gordon’s name, sighing as his profile popped into the screen. “Grandpa is one of you too.”
“And Uncle Robert, Uncle Bartholomew, and Uncle Logan. Grandpa was Daddy’s handler. Uncle Robert and Bartholomew were his bodyguards. Uncle Logan came in the same time I did.”
“But you don’t kill people?”
“No. We defend. And we don’t do that anymore. We haven’t done anything until the incident at your school.”
“Who were they, Mom?”
“I wish I knew. We have every source we know looking into them.” Abbey pressed a kiss to the top of Ame’s head. “Please lighten up on Dad. He loves you so much.”
“I know.”
Abbey rustled her black curls. “Talk to me, kiddo. This is big news. I can answer questions.”
“Do you like doing this?”
“Being a mercenary?”
“Yes.”
“I like being a mother and wife. Dad and I stopped doing this years ago. We want to be with you children. You are all more important than anything.”
“Oh.”
“Do you want to help me with dinner?”
“Sure. Let me shut off the computer and I’ll be right out.”
“All right.” Abbey smiled before she slipped from the room. Ame sighed. Abbey’s revelation didn’t make her feel better. It actually made her feel worse. So my dad isn’t a terrorist. My family is just a bunch of spies. How am I supposed to lead a normal life now? Confused she turned the computer off and trudged her way to the kitchen.
»»•««
Abbey typed furiously on her phone as she dodged the bodies on the sidewalk. Her meeting at the courthouse had wrapped up early. It gave her the needed time to go back to her Rio project. On instinct she dodged three college students and darted into the rotating doors of Sloan Enterprises. It was a step she had mastered after thousands of trips into this building. Hitting send on her e-mail, she glanced up to nod at the security guard sitting at the welcome desk. “How are you, Larry?”
“Very well, Mrs. O’Riley. You?”
“Can’t complain. Has Mr. O’Riley left for golf?”
“No, Ma’am. He canceled. Grumbled about it being a waste of time.”
Abbey laughed. “Sounds like my husband. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Have a good afternoon, Mrs. O’Riley.”
She scuttled across the lobby toward the glass elevators as butterflies took flight in her belly. Her husband with a free schedule? Maybe her Rio project would have to wait a bit. She hurried to the elevator and used her knuckle to hit the button. A devious smile spread across her lips as the doors closed.
Halfway to the executive floor her cell vibrated. Glancing down her belly turned to cold, hard lead. The message was clear.
Beautiful building, Tiger. Too bad it’s about to be a pile of flaming rubble. Have fun. Love and kisses. Oliver
Abbey’s heart slammed in her chest. She hit the emergency stop button on the elevator, stopping it on the thirtieth floor. Racing across the hallway, she grabbed the handle to the fire alarm and pulled.
The shrill, piercing noise filled the building. Those on the floor looked at her in confusion. She waved them to the door and then dialed the security desk from the phone on the closest desk. “Larry, it’s Abbey O’Riley. Take the check-in list and the iPad. Record everyone leaving the building just like our drills. Go.”
She scurried between the cubicles looking for stragglers ignoring the alarm. Then she made her way to the stairs and climbed them as fast as she could. She didn’t miss a beat as she grabbed her ringing phone. “This is Abbey.”
“What the bloody blazes is going on?” Sloan demanded.
“I got a text from Oliver. He said our building is about to be rubble. So I pulled the fire alarm.”
“How did Oliver get your cell number?”
“I don’t know. It makes me nervous. Where are you?”
“Floor thirty. The Executive Floor has been cleared. Where are you?”
“I just stepped onto the thirtieth floor. And since I pulled the alarm, the elevator is no longer an option.” Abbey glanced around until her eyes reached Sloan, the knot of his tie pulled free and hanging loose. He motioned violently to her to join him. She sprinted to his side and wrapped her fingers tight around his.
“As we descend we can check each floor for stragglers.”
“Sounds good.”
They raced to the stairs as the commotion on the first floor echoing from the atrium began to fade. They both felt responsible for the lives inside whether they be Sloan Enterprises employees or those that rented floor space from them. After years of fire drills the building could clear out in little over fifteen minutes. She just hoped that bought them enough time.
As their feet hit the floor below them she felt the building tremble. Grasping the railing they waited. The sprinkler system came to life, dousing them in water. Their jog down the steps turned into a sprint. That wasn’t an earthquake. There’s now a fire in the building.
“That was an explosion,” Sloan near shouted through the stairwell.
“I know.” Abbey’s voice trembled. “They’re trying to eliminate us by our preferred method of attack.”
“We need to get out.”
“Yes. Now.” They stopped suddenly to see a terrified employee crash through the door. Sloan shook his head. “We’d better hop out to see if any others ignored the alarm.”
Every couple floors on the way down, they popped out of the stairwell to check the floor they were on. By the twelfth floor the building shook violently once again. Flames licked from the air vents as smoke filled the atrium. Abbey’s heart pounded in her chest. She ignored her ringing phone. The first bomb sent everyone scrambling out of the building. Each landing became a blur. Only a few more more floors and they could get out too.
Finally the end came into sight. As they reached the ground floor, Sloan grabbed Abbey’s hand and tugged her to the door leading to the lobby.
A third explosion ripped through the floor, buckling their knees and sending them to the tile. The marble beneath them cracked. The screeching of ripping metal screamed louder than the blaze. Sloan jumped to his feet and yanked Abbey to him. They watched in horror as the glass elevator pulled from its anchors and crashed to the ground. Glass twinkled like diamonds against the flames as it scattered across the heaving tile floor. Mangled iron stretched across the atrium blocking the way out of the building.
The thick smoke stole Abbey’s voice. She coughed violently. “We can’t get out.”
Sloan led her into the restroom toward the back stall. Sitting on the floor, he pulled her to his lap. His arms held her close as his hand guided her to bury her face into his linen shirt. He buried his face in her hair. “I’m sorry, luv.”
“For what?” she choked.
“Ending like this.”
“If this is it, then I want to die this way. In your arms.”
She could hear his sigh in his ear. The room grew hazy as she fought to take a breath. The crackle of flames was the last thing she heard as she closed her heavy eyes, fighting to take one last gulp of air.
»»•««
Ame’s heart thundered in her chest as she pulled the door of the bookstore open. Her face looked ragged from her lack of sleep. There were dark circles under her eyes. She hoped that Dakota wouldn’t notice. There was no doubt in her mind he probably would. The fact he asked her repeatedly if she was all right didn’t help the way she felt about him. He was cute when he worried about her. She did her best to shrug off his questions. It’s not like I can tell him my parents are super spies.
Her grandmother greeted her as she stepped inside. “Hello, Ame. How was your day at school, sweetheart?” Mary questioned. Her auburn ponytail whisked against her shoulders as she shook her head. “You need some sleep. You look exhausted.”
“I’m all right, Grandma,” Ame objected.
“I keep telling her the same thing, Mrs. Fionnain.” Dakota walked out of the storeroom with a concerned frown directed at Ame.
“Really, I’m fine,” Ame insisted.
Mary hugged her tight. “You’re stubborn just like your da…”
Ame stiffened at her words. Mary must have sensed it. She cleared her throat and began again. “Like your granddad.”
Ame offered her a small smile as Mary winked at her. “I better get to work,” Ame offered.
“Sure. The kids’ books n
eed to be reshelved. I had a group of preschool kids in here today. Things are sort of a jumble.”
“I can do that.” Ame set her backpack behind the counter then crossed the bookstore toward the children’s section. She stopped as the ground shook beneath her feet. She frowned and looked at Mary and Dakota as she heard a soft boom. “What was that? Construction work?”
“There’s nothing going on around here. We live in Minnesota so I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an earthquake.” Mary threw open the door to investigate with Dakota and Ame on her heels. People were screaming and crying as they rushed past the three of them. Ame frowned, puzzled. She recognized some of them. They worked for Sloan Enterprises. She cringed at the look of horror on her grandmother’s face as Mary reached the street corner. “Oh my…”
“Grandma, what is it?” Ame ran to her side. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the plumes of smoke pouring from the shattered windows of Sloan Enterprises. People were scrambling around each other as they ran from the building. Whatever they heard and felt came from her parents’ building. Tears burned Ame’s eyes. “Mommy. Daddy.”
Without warning, the girl took off in a sprint toward the building, dodging those that were trying to escape it. She ignored her grandmother’s pleas to stop. By the closeness of Mary’s voice she could tell she was following behind. She should be scared too. Grandpa is also in that building.
Ame stopped briefly as the ground trembled again. There was another loud boom that shattered more windows. Fire accompanied the dark smoke. Ame picked up her pace toward the building as the cry of fire engines, ambulances, and patrol cars arrived on the scene. News trucks followed right behind. The street in front of Sloan Enterprises was suddenly filled with firefighters, paramedics, police and reporters.
Her steps were stopped as a pair of strong arms caught her and held her tight. She watched as a tablet fell into the grass beside the sidewalk. “Amelia, stop,” Gordon ordered.
“Mom and Dad?” she whimpered.
Family Ties Page 4
