That left Moriah, and one thing he was absolutely certain of, Moriah wouldn't show up here. The woman hadn't talked to him since that night at the club when she’d walked out on him. He didn't figure the stubborn as fuck assassin would change her mind and reach out unless her life depended upon it, and even then, he wouldn't give that gamble even odds. So, the question remained. Who was in the cabin? He glanced at the SUV again. It was a rental. That much was blatantly obvious. The decals on the car window were a dead giveaway.
Dog lowered to his belly and relaxed, his eyes intent on the front porch. Lycos listened to the birds as they flitted from branch to branch. It was cold, but not frigid, although late winter in the Smokies was a temperamental bitch. This year the snow had held off. Light dustings and a few accumulated inches in December had most everyone thinking the winter would be temperate. Not so, one ten-day forecast predicted an imminent blizzard. Bring it on. It was one of the many reasons he lived out here. He loved the untamed nature.
He took in the roofline of the cabin. He needed to winterize it before long. The solar panels on the back slope of the safe house would keep the small cabin powered as long as whoever was in the house got up on the roof and brushed the snow off the panels. If that became too difficult due to injury or extreme weather, the house had a generator, and a 500-gallon buried diesel fuel tank. He’d trucked the fuel up the mountain himself, and even though he didn’t use the safe house any longer, he made sure it was available for his… co-workers. He chuckled at that thought. Like they had a union or some shit.
He'd spent a handful of winters in that cabin. It was acceptable shelter, and he'd been comfortable, but he’d finally completed his new location. He lived on the other side of the ridge, and if one didn't know exactly where the entrance was, they wouldn't be able to find his mountain home. Small creases at the corner of his eyes deepened as he smiled. He liked his home. He'd excavated and built it himself. He was the only one that had ever stepped foot on those floors. Well, him and the dog. But Dog didn't take to being inside, so he came and went at his pleasure. Mostly went.
The animal stiffened, and Lycos' eyes flicked to the door. It opened, and Dog growled, low and deep in his chest. A hand on his hindquarters quieted the animal. Lycos watched the door open, anticipating Tempest to walk out on the porch. Aww… fuck no. Son of a motherfucking bitch. Nope. This was not happening. No, no, no. Not a fucking kid. Who in their right mind would bring a kid up here? He'd fucking kill whoever gave out that code. Kill them dead and then stab them again just for the delight of stabbing them. Motherfuckers!
The kid shuffled to the end of the porch and sat down on the step. He had a plastic cup and a paper plate. He carefully set the cup down and balanced the plate on his knees. Dog's head did the tilt-a-whirl thing. Yeah, I have no fucking clue what is happening either, boy.
The boy, maybe ten or twelve years old, turned slightly and started on his left-hand side, scanning the area he could see, eating his sandwich as he looked around. He watched some birds darting in and out of the trees. The boy shielded his eyes and glanced upward. Lycos looked heavenward, following the miniature human's observation. A golden hawk circled lazily on the air currents. The kid finally tired of watching the hawk and continued his examination of the world beyond the porch. He didn't leave the step, and he kept still as he watched.
Lycos frowned. Did Tempest have a son? Was that the reason he'd disappeared? If he did have a kid, why would he bring it here? What the fuck had to have happened to make that move?
Dog twitched beside him. The kid had pulled some crust off his sandwich and was tossing it on the ground. Several small sparrows hopped on the ground in front of the cabin. Perfect, just like a Disney movie. All the kid needed now was talking mice and a fairy grandmother.
Dog lifted and edged forward. Lycos touched the animal's flank, but it didn't acknowledge the command. Of course, it didn't. Contrary fucking animal. The canine sat down almost obliterating his view. The asshole. He wrapped his huge hairy tail around his feet and cocked his head. The small human had the dog completely en-fucking-chanted—or confused.
Probably confused. Hell, he was confused, and he had opposable thumbs for fuck's sake. One thing was for damn sure. He wouldn't break cover until he knew who was in that cabin. He'd used curiosity to lure far too many of his targets to their untimely demise to be fooled with the tactic.
He shifted slightly after scanning the area. Dog tensed again, and Lycos' eyes slid to the door. The woman who came out was... well, she had on a pair of jeans that fit the globes of her pert ass like a glove and a sweater that hugged the generous swell of her breasts. Two of his favorite parts of a female. She shrugged on a large jacket over her form-fitting turtleneck before she sat down with the boy. They talked, and smiled, and laughed at the snowbirds which were hopping around on the gravel in front of the cabin. She said something, and the boy hopped up and ran into the cabin with his plate and cup.
The woman stood and crossed her arms, almost hugging herself. The breeze blew the crazy curls of her short blonde hair around. She pushed it out of her eyes and turned toward the trailhead near the cabin. Lycos watched her closely as, like the boy, she gazed through the trees, but he didn't sense the wonderment he'd observed in the child. No, the woman displayed worry. The boy ran out of the cabin with a jacket. He hopped down the stairs and shoved his arms through the garment as he headed toward the trail. She called to him to wait and turned to lock up the cabin.
Lycos lifted a metaphoric eyebrow at the action. She was in the middle of nowhere. The normal human tendency was to assume isolation; this woman, however, didn't. Her worry was more than a cautionary tale, at least to him. Yet another reason to use extreme caution.
He observed them as they headed to the trail that would lead them to the ridgeline. If they followed it all the way, they would be gone for an hour. Lycos waited until Dog's ears started with the swiveling radar movement before he shifted position. If the woman and child were still close, the dog would have had a steady bead on them.
He cautiously circled the clearing, staying well within the trees to avoid being seen. He would go into the cabin via the back door. The woods would cover his approach until the last minute. After ensuring he was alone, he made his way to the door, slid his key into the lock and let himself into the cabin. Dog sat at the open door. The animal would warn him if someone approached.
He passed through the kitchen, noting the supplies laid in. Not enough if they were staying for any length of time. He eyed the furniture in the living room and then headed to the bedrooms. Both beds were made. The child's room was obvious. He had a backpack full of electronic devices. A DVD player, handheld games, a Bluetooth speaker and headphones.
In the woman's room, he found a purse. He dug out the wallet and rifled through the contents. A driver's license from New York. Bethanie Clark. The date of birth made her twenty-seven, almost twenty-eight. He put the wallet back and grabbed her phone. The screen lock took thirty seconds to break. He pulled up her call log, and his eyes narrowed. There was nothing for the last four days. Lycos brought up her voicemails and checked all her messages, texts, emails and voicemails to include deleted messages. There was literally nothing on the phone. He flipped it and opened the case. A tingle of apprehension ran down his spine. The phone had a chip attached to the case. Tracker or listening device, he wasn't sure and couldn't be unless he removed it. Not in this lifetime. He'd make sure he knew what he was dealing with before he exposed himself in that fashion. He replaced the back of the phone and put it back in the case. He swiped through the apps and stopped when he saw the app that had allowed her to open the key box. He'd developed the app. Whoever had sent her here knew him. He double tapped on the icon and blinked at the six-figure code still displayed across the screen.
Well, fuck. Things just got interesting. He’d assigned that code to Moriah. Why in the hell would she send a woman and a kid into the middle of nowhere, to him? He shut the device down and dropped th
e phone back in her purse and ghosted out of the house. He had a phone call to make, and in order to do so, he needed a Sat phone and a secure connection.
“Look!” Ethan ran ahead and scooped up a massive pine cone. It was at least eight inches long, and it hadn't opened yet. He held it up to her showing her the base.
“That's impressive.” Bethanie took the cone and examined it.
“Right? Did you know the pine cone is a good example of a Fibonacci sequence?” Ethan ran his finger from the base of the cone and followed the spiral around the base.
Whew, there was no way she was going to homeschool her son. She had no idea what the Fibonacci sequence was. Ethan had always been ahead of his peers, so much so the headmistress at Ethan's private school had arranged advanced classes for him.
“I didn't know that. Can you explain that to me?” She continued walking, and he fell into step with her.
“It's so easy. It’s all about patterns. Like this pine cone. On the spirals, both ways you can see the order. See this is one, two, three, five, eight, thirteen, twenty-one.”
“Wait, how do you get those numbers?” Bethanie stopped and watched as her son traced the spiral.
“You add the last two numbers to get the next one. Mr. Cavetti said patterns like this happen in most of nature because everything comes from an origin point. The point on the pine cone is here. So, you start here with one.”
“Have I told you today how brilliant you are?”
She ran her hand through his hair, and he pulled away with a drawn out, “Mom.”
“Well, you are.” She drew a deep breath and enjoyed the scent of pine.
“Why did we really leave home? Why are you scared?” Ethan tossed the pine cone away and shoved his hands into his pocket.
“Well...” Hell, it was time to speak the truth, wasn't it? “Let's go sit down over there.”
Ethan sat down on the trunk of an old tree that had fallen and grabbed another pine cone. His fingers traced the spirals as he waited for her to speak.
“I need to tell you some things, about your father.”
Ethan glanced up at her. He set the pine cone down and wrapped his arms around his stomach.
“Not long ago, your father was in an accident.”
“He’s dead, isn’t he?”
Bethanie’s head snapped toward her son. He shrugged. “James’ dad told James. He told me.”
“When?”
“About two weeks ago.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“Why didn’t you?” Her son stared at her, his eyes narrowed, waiting for her to answer.
“Because I didn’t know if it was true, if he was actually gone. We didn’t have the best relationship.” Understatement of the century.
Ethan blinked and looked down at the pine cone. He started rocking back and forth before he asked, “Did he hurt you, like James’ dad hurts his mom?”
Her stomach clenched and then dropped. She shook her head. “No, honey, he used to threaten me, but he never once hit me.” His head snapped up, and he stared at her. She watched him closely. Emotions floated over his face before he looked down again.
“If he’s dead then he can't ever take me away from you.”
She barely heard his words. “No, he can't.” She put her arm around her son and pulled him into her. “He can't ever take you away from me.”
His sagged. No matter how big he grew, she didn't want to imagine a day where she couldn't hold him and soothe his fears or try to absorb his pain. Harvey would have taken him, and she'd tried to prepare Ethan for the eventuality. To prepare herself. It would have killed her. In her heart she knew it would have broken her beyond repair to know Harvey had Ethan.
His shoulders shook as he cried silently. She dropped kisses on his hair. She didn't have any emotions for that bastard, but for the pain her son was feeling, tears flowed down her cheek.
He sat up and wiped at his tears. He sniffed, “Mom?”
“Hmmm?”
“I'm happy I don't have to go live with him. I hated him.”
“You… but you never said anything...”
Ethan shrugged. “He scared me, and I didn't want to go live with him. I wanted to stay with you, and I told him that. He said he'd hurt you if I didn't do what he said. He told me I could never tell you and that we’d both be sorry if I did. He said my... weakness wouldn't taint him. What does that mean?”
“Oh, Ethan. He scared me, too. He was a very different man, but he can't hurt you or me. He's gone.” Bethanie wiped at her own cheeks. The horrible things she’d tried to keep from her son, the things she believed she’d shielded him from, were things he’d been dealing with alone. “He's gone, and we are going to be fine.”
Ethan sniffed and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his jacket. “If he’s dead, he can't take me away from you, and he can’t hurt us, so why are we here? What is the real reason we left?”
How did she answer that without painting his father as the monster he was? He could never know the abomination Harvey Simmons had been. Never. Bethanie drew a deep breath and walked a verbal tightrope. Truth on one side and lies on the other. When he was older, perhaps she'd be able to tell him, but not now. He wouldn't understand or be able to deal with the truth. “Your father made some enemies.”
“Not a surprise.” Ethan’s snark forced a chuff of laughter from her.
“Yeah, well, we came here because nobody really knew if we were in danger from them.” The explanation was as factual as she could make it. She wiped at her tears again and picked up the pine cone he'd placed on the ground in front of him.
“Why would they want to hurt us?” Ethan pushed at a rock with the toe of his shoe.
“I don't know, but there are some people who are trying to fix that. They're the ones who sent us here. That's why we left our car and have the rental. So, no one can track us. We're safe here.” God, she prayed they were safe. If someone came after them here, there was no hope for help. They were so alone.
“You're sure?”
“Positive.” She made herself smile at him and prayed that searching look he gave her didn't make it past the very thin veneer she'd pasted over her insecurities.
He leaned into her and nodded. “Okay. Hey, Mom?”
“Yeah?”
“Don't tell James I cried, okay?”
“Never. It will be our secret. I promise.”
Chapter 4
Lycos slid through the trees and worked his way back to the side of the granite outcropping. He watched Dog scramble to the top of the boulder that obscured the trail to his front door. The animal lifted his nose into the wind. His ears twitched, and he gazed down the mountain before he sat down and huffed.
Lycos chuckled as he passed the animal. Poor Dog. He was upset there wasn't anything to chase. Sooner or later a small animal, or hell a large one, would lure Dog away. Lycos walked down the trail and slid through the crack in the facade of the mountain. The naturally carved chute led him into his home. He moved a fabricated rock, deactivated his security alarm, and opened the door. The shape of his door followed the natural contours of the rock and varied in width to replicate a solid boulder when it was shut. The lights activated at his movement. He took off his boots and placed them on a rack beside the door.
The radiant warmed floors were heated by a thermal spring. Naturally occurring thermal springs littered the Smoky Mountains, and he'd harnessed one to warm his home. As he moved through the massive cavern that held his living room and kitchen, the lighting switched on, illuminating his path as he headed to his office. He followed the natural incline to a higher set of caves. His bedroom, the office, and a room he used for storage were located here. He used naturally occurring cracks in the granite for skylights. The openings led to a bowl on top of the mountain where he’d placed his solar panels along with the septic tank, and the pumps that drew fresh water and the heated spring water up the mountain.
Lycos dropped into the chair in front of his
desk. The monitor activated at a touch of his mouse. He leaned over and flipped a switch. He heard the distant whirring as his satellite dish unfolded. The camouflaged netting over the dish would obscure any view of his presence.
He waited until his phone had obtained a connection and hit the digits of the hand-held device.
“Operator Two Seven Four.”
Lycos smiled and shook his head. How many years had the same woman always answered his calls? Too many, probably. She had to be an artificial intelligence program.
“Sunset clearance, third operative,” Lycos said the words that would get him the answers he needed. Or should he say, the questions he hoped like fuck Bengal would have the answers to.
“Standby third operative.”
“What's wrong?” Bengal's harsh rasp came across the line.
“Has Moriah been compromised?” That was the only reason he could think of for someone other than her to use his safe house with her code.
“Standby.” Bengal's clipped words didn't bode well, but Lycos refused to allow any emotion into his consideration. He stared at the small picture on his desk—the only picture he had in the entire house. The snapshot had been taken from a distance. Faces weren't visible, even if it was digitally enhanced. The photo was of him, Fury, Bengal, Moriah, Anubis, Thanatos, Tempest, Asp and Smoke, the original Shadows. There were more now. Lycos didn't associate with them. Refused to. Fury was dead. Bengal and Anubis were killing paperwork now. Tempest? Probably dead. Moriah had severed him from her life, and Thanatos, well, that man was like a brother to him. He'd hurt the day Thanatos no longer walked the earth. That is if he lived long enough to see that happen. Again, a gamble that shouldn't be given even odds.
“Archangel.”
Shit. The boss. “Third Operative.”
“Moriah is not compromised. Why did you ask?”
“Her code was used to access one of my safe houses.”
“Standby.”
Lycos held the phone away from his ear and lifted an eyebrow. Another click sounded, and a female voice came on the line. “I'm on.”
Lycos (Guardian Security Shadow World Book 3) Page 3
