Arielle Immortal Fury (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 6)

by Lilian Roberts

  “Good work. What else?”

  “We’re going to get more photos, but this time in closer proximity to the girl. We’ll send a second envelope showing how easy it is for us to get close to her. And we’ll include our demands.”

  “Good job,” Rainer exclaimed.

  “I told you not to worry. We’re moving along, and I’ll keep you posted. I’m faxing the details right now.”

  “Thanks, Jorrit, You’ve done good.” The phone went dead, and a ghost of a smile highlighted Rainer’s face. It was but a few minutes later when he heard a soft knock at the door.

  “Come in.”

  Georgiana, his secretary, walked in with a wide smile on her face and the fax report he was waiting for in her hand.

  “This just came in for you, sir,” she said with a soft voice. She walked around his desk and handed him the papers. His breath held in his throat, and his mouth went dry. His eyes rested on the sheer blouse that hugged her beautiful body. He reached out reluctantly to take the fax, and their fingers touched. He felt a strong jolt like electricity surge through his muscles, and he tensed. One of the sheets fell to the floor right in front of her feet. She bent down to pick it up, and his gaze followed her movement. The low cut of her blouse gave him a clear view of her soft alabaster skin and a beautiful white lace bra that made him shiver. With the paper in her hand, she lifted her eyes and met his blistering gaze. Her lips curved up to a soft smile of approval, and he lost it.

  He wrapped his arms around her waist, gathering her to him. He was not thinking as he lowered his head and took her mouth, locking them into a fevered kiss. His head was spinning with desire, but something was telling him to stop. This was wrong. He reluctantly pulled back from the kiss. Georgiana’s eyes were closed, lost in the heat of the moment.

  “Georgiana, you shouldn’t be here. This is a very bad idea,” he said, gasping for air. But he didn’t move to release her. She opened her eyes slowly and blinked. A smile grazed her lips. Reaching up, she pressed her lips to his with hunger one more time, letting a soft moan escape her.

  “I know, but I can’t help feeling the way I do,” she said against his mouth. She moved into him, causing ripples of desire to creep up and invade his body and mind. He pushed her softly away and coughed, trying to catch his breath. He rested his eyes on her pretty face and felt a chill running through his skin. She was stunningly beautiful, standing unmoved and watching him. She ran her tongue over her moist lips as if trying to taste the remainder of his kiss, and his eyes powerlessly followed the movement. He was completely mesmerized by her presence. He couldn’t believe that he had never experienced a feeling like this in his dismal life. He was also shocked to realize that there was a part of him that was decent and moral. His life was filled with crime and murder. She definitely shouldn’t be there and most importantly not involved with someone like him.

  He collected his thoughts and reluctantly sat back down as he thanked her for her help. She turned around and walked away slowly, never taking her eyes off of his face until the door closed behind her. He gasped out loud and leaned forward. He put his elbows on the desk and rested his face in his hands in distress. This had to stop, he thought. He couldn’t allow himself to get involved with an innocent young lady. His life was too dirty and dangerous, living in a world of crime that had no room for innocent people.

  He took several deep breaths, stood up, and started pacing back and forth. Suddenly, he felt the room closing in as he was unable to breathe; he needed some air. He gathered the papers that were spread across the desk and folded them. He put them in his coat pocket and walked out of his office. He knew that she would be sitting at her desk, and he was determined to avoid eye contact. He crossed the long hall, taking large strides, and pushed the button for the elevator. He stood facing the wall, avoiding looking in her direction. His heart raced, preventing him from getting enough air into his lungs. He couldn’t remember this type of anxiety, not even during the occasions when he had faced death.

  When the elevator doors opened, he found himself practically running to the exit. He stepped onto the sidewalk and let the cool air caress his face as he filled his lungs with fresh air. He looked around and decided to walk across the street to the park. Half an hour later, he finally sat on a bench to gather his thoughts. He couldn’t lose sight of the fact that he needed to be totally involved in this assignment and not let personal issues get in the way. He sat there for almost an hour before removing the papers from his coat pocket. He started to read. It was the fax from Jorrit with the details he was waiting for. He read:

  Rainer,

  Here is detailed surveillance on the people that are close to Sebastian Gaulle. I have included all the particulars about each one of them, their relation to each other, and where they reside.

  Sebastian Gaulle: I know that you are aware that his family fortune goes as far back as the 16th century and that he is the sole heir. He is considered to be one of the wealthiest men in the world, and he doesn’t have any blood family alive. He seems to be very close to the Dillon family. They consider and treat him as their real son. He is engaged to twenty-one-year-old Arielle Lloyd from Brighton. They live together off of W Parade at 3425 on the beach. He attends the University of Brighton with Arielle while running one of the most successful companies in the world despite holding several degrees already. Arielle’s parents live in Brighton at 16 Sillwood St, a few miles away from Sebastian and Arielle.

  The two of them have a very tight group of friends, and we did a background check on them as well. I figure the more people in the pot, the more we can bargain with.

  Nathan Shilton is a business associate and one of Sebastian's closest friends. He practically runs the company in Sebastian’s absence. He was recently married, and he and his wife reside at 4238 Longstreet Lane. He is a very important person in the IIRL Company.

  Troy Vasser is Sebastian's best friend and president of security at IIRL. He has no family either. He is the owner of a huge company in Italy that goes way back to the 16th century, and like Sebastian, he is the only heir to the Vasser fortune. There is something strange about both of them, but nothing that I can put my finger on.

  Gabrielle Taylor is Arielle’s best friend and is engaged to Troy Vasser. They live together at Glover Dr 1216. Her parents still live in Brighton at 34 Spring Rd.

  Eva Winters is best friends with Arielle and Gabrielle. The three of them grew up together. Eva’s mother is still in Brighton at 41 Weldon St., but her father was killed in a car accident a few years back.

  Ian Bristow is a German-born citizen who moved to England as a student, but his parents still live in Germany. He is engaged to Eva Winters, and they live together at 11 S River Rd.

  Paul Winfield is another one of their friends. He comes from a wealthy, well-known family in the English movie industry. He is engaged to Loren Dillon. He lives with three roommates a couple miles from the university at 78 Northbound Rd.

  Loren Dillon is considered to be Sebastian’s sister and lives with her parents. The Dillons are a noble family and very well-known in England. They socialize with the upper class of London. Their estate is located in Canterbury.

  All the kids attend the University of Brighton, and they are extremely close to each other. This list gives me a large number of people we can work with. If he doesn’t cooperate, I will send all this information to Vasily, and he can start with the fiancée before moving on to the others systematically. I don’t think he has much choice but to cooperate. I will keep you posted.

  The fax was unsigned. He folded the papers and put them back in his pocket, hoping that the plan would work and he’d get Nikola off his back. He leaned back, lit a cigarette, and closed his eyes, thinking of how much he’d love to just walk away from this terrible job and disappear. He had worked hard to get to the top, but he was tired and didn’t want to do this anymore. He had committed unthinkable crimes, and he was sick of it. He wanted a normal life with someone to love and someone to love
him back. He wanted to build a family, but he knew that would never happen for him. He chose his path, and there was no way out. He felt dread whirling in the pit of his stomach and was shocked to sense moisture in his eyes. With a quiet curse under his breath, he threw away the cigarette and rose to his feet.

  The walk back to the office seemed twice as long as he felt the weight of the situation pressing down on him. His thoughts whirled wildly in his head as he realized that he was actually jealous of Sebastian, the girl, his friends, and the man’s life in general. He cursed again as he entered the building.

  Sebastian pushed on the gas, his eyes locked on the road as his mind filled with questions without answers. He had to concentrate on the task at hand, knowing that going to Brussels right now wasn’t crucial, but he had to find the person responsible for putting Arielle’s life in danger. He remembered the moment that he pulled those photos out of the envelope and felt his blood boiling one more time.

  Dylan provided information that Sebastian needed to get to the starting point. He was sure that his intelligence agents in Brussels were experienced, but he knew that he, along with Nathan and Troy, could definitely do a better job at intercepting and destroying the system hackers and extortionists.

  He needed to phone Dylan when he arrived in Brussels. He had given explicit instructions to his agents to provide Sebastian and his friends with any assistance they might need while there. Sebastian wouldn’t worry about Arielle’s safety for the next few days, because he knew that she was going to be protected extremely well. Whoever sent that envelope to his office had absolutely no idea who he had riled.

  Sebastian would have to get used to being away from Arielle, no matter how much he disliked the idea. He closed his eyes and released a forbearing sigh, praying that nothing unpleasant would take place while he was in Brussels. A feeling of dread settled over him. He hated that he put her life in constant danger, but he couldn’t help falling in love with her.

  Sebastian's plane took off on time. With their earbuds in, the immortals searched through the music channels on the airline’s playlist. When each one found what they liked, they leaned back against the headrest and closed their eyes to enjoy the music. They had agreed not to discuss business during the short flight. It wasn’t until they were in the rental car that they began talking about their next move.

  “I think we should stop at the hotel first,” Sebastian suggested. “Then we can arrange to meet Dylan’s agents and go over their surveillance tapes. We might be able to get some insight as to whom we are dealing with and the type of equipment they are using to hack our systems. Then, we will pay them a visit.” Fury was dripping off of each word that left his lips.

  “How are we ever going to get in there without being noticed? I’m sure they’ll be keeping watch for intruders,” Nathan said.

  “The best time will be after midnight. I think it’s a real chance that they will not expect visitors that late.”

  “I know what I’d like to do with their equipment,” Troy said impishly.

  “Whatever you’ve got in mind, you have my blessing,” Sebastian replied with a smile.

  “How about letting me in on the secret,” Nathan said.

  Troy patted him on the back. “Nathan, I think the three of us are capable of getting in there and destroying every piece of equipment they own, but that wouldn’t end the hacking. They would set up their operation center somewhere else. I’m thinking about delivering some awfully harmful bugs in their systems that would destroy everything they have accumulated to this date. We might even protect some of the poor victims they are getting ready to destroy,” Troy said.

  Nathan glanced between Sebastian and Troy, a wide smile on his face. “I think I’m starting to love this game,” he said quietly.

  “I like what I’m hearing,” Sebastian said.

  “How about the resident virus?” Troy’s voice was energized as he gazed between Nathan and Sebastian with an expression of openness. Both looked at him quizzically. “I was thinking more of invading their system with a root kit that will make it impossible for them to detect the presence of anything we set in there to destroy their computers,” Troy said.

  “I’d like to hear a little more about it,” Nathan said.

  “This virus will create chaos for them, because once they think something is wrong they will immediately use their anti-virus software to detect the problem. This resident virus is undetectable 99.5 percent of the time. It resides in the memory of the whole system. When the virus scanner starts, it accesses every potential host file on their computer to perform a system-wide scan, and that is when such a virus can piggy-back on the virus scanner and infect every file scanned. The infection to their system will spread fast and furious.”

  He fell silent waiting for his friend's input. As the silence lingered, he turned to look at Sebastian. “So what do you think?” he asked.

  Sebastian smiled lightly. “Oh, I think I’m going to enjoy this.”

  “So are we going to the hotel first?” Nathan asked.

  “Yes,” Sebastian said, turning his attention to the road.

  Troy humphed. “It would be nice to get to the bottom of this and finally find out who is pulling the strings.”

  “What would be nice is to connect the names with the faces,” Nathan said. “That would make it easier to eliminate the right people.”

  They all seemed in agreement about the last statement. “This time we are going to wipe out their deadly ring completely and get to the root of their organization. I’m not leaving this up to Dylan again. He’s a good man, but he can only do what humans can do.” Sebastian was unwavering in his statement as he picked up his mobile and called Dylan.

  “Hey, Dylan; it’s Sebastian.”

  “Are you already in Brussels?” Dylan sounded surprised.

  “Yes, we’re in the rental car heading to the hotel. Can you call your detectives and let them know that we are coming?” Sebastian inquired.

  “Yes, I’ll do that as soon as we get off the phone.”

  “What floor did you say?”

  “We occupy the third floor in the building at Rue Bodenstraat 46. The surveillance room has a clear view of the hackers' office, which is set up on the second floor right across the street at building forty-seven.”

  “Much appreciated, Dylan.”

  “You stay safe. If you need anything at all, just let my guys know and they’ll be more than happy to help. I know you are angry about what they are doing to your company, but, Sebastian, please don’t try anything dangerous. Let us do this; let us help you.”

  “Don’t worry, Dylan. We aren’t going to do anything at all. Thanks again.” Sebastian pressed the off button and chuckled.

  “Dylan didn’t want us to do anything dangerous. He wants us to ask his guys for help if we get in trouble.” They all laughed out loud, though they knew that Dylan had the best intentions.

  Their reservations were at the impressive Hotel de Ville. They checked in and requested that their luggage be taken to their rooms. They had a meeting to attend, and they were out the door in no time at all. It was fairly difficult to navigate directly towards their destination as the streets leading there were narrow and filled with tourists walking from one shop to the next. Sebastian had to zigzag carefully until they reached Rue Bodenstraat. A tall young man in blue jeans and T-shirts answered the door. He had a gun and a police badge attached to his belt. He smiled at them and then spoke in a clear voice with a strong British accent.

  “You must be Dylan’s friends. I’m John Mason; please come in,” he said, extending his hand to shake each of theirs enthusiastically. He stepped aside and let them inside a fairly large room with comfortable furnishings. There were two long tables against the glass wall facing the street, used for the surveillance equipment. The agents had an amazing view of the hackers' building. There were three more agents in the room. They all stood up to shake hands and introduce themselves, taken aback by the immortal looks.


  One of the agents stared between the visitors with a stunned expression on his face. “Are you brothers?” The question left his lips before he could stop it.

  Sebastian knew that they looked similar but for the color of their hair and eyes. Immortality changed their appearance.

  “No, we are just friends and associates,” Sebastian replied smoothly. They looked puzzled, but they moved back to their seats. John Mason told them to make themselves comfortable.

  Sebastian was ready to say something when a knock made all of them turn and look towards the door. The detectives instantly placed their hands on their guns as they exchanged indecisive glances. John put his index finger on his lips as he moved silently to peek through the peephole. He looked back at them and smiled. His hand moved away from his gun, and he unlatched the door.

  “Just the delivery guy,” he said. They all seemed to relax as they sat back down. After a short exchange at the door, John came back with sandwiches and drinks in his hands.

  Glancing at Sebastian and his friends, he smiled apologetically. “Sorry, we didn’t know when you would be arriving, so we didn’t order anything for you.”

  Sebastian shook his head. “Please, don’t worry about us. We had breakfast quite late.

  “Do you all know who is running the place across the street?” Troy asked eagerly.

  John’s gaze flitted to Troy’s face. “Yes, his name is Jorrit Van Cleef, and he is the head guy here in Brussels. He has several hackers that carry out his instructions to destroy computer systems, and many guys that handle his dirty work and his extortion scams. Would you like to see a couple of the latest videos that might involve your company’s issue?” The detective was already walking towards the far wall while asking the question.

  There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation. “That would be very helpful if it’s not too much trouble,” Troy replied.

  “No trouble at all.” He picked up a couple of DVDs and brought them back, setting them on the table in front of them. “The information you are looking for is in one of these two DVDs. Not sure which one since both recorders were running at the same time, but it is definitely on one.”