Tom squeezed my arm. “You love it here, don’t you? Your eyes are as big as a kid’s at her first circus.”
“Well, it certainly isn’t Texas, is it?” I craned to watch more of the city zip by. A few minutes later, the hospital came into view. Mac drove into the area marked “car park” and stopped.
Tom leaned forward, hand extended. “Thanks. I’ll take the keys now.”
Mac yanked them from the ignition and slapped them into Tom’s palm. Tom reached over and laced both of Mac’s hands to the steering wheel with plastic restraints.
“Good. You sit here. When I come back, you’ll get your money.”
Mac flipped around with a scowl. “Hey, mate. That wasn’t the deal.”
Tom tipped his imaginary Stetson. “Patience is a virtue. We won’t be more than an hour.”
He leaned over and unlatched the door handle for me. I pecked his cheek and slid out.
Mac stretched. “Okay. But you better come back. Or Niamh will disappear.”
Tom grabbed him by the shirt through the open window. “No, she won’t.” His words hissed in monotone syllables.
He let loose, and Mac readjusted his collar with his neck movements. “Right.”
I scrunched my eyebrows, but Tom winked my worries away. He punched the button to close the window and clicked the keyless entry to lock the doors. “That’ll hold him. Shall we go?” He extended a bent elbow.
I laced my arm through it.
“She is in the medical wing, third floor. This way. Though, we might stop by the gift shop first. Know what flowers she likes?”
I ribbed him with my elbow. “Remember ones I like?”
The automatic glass doors swooshed open. Tom beckoned me to go first as he leaned into my ear. “Robert always gave you white roses. But your favorites are blushed-pink carnations, right?”
My mouth formed a wide grin.
Two nurses glared harsh stares to hush his hearty laugh as it echoed down the corridor.
* * *
Glenda flipped through a magazine. One arm, bandaged in plaster, dangled in a canvas sling. An IV hung into her other one.
I turned to Tom. “Just a scratch, huh?”
She cocked her head and waved my comment away with her hand. “Okay, I had to have surgery. Bullet nicked a bone and lodged in there. But, I’m fine.”
Tom brought the bouquet from behind his back. “Compliments of the family from across the pond.”
Glenda’s giggle hit the ceiling and bounced against the walls. The sterile room took on a sudden warmth. She motioned us to sit. I perched on the edge of the bed and Tom drug a burnt orange naugahyde chair, which had been in the room since the 1960s, I’m sure, over to her bedside.
Glenda leaned forward. “How ever did you get her away from him?”
Tom reached for my fingers and squeezed them. “She did it herself.”
She winked at me. “Good girl.”
Tom let go and looked to some imaginary spot. “Robert’s broken. A total wreck, Jen says.”
Glenda clicked her teeth. “So hard to come back, I hear. Nearly impossible. Not many do, successfully.”
I shifted my attention to Tom and back to Glenda. “Read me in on this, will you?”
They focused on each other’s face and laughed. Glenda shook her finger at Tom. “Dear Lord, she’s picked up on the lingo. Are you handling her?”
His eyebrows wiggled. “I’d love too.”
My cheeks burst with heat. “Can we be serious?”
Tom got up. “This will take a while. I’ll get us some sodas. Diet?”
Glenda and I responded in unison, “Yes, please.”
He planted a kiss on the top of my head and left the room.
“Oh, you’re one lucky lady.” Glenda gave me a wide-eyed grin.
“How did you find him, or did he locate you?”
She smoothed her sheets around her hips. “He’s good. He followed Robert. Those men we dodged in Lacock? Turns out they were the good guys—Tom’s men…”
I pursed my lips. Not according to Robert. Who told the truth? I wanted to believe Glenda, but I’d learned not to jump to conclusions. My thoughts returned to her voice…
“Only I didn’t know Andrew wasn’t a good guy, too. So when he said we’d better lose them, I took his advice.”
“For a while, I thought you and Andrew might be…” I gave her a long, hard stare to detect honesty in her expression.
She made a ppsshh sound with her mouth. “He had me fooled, too.”
“But”—I cocked my head, not losing her from my sight—“Robert told me your assignment was to bring me to him.”
She paled. “No. He lied, dear. It was to take you to Bath.” I noticed her eye twitched slightly. Had I caught her in a falsehood? I didn’t want to accept it.
The door opened. Tom returned laden with cups and two cans of soda. Glenda gave a slight cough. She rubbed her throat with her good hand. “Thanks, Tom. I’m parched.”
I glared at her. Did she just bat her eyelashes?
Tom seemed oblivious. He set the cups down and popped the lids, dividing the sodas between us three. He handed me one first, and another to Glenda. With a sip of his own, he returned to his stylish hospital chair. “Got permission from the nurse. Drink up.” He lifted his cup in a mock toast, took a gulp, and set it down on the hospital tray. “Now, what shall we talk about, ladies?”
“Tell me all I’ve missed while lying here.” Glenda smirked.
My eyes widened until Tom’s set jaw sent them back to normal. He knows about her.
Tom set his cup down and reached for Glenda’s ear. With a gentle yank, he pulled out a mechanical bud. “Still attached to Andrew?”
Glenda sputtered. Tom smashed the device with his heel, and scooted it across the floor with his shoe.
I pressed my lips together and gazed at the effervescing bubbles in my cup. The laugh hung on my teeth.
Tom’s voice took on a stern tone. “Glenda, I hate spy games, okay? Decide now. Are you on our side or Robert’s?”
Her eyes became black-liner slits. “You seem to have the upper hand, my friend. I’m not a dummy.”
Tom glanced at me. “You figured this out, didn’t you?” Pride sparkled in his sapphire irises. Oh, how I could melt into them. But I didn’t want him to give me credit where it wasn’t due. “Robert blurted it out, actually.”
“Hmm. And you believed him?” A smirk slid across his cheeks.
I knew he referred to the same comment I’d made to him in my kitchen in Florida. Gosh, it seemed like months ago. “Touché. But I had wondered. I mean, Glenda, when you finally agreed for me to go atop the barge, well, the timing made it a bit too coincidental.”
“Humph.” She turned to look out the window.
Tom crossed a leg over his knee. “So, Glenda. What’s the next step?”
She returned her gaze to him and slunk down into her covers. “I guess you want to know where the real Niamh is.”
“It would work for a start.” His tone reminded me of the vice principal of my parochial middle school.
“Andrew dragged her away, I gather. My attention lay elsewhere at the time.” She rubbed her cast.
“Any idea where?”
Glenda flicked a piece of blanket fuzz from her sling. “Not privy.”
Tom turned to me. “Guess I’ll have to pump Mac for the answers. You care to wait here?”
I gave Glenda a perusal. She smiled. “I’ll be a good girl.” She crossed her chest with an “X”. “Scout’s honor.”
Tom gulped the last of his soda, crumpled the cup, and tossed it in the trash. “This won’t take long.” He got up to walk out.
Glenda picked up the remote. “Well, my absolute fave sitcom is on.”
As Tom left, the nurse came in with Glenda’s latest dose of meds in a small paper cup. Glenda threw back her head and swallowed them. Within minutes, she softly snoozed in pain killer land.
I walked to the window and cra
ned to spot the car. Under the street lamp’s glow over the car park, I noticed two silhouettes in the front seat. I leaned my forehead against the pane, closed my eyes, and prayed.
CHAPTER FIFTY
In a little bit the door to Glenda’s room opened. I turned to see Tom standing there. I looked back at the car park. “Mac’s gone?”
Tom closed the door and tiptoed over to me. “Were you spying on me?” Playfulness hung in his voice.
“More like praying over you.”
He rubbed the small of my back. “Thanks, hon.”
I faced him. “And...”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “And…he has his money. Well, half of it. The rest he’ll get after tonight.”
“What happens tonight?”
Glenda groaned and turned in her bed. With a small snort, she fell deep into la-la land again.
“The nurse gave her the nine o’clock meds.”
Tom raised an eyebrow. “Ah.”
I waited. He cocked his head. “Oh, yes. You asked what is going to go down next?” He took my elbow. “Let’s leave sleeping beauty to rest and go to the caffy, as the locals say. I haven’t had dinner, have you?”
My stomach rumbled to remind me I hadn’t either.
He smiled. “I take that as a no. Come on.”
We rode the elevator in silence to the cafeteria in the basement. We picked soup and sandwiches, and headed to a secluded table in the back corner.
Tom dipped his spoon into the creamy broth and took his first swallow. “Not bad for hospital fare.” His head nodded for me to go ahead and eat. I obliged. “But first, we say grace.”
He wiped his mouth “Right. Sorry.”
After we’d bowed our heads and whispered our thanks, hands clasped together, I tucked my spoon into the potato soup. “Hmm. You’re right. It’s decent.”
He swallowed a few bites of sandwich before speaking. “Okay. Tonight, Mac is leading men to the location Andrew took Niamh. You and I are to take the A36 to where Bath Road turns into Fromme Road and meet them there at the Church of St. George at ten fifteen.” He checked his watch. “Which gives us about a half hour before we need to leave. So enjoy your meal.”
I touched his arm. “Wait. Meet who?”
“Niamh. We’ll need her to lead us though the tunnels.”
“Us?”
“Not you, Jen. It will be too dangerous. Besides, I know how you feel about musty, dark places.”
I wagged my head. “True. The first time escaping through them freaked me out enough.”
Tom brushed a piece of hair from my face and let his fingers linger on my cheek. “Thought so.”
I turned to face the window in order to control the tingles his touch caused. “Then where am I to be during this so called raid?”
“You’ll wait in the gazebo with one of the British agents. Another will lead Niamh safely back through to meet you after she has shown us the way through the underground passages. You’ll be protected the whole time. Both of you.” He waited for my nod. “Mac will be in the manor house and clear the way for us to surprise the guards.”
“And Robert?”
Tom’s face darkened. “We’ll handle him and Andrew.”
“You mean take Robert into custody?”
“Well, I doubt he’ll come peacefully. Andrew might. But Robert?” He shook his head. “He’ll fight us.”
“Maybe not. He became so vulnerable and weak, Tom.”
Tom arched his eyebrow. “Really, Jen. It’s not your concern anymore. But don’t worry. We’re trained to be armed and ready. When he tries to escape, as I assume he will, the Feds will be ready.” He stroked my arm. “Just stay in the gazebo, and you won’t have to witness it.”
I gasped. “Tom, no.”
He grabbed my hands. “Jen, you said it. We can’t be free as long as…”
I shook my head rapidly. “That was before I knew he wanted to come back out of the dark. You didn’t see him, Tom. I watched his whole façade crumble before my eyes.”
Tom rocked back in his chair. His jaw set. “I see. It’s not over between you two, is it?”
The pain in his eyes shimmered through the tears in my own. “It is, Tom. Honestly. But so is the hatred and the hurt. God has replaced it with compassion. Robert can still be saved. I think he wants it, too.”
Tom reached over and took the cross I wore into his fingers. “I pray that’s true, Jen. But, I’ve known him longer than you have.”
I nodded. “Until tonight, I’m not sure I ever did.”
He released my necklace and stared into me.
I sniffled and dabbed my eyes.
Tom’s face became granite. “I’ll see what I can do.”
I bobbed my head and picked up my sandwich. We finished our meal in silence.
I wanted to tell him the whole sordid story. Why holding Marisol’s baby hurt so much, other than the obvious reason of adultery. And, how it had all melted into forgiveness, for both myself and Robert, too. But now wasn’t the time. It would come eventually though, and I dreaded the fact. It might jeopardize his love for me. But I didn’t want there to be any lies between us. Our relationship must be built on total honesty for it to work. I wanted nothing less.
* * *
We followed the A36 to Bath Rd past the Fromme River. Off to the side a few miles ahead, the steeple of a church came into view through the moonlight.
“That must be it, Tom.”
He squinted to read the sign as the headlights splashed onto it. “St George Church, 1 K.”
“Right you are. Good navigating.”
I tapped his expensive watch with all its gadgets. “No credit goes to this? A man not afraid to ask for directions. Who knew?”
He shrugged. “I gave up my watch for you once, you know.”
A tender smile etched the corners of his mouth and reached into my heart. “I remember.”
Tom referred to the time we became stranded in the New Mexico desert. He’d given his other watch to some Hispanics as payment for leading us to Robert’s hideout, not that I knew that’s what it was at the time. There I’d met Marisol, and her friend Monica, both being trafficked by Robert’s cartel.
I thought of them, of Niamh, and the countless other women my husband had victimized. Tom was right. Robert may feel contrition, but he had to pay for his crimes.
The gravel popped under the car tires as we edged into the grounds. Tom turned off the car’s lights. His watch’s face glowed in the darkness. “We have a few minutes. They’ll be here.”
I pushed my shoulder blades into the upholstery and looked out onto the gravestones, battered and rubbed by time. Lichen and moss lay where names and dates once did. Most slunk into the graves at an eerie angle, their inhabitants long ago forgotten. How sad.
“People have lived, worshipped, and died here for thousands of years. Hard to fathom it.”
“Hmm.” Tom reached in his pocket for his burner phone and texted in a message. “Okay. I have communicated with the powers to be. Now, want to join me in communicating to the Power above all else?”
I reached for his hand, and he took it into his. Together we bowed our heads. If we ever needed Divine intervention, it was tonight. I squeezed Tom’s fingers and let their strong warmth bolster me. Lord, please don’t let this be the last time I pray with him. Keep him safe.
The sound of tires on the gravel path interrupted us. Doors closed. Tom squeezed my shoulder and eased out of the car. I slid out the other side.
Two men, dressed in all black, stood with Mac and Niamh in the glow of the car’s headlights. She shot me a wry grin. She wore a black, mid-length skirt, white blouse and baby blue cardigan. She’d combed her hair into a bun at the nape of her neck. As she neared me, her arms wrapped around her waist, I noticed her makeup appeared a lot more demure. I smiled and held out my hand. “Are you ready to go home, now?”
Her palm felt ice cold. “I guess. I never thought…” She blinked and turned her face away. “T
his is really happening, isn’t it?”
I shot a glance to Mac, head-bowed and listening to Tom and another agent’s instructions. He appeared like a scared teenager in front of the magistrate. I turned back to my almost twin. “Yeah, Niamh, it is. You remember the tunnels well enough, right?”
She puffed a breath between her teeth. “Like my own hand.”
Tom strolled over to us. “Okay. You ladies are riding with me. We’ll park in the glen and make the short trek onto the property through the woods to the gazebo. Once there we regroup before entering into the tunnels.”
I tucked a stray strand behind my ear as a whip of wind rustled the graveyard. Mac leaned against the second car, the two agents beside him. “How will Mac get in the house?”
“The front door. After he drops them off with us.” Tom pointed with his head towards the other men.
“Who are they?”
“Friends, Jen. Courtesy of Interpol.” Tom continued his train of thought. “Mac will take the SUV and report in to say Niamh has been secured.”
“Can we trust him, Tom?”
Tom kicked the dirt. “The guy knows who is buttering his bread now. So yes, we have to at this point. But if he turns, they’ll be ready. The main thing is to keep you tucked away and safe, okay? That is all you need to concern yourself with, Jen. Got it?”
A drape of thick silence cascaded between us. After a moment, I sighed with two quick bobs of my head. But I didn’t like the idea at all.
“Okay.” Tom’s voice softened. “Niamh, you’ll show us the way through the tunnel and then head back to the gazebo and wait with Jen.”
“But, she’ll get her nice outfit all muddy. Coming out it was so steep and slick with dirt.”
Niamh laughed. “You came out the wrong way. That exit caved in decades ago. There is another in the glen behind the gazebo if you make two turns to the left.”
My mouth formed an “o”.
The agent in charge stepped over to us. “You ready?”
Legitimate Lies Page 23
