by Zara Keane
“But he hasn’t hurt you? Kevin, I mean?”
Kaylee’s look of surprise lightened the weight on Ruthie’s head. “God, no. He’s more scared than I am. Of what, I don’t know. I believe him when he says he didn’t hurt the bodyguards, so I’ve got to think Kevin’s right—Reuben’s using Kevin to get to me.”
As if on cue, Kevin lurched into the room and checked the boarded-up windows. “Secure. That’s good. They’re still out there. I can feel them watching us.”
“The only people out there are Shane, Lar, Dan, Gen, Reuben, and the boys,” Ruthie repeated gently.
Kevin rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “He’s not getting back in here. The man’s an animal. What sort of husband puts cigarettes out on his wife’s body? People say I’m sick, but I’d never do that to anyone.”
Ruthie’s stomach clenched. Seeing her brother in such a state broke her heart. She exchanged a glance with Kaylee. “Okay, Kevin. Calm down. Let’s talk about this. Why won’t you let Kaylee leave?”
Silence.
“Please,” Ruthie continued. “Talk to me, Kev. What’s going on? Who are you afraid of?”
“The men in the trees,” he said finally. “They’re waiting for us.”
Ruthie went to the window and peered through a crack in the plywood. The hill above the cottage was dotted with trees, but she couldn’t see any people. “I’m going to search the house. Stay here with Kaylee, Kev. And put down that drill, okay?”
Kevin hovered nervously, unsure whether to object or obey.
“Please?” Ruthie led him to a chair and shoved him gently onto it. “Why don’t you let Kaylee have the drill for now?”
He was instantly alert, and clutched the drill to his chest. “No. It’s mine. I—”
“It’s all right, Kevin,” Kaylee interjected. “I don’t mind you having the drill.”
Ruthie cast her a grateful glance and slipped out of the room.
A preliminary search of the cottage revealed nothing unusual. Kevin had been busy boarding up windows, and only the downstairs bathroom window was left in its original state. Ruthie walked into the kitchen and searched cupboards and drawers, making sure to remove all the sharp knives in case her instincts were off and Kevin was about to melt down.
She closed the last of the drawers and scanned the kitchen. The only place she hadn’t searched was the microwave—hardly a likely hiding place for knives. Nonetheless, Ruthie’s training at the agency had instilled thoroughness. She opened the microwave door.
Oh my God. She leaped back, pulse racing, stomach in her throat. It was a remote-controlled bomb.
29
Shane paced the perimeter of the cottage. What was taking so long? Courtesy of the boarded-up windows, he couldn’t see inside. Sweat beaded under his collar, and he undid the top button of his shirt. Letting Ruthie go in alone had been a mistake. Every second she was gone seemed like a year. All the things he should have said to her played in his head on repeat. He’d spent weeks feeling betrayed by Lar. He was still feeling bruised over that business, but the conversation last night gave him hope that they could heal their friendship. Malachy taking off like a bat out of hell effectively put that conversation on hold.
And Ruthie? Could he truly fault her for being willing to do anything to protect her family? How many times had he been guilty of doing a bad thing for a good reason? Let’s face it, his own behavior toward Lar had hardly been honorable. He’d allowed Frank to bully him into undertaking surveillance on his best friend. Shane sucked in a breath. The instant Kaylee was safe, he was telling Ruthie how he felt.
He reached for his phone to call her and remembered that Reuben had broken Ruthie’s phone. “I don’t like this,” he muttered to Lar. “It’s too quiet in the house, and Reuben’s acting shifty.”
“Reuben always acts shifty,” Lar said. “It’s who he is.”
Shane opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again when he picked up the sound of approaching vehicles. Two cars bounced over the rough path that led from the road down to the cottage. They screeched to a halt, and Big Mike and a few of his lackeys piled out.
Big Mike marched over to Shane. “What the hell is going on? Ruthie called me, and now I can’t reach her or Kevin on their phones.”
Shane jerked a thumb at Reuben, who was standing at the far edge of the property with the boys, under the watchful eyes of Dan and Gen. “Reuben claims Kevin is holding Kaylee hostage.”
The vein in Big Mike’s neck bulged. “That’s bollocks. Kevin wouldn’t hold someone against their will.”
“Ruthie said the same. She’s in the cottage, trying to reason with Kevin and find out what’s going on.”
Big Mike ran a hand over his bald scalp. “This is my fault. I should have listened to my daughter. She told me to force Kevin into treatment, but I refused.”
“It’s too late for recriminations,” Shane said in a low voice. “For all we know, this is some scheme of Reuben’s, and Kevin is a sitting duck. Either way, we have to be careful. I want everyone out of that house.”
The older man grunted. “I agree, but how? I don’t want to barge in and spook Kevin.”
“No barging. We’re going to divide and conquer. Lar, Dan, and Gen can keep an eye on Reuben outside. Your men can patrol the perimeter, and you and I will approach the cottage.”
“Okay,” Big Mike said. “I’ll go tell them.”
They split up, and Big Mike jogged over to his guys and began to relay instructions. Shane strode over to Gen and his cousins.
“Something stinks,” Dan said when Shane had repeated what he’d said to Big Mike. “This whole situation gives me the creeps. How did Reuben find the cottage?”
“I don’t know,” Shane said. “Either we have a leak and one of the bodyguards let something slip, or Reuben had them tailed when they changed shifts.”
“How would he have discovered who works for us?” Lar said. “We kept it on the down-low.”
“All it takes is one slip-up,” Shane replied. “A hacked phone. An indiscreet word here and there. And, as Reuben pointed out, he isn’t stupid. He has the money and the means to tail us twenty-four-seven. We knew hiding Kaylee and the boys was a risk.”
Despite the mild weather, Gen shivered and pulled her jacket around her chest. “Let’s get moving,” she said. “Good luck, Shane.”
“You, too.”
Shane left the others and headed for the cottage, where his path converged with Big Mike’s. “Ready?”
Big Mike grunted. “Yeah, but I’d still prefer to beat the crap out of Reuben.”
“All in good time,” Shane said with a grim smile. “All in good time.”
Ruthie raced back into the living room. “Kaylee, where’s your phone? I need to call Shane.”
Kaylee shook her head. “Reuben took it with him.”
“Shit.” Ruthie gulped for air. “Kevin, do you have your phone on you?”
“What?” Her brother looked distracted. “No. I left it in Reuben’s car.”
It always came back to Reuben. She punched her palm and bit back a scream. That prick had broken her phone deliberately, making sure they had no way of contacting Shane and the others once they were in the house. Meanwhile, Reuben was prancing around outside, armed with a phone that could detonate the device he’d left as a parting gift for his estranged wife. And with all of them dead, who would believe that Kevin wasn’t responsible? When she got her hands on him…Ruthie blew out a breath. Focus. It was time to come up with a plan. “Kevin, you said you saw men outside. Did they travel down with you in Reuben’s car?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Kaylee, Did you see anyone else when Reuben came into the cottage?”
The other woman shook her head. “Just Reuben and Kevin.”
Ruthie turned to her brother. “How many men were there?”
“Four,” Kevin said without hesitation. “Two came with us in Reuben’s car, and the other two came in a second car.
”
Four men… Ruthie would bet good money that they were the same four eejits who’d tried to beat up Lar and Shane. She returned to the crack in the plywood. Yeah, the trees were far enough away to conceal men hiding behind them, but not far enough away to prevent them from having an excellent shot at the people outside the cottage. Shit.
She drew back and took a deep breath. “Okay, listen to me carefully. We’re going to go outside the cottage—”
“No,” Kevin shouted. “The men in the trees—”
“I’ll deal with them,” she said grimly. “Now shut up and listen. We’ll all walk outside the cottage together. When we get outside, we run like hell. And here’s the key part. I want you to run toward Reuben, not away. Got it?”
Kaylee blanched. “Why?”
“Just trust me to know what I’m doing. Please, Kaylee. Kevin, I want you to protect Kaylee. Stay with her and guide her toward Reuben and the boys.”
Kevin nodded, apparently relieved to be told what to do. “Got it.”
“Okay, come on. Time to get out of here.”
Kevin and Kaylee followed Ruthie out into the hallway. Her heart rate kicked up a notch when she slipped her gun from her pocket.
“Is that necessary?” Kaylee asked, horrified.
“Better safe than sorry.” Ruthie opened the door a crack and peered out. Reuben was about a hundred meters away from the cottage with his sons, well out of blast range. Meanwhile, Dad and Shane were walking straight toward the house. Damn it. “We gotta move. One the count of three, run like hell. One…two…three…” She threw the door open and began to run, waving her arms at Shane and her father. “Bomb. Reuben. Remote control.”
Shane and her father froze for half a second, their eyes widening. Then Shane glanced at the cottage and back at her. “Come on, run.”
They all legged it as fast as possible. Ruthie had almost reached the shed at the far end of the property when shots rang out. A cry sounded from behind her. She spun around to see Kaylee fall on her face, clutching her leg. They weren’t far enough away from the cottage for it to be safe.
The others were further ahead and wouldn’t reach Kaylee in time. Ruthie turned back and sprinted to Kaylee.
“My leg,” the other woman moaned. “Some prick shot me.”
“Kevin was right about the men in the trees.” Ruthie put Kaylee’s arm around her neck and pulled her up. “I know it hurts, but we’ve got to keep moving. And keep your head down.”
Kaylee nodded. “I know.”
Ruthie was dimly aware of shouts in the distance and the sound of running feet, but she focused on moving them forward, one slow step at a time, pushing them closer to safety. Shane came into view, sprinting hard in their direction. Even from a distance, she recognized the panic on his face. Ruthie quickened her pace, ignoring Kaylee’s cry of pain. She’d almost caught up to Shane when a loud noise ripped through her consciousness and she was hurled through the air. And then the blackness claimed her, and she knew no more.
30
When Ruthie regained consciousness, she was in a hospital room, hooked up to a machine. Shane sat in a chair beside her bed, snoozing. His beard was unkempt and he wore the same clothes as he had at the cottage. She tried to sit up, and fell back on her pillows with a groan. Her head felt like someone was trying to hammer through it from the inside.
Shane was awake in an instant. “Ruthie?”
“Hey,” she said in a croaky voice. “How’s Kaylee? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. She had to have surgery to remove the bullet and fix her leg, but she’ll make a full recovery.” He touched her face with his fingertips, and his brow creased in concern. “How do you feel?”
She gave him a wan smile. “My head hurts like a mofo. Apart from that, I’m okay. What do the docs say?”
“You have concussion and a few scrapes and bruises. You took a nasty blow to the head when the bomb went off.”
“Ugh. That explains the headache.”
He took her hands in his and kissed them. “I thought I’d lost you, Ruthie. When the bomb exploded and you went flying, it was the worst moment of my life.”
“I’m hard to kill.” She tried to sit up and winced. Shane helped her to arrange her pillows. When she was comfortable, she peppered him with questions. “What was Reuben’s motive? Apart from being a dickhead psycho, I mean.”
“Life insurance.” Shane’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. “We’ve done digging into Reuben’s affairs since yesterday. Apparently, he took out a policy on Kaylee’s life several months ago. Not necessarily for a nefarious reason at the time, but when she wanted to divorce him, he was livid.”
“So he decided to get rid of her and claim the settlement?” Ruthie asked, incredulous. “It’s like something out of a bad thriller.”
“Real life is often more twisted than fiction,” Shane said. “Setting Kevin up as the fall guy was the perfect solution. Who’d believe a mentally ill man who’s off his meds and talks about imaginary enemies?”
Ruthie shuddered. “That’s diabolical. Poor Kevin.”
“It’s a diabolical plan that very nearly worked.” Shane pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, Ruthie. Not that I was angry with you because you’d lied to me, but for shutting you out. I should have listened to your side of the story, maybe waited until I’d had time to simmer down before reacting.”
“You’d just caught me trying to hack into your computer, right after we’d had mind-blowing sex,” she said dryly. “I don’t blame you for being upset.”
“Mind-blowing?” He grinned. “I like that description.”
She blushed. “I was kind of hoping you’d had a similar experience.”
Shane leaned over and brushed his lips over hers. “Oh, yeah. It was the best night of my life. That’s part of the reason it felt like you’d ripped my heart out when I found you on my laptop.”
“For what it’s worth,” she said softly, “I ripped my own heart out too. I hated the subterfuge. The reason I took a risk and tried to get into your laptop while you were asleep was that the agency was putting pressure on me to produce results. For whatever reason, finding out what you knew about The Lucky Leprechaun attack had become a matter of urgency.”
“About that…” Shane said. “I had a meeting with Gen and the guys earlier. Gen says the Jarvis Agency is legit, but even her contact didn’t know much about them. We’re going to do more digging to see what we can find out about them and why they’re so interested in our investigation. In the meantime, we have a proposition for you.”
She squinted at him through the pain of her throbbing head. “You do?”
“You know the Jarvis Agency. You know the people who work there, and you can put faces to names.”
“Well, I know some of them,” she amended. “It’s on a strictly need-to-know basis.”
“We—the Triskelion Team, that is—want you to go back there and find out why they’re so interested in us.”
She frowned. “You want me to go back to Geneva and spy on the agency?”
“Yes.” He leaned forward. “And I want you to take Flash and me with you. I’m getting kicked out of my apartment soon anyway. I’ll need somewhere to live, and a change of scene would do me good.”
Her heart leaped. Was he serious? “What about your job for the Triskelion Team?” she asked. “You guys just started your business.”
“I’m still working for the Triskelion Team. Security and internet research is stuff I can do anywhere. Besides, I’m hoping that living in Geneva won’t be a permanent solution—for either of us.”
Her heart beat a little faster. He couldn’t mean…but no. That wasn’t possible. Not after what she’d done. “Do you want me to tell the Jarvis Agency I’m stringing you along for info?”
“Tell them whatever works. As long as we know it’s real, that’s all that counts.”
For a moment, she forgot to breathe. “Wait…I thought you wanted to use me to spy on the Jarvis Age
ncy. Do you mean—?”
He grinned, and her heart melted. “Yes, I want you to spy on them, but I have an ulterior motive—you. Almost losing you put everything in perspective. You screwed up by not telling me why you were back in Dublin, but I understand why you did it. I can respect wanting to protect your loved ones.”
“I didn’t do a very good job at protecting anyone.”
“You saved Kaylee’s life.” He squeezed her hands. “Don’t ever forget that. I know I won’t. I owe you one, Ruthie.”
This made her laugh. “And I owe you two thousand euros. I’ll give you the money when we get to Geneva.”
“Never mind the money.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “All I want is to be with you. If yesterday taught me anything, it’s that I can’t live my life being afraid to trust the people I care about. And that includes you. I want to start over with you, Ruthie. I want us to be a proper couple.”
“And I want to be with you, Shane. You have no idea how much. But first, I need to sort out Kevin’s predicament.”
His expression softened. “Your dad took care of that. After the police were done questioning everyone, Big Mike persuaded Kevin to check into a psychiatric clinic. He seemed to take it quite calmly.”
A wave of relief washed over her. “I can only hope he stays. What if he changes his mind and checks himself out?”
“Take it one day at a time, Ruthie. At least he won’t need to worry about his debt to Reuben anymore.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Reuben is letting it slide?”
A sly smile crept over his face. “Reuben is in police custody and has no say in the matter. Adam came to a deal with your father. He agreed to drop the matter in exchange for five thousand in cash and Big Mike’s promise not to torch every premises he owns.”
