by Lisa Cardiff
“If you refuse to help, you don’t serve any purpose,” the man said, his venomous tone jarring Avery out of her internal dialogue.
“What are you saying?” Dierdre hissed.
The man let out a harsh laugh. “I warned you before what would happen if you disobeyed me. You’re a liability we cannot afford.”
She shot him an amused look. “Do what you need to do. It can’t be any worse than lying in bed wasting away. Look at me. Don’t you think your threats are a tad bit meaningless at this point?”
“Not when your daughter is involved,” the man threatened.
“Leave her alone! You did a brilliant job faking her death. Nobody has found her and it will probably stay that way. I could keep her in the dark. Nobody would know anything.”
“Sorry. That’s not happening. As I said, they may have found her already, and if she aligns herself with them, she quickly goes from being harmless to being a liability. Besides, I need her. I earned the right to have her.”
“She knows nothing.” She shook her head in a useless gesture. “You don’t even know if she’s the one. Why not let her go?”
“I don’t care. She’s like a malignant tumor waiting to be unleashed. She’s either with us, or she dies.”
Avery gasped and quickly covered her mouth with her trembling hand, hoping no one heard her.
“Please,” Dierdre spit out in a strangled voice. “Just give her a chance to live a normal life. She deserves that.”
“She’s not normal. I can’t offer the impossible. I’m not operating a charity. This is about power, control, and shaping the future.”
“She can have anything she wants if you just leave her alone. Please, I beg you. If you ever cared about Avery or me, you will leave her alone. Give me this one thing.”
“You were nothing but an interesting diversion. As for Avery, I only care about what she can do for the Foundation.”
“You really are a heartless bastard!” Deirdre seethed.
“Are you really so delusional that you think you can make up for your past sins by begging for mercy for your daughter?”
As Dierdre turned to stare out the window, Avery peered through attic opening trying to get a better view of the man in the room, but his head was still turned away from her.
“I don’t deny I’ve made mistakes with Avery,” Dierdre said, her guilt choking her already dry throat, “but I did try to do what I thought was best for her. I’m not perfect, but I won’t interfere this time. Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I can manipulate her again. I failed her, and she knows it.”
“If you won’t help me, you don’t leave me any alternative,” he said. “You, my dear, are no longer necessary.”
Avery grabbed the attic ladder, intending to release it into the hallway, but her aunt grabbed her wrist, slowly pulling her back to the far corner of the attic. Avery tried to twist her wrist free, but her aunt just tightened her hand and placed her other hand over Avery’s mouth. She whispered soothingly in Avery’s ear, “We can’t be discovered. I beg you, please be quiet.” Avery stared at the opening of the attic access door, listening helplessly to the sound of glass breaking and muffled whimpers. She slid down the side of the wall to her knees and covered her mouth so she would remember not to scream or make a sound. As soon as Dierdre’s whimpers faded, drawers opened and closed then footsteps echoed through the house. Avery wrapped her hands in the folds of her shirt to stop them from shaking. She took a deep breath and swallowed, willing herself not to be sick. Just when Avery thought she couldn’t hold in her scream for another moment, the front door finally slammed shut, leaving the house feeling hollow and empty with the finality only death could bring. Silence seeped into the attic like an inky black fog. Both Avery and her aunt remained crouched in the corner of the attic, unwilling to face the scene below.
After what seemed like hours, her aunt stood up and said, “We need to get you out of here. I’ll drive you back to your hotel.” When Avery didn’t respond her aunt kept talking. “We’ll book you on the first flight back to New York. You’ll be safe there, at least for a while, but you’ll need to start over, find a new identity. You can do it. You’re strong.”
Avery felt as though she were coming out of a trance. She hardly registered anything her aunt said, but when she heard the words “New York”, she removed her hand from her shirt and slowly unfolded her body from the floor. She sucked in a breath and curled her hands into tight fists, pressing them into her abdomen, forcing herself to regain something resembling composure. “What are you talking about? I have to take Dierdre with me. She’ll be safer away from here and from whatever is going on with that man.”
Her aunt grabbed Avery’s hands and cradled them softly. “Honey, I’m sorry. I don’t think your mother is—”
“Stop it. Don’t say it. I am sure she’s okay. We can take her to the hospital. It’s not too late. It can’t be. We weren’t done. We needed more time.” Avery’s voice came out as a tortured plea.
Avery’s aunt dropped her hand, stepped back, and stared at Avery with pity. Finally, she nodded. “Of course, you’re right.” Her aunt bent to release the ladder into the hall below sending a dim pool of light streaming into the darkness of the room. “Let’s check on your mother and see what we can do.”
Abruptly, Avery headed toward the opening, and reached for the ladder without saying another word to her aunt. Her hands, damp with sweat, shook so badly it was difficult to maintain her grip on the ladder. Once in the hallway, she ran, almost stumbling into Dierdre’s room. In her blind panic, she nearly tripped over her mother’s frail body that lay haphazardly on the floor near the doorway. Her mother’s glassy blue eyes stared sightlessly at the wall. There was no blood.
Avery kneeled beside Dierdre’s body. Ignoring her fears, she reached for her mother’s wrist. Please be alive. Dierdre’s wrist was so limp and lifeless that she nearly dropped it in shock. She searched frantically for a pulse. When she didn’t find one, she dropped her head against her mother’s chest, hoping that she would hear a faint murmur, anything that might give her hope. Hearing nothing but the erratic tempo her own breath, hot, silent tears poured from her eyes, burning her face. Her mother was dead. The thought echoed through her mind like a drum.
Standing behind her, Catherine placed her hand on Avery’s shoulder. “We need to get you out of here. There’s nothing we can do for your mother now.”
“We have to call the Gardaì, or whoever deals with this,” she choked out.
“No, it isn’t safe to involve anyone. You can’t believe the extent of these people’s power. They’re everywhere. They have infiltrated everything. Your mother told me not to trust anyone. She didn’t want to you come here, but I convinced her to take the risk so you two could find peace before she died.”
Avery knew she should get to her feet, but her muscles refused to obey her. “Who are they?” Avery croaked.
“I don’t know exactly. I’ve met a few of their people, but your mother thought it was safer if I didn’t know all the details. She made me promise I would keep you safe or at least get you out of here when they came for you. I know it might not have seemed like it all the time, but I love you, Avery. You are all I have left. I’ll do anything for you.”
Avery made an almost indiscernible nod and shifted away from Dierdre’s body sitting with her legs pulled to her chest, her feet firmly rooted on the hardwood planks. Against her will, a string of childhood memories drifted through her mind, flickering like an old black and white movie. She steadied her breathing, hoping that her mind and emotions would follow. “What are you suggesting?”
“I’ll take care of your mother and make all the necessary arrangements. She didn’t have much time left. No one will question me if I report that she died. I’ll just say that we were out of the home on a walk and when we returned, she had passed away.”
Avery stared intently at her aunt. “Are you going to be alright?”
�
�Your mother came to terms with the fact that she was dying, as did I over these past months. I promised her that I’d protect you. I’ll have time to grieve when I fulfill her request.”
Avery sighed. “What should we do?”
“We need to focus on keeping you safe. We can’t do that in Ireland. You should attend the memorial service to show that we don’t suspect anything untoward. If all goes well, we can get you on a plane within the next couple of days without any trouble.”
“I don’t think I can hide in New York. You heard what he said. It doesn’t sound as though they are going to leave me alone. I think I should stay. I can search for clues in Dierdre’s papers and disappear for a while, maybe go to some out of the way bed and breakfast where no one would think to look for me.”
“You aren’t safe in Ireland. Everything started here before you were born, so this is the last place you can hide. Besides, your mother wouldn’t want you to spend your life chasing after these people. She wanted you to have a normal life.”
“Didn’t you hear what he said? I can’t have a normal life until this is resolved. This is not going to disappear if I bury my head in the sand or run away.”
“What difference does it make where you are? Just leave Ireland. You’ll have plenty of time to sort this out when it’s not so raw.”
Avery stared at her aunt without blinking. “I refuse to be in the dark any longer. How can I protect myself when I don’t know what I’m trying to protect myself from? The only way to stay safe is to confront the enemy and only then can I find a way to live a normal life. Just last night you were trying to delay my departure.”
“I know, but now that your mother’s gone, it’s not worth the risk. There is no reason for you to stay. We can find another way.”
“No. I’m not leaving until I get the answers I need,” she said, placing her hands on her hips.
“I can’t talk you out of this, can I?”
“No. I’m determined to end this once and for all.”
“Okay, then what do you plan to do?”
“Can I take my mother’s car?”
“Certainly, it’s yours now anyway.”
Avery rose abruptly, glancing one more time at Dierdre’s body. All her instincts told her to get out of her aunt’s house fast. She felt eyes watching her, crawling all over her skin. “I’m going back to my hotel. I’ll call you in a few days.”
Crouched outside Dierdre’s window, well hidden by the late afternoon shadows, Kalen watched the man from the Foundation pull a cell phone out of his pocket as he walked to his car. The man kept his voice low and rushed, making it nearly impossible for Kalen to hear his words. It didn’t matter what the man said. Kalen knew it wouldn’t be long before reinforcements showed up to search the house, trying to locate the girl to bring her into the Foundation. Regardless of what the Foundation’s plans were, Kalen would make sure the girl was long gone and nearly impossible to locate by the time the man’s cohorts arrived. Then, Kalen could dump the girl with the Queen or Cian and get her out of his life.
From his location, Kalen had witnessed some of the fight between Dierdre and the man. He watched Dierdre struggle as the man forced her to the floor and shoved a pillow over her face until she was dead. Neither the aunt nor the girl came to help. They must have been well hidden.
Kalen recognized the man from some photos of Foundation operatives in Aerin’s files. He knew the man was high up on the food chain and he had an unpredictable temperament. He had been too far away to hear every word between the man and Dierdre, even with the window slightly cracked, but he heard enough to know he wanted to remain invisible. He didn’t want to confirm the man’s suspicions that Fae had located her. Better to keep the Foundation guessing.
It didn’t sound as though the Foundation had recruited her into their inner fold yet. That may not last. He didn’t know how long she could hold out. Then again, maybe she wasn’t the innocent he believed her to be. She could be working with the Foundation already and getting rid of her mother was just part of the plan to eliminate loose ends. That would explain her meeting yesterday morning. The timing did seem suspicious. Either way, it was time he and Ashling met face to face so he could get some answers. He wouldn’t let her hide the truth from him.
After watching the girl get into the car and drive away, he crept silently along the side of the home to the driveway where he ducked behind the hedges lining its perimeter. From her conversation with the aunt, the girl planned to go back to her hotel. That was his cue to leave and do one of his favorite things: sift from place to place.
Chapter 7
Only a thin reed of sun held fast above the still water of Galway Harbor as Avery wearily made her way to the lobby of the Harbour Hotel. Hard to believe she left this hotel room about twenty-four hours ago. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Her whole world had shifted.
As she drove aimlessly through Galway County, paranoid that someone had followed her, she’d gone over the days’ events a dozen times or more in her head, and she knew she had to uncover the secrets Dierdre had been so intent on concealing. While her aunt begged her to hide and make a new life for herself, she knew it was too late to hide from whatever mess Dierdre had created. She took a huge risk, and she might be killed, but that wasn’t going to deter her. The little information Dierdre had shared with her probably wouldn’t be helpful, but that wasn’t important. While she didn’t know her past, she would own her future. With that thought, the desolate mask that settled on her face hours earlier was replaced with determination.
Avery’s hotel room was completely dark when she opened the door. She ignored the light switch, deciding instead to stumble through the darkness to her bed. For the last hour at her aunt’s house and the endless drive back to the hotel, she fantasized about taking a shower the minute she walked into her room to scrub the lingering scent of death and deceit off of her body, but when she leaned back on the bed, she decided a shower could wait until morning. Right now, all that mattered was a nice warm bed, and tomorrow she could take a shower, check in with Grace, and start planning her next move. She rolled onto her side, pulled her knees close to her chest, and moaned at the thought of being able to sleep for eight or more hours. Convincing herself that she was completely safe until morning, she closed her eyes. She promised herself that she would get out of there first thing in the morning. By that time, everything would make sense. She would know exactly what to do, and she wouldn’t have any doubts.
He watched the girl’s fitful sleep from a chair in the corner of the room. Wanting to get a better look, he leaned over and cracked open the heavy drapery. The moon shone into the room through the tiny opening in the drapes, giving him just enough light to observe her every movement. She curled up on her side with her arms hugging her chest almost as though she were trying to comfort herself. Some hair had fallen out of her ponytail, leaving loose strands draped across her face. Seeing the dried tears that stained her delicate cheekbones, it was obvious she had been crying in her sleep. The sheets of the bed tangled around her long, toned legs as though she’d spent hours battling an unknown foe. Nevertheless, she slept soundly and oblivious to his presence.
Studying her profile, he marveled at her fascinating combination of contradictions—delicate but strong, courageous but timid. While she held her own with her mother and aunt, she sometimes hid in the shadows, trying to be invisible. She was strong willed and able to think on her feet when her mother died, but yet, she cried in her sleep like a frightened child. Nothing about her made sense.
Shifting in his chair, he propped up his legs on a nearby side table. He liked everything he learned about her. He was even attracted to her, but he wouldn’t let his fascination interfere with the mission. So what, she was pretty. There were thousands of beautiful women, mortal and Faerie, available to him at the mere snap of his fingers. She wasn’t special. While he kept telling himself that, none of that mattered. From the moment they made eye contact outside the Foundation,
she had enchanted him, and he couldn’t get her out of his mind. The more he studied her, the more he convinced himself it would be harmless to kiss her while she slept, to see what she tasted like, to see if her lips were as soft as they looked. Maybe he would trace the beautifully sculpted lines of her face with his fingertip and feel her silky skin. She would never know. It would be his little secret.
On impulse, he got up and walked toward the bed, hovering over her sleeping form like a specter in the darkness. She mumbled in her sleep and looked increasingly restless. Wanting to soothe her, he reached forward and gently pushed her hair out of her face, letting his fingers roam from her temple to her jaw line and then down the side of her neck all the while feeling that spark of connection that had always been between them grow and simmer. He quickly pulled back his hand and held his breath when she shivered in response to his touch, hoping he hadn’t waken her. As her breathing leveled out again, he bent over, brushing his lips against hers. The kiss was so fleeting it was almost nonexistent.
He stared at her for a few more minutes then went back to the chair in the corner. Now that he had kissed her, all he could think about was what it would be like if she kissed him back. As quick as the thought raced through his mind, he pushed it out of his head. He couldn’t afford to form an attachment with anyone. It had nearly ruined his life before and he had no intention of making himself vulnerable with any woman again.
Avery had managed to fall asleep almost immediately when she got in her bed. Unfortunately, her sleep was marred by never ending nightmares. Her mind played Dierdre’s death over and over again in a never-ending loop. Suddenly, it was Avery, not Dierdre, dying over and over again in different but progressively violent ways.
She was strangled, smothered, burned, cut and beaten. The metallic scent of blood and burning flesh was so real it burned her nose. The pain was so intense that it paralyzed her. She begged her attacker to let her die, but he suddenly disappeared and four cloaked figures started marching around her, chanting a haunting melody as if they were summoning death itself. When their chanting stopped, they turned to her in unison, pulling back their hooded capes to reveal golden, phosphorescent eyes.
