by Nana Malone
"You're Ariel. You will. I promise."
"I hope you're right about this, because right now, I have very little confidence."
"Good thing I have enough confidence for the both of us.”
24
Ariel
I thought the worst part of this thing would be having to explain to everyone that my father was guilty of treason.
I was wrong. Now, I thought the worst was seeing Roone's face. He watched me closely. After talking to Penny last night, I was trying to focus on the facts. Just the facts, no letting emotion get in the way. Those leaky hot tears from yesterday were more than enough for me. But the team needed to know everything so they could be better armed to protect themselves.
Ethan gave me a sympathetic smile. "Why don't you get started, Ariel."
I shifted on my feet, casting my gaze around. These people were my friends. My family. I fought alongside them and helped protect them. But my actions had put them in danger, and I vowed I would never do that again. "Okay guys, the news isn't good. Dublin did not pan out quite how we thought."
Jessa was the only one who looked confused. "Dublin?"
I tried to quickly catch her up. "My dad went missing when we started this mission. Wanted a place to stay. He abused that, used my security codes to get someone access to the server. They, in turn, gave everyone our entire Jessa plan. Protocols, everything we use, they have it all. So it’s pretty bad."
Jessa's mouth hung open. "Holy shit."
"Yeah, but not to worry, Ethan's too smart for that, so we've taken all plans and protocols offline, and we’re keeping it very need-to-know. Which is what I want to talk to you all about." I took a deep breath. Jessa still looked floored. I wish there was a way to reassure her, but there wasn't. It was all bad. Really, really bad.
"Jessa, I know you're getting up to speed, but we did locate my father, just not the man he’s been working with. Dad’s been using several aliases across Europe, and we know he's in Dublin, or at least he was as of yesterday. As far as we know, he has at least one partner, probably more. And from my brief conversation with him, he's all-in with team conspiracy. He is so not team Scooby Gang, and in my opinion, he won't be reasoned with."
Ethan, forever a real father figure to me, said in his calm voice, "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, the important thing is finding him. How did he escape?"
"We had a pretty good net with Interpol. But you guys, he wasn't even hiding. We found him in a café. Like he'd been expecting us, expecting me to show up. So someone was giving him that intel, but I don't know who or how anyone could have known I was going anywhere, since that information wasn’t on the server at all. The only people who knew I was going are in this room, and none of you would sell-out yourselves, so we need to figure it out. But—"
I turned my head toward Sebastian. His gaze was direct, and I could practically see him willing me not to say the words. I continued anyway. "I think I need to recuse myself."
Penny stood up. "What? No. We just had this conversation."
"I'm sorry." I glanced around to the people I considered my family. "I am compromised. This isn't going to work."
Penny immediately tried to rally Sebastian, but I was ready for her.
"Your Majesty, you know this doesn't make sense. As soon as I'm off the team, I stop comprising the operation. My very own father has committed treason. You know that's career suicide as far as the Regents Council is concerned.”
"Why don't you let me worry about the Regents Council."
"Oh my god, why can none of you see that this is a problem? Ethan, talk some sense into them."
But Ethan, my boss, formidable and austere, but above all a patriot and a loyal subject, frowned at me. "Penny's right. You can't make rash decisions."
"Why are all of you working against me? I'm trying to do the right thing here. My father is working with the conspirators. He's conspiring to take down the monarchy."
Ethan shrugged. "You are not your father, and as far as I am concerned, you're still part of this team."
"Look, I can be part of this team on the outside, but you need me off this team officially because they're using me. My father expected me. Only when Interpol got involved did he run. And even at that, he jumped off a bloody bridge to get away from me."
Jessa's eyes went wide. "What? Oh my god, I’m so sorry!"
I shook my head. "No, he's too ornery to die. He had some kind of barge waiting down below. He's perfectly fine."
Her brow lifted. "Oh, wow, okay. So he saw you coming?"
Lucas sat up. "What did you say?"
"What, about my father doing a runner off of a bridge onto a barge?"
He groaned. "And he was at a café?"
"Yeah. Why?"
He covered his face and scrubbed his hands up and down. "You guys, I think we've been so busy worrying about Jessa and someone coming for her that we weren't paying attention to what other files were accessed. The people coming after us, they don't just know things about Jessa. They know me. They know all of us."
Sebastian frowned. "Lucas, explain?"
"The bridge-barge thing, I've done it."
The room went silent as we all stared at the prince. I was the first one to find my voice. "Say what?"
"Yeah, a few years ago when I was still running games for Tony, the getaway was a barge jump off a bridge. I made the jump, but I shattered my ankle. I needed to have surgery to fix it."
Sebastian stared. "You've done it?"
"Yeah, I have."
"Who would know that?"
Lucas shrugged. "Well, I don't know. I'm sure Matthias does, but then he eerily knows everything, so that’s no surprise. But I doubt our own external security firm is trying to help anyone overthrow the monarchy. And basically, anyone who knows any of the angles Tony used to run probably knows about the barge jump."
I rubbed my temple. "So basically, anyone with half a brain who knew enough to research your past would know?"
He nodded. "Yep. It's kind of a disaster."
So they weren't just looking for Jessa, they were looking for dirt on all of us, our weaknesses, anything sketchy we'd done before. Ethan sighed. In some cases, they were using our past exploits to work for them. And we'd been a step behind the whole time.
"See, even more reason why I need to recuse myself."
It was Jessa who said what we were all thinking, though. "So basically, I'm not safe and neither is anyone else. They're coming for us with everything. Your father's moving closer to the UK. This might have been their whole plan all along, to get all three of us out of the Winston Isles because back on the island, it's a fortress. Just like you guys were saying. Completely protected."
I tended to agree. "Here though, there’s less body coverage, easier access. Here there's room for mistakes."
Sebastian wasn't having it though. "Here, we're ready for them. We've been playing defense for too long. It's time we went on the offensive."
Jessa
“Jessa, this isn't a good idea.”
Roone was trying to change my mind about visiting Chloe, but I didn’t care. “Look, I know the risks, but I need to see her. Someone tried to hurt her because of me. I have to see her."
Roone threw up his hands and turned to Sebastian. "You're her big brother. Tell her. Tell her she can't go."
Sebastian shifted on his feet. It was the first time I had seen him when he wasn’t completely sure of himself. Everyone had crowded into our flat. Breakfast was brought in, and the living room in our suite had been turned into a war room. We were working with Interpol on how to capture Ariel's father, and we were also trying to figure out where we were at with the tattoos and what role, if any, Evan played in all of this.
Ariel's thought was that Evan was a run-of-the-mill stalker. Point blank, he was just cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, and we had to treat him accordingly. He still posed a threat, obviously, but it was a threat that was somewhat manageable because at least he was the devil we
knew. My main concern was Chloe. She'd been hurt because of me, and everyone seemed to be focused on the wrong things. Team WI was far too focused on our future plan and not thinking about who might get hurt in the crossfire.
"Look, I get that you're worried. I understand it. Hell, I'm worried too. But Chloe is my best friend, and she's in the hospital because of us. I need to see her. We need to get somebody to protect her."
Sebastian nodded. "Listen, that one's already handled. We have men on her."
"Oh, well, I didn't exactly know that. Fair enough, but like it or not I'm going to see her."
Roone looked at Sebastian like he was supposed to know what to do with me. My oldest brother looked to Penny. And Penny, well, she just sighed. "Look, Jessa, is there any chance you're not going to do something crazy if we say no?"
"No. No chance in hell."
"Okay, in that case then, why don't we do this… Lucas, remember that job you were telling me about, the Bundaberg plan? Was that the one?"
Lucas sat up straighter. "The one where Tony had us use a double?"
Penny nodded. "Yeah, that's the one. Think it could work?"
He frowned. "Work with what? I mean, it's not like we have a double for Jessa."
Penny grinned. "Well, Jessa's a little fairer than I am, but we’re about the same height, though her hair is longer and less curly. But with a little work with a flat iron on my hair, I think we can make it work."
Sebastian stood up then. "Oh, absolutely not. You are not going to do this."
All I could do was glance between the three of them. Then I leaned over to Ariel. "What's happening?"
Ariel shook her head. "Right now, Penny's trying to give you what you want. She's volunteering to go as a decoy so that whoever is following you, whether it's your psycho boss and/or these treasonous assholes, will follow her instead so that you can still see your friend Chloe."
I wanted to see Chloe, of course, but there was no way in hell I was putting my new sister-in-law in danger. "Oh no. You're not pulling me into these shenanigans."
Penny rolled her eyes. "What do you mean? You want to see your friend. Sebastian is as worried about you, just as Roone is. And they should be. And while I think you can give Roone a run for his money, I'm better trained at countersurveillance. And I know how to fight. I have experience with these assholes, and I have a score to settle. That makes me the ideal candidate."
Lucas blanked. "That's why you were asking me?"
Penny sighed. "I swear to God, Lucas, for someone so smart, sometimes you are not all there. It must be hard being so pretty."
Lucas winked at her. "You know you love me for it."
Sebastian looked like he wanted to hit Lucas, and Lucas looked like he didn’t give two shits.
Roone was still pissed off at everyone in the room. "You guys. Bloody focus, will you? My girlfriend is taking the piss and thinks she can stroll into hospital and see Chloe. One of you needs to tell her that needs not to happen. Sebastian, you need to do it more forcefully. Lucas, chime in, would you, mate? And Penny, stop encouraging her."
Penny shrugged. "Sorry, Roone. She's going to do whatever she wants anyway. I'm just trying to mitigate the danger."
"Yeah, and my mate here,” Roone glanced at Sebastian, “will fucking kill everyone in his path if something happens to you."
Ariel shrugged. "Personally, I say bring Chloe to us. We should all just pack it up and go back to the island because at least then we can protect the fort."
I shook my head at that suggestion. "No. She certainly didn't ask for this. We can't just uproot everybody. And just what are we going to do, kidnap her from the hospital?"
Ariel shrugged. "Well, that's one idea."
Penny leveled a look at Sebastian. "You know I'm right. She's going to go, regardless. This way I can protect her."
"Love, who's going to protect you?"
Penny just grinned. "I don't need protection. I'm pretty badass all on my own."
Sebastian looked like he wanted to throw up. "What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
I sensed there was something else going on there, but I didn't dare butt in.
Penny just ignored him. "Look, at the end of the day, you want to see Chloe. I can help you see Chloe. If it means keeping you safe and out of trouble, then I'm all for it. It also means that no matter who is after you, whether it's your idiot boss or these other assholes, you'll be safe. That makes both your brothers happy, and it makes me happy."
I sensed that there was danger in this plan. I didn’t know how it would all play out, but I didn't think things were going to end exactly how we all thought. "Penny, maybe we should ask Ethan."
She sighed. "Oh my God, my father's not here, so I'm who you've got."
She was right. Her plan was all I had, and she had me by the balls. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but honestly, I didn't really have much choice. "I'm all for Penny's plan."
Sebastian sighed. "Of course you are."
Lucas however surprised me. Lucas was usually the jokester. Between him and Roone, the snarkiest things came out of their mouths. But there was something serious and sincere about the way Lucas looked at me. "I trust her. She wants to see her friend. It's important."
Sebastian groaned. "I'm not saying it's not important. I'm just saying it's asinine. And she's right, Ethan should be here to weigh in on this."
Penny ignored him. "My father wouldn't stop me either. Sometimes he'll surprise you."
Ariel pushed herself to standing from the couch. "So, when and how are we doing this?"
Penny grinned. "God, it's been so long since I've been in disguise."
Sebastian just mumbled under his breath. "Something tells me you're enjoying this."
So that was it, I was finally going to see Chloe. While I wasn't exactly worried about it, I had a feeling it could turn out to be a bad idea.
The plan was easy. Penny and I dressed in identical clothing. She left first, out the front door with Roone. They were holding hands, and she was sort of tucked into Roone's arm so that nobody could see her closely. I left under the cover of night crouched down in the back of Ariel's car. Not the most comfortable drive I've ever made, but still not bad. Everyone was on coms. Sebastian and Lucas stayed back at the hotel. It was supposed to be in and out. Everything was fine, quiet for the twenty-minute ride. But when I stepped into the hospital and gave my name, pandemonium started. I could hear the shouting on the coms. "What do we got?"
Roone was shouting. Penny was cursing someone out. All I heard was, 'Take that. I told you not to touch me.'
I could hear the scuffling and the grunting and the hitting and the punching. Ariel pulled me off to the side. And then she pulled out her tablet from her jacket pocket. She'd had a follow team tail Roone and Penny, and those guys were armed with body cams. She pulled up the screen, and as she spoke, she was calm. No yelling no shouting. She just tucked me in a seat, and in the middle of the hallway, she started running logistics from there. So, this was her real job. It was kind of terrifying how good she was at it as she instructed, "Okay, Trevor, take Roone’s flank. James, go around from the south. See if you can get behind them."
I watched in horror as Roone grabbed some guy by the collar and slammed him up against a brick wall. Where the hell were they? It was a little dark and hard to see, and all I could make out were Roone's profile and his hands.
It was what was happening on the other side of him that I could see. One of the guys tried to grab Penny in a headlock from the left. She shifted her right foot to step into the headlock, which made no sense to me, but then she also wound her left arm until it was on her forehead facing out. And then she did something to him. I didn't know what it was exactly, I couldn't see all the movements. But his head snapped back, and then her knee was in the guy's lower back. Oh, that look like it… ouch. As he started to go down, she delivered a hammer fist.
I needed her to show me that release. The guy had no choice. He went down like
a ragdoll. It was what Penny did after that amazed me. He might have gone down, but she started delivering blows to him. Basic round-and-pound, but it was spectacular. Penny was a queen I could get behind.
One of the other guards, Trevor I think it was, screamed at her. "Protect the queen." Penny legitimately evaded their grasps and went after the asshole who was trying to grab Roone. She ran up to him from behind with her own guard chasing her, and then she delivered a swift kick to his nuts… really wound it up and delivered. It was as if the whole world stood still for a minute. I didn't know if the guy was going to go down or if he was going to attack Roone, but as he stood there, Roone delivered a backward elbow that caught him right at the temple. And then it was as if the guy passed out standing up. His whole body just slumped and withered down.
Roone slammed the other guy up against the wall one more time and hit him with his fist. Then that guy slumped too. Roone turned around and grinned at Penny. "Ah, it's nice being in the field with you. You're badass."
Penny shook out her hand. "Yeah, I know."
Roone just laughed then tapped his coms. "Ariel, bring her back. I don't think we can do this today. They might have other teams."
I knew what was coming before before Ariel even said anything. I stood. "Yeah let's go back. I'm just going to run in really quick."
Ariel reached for me. "Jessa."
"I'm sorry." And then I ran into Chloe's room. When I saw her, there were machines and wires and, oh God, was that a cast on her arm?
She blinked slowly. “Hey, there you are."
"Shit, Chloe. I'm so sorry. I am so, so sorry."
She shrugged. "Um, if you wanted me to take a vacation, you could have just said so. This is the most relaxed I've been in years."
"Yeah, except for all these machines."
She shrugged. "Yeah well not for much longer. I go home tomorrow."
"Are you sure? They operated on you. They had to remove your spleen or whatever the hell that thing is."
