AS SHE WALKED the distance to Wellie’s cottage, Darrow wondered if Quint’s plane would still be in the air. It was a nine- to ten-hour flight, longer if he had a layover somewhere. Before she talked herself out of it, she pulled her mobile out of her pocket and rang him.
“Shadow, this is an unexpected call. Is everything all right?”
“Hi, Quint. Everything is fine, other than what’s happening with True, but I understand you know something about that.”
“True?”
“Sorry. Esland Cartwright.”
“I don’t know much. Listen, I don’t have much time. My flight from Chicago is about to board. What can I do for you?”
“I’m at the abbey, but only overnight. Axel needed my help with something, so he got me a day pass.” She laughed and so did Quint. “Anyway, the reason I called was to thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Your response tells me you did, Quint, and I appreciate it. If nothing else, you gave me the push I needed. I suspect you did more by way of Axel.”
He didn’t say anything, but she could hear the din of the busy airport in the background.
“Quint?”
“I won’t apologize, Darrow. Not that you’re asking me to.”
“I miss you and I will continue to, but I know this is for the best.”
“It is. You’d never be happy if you didn’t pursue becoming an agent.”
“Goodbye, Quint.”
“Goodbye, Shadow. I wish you the best of luck in everything you do. I mean that sincerely.”
She rang off before letting on that she was crying. How could she not? Something inside told her she’d never again see the man who she knew was the great love of her life.
30
There were so many questions Quint wanted to ask Darrow, and with six hours left in his layover, he certainly would’ve had time, but for what reason?
Before he left London, he’d had a long talk with Z about Darrow. He hadn’t initiated it; his father had.
“You care about Darrow,” Z had begun.
“Where are you goin’ with this?”
“The life she’s about to lead is far different than I think even she understands. It’s different now than it was when I first became an agent.”
“I think she understands that, Z. She’s watched her brothers live it.”
The look on his father’s face had been skeptical, but even if it was different, Darrow would adapt. He loved the resolve he heard in her voice when she called a few minutes ago. And while he’d heard the same sadness he was experiencing, it seemed they both knew this was for the best. Better now than if she hadn’t told him what she wanted to do with her life in the first place, or had stayed on longer in Texas, or if she’d come back with him. The longer they perpetuated a “relationship,” the harder it would be on both of them to end it.
This way the break was clean and they could move on with their lives.
He couldn’t say he was looking forward to getting back to the ranch, but he also knew that once he was there, his life would fall back into the same easy rhythm it always did. He might even consider going out more often, maybe dating with some kind of regularity. Although, what woman alive could hold a candle to the formidable Darrow Whittaker? There probably weren’t any.
31
Darrow wiped her tears before walking to the front door of Wellie’s cottage. She didn’t want him to think she was upset about Axel and True, because she wasn’t.
She’d expected to feel something when he started talking about her on the drive from Fort Monckton to Bedfordshire, but other than being happy for him and for her friend, she didn’t feel much of anything.
Her conversation with Quint, on the other hand, had left her feeling as though she had a giant hole in her chest. Could it really be that she’d never see the cowboy again?
She’d see him, of course. Her brother was married to his sister, but outside of family gatherings made more infrequent given he lived in Texas and everyone else was in the UK, when would she actually have an opportunity to see him? She’d hardly bump into him while undertaking a mission.
“Good afternoon, lass,” said Wellie, sitting in the same chair she’d so often found him in.
“Hello, Wellie. It’s so good to see you,” she said, leaning down to kiss his cheek.
“Sit down and tell me all about Fort Monckton.”
She smiled. She should’ve known Axel would tell his father about where she was and why.
They’d talked for less than an hour when the man himself walked into the cottage.
“Change of plans, Darrow. I’m sorry, but I’ll need to take you back this afternoon,” he said after greeting his father.
“There isn’t much left of the afternoon,” Wellie commented.
“Right. As I said, I’m sorry.”
“No matter at all, really. I’m anxious to get back.”
Axel looked relieved. He really had no idea how much this opportunity meant to her, did he?
“This isn’t a chore I’d rather not do,” she said to him. “It’s the beginning of a new life for me.”
When she looked at Wellie, tears formed in her eyes. The way he looked back at her, as though he couldn’t contain his pride, meant everything.
“Let’s be gone, then,” Axel said, coming around to kiss his father’s cheek as she’d done. It was something she’d always admired about father and son. Darrow couldn’t remember a single time Thornton or Sutton had ever kissed their father’s cheek.
BACK AT THE ABBEY, Darrow said goodbye to Thornton and Orina and climbed in the back seat of Axel’s 4x4.
“I can sit in the back,” True offered.
Darrow ignored her and closed the door, but from where she sat, she could see the kiss her friend and Axel shared. She doubted he’d ever kissed her that way.
“You two are explosive,” she said to True when she got in the front seat and Axel closed her door.
“I’m sorry. That was insensitive.”
“Hot is what it was.”
“YOU TAKE GOOD CARE OF TRUE,” Darrow said when Axel parked near the main building of Monckton and she hugged him. “And you, do as he says, but only to the extent of it keeping you safe. Otherwise, make him work for your love.”
True smiled, the first Darrow had seen in over an hour. “Thank you,” she murmured before hugging her one more time and getting back into the 4x4.
“Welcome back, Duchess,” said General Pope, who she hadn’t seen walk up.
“Thank you, sir. I really didn’t want to leave in the first place.”
“Have a seat,” he said, pointing to a bench near the walkway. “It’s something you’ll get used to—having to leave even when you don’t want to.”
“Yes, sir,” she murmured.
“Before you return to your quarters, I want you to know that you’re making remarkable progress. Given the circumstances of your arrival, you may have experienced unfair prejudice, not just from your fellow trainees, but from some of our instructors as well. You’ve navigated both bravely, and for that, I commend you. Continue to work hard, Whittaker. Nothing will be handed to you, but you will earn the same opportunities as everyone else.”
“I appreciate your kind words, sir.”
“Off you go, then. Long day tomorrow, given you’ll need to make up what you missed today.”
THREE DAYS LATER, she was once again at the firing range when she heard her name echo over her cadre’s radio.
“Whittaker, let’s go. You’ve been summoned back to headquarters,” he yelled out to her.
The same ATV transported her back, but instead of seeing General Pope talking to Axel, this time it was with Z. When she joined them, they went inside.
“You’ll be leaving with Chief Alexander shortly after the conclusion of this meeting,” the general began.
“You’re aware of the situation with Esland Cartwright?” said Z.
“I am.”
“We beli
eve the threat has escalated. Cartwright is being transported out of the country tomorrow morning,” said General Pope. “You’ll be on her detail.”
Darrow knew her eyes opened wide despite doing her best not to react.
“Look at this the way it’s intended, Whittaker. Getting your first assignment this early in your training is an honor you’ve earned.”
Cor blimey, Darrow thought silently.
“Do you have any questions?” asked Z.
She did, but she’d ask them once they left Portsmouth. “No, sir,” she said to Z before turning to General Pope. “Thank you, sir.”
“GO AHEAD AND ASK; I know you’re dying to,” said Z once they were in the car on their way to the abbey.
Darrow smiled and then sighed. “Is this a real assignment, Z?”
“It is, and you should take it as such. What I am about to tell you means you’ve been granted the appropriate level of security clearance. Pinch and Esland have been able to determine the reason her life was threatened. The investigation will be taken over by MI5, and we’ll begin to move on it as soon as she is safely out of the UK.”
She looked out the window of the vehicle and thought a long time about what she wanted to say. The last thing she wanted anyone to think was that she didn’t appreciate the opportunities she’d been given. However, there was no way she was ready to take on an assignment. Perhaps they were thinking of letting her go from the training, and the best she could hope for was bodyguard-type detail, likely for those in her “social class.”
“You have a little over an hour to tell me what has your brow so furrowed, young lady. Once we’re in the presence of the other agents, you will not have such easy access to me.”
Z was smiling, but would he still be if and when she expressed her doubts?
THE FIRST THING she did once they arrived at Whittaker Abbey was visit Wellie. Since she hadn’t had the nerve to express her doubts to Z, perhaps she could get the counsel of a man she trusted implicitly to be honest with her.
“Back so soon?” he said when she knocked and then entered the cottage.
“My sentiments as well.”
She went on to tell him about her day thus far. As he listened, Wellie brushed his finger over his lips.
“I wonder, given her importance to Axel as well as the Whittaker family, if they would be so cavalier with her life.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m saying that if all you’re good for is to be a bodyguard, and one not taken terribly seriously, if Z finds Esland expendable.”
“Of course he doesn’t,” she snapped.
“One would think then, that you’d be proud to take on this duty, lass.”
“I am, Wellie. Quite proud.”
“I’m going to say something to you, and I want you to listen without responding.”
“Okay.”
Wellie leaned forward and grasped her hands in his. His bones were gnarled by arthritis, and the skin was scarred from his years of landscaping work. “You, Darrow, have always questioned your own worth. Granted, I’ll acknowledge that you didn’t always see a place or purpose for yourself. But those of us who have known you all your life, believed you would one day do great things. I’ve believed that since the day you were born. You were less than a week old when the duchess invited me to the abbey to meet you. It was one of the proudest moments of my life when she invited me right into the sitting room and put you in my arms.”
“I never knew she’d done that.”
“She told me that day that she expected me to look out for you. She also told me that she knew she could count on me to love you like you were my own.”
Darrow laughed through her tears. “I have to tell you, Wellie, that doesn’t exactly sound like my mother. Did she do the same with Thornton and Sutton?”
Wellie’s gaze remained steadfastly serious. “She didn’t. You were different, Darrow.”
“Thank you for telling me that.”
“When you leave tomorrow, I want you to remember every word. I, for one, am terrifically proud of you.”
LATER THAT EVENING, when everyone was at dinner, her oldest brother stood with glass in hand and faced her.
“I’d like to begin by making a toast to my sister. I’ve never been prouder of you, Darrow. I may be retired; however, I will still welcome you to Her Majesty’s Service.”
She raised her glass as well in the midst of several “hear, hears.”
“I don’t recall getting an assignment while in training,” Thornton added, looking between Axel and the other MI5 agent who had taken a seat during the toast. “What about the two of you?”
“I barely made it through training,” the man admitted, laughing at himself. “Congratulations, Darrow.”
“I’m not entirely finished. Once I’ve completed my current assignment, JohnTwo has called for my return to Fort Monckton.”
“There is another possibility,” said Thornton, taking a seat and brushing his lower lip with his finger like Wellie had done earlier.
“Do tell, Thornton,” she said, leaning forward.
“You could continue training in the US.”
“More details, please.”
“I’ll get back to you on that. However, on that same subject, you’ll be meeting Mantis and Alegria at the airfield at zero six hundred. I don’t yet know who else they’re sending. It’s no matter, really. You’ll find out in the morning.”
AN HOUR LATER, Darrow noticed True yawn at the same time Axel did.
“Ready to call it a night?” he asked.
“I hate to be a spoilsport.”
“Let me, then,” Axel said, looking around the table. “We have an early departure tomorrow.”
“We do,” Darrow added, standing at the same time the man who had been introduced as Edge did.
Darrow and True made eye contact; something was bothering her friend. Before Darrow could ask what, she overheard her ask Axel if their staying in the east wing of the abbey would be awkward. She had to assume it was because she was there.
“I’m on my way to Covington House to pack, so no, it won’t be awkward at all,” Darrow told her.
“Don’t be an imp,” Axel scolded.
“You are not the boss of me,” she teased back. “Oh, wait. Perhaps you are. Cor blimey. I hadn’t thought of that.”
32
“There’s more,” his father said when he called to tell Quint about Axel bringing Esland to the ranch.
“Get on with it, Pa,” he said, laughing at his father’s typical approach to telling him something he feared Quint might balk about.
“Darrow Whittaker will be on her detail.”
“Darrow? Didn’t she just start her training?” Quint didn’t know what to make of his father’s news. “She hasn’t dropped out, has she?”
“Nothing of the kind. In fact, this is her first official mission.”
“Not that I doubt her ability but, Z, isn’t this a little soon?”
He heard his father sigh. “If you didn’t doubt her ability, you wouldn’t have asked the question, Quint.”
Z was right.
“When she arrives, I’d take it as a personal favor if you’d refrain from expressing your opinion.”
“Don’t get mad. I was just surprised.”
“Right. I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”
His father ended the call, leaving Quint feeling like an asshole, and maybe rightly so. Why had he been surprised? When Darrow was here at the ranch, she’d picked up on everything he and Wren taught her faster than anyone else he’d ever known. Much of it she hadn’t needed to be taught; she’d figured it out intuitively.
There were few outside of the permanently employed ranch hands who had any idea how elaborate the security systems were at King-Alexander. They’d been installed years before when his mother was still alive and Z lived here.
Deck had taken over the ranch’s security when Z returned to London, and updated the systems regularly. When Wren ca
me back last year, though, Deck had insisted it go through a major overhaul.
In-ground sensors had been installed throughout the property and were used to detect physical movement, acoustic signals, and vibrations. In addition, a multi-drone surveillance system that made use of thermal sensors capable of approaching areas of interest once a further investigation command was given.
Each of the ranch’s buildings, including the main residence, were secured with the latest in surveillance and facial recognition capabilities.
Visitors to the ranch who would not need to have access beyond a certain number of hours or certain buildings, were automatically scanned upon arrival. He’d yet to have someone flagged as a security risk, but he secretly found himself hoping one day he would, just so he’d get to see what happened.
He and Deck had met some of the K19 team members then, when they’d come to install the new systems, and while Burns Butler hadn’t come along, Decker told Quint that he’d designed the whole of it.
Out of curiosity, Quint had asked his friend about Burns at the time. What he found out was the man was a rock star in the intelligence world, and that Decker considered him his mentor as much as he did Z.
A couple of times, Quint had had the chance to talk to Burns when Deck was reprogramming parts of the system and his friend asked him to contact Burns to walk them through things that weren’t functioning properly.
On the flip side, Burns had retired to the Central Coast of California where he owned a ranch that included both livestock and vineyard land. The conversations he, Deck, and Quint had about ranching life always seemed as fascinating to Burns as Quint found the spy life.
Deck would be contacting Burns today about adding three assets—Axel, Esland, and Edge—and Quint hoped he’d let him help or at least watch. He loved the little glimpses he got into the world his best friend, father, and sister operated in, and while he wouldn’t want it to be his career, playing in the spy game from time to time was fun.
AFTER BEING on video chat with the man for more than an hour, Decker was ready to end the conversation when Burns mentioned that Darrow would be continuing her training with him and a man named Leech Hess once the Cartwright mission was complete.
Shadow (Military Intelligence Section 6 Book 4) Page 15
