The device hidden in her ear, which had stayed silent since she came in the house, turned on. Zinc’s voice spoke quietly to her. “Hi, Lara. Don’t answer me. All is well. I know that’s a lot to say with a gun pointed at you, but Francium has gotten her to move just enough that Plat can shoot her.”
Hence the inching. She took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to be scared. But I do want you to hit the floor, now.”
As though she’d been following instructions like that one her whole life, she threw her body on the ground. Anything that happened after that was lost in the sounds over her head. A shout, a whoosh, a bang. She really had no idea what was happening. The only thing she could focus on was the painting. The bullet that Desiree had wanted to shoot at her had slammed straight into the painting.
Desiree lay dead on the ground, and Francium squatted in front of Lara. “You okay?”
“Peachy keen.” She rose to her feet, still staring at the fake painting, which had been destroyed in the escapade. Papers came flying out to the ground, like feathers moving in the air conditioning.
He pulled her against him. “You’re okay. I thought I was going to swallow my tongue in terror.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want his affection, but the floating papers held her attention. She gave his cheek a quick peck and stepped away before kneeling down to look at the mess. “Desiree must have known it was a fake. She was using the damn thing to store information. This is a cypher.” She handed it to Russell. “Smugglers use it to transport art with unverified backgrounds. I can probably decipher it for you, but I’m wondering,” she spun in a circle, “if every paper in the house is really a hidden depository of information.”
Russell put his hands on his hips. “Is any of it real?”
“The paintings? Fifty-fifty. I thought she had a bad eye for it.” She handed him another piece of paper. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I’m going to have a freak out, but right this second, all I can see is all this hidden code and something we can do about it.”
The door to the room banged open, Plat and Zinc running in. “Good job taking direction.”
Francium held up the papers. “Looks like Desiree stored her secret information other places than her computer. Lara says she might be able to decipher them.”
Plat grinned. “Then let’s get to it.” He bent over to grab the now dead Desiree by her shoulders. “After I deal with her. She was an unsanctioned kill, but I don’t think Titanium will mind.”
“Particularly if you dispose of it properly,” Zinc added.
Lara barely heard any of them. She looked down at the papers in her hand. Years earlier, when she’d decided to do something about the stolen artwork she encountered, she’d had to learn to figure out the shipping methods of the people who moved the art around. It had taken her weeks, but eventually, she’d worked it out.
“I can try, but I’d imagine you guys have really smart people who could do this faster than me.”
Francium shook his head. “We most definitely do. Come on. Let’s break into the paintings and see what you can do. We all have our strengths. If this is one of yours, we aren’t looking a gift horse in the mouth.”
She grinned. It was sick to do so, considering the dead body on the ground and the events of the day, but she might prove to be useful after all.
Russell had wanted to spend the night sleeping with Lara but that didn’t seem to be happening. One night had turned into two, and now she was still working on the cyphers. She made enough progress, Titanium had left them to it. Francium wouldn’t have minded if someone had gone and taken away the job from her.
And yet…Lara seemed alive. She sat straighter in her chair, she smiled with her eyes. They were small changes, but he could see how doing this made her feel like she contributed. So, he kept quiet, and he fielded questions from the team.
They were eliciting results. Most of the disguised code seemed to be pickup and delivery spots Red Wolf used to move cargo. Some of it might even be weapons. There were others looking through it. “You’re staring at me.” She didn’t look up from where she worked at the dining room table. “I can feel you doing it.”
He grinned. “Only because I want you to.”
She finally lifted her head. “If you didn’t want me to know you were there, I wouldn’t?”
“Correct. How are you doing?”
She held up one that had been printed in red ink. “This one is scary. It’s written straight out. Same basic code, although slightly harder. I’ve gotten so I can almost just read it, almost.” She shook her head. “This is how you were all going to die.”
He took it from her hand. “Let me see that one.”
Sure enough, as he read the words as she’d translated them, there was no question about the wording. Red Wolf had planned all their deaths. One particularly scary killer for hire was going to take out Titanium and then the rest of them. He folded the note and put it in his pocket.
“I’ve been thinking about things.” He sat down next to her. “I have some things I have to take care of, things you can’t be a part of. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to be together. I do. More than you can imagine. I think the best thing I could do would be to finish this and then find you.”
There, he’d spoken the words. They hurt to even utter, because she could easily move on in the time they weren’t together. She sat back in her seat. “When I finish this, I’m going to sell the houses, and then I’m going to find out what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. We should probably let each other do these things.”
“Right.” He nodded and wanted to throw up. “Then let’s agree to meet back up, and then we can—”
She placed her hand on his arm. “I don’t want to be smart. I don’t want to be right. I want you. If you have to go, then fine, we’re still together. I’m not giving you up. You’re not getting lost from me. End of story.”
He let out the breath he held, and his shoulders sagged. “I probably have to help get rid of pretty much the worst person on earth. You get that’s my life, right?”
She held his gaze. “I get it.” Lara pointed at the paper. “Go take care of that card I just gave you. But tell me where to go to meet up with you.”
He kissed her cheek. “Okay. You can change your mind.”
“Don’t assume that everyone leaves. Some of us stay, even when we shouldn’t. You’re something I want to do. Forever.”
It hurt his head, his heart, his stomach, but he decided to believe her. Forever might be possible.
One month later…
He stared at Lara, asleep on his bed. They’d said they were going to spend the night together, and it looked like they might finally get that chance. He’d been away for a month. Henchmen had to be killed. Cut off all of his resources, and eventually, Red Wolf would die. Or at least, that was the idea. He would be dead, soon, of that, Francium was sure.
Russell had felt safe enough to come home. To Lara. She opened her eyes, staring at him in the darkness. “Did you mean for me to hear you?”
“Actually, no.” He walked toward her and lay on top of her on the bed. “That’s impressive.”
She sat up, hugging him around the neck. “You’re safe.”
“I’ll always be safe. I’m like a cockroach. It’s hard to kill me.”
She pinched his arm. “Talk about yourself as a cockroach again, and I’ll beat you.”
He grinned. “Okay. Fair enough.”
She pressed her ear to his chest. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“I can tell you that a lot of people who shouldn’t be breathing, aren’t anymore. And those still alive will find that’s a temporary state of being for them. They won’t live to bother anyone again. They didn’t stand a chance, and that was because you went ahead and saved us all. Thank you so much.”
“Don’t you dare thank me.” She kissed him on the lips. “Are you done?”
“Almost. I might have to leave for a while again. But that
will bring the whole thing to an end. I’m sorry it has to be.”
She nodded. “That’s okay. I had this idea for something we could do together when you’re finished. I think…I was wondering if you might like to help me track down art thieves?”
Lara kept talking, but all he could do was smile. Yes, he would help her. That sounded like a great idea. But first, he was going to tell her to take off her shirt, because he wanted to and she was his girl. Lara made him believe that fairy tales could have truth to them. Even for a guy like him.
About the Author
As a teenager, I would hide in my room to read my favorite romance novels when I was supposed to be doing my homework.
I am the mother of three adorable boys and I am fortunate to be married to my best friend. I live in Austin Texas where I am determined to eat all the barbecue in town.
I am in love with science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal and try to use all of these elements in my writing. I've been told I'm a little bloodthirsty so I hope that when you read my work you'll enjoy the action packed ride that always ends in romance. I love to write series because I love to see characters develop over time and it always makes me happy to see my favorite characters make guest appearances in other books.
In my world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.
I'd love to hear from you! Please visit my website at www.rebeccaroyce.com to sign up for my newsletter and learn about my books!
Here’s where you can find me online:
Rebecca’s Randomness Reading Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/RebeccasRandomness/
https://www.rebeccaroyce.com
https://www.facebook.com/authorrebeccaroyce/
www.twitter.com/rebeccaroyce
Instagram: rebeccaroyce79
MeWe: RebeccaRoyce
Cheers!!
Rebecca
Other books by Rebecca Royce…
Wings of Artemis
Kidnapped By Her Husbands https://amzn.to/2BQdUxy
Rescued by Their Wife https://amzn.to/2Rr9as4
Crashing Into Destiny https://amzn.to/2VkyXRL
Meeting Them https://amzn.to/2BLPaXm
Reclaiming Their Love https://amzn.to/2GKAw8E
Loving Them https://amzn.to/2BKDmEK
Ship Called Malice https://amzn.to/2BNputj
Saving Them https://amzn.to/2SsrBtH
Dark Demise https://amzn.to/2VidXv3
Light Unfolding https://amzn.to/2GO6Yqr
Still Waters https://amzn.to/2CFePT8
Rising Tides https://amzn.to/2MCdTlM
Lost Star (coming soon)
Pointed Arrow (coming soon)
Last Hope (completed series)
Tradition Be Damned
Past Be Damned
Destiny Be Damned
Compassion Be Damned
Future Be Damned
Dragon Wars (completed series)
Forever
Eternal
Always
Evermore
Endless
Wards and Wands (completed series)
Hexed and Vexed
Curse Reversed
Meow, Baby (novella, co-written with Ripley Proserpina)
Tragic Magic
Safe Haven
Everywhere and Nowhere
Dimension X (coming soon)
More coming soon….
Soul Bound
Prisoner of the Dragons
More coming soon….
Shadow Promised
Strange Days
Weird Nights
Bizarre Years
More coming soon…
The Warrior (completed series)
Initiation
Driven
Subversive
Redemption
Justice
Warrior World (spin off of The Warrior, completed series)
Deacon
Micah
Jason
The Westervelt Wolves (completed series)
Her Wolf
Summer’s Wolf
Wolf Reborn
Wolf’s Valentine
Wolf’s Magic
Alpha Wolf
Angel’s Wolf
Darkest Wolf
Lone Wolf
Fallen Alpha
Alpha Rising
Alpha’s Strength
Alpha’s Sacrifice
Alpha’s Truth
Alpha Enticing
Hidden Alpha (coming soon)
The Capes (completed series)
Seductive Powers
Adrenaline Rush
Last Ascension
Illicit Minds
Illicit Senses
Illicit Connections
Illicit Alliance (coming soon)
The Outsiders
Love Beyond Time
Love Beyond Sanity
Love Beyond Loyalty
Love Beyond Sight
Love Beyond Expectations
Love Beyond Oceans
Love Beyond Flames
Love Beyond Lies
Love Beyond Death (coming soon)
Cascade (completed series)
Haunted Redemption
Phoenix Everlasting
Fragility Unearthed
Persuasion Enraptured
Reverse Harem Story (completed series)
Unconventional
Unexpected
Undeniable
Kiss Her Goodbye (completed series)
Hard Truths
Dark Truths
Deadly Truths
Shifter World
Planet Bear
Planet Wolf (coming soon)
The Swamp
Hidden
Pursued
Caught (coming soon)
Stand Alone Titles
Under The Lights
No Quitting Allowed
Mr. Wrong
Bite Marks
Bitten Surrender
The Vampire and The Virgin
Demon Within
Crimson Lust
Call Me Crazy
The Storm (writing with Ripley Proserpina) completed series.
Lightning Strikes
Thunder Rolling
The Deluge
Heart of the Nebula (writing with Heather Long)
Queenmaker
Deal Breaker
Throne Taker (coming soon)
Stupid Boys (writing with C.R. Jane)
Stupid Boys
Dumb Girl
Crazy Love (coming soon)
Through the Gates (writing with Skye MacKinnon)
Purgatory City
Infernal Land (coming soon)
The Coveted (writing with Ripley Proserpina)
Eyes in the Darkness
Voices in the Darkness (coming soon)
The Men of Elite Metal: Platinum, Zinc, & Francium Page 27
