Page 26 of Guarding Salvation

Bram was sitting beside her, a silent comfort in this overwhelming and surreal experience.

Titan sat forward, his huge arms resting on the table. He was a quiet, thoughtful, calm presence in the room. She didn’t know his background, but it was hard to see him as violent in any way. He seemed almost zen in his mannerisms. “We need to figure out how he always finds Aoife. From what she says, nobody should’ve picked up her tail so quickly.”

Lotus chewed on the end of a pencil. “We also need to speak with a few of our contacts about his set-up. I can do that.”

Bás nodded and an unspoken conversation seemed to take place between them. “Bein, I want you and Titan to go and speak to Bob and find out if we can get a description. Watchdog is going do his magic, and Lotus has the mafia angle sorted.”

Bás absently petted Monty, who was seated at his feet between him and Valentina. “Hurricane, I want you to head to Ireland and find out whatever you can from people on the ground. Be discreet and don’t push too hard, people like Jimmy will have spies all over the place and will know the second you set foot in his town, so be very careful.”

His eyes zeroed in on her and she tried not to shrink back in fear at the intensity in them. She knew she was safe there, but old habits were proving harder to shift than she’d like.

“I need you to turn your phone on and contact Peyton. My team needs to speak with her and find out exactly what she said to Jimmy.”

Aoife felt her back go rigid in defence of her friend. “Peyton wouldn’t give me up.”

“Maybe not but you and I both know with enough incentive anyone can break.”

“Not Peyton. She’s loyal and she helped me to get away.”

“And you always got caught.”

Aoife didn’t care what this man said, she’d never believe that Peyton had betrayed her. “Fine, I’ll call her.”

Hurricane pushed her phone across the desk to her, the battery already inside and Aoife lifted it, waking the screen. She glanced at Bram who nodded his encouragement. Hitting dial, she let it ring and ring. “She isn’t answering.”

“Is that usual?”

“It happens sometimes if she’s in a session with a client.”

“Bram, go pick up Peyton and take her to Eidolon. Jack has cleared an office for you to use.”

“Sure.”

“I’m going too.”

Bram and Bás shook their heads and Aoife saw red. “I’m not going to be locked up like a fucking prisoner. I didn’t escape one jail to replace it with another. I need to see if my friend is okay.” She was practically vibrating with anger at being suppressed to the role of victim and ‘little woman’. She might be a victim, but she was also a survivor and she wouldn’t let anyone, even if their intentions were good, push her into a submissive role again.

“You should let her go. Peyton is more likely to talk if she sees her friend is safe.”

Bás seemed to hesitate as if taking on Valentina’s words and then capitulated. “Fine. Lotus, you go with them. I want someone watching their back.”

Lotus smiled. “Let’s go, loser.”

Bram shook his head and stood, waiting as she walked ahead of him before catching up to her side. “Lotus and I have to just grab a few things. Can you wait in your room for a few minutes?”

“Yes, of course. I need a minute to get my head around everything to be honest.”

His hands were in his pockets, and he rocked on his heels, moving close to her before backing out of reach again, the imaginary veil between them already in place. “It will be okay, Aoife. You have us now.”

As she watched him walk away, she prayed that she hadn’t just signed their death warrants.

Chapter 12

He could feel the tension coming off Aoife as they ascended to the ground floor level of the building. He was sure being blindfolded was unpleasant, especially given everything she’d been through and, despite sleeping together, they were mostly strangers. Yet keeping the location and entrance to Shadow a secret was imperative for their very survival.

They’d exited through the back, where the vehicles were housed and as they made it into the secure area where the cars, helicopters, and even a small plane were kept, he grabbed the keys for the Range Rover Discovery. It was top of the range but covered in mud, allowing it to blend in with the other farm vehicles in the area.

Helping Aoife inside so she didn’t trip, he threw the keys to Lotus and jumped in the back beside Irish, and Lotus gunned the engine.