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A minute later, Aunt Terri’s voice sounded through the intercom. “Yes?”
“It’s me, Aunt Terri. Can Windsor come out to play?”
There was a long pause. “I thought you and Joyce had left,” Aunt Terri finally said in that serious voice of hers. But Abby wasn’t fooled. She’d heard Aunt Terri talking to her dogs before, and her voice sounded soft and sweet.
“We’re leaving pretty soon. But I wanted to show Windsor my Minnie Mouse ears. Just for a minute. Please?”
She heard the lock turn and eagerly jumped off the chair.
An instant later, the door to the room swung open. Terri stepped out, calling to Windsor to follow her.
He shot out like a bullet, running straight for Abby. She giggled and plopped down on the floor, hugging him as he licked her face.
“I’m taking medicine so I can’t give my germs to Windsor,” Abby assured Terri. “I’m not”—she wrinkled her nose, searching for the word and brightening as she found it—“c’ntagious anymore. And my throat doesn’t even hurt.”
Terri folded her arms across her chest. “Strep throat isn’t transferable from humans to dogs. And your antibiotic is keeping your bacterial infection under control. So I’m not particularly concerned about Windsor.”
Abby had understood only half of what Aunt Terri had just said. Aunt Terri was really smart and always used big words.
“Okay.” She settled for that, pulling out her Minnie Mouse ears and waving them at Windsor. “Look, Windsor! Mouse ears! I’m going to Disneyland!”
The little dog was beside himself by this time, bouncing around and trying to snatch the ears with his teeth.
Abby held them out of reach. “You can’t have these, ’cause Daddy gave them to me. But I promise to get you your own when I’m at Disneyland. I’ll get Mickey ears since you’re a boy.”
Terri sighed. “Now Windsor is overstimulated. I’ll have to take him out to urinate before I can get back to work.”
“I’m sorry, Aunt Terri.” Abby scrambled to her feet and hugged her. Aunt Terri was way tall, so all she could reach were her knees, but she gave those a huge squeeze. “You can walk Windsor. Joyce and I will be gone when you get back. Then you can work.” Abby tipped back her head and gave Aunt Terri a hopeful look. “And you won’t tell Daddy that I bothered you, right? Because I’m sick and it wouldn’t be fair to punish me. Right, Aunt Terri?”
Terri hesitated, then gave Abby’s shoulder an awkward pat. “All right. I won’t say anything. You enjoy your vacation.”
“Thanks!” Abby was all smiles. “Bye, Aunt Terri. Bye, Windsor.” She raced off to get her suitcase.
Terri shook her head, her brows drawn in puzzlement. She didn’t understand children. They were little people and should have all the negative characteristics thereof, but they acted more like puppies. It was an inexplicable combination. And she didn’t quite know what to do with it.
On that thought, she got Windsor’s leash and snapped it on, closing the Cage’s door behind her as she left.
Munich Airport
26 February
Monday, 7:25 a.m. local time
The plane was slowly descending as the tops of the airport terminals came into view.
Aidan glanced at his watch. Only twenty-five minutes late. Not bad for an international flight. Of course, now came cus
toms, which was a royal pain in the ass. All he wanted to do was to quickly anchor the investigation at this end so he could fly back and manage things at the US end—close to the client and close to Abby.
Marc watched his brother thoughtfully. He’d learned more about Aidan’s other life in the past day than he’d been privy to since the formation of Zermatt five years ago. In fact, he hadn’t even known the group’s name—only that it existed and that Aidan was at the helm. Having been filled in on the big picture—and sworn to secrecy—he was impressed but not surprised. Aidan was a natural leader, a skilled and brilliant man, and a fighter for the greater good. Marc got it. He also got that bringing him in, including him in his inner circle, was a huge step for Aidan—one he could have made sooner but had chosen not to.
Marc was better aware of the reasons for that than his brother was. Although they were both deeply private people, Aidan had always been an island—until Abby. Since he’d become a father, there’d been a slow metamorphosis in which emotional ties and personal sharing had become part of who the impenetrable Aidan Devereaux was. In letting down his walls a bit, Aidan was now able to turn to someone he trusted—rather than just a skilled but strictly professional colleague—for help.
It was all good.
“So we’re going directly to meet Philip at his hotel,” Aidan said. “We’ll be holding a videoconference with Terri and Simone from there, after which you can check into your hotel room, shower and change, and hit the ground running with Philip. I’ll be heading back to the airport, with a stop at Hofbräuhaus to do some of my own reconnaissance. I’ll check out the place inside and then do a line-of-sight check outside, acting as a second pair of eyes to Philip. I want a plan in place before I board that plane. I’ll contact you before my flight to California takes off.”
Marc rolled his eyes. “You gave me that entire speech three times since takeoff. You’re getting senile, Leatherneck. I guess that’s to be expected, given your advanced age.”
