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Caelan grinned from ear to ear, winking. “Later, Chief.”
The president offered a chuckle.
Caelan’s getaway car whizzed through the streets as though it was the president himself being spirited away. Outriders flanked them, traffic was scarce and his drivers were both armed. In the back seat, Caelan studied his fingernails, so broken and dirty, bloodied and in need of care.
The only way he’d been able to secure his safe departure was with a bargain. He would make sure the truth came out about Eric Holmes and the Russian asset he’d saved. The British authorities would probably try to dumb it down so they didn’t look bad, but he would use what the Ukraine people had told him to get to the bottom of what had really happened here. It was entirely possible Eric had sacrificed his entire team so that he could achieve this goal of sneaking a double agent into Britain—for money. Caelan wondered if Ogarkov hadn’t been sent to Ukraine to bargain as a diplomat; perhaps his entire raison d’être was to stir up trouble wherever he went—his ultimate goal to get into the UK. Masquerading as a spy for the West but really, working as a double agent. Knowing Eric, if he had been paid to keep Ogarkov alive, the money trail would be non-existent, but Caelan had other ways of getting the truth out of people.
Caelan had always known Eric had the potential to be corrupt, but this? After the sickening stuff he’d seen in this country, he’d never imagined his protégé could possibly stoop so low as to betray a worthy cause.
Then again, hadn’t Eric only ever been in it for the money? He’d never really cared.
A private plane awaited at the nearest airport and Caelan was flanked by six burly soldiers as he crossed the tarmac before jumping up the steps to the plane. Once he was on board, the doors were locked behind him, his guard of soldiers rushing away across the tarmac.
Caelan wandered into the cabin and was met by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary and the Prince of Wales.
“Tell us everything,” said the prince, and so Caelan started talking.
They had the flight to be open and honest about everything, because when he got back to Britain, he would be debriefed and tell the other bods only what they needed to know.
He was going to deal with Eric himself—and that would mean keeping a very tight circle indeed.
Chapter Sixteen
~ Scotland ~
After the event, we headed to the castle. It being as remote as it was, the front door having such solid locks and the windows all being too small for a human body to pass through, it seemed like the safest bet around.
Harold was running towards the car as we approached, his shotgun waving, his face as red as I’d ever seen it. He must have heard or seen something because he collapsed in front of the vehicle as we got near, out of puff. I raced to his side with Logan asleep in my arms and helped him up. Eric remained in the car. I wasn’t sure why.
“We’re okay, Harold.”
“Smoke… smoke,” he repeated, gasping.
He must have been out on the hills when he’d seen smoke coming from the direction of our cabin. I’d had Eric set it on fire because it was full of dead bodies—and it’d been bought with blood money. It would burn quickly and there were no trees close enough to get damaged. I didn’t think any of the neighbours knew who owned it, they were all too far away, and the deeds were probably still in Dad’s name… or whatever.
In that moment, I didn’t give a rat’s arse about anything.
“We’ll need more guns,” said Eric after winding down the window. “Lots more. Hope you’ve brought reserves, Harold.”
The old man looked from Eric to me and seemed shocked. “What, in, the, hell, lass?”
“My father’s alive,” I said, “and his wife is out for revenge. I’m unsafe.”
He rolled his eyes and limped away, then walked back again. “That wee shite Blake Rathbone?”
“You know of him?” I sounded surprised. I was.
“The lad told me all abouthim,” said Harold.
“Yes,” I sighed, “I can hardly believe it. Then again, why wouldn’t he do something like this? Pretend to be dead so he could escape his bitch wife and begin anew. He stashed money everywhere, why not stash some abroad somewhere, too?”
That had to be where he was, and quite possibly, Caelan knew precisely where.
I stomped towards the castle on foot while Eric said to Harold, “Get in mate, you need a sit down, pal.”
They crawled along behind me until eventually we pulled up into the grounds where Eric could park the car. I was in survival mode and went into the castle to find Morag in floods of tears, but all I could say was, “Listen, we’re fine. Now, please let me just have a moment.”
She gawked at me as I climbed the spiral steps with the boy.
