“Because I’m sending Meredith Sinclair to you on my private jet first thing in the morning,” Griffin told Luke. “One of our agents will accompany her. You know Saxon Chappelle. Once they arrive, he’ll turn her over to you for safe keeping.”
“Damn, Griff, you know how I despise babysitting Ms. Sinclair. Once was enough for me. She’s more trouble than she’s worth. If you want her in Europe doing her magic act, then why not leave Chappelle here to look after her?”
“Meredith works best without distractions, which means the fewer people involved the better. You know that one-on-one is the best situation for her. And for whatever reason, her senses seemed to be fine tuned whenever you’re nearby. It’s as if you boost wherever signals are coming through to her. Apparently you’re some sort of conduit.”
“I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but never a conduit.”
“Hell, you know what I mean. Meredith’s psychic gifts are all over the place most of the time, despite all the work that Yvette has done with her. But add you into the equation and she suddenly becomes focused and working on all cylinders.”
“Yeah, lucky me. Have you ever thought maybe she’s afraid of me and that’s what fine tunes her sixth sense? At least when she’s around me, she acts like she thinks I’m the devil himself. Maybe Dr. Meng should try a little tough love with her prize student.”
“That’s between Yvette and Meredith. She’ll be in London by late tomorrow. I’m expecting you to work with her, regardless of your personal animosity. And it goes without saying that I know you’ll take good care of her.”
“I won’t coddle her,” Luke said. “Damn it, Griff, you know what happens, how after one of her so-called psychic episodes, she’s a basket case.”
“Handle her the best way you can. I don’t know how much she can help us, but at this point, I’m willing to try anything and that includes using an emotionally fragile psychic if there’s even a slim chance she can help us find our imposter and put a stop to these murders.”
“You’re the boss,” Luke said reluctantly.
“Humph.” Griff snorted. “I may pay your salary, but we both know I’m not your boss. You may follow orders, but you always do things your own way. And that’s not a criticism. It’s one of the reasons I hired you. I like a man who can think for himself.”
Luke had great respect for Griff. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be working for the man. And he believed in what Griff stood for and in the way he tried to help others. There weren’t very many true champions of the people left in the world. Griffin Powell was one of them. It sure as hell didn’t matter to Luke that the Powell Agency cut corners and circumvented the law on occasion to accomplish their goals—to do what was right.
“I don’t suppose there’s any chance that Dr. Meng could come with—”
“No,” Griff said. “It’s too dangerous for Yvette to leave Griffin’s Rest right now.”
“I work best alone. You know that. Babysitting Ms. Sinclair is going to slow me down.”
“That could be, but it’s also possible that she’ll be able to help you, maybe steer you in the right direction in your search for the pseudo York. But before she arrives in London tomorrow, I need for you to check on Harlan Benecroft. Let’s make sure he’s still contained, that he’s still non-lethal.”
“That pompous ass? You can’t possibly believe that Benecroft is posing as York, can you?”
“He certainly wouldn’t be on my Top Ten list, but we need to rule him out completely.”
“Better to be safe than sorry, huh?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Sure, I’ll check on him, but I have a feeling that it will probably be a waste of my time. I’ll put in a few calls first thing in the morning and get back to you as soon as I know anything.”
“While you’ve got your ear to the ground, there are two other names you should listen for, discreetly of course—Mayorga and Bouchard.”
“All right.”
Luke didn’t ask for more information. If Griff thought he needed to know more, he would tell him.
Sanders had spoken privately to Brendan Richter. As a former Interpol agent, Richter understood the necessity for discretion. Ciro Mayorga had been on Interpol’s Most Wanted list for a number of years, but he had escaped capture just as he had eluded Raphael Byrne’s swift and sure form of judgment. But sooner or later, Rafe would find him. Mayorga’s crimes ranged from drug trafficking to money laundering. The warrant for his arrest had been issued in Spain ten years ago. Yves Bouchard had also managed to stay under the radar, steering clear of national and international law enforcement agencies that knew but could not prove his involvement in human trafficking. When Rafe Byrne eventually caught up with Bouchard, his execution would be immediate, no arrest, no trial, and no sentencing required.
Sanders had known Rafe as a beautiful, slender, wide-eyed boy of seventeen when Malcolm York had first brought him to Amara. He had been certain that the angelic teenager would not survive a week. And he wouldn’t have, if Griffin Powell had not taken the boy under his wing and done his best to protect him.
The day they had killed York and fought their way through several of the ten guards he kept on duty around the clock, they had freed the four captives who were still alive, but they had been unable to find Rafe. The men they had freed had joined them in annihilating their sadistic overseers. Eventually, they had found Rafe in one of the dark dungeon cells, chained, beaten beyond recognition and starved to the point of emaciation.
Of the five men who had left Amara with them, two had committed suicide less than a year later. One had died in a car accident in Barcelona and another in a skiing accident in Aspen more than ten years ago. Only one was still alive.
Raphael Byrne.
Weeks following their escape from Amara and after Rafe had undergone several surgeries to repair his battered face, they had visited Rafe in the London hospital where he was recovering. There had been no resemblance, physically, mentally and emotionally, between the seventeen-year-old boy York had brought to Amara and the twenty-year-old man who had made a solemn vow to them that day. In a deadly calm voice, he had sworn he would hunt down and kill all six men who had visited York during the three years Rafe had been on Amara. The six men—Tanaka, Di Santis, Klausner, Sternberg, Mayorga, and Bouchard—who had hunted him by day, as if he were a wild animal, and had amused themselves with him at night, each in their own way.
Maleah was beginning to like Derek Lawrence.
And liking him wouldn’t be a problem if she didn’t also find him terribly attractive. She’d been able to handle the unwanted physical attraction between them as long as she had disliked him. But now, everything between them had changed, at least for her. And to make matters worse, she felt certain that he was dealing with the same problem. He had shared a part of himself with her today, a part she suspected he seldom shared with others, just as he had told her about his youthful exploits as a solider of fortune. Why had he exposed himself to her that way? Why had he given her more than just a glimpse of the real Derek, someone as flawed and imperfect as she was, someone with battle scars from a miserable childhood, someone who, like she, was all too human?
After they had shared lunch on their return to Vidalia earlier today, she had escaped as quickly as possible. She had needed to get away from Derek and work through her unsettled feelings before facing him again. Her excuse for begging off a work session had been only a half-lie. She’d told him that she wanted to call Jack and Cathy and then take an afternoon nap. She seldom if ever took an afternoon nap unless she was sick or had been up half the night. She hadn’t taken a nap, but she had called her sister-in-law.
“Seth is enjoying summer vacation,” Cathy had said. “He’s working part-time as a lifeguard at the community center pool and he has half a dozen girls chasing after him.”
“Like father like son.”
Cathy had laughed. “Oh, believe me, he’s more like Jack than I ever realized.”
“So how is my little niece?”
“You and Jack. You’re both so sure the baby is a girl.”
“She is. Just wait until you get that next ultrasound. I’m positive you’ll find out the baby is a girl.”
