Chapter 28

Twenty-Eight

Ichecked my watch after loading the last item into the back of the Jeep I’d acquired. I preferred more luxury vehicles, but this one fit the area and blended in. Not standing out was ideal for the operation. The fact temperatures had been on a steady decline meant I could wear bulkier clothes too.

McQuade had taken care of sourcing a location. Remy had transferred funds so we could work with cash and reduce the traceability. That left me on supply duty. The only protest Patch had made was when we wanted her to rest.

While the operation would require all four of us, she needed to heal, no exceptions. Period. The cabin was a quaint name for a huge five bedroom place with its own security systems. Located in far north Michigan, it was almost in Canada, if you didn’t mind traveling by boat. The address didn’t exist beyond a route number and as far as we could tell, it didn’t have a post box. Fine by us.

Snow had been a suggestion in the forecast for three days. Today, frost was in the air and flakes had begun falling steadily while I was in the store. While we didn’t dare risk returning to her place in Colorado, not until we exterminated the issues, I’d found nearly every item she’d put on a shopping list from motherboards to video cards to processor chips and memory.

The monitors had actually been the easiest. But I’d made a point of picking up the pieces from multiple locations, including having a few pieces shipped to different locker locations.

Granted, I was still the one picking them up. I could still change my appearance enough to confuse facial recognition. I preferred a higher caliber of marks, but fooling Big Jim at the local Meijer took a little thought. If they didn’t know you, you already stood out. So, I had to look local without being too familiar while also not standing out as a transplant.

Coming up from Detroit had evenly split the middle. Especially when I let comments like “military family” slip now and again. Those sharp assessing gazes had softened a fractioned to be replaced by grudging humor and respect.

Still, I didn’t get too chatty. I wanted to reduce the impression I left behind. They could remember me as just some guy who stopped in, someone new, but not that new. The vaguer the descriptions, the better for all of us.

Patch had also warned me about cameras anywhere. Didn’t matter if they were innocuous or only present on the register at the corner bakery, I needed to clock where they were at all times. Profiles were much harder to match, so angling my face to keep it away from them while also not looking directly up was crucial.

“So,” I’d drawled at her. “I need to look around without looking around and be vigilant while trying to act casual.”

“More or less,” she’d murmured and given me a faint smile. Those smiles had come more frequently this week, but they were still edged by pain and shadows. Each time I saw them, however, it reminded me of how I wished we’d known sooner that she was in trouble.

Known sooner.

Acted sooner.

Prevented it entirely.

Since time travel wasn’t actually a thing outside of fiction, I would have to address it as best I could with care, consideration, and measures to make sure it never happened again.

A tracker placed on a person sounded like a great idea, that way we could always locate her if needed. But that also took us too close to what her bastard captors had already done to her. So as tempting as the idea might be? I discarded it without bringing it up.

If she volunteered or it came from her? Fine. I wouldn’t be the one asking to do it. None of us would be for that matter. I didn’t have to ask McQuade or Remington. The way those two watched her when she wasn’t looking?

No, I understood their feelings on the subject completely. After picking up the last couple of pieces of hardware I’d ordered from one of the lockers, I took some time to stock the grocery cart with food and meds. The antibiotics the doc gave her had been helping.

We’d been treating the other injuries. But I wanted to have everything at hand if we needed it. As with everything else I’d been purchasing, I spread them out. Not too much of any one thing. The fishing and tackle box was ideal though to make a travel med kit.

It also didn’t stand out. I bought a couple of fishing poles while I was at it. The fishing twine could be used for garrotes. I’d grabbed some rubber bands as well. They were good for popping off safety chains. Just a little of this and a little of that.

The Jeep was packed when I added the new items to the back. My last stop on the way out of town was a clothing store. I had all of her sizes and I’d called ahead and put in an order for my “sister” coming in from out of town. When I’d told the lady she was from Florida and didn’t own anything that wasn’t a flip flop or shorts, she’d said she’d put together warm weather gear.

Everything was ready when I got there. I paid cash and left with three huge bags. As much as she gave us shit for forgetting panties, I’d actually driven a couple of hours south to get her some nice ones. No way in hell could I order underthings for my “sister.”

Firing off a message on my phone, I slid back behind the wheel. The closest town to our cabin was still well over an hour away. Trading convenience for security made a lot more sense. I had a surprise in the back, a splurge. I couldn’t wait to set it up for her.

I didn’t care if we were only here a few more days. She’d accepted everything we’d needed to do without complaint. Even the instant coffee. The standard brewer had come with the place and it was a moderate improvement over the freeze-dried crystals and boiling water.

The most direct route to the cabin was relatively clear. Though the snow was falling steadily, it wasn’t sticking to the roads. The farther from civilization and the closer to the cabin I drove, the more aware of being watched I could feel.

Remington had built a nice nest up in the attic. The angle and height gave him a good view with his scope. If I picked up a tail that I couldn’t shake, I could warn them as I came in.

So far, I’d just sent all green messages. I fired off the last one before I hit the cell phone dead zone. The only reason we could use cells at the cabin was the presence of internet. The VPNs Patch had installed our first night there meant we could “change” our locations frequently before we went out skulking on the net.

The idea of skulking on the internet amused me. Unsurprisingly, McQuade waited for me as I pulled up to the building. We had other cars in the garage. Two of them were backed in and loaded with go bags for us.

We were ready to ditch if we had to. At least this place was on Remington’s dime. If we lost the deposit again, I wouldn’t be the one with the debt. I was still chuckling when I killed the engine and slid out.

“What’s so funny?”

“Not much,” I answered easily. “Got everything we needed and the last pieces she wanted.”

“Good.”

Between us, we made short work of offloading everything into the garage. When he pulled out the espresso maker, his smirk amused me.

“Suck up.”

“You’re just jealous you didn’t think of it.” I stripped off my hat, then tossed him the keys. “How far do you think you have to go?”

“Probably be out the rest of the day,” he said. “I need to pick up ammunition and his lordship has some very specific requirements.”

I snorted. “You like to be specific in your requirements too.”

“Yeah, but sometimes, a bullet is just a bullet.” He gave another shrug. “I’ll be back after sundown. Keep the fire going.”

I nodded. If there was a problem, the lanterns would be on the porch. They turned on automatically. We had to manually shut them down.

He was already in the car and pulling away when I shut the garage. Then I stripped out of the heavy jacket and muddied boots before I started ferrying everything in. The interior of the cabin was cozy, despite its size. The corner of the kitchen had become her workshop.

The first few days we’d been here had been all about her resting. While she slept, we conferred on what we knew and what we’d learned as well as what we could do tactically to identify, track, and eliminate the remaining threats.

McQuade and I split up the “hunting trips” as we called them. The only one who never left was Remington. His accent would stand out even if he could modify his voice, but also, he made it clear, he was the best to keep a ranged watch.

Right. He just didn’t want to leave her.

I respected it. But if they were getting closer while I was gone, I couldn’t tell. They didn’t seem to talk more than they had previously. Based on McQuade’s watchfulness, I wasn’t the only one paying attention to any suggestion of a shifting dynamic.

Once I’d gotten a good chunk of the parts she’d asked for, she’d begun building her machine. Or should I say machines? I stacked the boxes with the latest acquisitions in her chair. When she’d first started putting it together, we’d all offered to give her a hand. The look on her face was like we’d actually offered to fuck her mother or something.

Right, I just raised my hands and surrendered that particular fight. Honestly, Patch was a study in contradictions. Shorter in stature than I expected, but full of fierce personality. The weariness in her eyes and her manner could evaporate in a split second if her temper was pricked.

She rarely complained about anything whether it was her wounds, the time it took to heal, or the fact that walking had to hurt. The fact she tolerated the three of us carrying her whenever we could said more about how bad her feet hurt than anything.

It also prompted me to find her the softest shoes I could with the thickest socks. The boots were advertised as slippers but they were very cushiony. I’d gotten her thick, fur lined socks as well. Between the two, she’d actually been able to reclaim walking around in the house.

The brilliance of her smile had been thanks enough. The grumbles from McQuade had also added to my personal enjoyment.

“Is that an espresso machine?” The surprise in her voice in no way masked her delight.

“Looks like it,” I said, finishing my stock of the freezer and the fridge. “Huh?” I hefted the bag of whole beans I’d also bought. “This looks like espresso beans too?” I tossed it up once and caught it.

Her grin redoubled and for the first time since we’d rescued her, there wasn’t an ounce of flinch associated with her smile. That was a win on multiple levels.

“I need to set it up.”

“You can,” I said. “Or you could let me do it while you go check out the last few items I?—”

“You got the secondary motherboard.” Delight transformed into genuine pleasure or maybe it was just a thrill. Fuck knew the expression and her breathy voice definitely did it for me.

“Got those memory cards you wanted and that—” She thrust herself at me and I had an armful of Patch. The ferocity of her hug made me chuckle. Wrapping my arms around her, I savored the contact. “If I’d known a motherboard would make you that happy, I’d have gotten you the second one sooner.”

She pinched me before she withdrew and I grinned. Inch by inch, she seemed to be clawing herself back from the dark place that torture had left her in. The little signs were there. The way her gaze would duck away, or how she would suddenly ease back from contact.

For the most part, I initiated “nothing” if I could help it. Nor did McQuade or Remington. She didn’t tell us much about what they’d put her through, but I could imagine plenty.

The evidence was right there in the injuries she still bore and the ones she was healing. There would be scars. No way to escape it. The burns on her arms were going to leave marks. I doubted the bottoms of her feet will ever be pretty.

“You said you had to order it separately and through a friend of a friend,” she reminded me.

“Huh, I did say that.” Then I winked.

Her smile widened again.

“Go on, go play with your stuff. You know you want to and I’ll get this espresso machine set up before I go work on installing the last of these items in the mobile unit.”

“Mobile unit.” Her scoff lacked any real derision. McQuade had sourced the big rig we currently had parked in the barn. It was out of sight and let us work on it without anyone spying on us.

Remington had arranged for a private plane at a small airfield to be available to us when we needed it. McQuade handled the armory and weapons supply as well as ammunition. Once she had her equipment set up and ready to go, we would have everything we needed to start the operation.

“Would you like an espresso when I make it?” she asked, already heading for her workstation. Her movements were still a little hesitant, but easier. The stiffness in her shoulders had gradually diminished. The combination of thick socks and slippers helped her limp.

Better might be relative, but—she seemed better.

Maybe it was also incremental, but I’d take every inch we could beg, borrow, or fucking steal back for her.

“Ahh, I see the sneaky plan beneath the offer. You want the privilege of making the first cup.”

Her laughter to the teasing remark was its own reward. “You saw right through me. Couldn’t have been that sneaky.”

“Well, I might have a little experience with sneakiness.” The retort flowed easily and some of the tension locking my own back up seemed to ease. She could laugh. She could smile. She was healing.

When we had extracted every pound of vengeance she was owed, she would also be free and safe.

“But yes, I do want to make the first cup, but I was going to offer to let you drink the first cup.”

I put a hand to my chest, letting out a mock gasp of shock that earned me another laugh. “Be kind, Patch. I’m a simple man with simple needs. You could overwhelm me.”

“Bullshit,” she fired back. “You forget, I know just how expensive your tastes are.”

I snorted, but I didn’t deny it. Of course, my tastes were expensive. I preferred the items that were unique and individual. Just like her.

She was worth every penny I owned and more.

“Now, stop staring at me and get that espresso machine set up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I murmured and moved to do just that while I kept watch over her from the corner of my eye. Today was definitely a better day.

As I pulled the espresso machine out of its box, I allowed myself my own smile.

In a few minutes, it would be a better day.