Chapter 2

Two

The alarm jerked me out of sleep and sent my adrenaline pumping. I reached for the phone before I’d fully sat up.

Remington’s name was on the screen.

“Talk to me,” I answered, shaking off the cobwebs as I pushed back the blankets and slid out of bed. The rat-a-tat-tat and pop of gunfire echoed behind him.

“Job went sideways, luv, and now everyone wants a piece of me. Not feeling the welcome.”

“Or the lube from the sounds of it,” I murmured, but I was already on the move. “Target still in play?”

“Target down. I need an exodus.” The low, dreamy quality of his voice was something I’d always enjoyed. Every word he spoke was always enunciated with care and perfectly precise. Even when he was in a hurry, he didn’t sound like it. The lack of regional or colloquial touches didn’t betray where in England Remington hailed from, but he did sound elegant and smart no matter the circumstance.

“I’m on it. Standby.”

Downstairs, I brought my machines up. I was already tracking his call and I transferred the connection to my main box and slid my headphones on.

“You still with me, luv?”

“Nowhere else I’d rather be,” I told him. My fingers flew over the keyboard. Every second counted. He was somewhere in Poland.

I was zeroing in to his signal and looking for street cameras even as I pulled up a map.

Fresh gunfire filled the line. “Bloody hell,” he muttered. “Hold on.” Then the phone sounded muffled like he’d pressed it against something. The gunfire was much closer this time. He returned fire and the report was a lot louder.

“Someone has a bigger gun,” I said and got a throaty chuckle in response. I had him on screen. He cut a good-looking silhouette from black cap hiding his bald head to his smooth leather coat. He blended with the shadows, but he wasn’t exactly one of them. “Let’s go big boy, head east—half a kilometer down the alley on the other side of that ancient Ford.”

“Moving.”

“Three o’clock!” I warned. He pivoted, sighted, and fired before the other man got his gun up. I focused on the fallen assailant for a split second. Guilt added another thread to the noose around my neck.

That man was dead. I was complicit. I compartmentalized it and locked it away. I’d feel worse about it later. Right now, I had to get Remington out of there.

Tracking ahead and behind him, I mapped a dozen different ways. But he had a whole squad after him. Whoever the target had been, he pissed off a lot of people.

“Ten more steps then go left again.”

He didn’t hesitate, cutting down the side passage that couldn’t be more than a couple of feet across. He had to angle himself to keep going but he vanished before some of the pursuers reached the mouth of the alley.

“Next right. You need to move faster. They are splitting up.”

Two had gone down the narrow passageway I’d directed him to.

“I thought you liked it when I was slow and deliberate.” The faintness of his panting breaths belied the tease.

“I like it hard and fast too,” I said. “Left again. Then another sharp right. Zig zag.”

“Fuck,” he swore. But he didn’t stop moving. “Are you sending me to the crypts?”

“Close.” There were catacombs in Krakow and other cities. “This one isn’t a tourist hot spot though and it’s been closed for a while. Be careful when you get to the entrance.”

“I knew you cared,” he said with a chuckle.

“Stop. Silent running.”

He froze on my screen. Two of the pursuers passed so close to the opening he was tucked into they could have probably touched him if they’d reached inside. But the slant of the brick wall gave it an illusion like the buildings were actually touching more than they were.

“Ten count, then move. Directly across the street. Down the stairs.”

He didn’t respond verbally but at the ten mark, he slipped across the street. The assailants were moving away from him. Their search was a grid pattern. He’d lost his passageway pursuers. It was a virtual maze through those old buildings.

I did another sweep as he descended the steps.

“At the bottom, travel directly ahead. There’s an old gate over the door. You’ll need to open both to get inside.”

The shadows around the entrance hid him from view. Police dispatches had them closing in on the area and in pursuit of suspects. I offered a quick tip into their system where some of them were.

The more attention they took off Remy, the better. A faint tapping got my attention. Morse code.

Oh…

“Yes, it’s clear to talk, just keep it low. No one should be close enough to hear you.”

“This is a church, luv. You sending me to hell?”

“Is that a complaint?” The corners of my mouth lifted. “Cause you can go back to hang out with all your new suitors.”

“Green is not your color,” he said and I snorted. Remy was always fishing for what I looked like.

“Every color is my color,” I informed him. “I’m a goddess.”

“Yes, you are.” There was a rattle as the gate rolled upward, then the door opened. The crack of wood being forced made me grimace, but we both went still.

“You’re clear,” I said after another couple of heartbeats. He closed the gate behind him, then the door.

“Am I good to use a flashlight?”

“Yes, you’re also off the cameras.”

“Damn, and here I wanted to blow you a kiss.”

“Save it for next time. The access to the catacombs is located among the crypts behind the altar. My notes say Mother Mary marks it.”

“Good to know I get to blaspheme while I’m at it. You take me to all the interesting places.”

It was my turn to chuckle. “You were the one who picked the city.”

“How do you feel about Venice?”

“Like I don’t swim. Once you descend into the catacombs, follow them steadily west for about ten kilometers. They will narrow when you get to the next church, it’s a little one off an old dairy road.”

“You mean near farms?”

“They were probably farms back in the day, it’s a lot more industrial from the looks of it now. The church there also appears abandoned. Once you come up, you should be in the clear.”

He blew out a breath. “This is the part where you say goodbye, isn’t it?”

“For a little while. Communications are spotty down there. You need to focus on where you’re going. I’ll keep an eye on the exit to make sure you’re clear.”

“Patch?”

“Hmm?”

“Favorite flower?”

“Never really thought about it.”

“Everyone has a favorite flower,” he said and I switched screens to make sure his pursuers were nowhere near the church he was currently standing in.

“Do they?” I mused. “What’s yours?”

“Honeysuckle.”

The speed of his answer amused me. “That was fast.”

“It’s beautiful, smells fantastic, provides a food source for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Practically perfect. Just like you.”

Now I did snort. “I haven’t sniffed honeysuckle in a while. I’ll have to check that out. Now get moving, Remy. I’ve got your back.”

“Think about the flowers. I want to know.” Then he disconnected before I could answer or evade the question. I did my best to not get personal with my clients, but sometimes it was hard.

Times like now, when he relied on me to get him out of a dangerous situation. He never hesitated or slowed down to argue with me. When I gave him directions, he went. Just like when I told him about the guy he killed earlier.

I tabbed through the screens. Law enforcement had found the body on the street. A couple of the assailants were being arrested. More calls were coming in. A politician had been found dead in his office.

Well, that told me who the target had likely been. Still, nothing in the dispatches indicated Remy had been spotted or was being tracked. I checked the church where he would be exiting and kept one eye on it as I documented any close-ups of his pursuers I could.

Snaps of them were added to the files and I lifted information from the police band for names and affiliations.

These men were not security forces only. Not from the looks of it. As tired as I should be, impatience crept through me as I glanced at the clock repeatedly. I was keeping a mental countdown for when Remy should resurface.

Until he was out of the catacombs and into a safe house, I would not relax.

He took longer than I cared for, but the buzz of an incoming call had me sagging a little in the seat. “Talk to me,” I said when I answered.

“It would be my genuine pleasure,” Remy said, the smile in his voice seemed to echo on my face as I grinned. “All clear out there?”

“Yes, it is. Do you need transport?” I probably should have asked that earlier, but we were a little busy. There he was, leaving the church. Limping.

I frowned. The problem with the cameras here, I couldn’t really zoom in. Even if I did, they pixelated like mad.

“I’m good, I figure I’ll just lift a car here. They have a lot of older models. I can find something to hot wire.”

I snorted, but I was already checking the vehicles and registrations that I could read for a square mile around him.

“Two blocks west,” I said. “It looks like the car used to be a rental. I can start it remotely.”

“Luv, have I told you how sexy your magic fingers are?”

“A few times,” I told him, keeping an eye on him as he limped. Had he been shot? Pulled a muscle? Or wrenched his ankle? What? “The gray one,” I informed him when he got there.

It was taking me a minute to find the service codes to get the car open. Master codes existed for mechanics and repossession agents. You just had to know what list they were on.

There we go. The car unlocked and the engine rumbled to life as I disengaged the alarm. They should have had this one changed after they bought it. The codes for the rental company still worked.

Not that they were supposed to without the key being nearby…

“Check the right rear tire well, near the top,” I told him and he circled the vehicle. A moment later, he held up a magnetic box.

“It’s like you left it here as a gift for me.”

The stupidity of some people never failed to amaze me.

“We’ll need to ditch it in a couple of hours, but it should buy you the time to get out of the city. Do you need accommodations or trip planning?”

“You have no idea how much I want to say yes, just to keep you on the phone. I’m aware it’s rather late there.” It was the early hours of the morning there, still too early for sunrise.

“Hmm,” I said. “And I’m doing all of this without coffee.”

“My goddess is the best goddess,” he said. “Thank you for not smiting me.”

I snorted. “Be safe.” On the screen, he was already pulling away and heading east. “Remy…?” I couldn’t help myself.

“Still here, luv.”

“Do you need medical care?” I grimaced at myself for asking, but he had been limping.

“I knew you cared,” he said with a soft laugh. “Go back to sleep goddess, and dream of me. I’ll be fine.”

Then he hung up and I dropped back into the seat, stress and adrenaline drained out of me like someone had pulled the plug on the drain.

Remy was safe. Or as safe as I could make him. He’d also driven away from where I could safely view him. I could track the stolen car, but probably not the best idea.

Checking the clock, I rubbed a hand over my face. Despite the hour, there would be no going back to sleep. I checked the reports from the police for the name of the body they’d found on the street.

The man I’d helped to kill.

It wasn’t there yet.

“Later,” I promised myself, then closed down the screens one at a time before I peeled off my headset. I had a treadmill upstairs. While I couldn’t outrun the nightmares, I could at least delay them.

A run, then coffee.

I took my phone with me in case Remy ran into more trouble. I wish he’d taken me up on the medical offer.

Giving myself a shake, I locked up the office and headed up the stairs. I knew better than to get involved.

But sometimes… sometimes it was more challenging to keep my distance than I liked to admit.