TWENTY
Code Red. Initiate bomb protocols onboard both Blackstars, we have a credible threat." Finn instructed his head of security, via his smartphone’s earpiece. Voice calm, heart thundering, he pushed out words that scared the shit out of him. "Persephone's being held hostage on the mainland."
He turned to Walker, his assistant, standing beside him, phone to his ear, relaying instructions to key personnel in a low, urgent undertone. "See who'll give us access to any strategically positioned satellites," Finn instructed. "Pinpoint on our location, then have them focus on the coordinates for Persephone's' house. Infrared and 30-centimeter resolution. I want a head count. Need to know how many Bad Guys I'm dealing with." Jesus, couldn't be that many, could it? Núñez was a government agent, for God's sake. None of this made any sense.
"On it." Walker took his laptop and sat down, tapping keys even as he made the call to one of Blackstar Corp's telecommunications partners.
McCoy, his chief of security came up beside him, and Finn said, "I'll take the chopper in alone. Assemble a small away team to rendezvous with me there. Take the cigarette boat, it’s the fastest we have. I'll send detail as I go."
"Bad idea, sir. I can bring-"
"Alone."
"I'll bring your clothes."
"Good man. Hurry."
Logan frowned. "You don't think you're suitably dressed for the occasion?"
"These clothes are specially constructed in case of a kidnapping."
"Hell. Didn't know there was such a thing," Teal said with curiosity.
"NASA has a satellite in position," Walker said, phone to his ear even as his fingers hovered over the keyboard. "They're reading- Please confirm?" He looked over at Finn as whoever he was speaking to confirmed the number of people on location at Peri's house. "Twenty-seven and counting. Heavily armed- Yes, thank you, please do keep us updated." He rose to come to Finn. "You heard? Take a look." He tilted the screen for Finn.
Impossible. Improbable. Persephone kidnapped and surrounded by more than two dozen armed men? What the fuck was going on? None of this made any goddamn sense. Finn addressed the room at large. "Satellite imagery- both infrared and also 30-centimeter resolution, indicates two dozen armed men on the grounds surrounding the house on three sides. Snipers here, here and here." He showed the others as they closed in to look at Walker's screen. "Nine inside the house."
Bria put a hand to her throat. "Dear God, is that Peri lying on the floor?"
"Jesus. They're expecting a full out fucking war." Zane, standing between Jonah and Logan took a closer look at the infrared image on the left of Walker's screen.
It was quite clear that Núñez's men were patrolling the narrow peninsula and the road leading to it and the house.
"Over thirty men holding one woman?" Zane looked at Finn. "Why? I don't get it. Clearly, this isn't a straight kidnapping in exchange for the tablets. They're expecting a full-scale assault."
Nick, talking quietly to the three T-FLAC operatives, who'd been guarding the tablets, dispatched them to head for the mainland as well.
"What's your plan?"
"Get there," Finn told him, voice grim as he coldly sorted facts and variables. A strategy needed to be put in place, but right now he was trying to assimilate as much information as possible. It took precious time, but it was necessary before he allowed his fear to take hold. Going in with the guns blazing, while appealing as hell, would get him killed. And if he died, Núñez would probably kill Peri as well.
More haste, less speed.
Fuck.
McCoy returned with his change of clothes. Finn yanked his t-shirt over his head, tossing it aside to pull on a black shirt
"Wait." Nick motioned to one of the T-FLAC guys over at the door. "Let one of my guys give you a LockOut suit-"
"How long?" Doing up his shirt buttons, Finn already knew there wasn't time. The impervious garment, invented by the counterterrorist organization Nick frequently worked for, LockOut was a fabric that was almost indestructible, with many features suitable for the task at hand.
"Twenty minutes to Scorpion, twe- Fuck. Sorry. No time."
"What I have should do the trick." Finn undid his zipper. "Ladies-" Without waiting to see if stripping would offend them, and he doubted it would, Finn toed off his shoes, pulled off his jeans, and took the black pants McCoy held out, then added the belt before shoving his feet into lightweight boots.
"How will you go in?" Nick pulled up a closeup image of Peri's glass house and the cliff on his smartphone. Why he had such an image was a question for Finn to address later. "This way?" He drew a line from the water at the base of the cliff, straight up the rock face to the house. A hundred feet of sheer granite.
"Hell no." Finn did up the laces on the boots. " I'll fly in and land on their fucking doorstep."
"You're insane." Teal's eyes were troubled. "They'll shoot you on the spot."
"Not until they have the tablets. And since they’ll believe Blackstar will be destroyed in their bomb blast, they'll know I have them. Where, they won't be told. Not until I have Persephone."
"You are crazy," Zane told him flatly. "There's got to be a better way. Nick? Talk some sense into him."
"A full frontal attack has its merits. They won't know you have back up. Might work."
"Might?!" Callie's voice shook, and her eyes glistened with tears. "That's my sister in there! You have to-" Her voice choked off.
Jonah wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he drew her aside. "We're not without our own considerable resources, sweetheart."
Ignoring the urgency of the clarion sound of a countdown clock syncing with his heartbeat, Finn fired off instructions to his security people, and both his ship's captains.
The four Cutters broke off to alert their own people on their ships. He knew Nick had ties to the black ops of T-FLAC, but hearing the brothers’ concise instructions to their people, made him realize what excellent allies he had in his friends. He knew he was going to have to apologize to infinity for accusing them of collusion about the damned tablets.
Cold as ice, he kept his fear and urgency tamped down so he could construct, analyze, dismiss, and put into action plans even as he mobilized his people. As much as he wanted to haul ass out of there, show up at Persephone's house sooner than expected, Finn knew the advantage of a well thought out game plan.
He couldn't afford to fuck up. Not with her life at stake. He'd automatically set the timer on his watch the moment Núñez had come on the phone. A quick glance showed him too many minutes had passed.
McCoy handed him a micro-sized comm that fit over his back molar. "They'll check you for weapons and phone. They won't see this, and we'll be in contact for the duration. I'll coordinate efforts from here, and keep everyone in the loop. I'm guessing that trying to convince you to let us handle this is out of the question? Yeah, thought so. I have your six. The away team is heading to the motorboats now. We'll also utilize the Cutter choppers and men. They'll meet us as we instruct. Rodriquez is boobytrapping our chopper, he's waiting for us on the flight deck with an arsenal."
"Good man."
"How long do you think we have?" Logan demanded, phone to his ear.
"You heard Núñez. Sixty minutes to get to her house. We've already eaten up nine getting our shit together. So, that, or less, to detonation would be my guess." Finn strode over to the tablets as he fitted the tiny comm over a molar, biting down gently to seat it. A glance at his own pale face, reflected in the night black windows, showed just how fucking scared he was. He might be able to control his voice, and expression, but not his physical, involuntary responses. Not when it came to Persephone.
When he got his hands on Núñez, the sick fuck was going to wish he'd never been born.
"Find the bomb," he told his people remaining onboard. "When you do, toss it onto one of the runabouts and send it, full bore, out into the middle of the ocean." If they didn't find it, they could kiss their asses goodbye. "Evacuate everyone on board both ships in exactly twenty-four minutes if it's not found. Nobody be a hero. Ships can be replaced. This isn't your fight," Finn told the group, voice grim as he hefted the first tablet.
"A stupid fucking statement. Doesn't deserve a response," Zane said, jaw tight, eyes hot.
"Fair enough. I need that," Finn told Callie, who had her large duffel bag at her feet as she readied to depart.
"Of course." She immediately opened the bag and dumped her clothing and cosmetics on the floor without hesitation. "Pad them. Here."
"Thanks." Finn, quickly and efficiently, loaded the tablets into the case, placing whatever clothing Callie handed him, as padding between them. As he worked, he touched his earpiece to alert the crew readying the chopper. "On my way."
"We're all going," Nick informed him, offering him a Sig. Saur from the small of his back.
"I have my own, but thanks." His people would have an entire arsenal waiting for him at the chopper, but he figured the more firepower he had, the better.
"Take this at least," Jonah braced his foot on the coffee table, lifting the leg of his jeans to expose an ankle holster. Withdrawing the gun, he handed it to Finn, then unbuckled the holster, and handed that to him, too. "Glock 27. Pearce extension. Ten rounds. If they're professionals, they'll find these. You need deep conceal. I'll get a neck holster for you. Hands up, hands behind your head. You'll be covered." He indicated what he wanted to one of his counterterrorist guys nearby.
"Appreciate this, but you know they won't let me do anydamnedthing until they've disarmed me."
"You can shoot plenty of the fuckers before that happens," Logan said. "Always be prepared is my motto."
"Oh, I plan to be," Finn said grimly.
"Where do you want us?" Bria asked Nick.
"I'll accompany you back to Scorpion," Nick told his wife. "I think the safest place for you is the mainland. You, Callie, Teal and Dani, head directly to the marina, I'll send a couple of armed men with you. Stay there until we clear things. I'll follow Finn in our chopper."
“First, we don't know that this psycho isn't patrolling the marina waiting for us. Second, there's no damned time,” Callie pointed out. “We'll go to the Tesoro Mio. Ry’s got plenty of security. Don't worry about us. Every minute counts.”
"I'll talk to Case," Finn told her, as he fastened the ankle holster, dropped the Glock into it, then rose to zip Callie's bag. He hefted it onto his shoulder. He'd gladly hand over the fucking tablets to Núñez to save Peri. Nobody present suggested anything different.
Callie shook her head. "Better not. I know him. He's going to want to be right in the middle of the action to save his sister."
Finn held out his hand. "It should be me telling him." Callie slapped the phone into his palm like a surgical nurse a scalpel.
Hell of an introduction, but it had to be done. "Phineas Gallagher," Finn said without preamble when Case answered. "Dr. Thiago Núñez is holding Persephone against her will at her home."
"What the fuck? Why?"
"In exchange for the tablets. I have..." He glanced at his watch. "Forty-eight minutes to make the exchange."
"How many people holding her?"
Finn appreciated the way Case went directly to the crux of the matter.
"Thirty men for a kidnapping?" Case's voice was incredulous. "That doesn't make any fucking sense- I'm going with you."
"Appreciate it. But no time. The Cutters will be right behind me in their choppers, security's taking boats in."
"Know about the caves?"
Finn turned the phone on speaker as he and the Cutter men strode down the length of the corridor. "What caves?"
"The entire bluff under Peri's house is a labyrinth of caves," Case told him shortly. "Her Sea Witch is anchored there. She has an elevator from her private dock up to the house. I'll bring my people and come in that way. Do you have enough firepower?"
"We do."
"Gallagher?"
"Yeah?"
"If one hair on my sister's head is harmed, I'll hunt your ass to the ends of the earth, and I'll kill you. Got it?"
Before he could respond, Case cut him off.
Finn did a quick practice draw. Reaching behind his head for the semi-automatic .380. It cleared the holster between his shoulder blades with ease, and fit, with room to spare, in his palm.
"Eleven ounces," he told Nick. "Six .380 ACP rounds in the magazine, one in the pipe. He listened to McCoy via his comm. "Yeah, I remember. Trigger's a little stiff, but it can fire sixty feet."
"Make them count."
Finn nodded. "Let’s get this shitshow on the road." He was heading to the door, now at a run. "You'll have to land at a distance," he addressed everyone behind him without slowing or turning his head. "There's only room in front of her house for one chopper. A narrow road connects the mainland to her peninsula. One way. Hundred foot drop. We don't know the capabilities of the men holding her. Be prepared for every eventuality. Let me make myself crystal clear. The only thing I care about is Persephone."
"Agreed," Logan said, his voice flat.
The tablets were just a bargaining chip. Peri's life was everything.
Everyone left the salon at a run.
"Keep me advised," Finn told the others, just as Dr. Vadini came toward the women who were yards ahead at the other end of the corridor.
Frowning with concern, the curator spoke rapidly in Italian to Bria, backing up as the men barreled toward him en masse.
Nick's wife responded in equally rapid Italian, without slowing her pace, eyes fierce.
Vadini turned terrified eyes to Finn as he fell into step with them. "I was most afraid of this. It's imperative you not allow El Elegidos to get possession of the tablets! Dr. Núñez's interpretation of the meaning of the tablets was completely erroneous! I must accompany you." The curator grabbed Finn's forearm.
Finn shook him off. "Too dangerous. Go with the women to the Case's ship. The men at Persephone's house are armed, and her house is a fucking fortress," he told the Cutters, who had no problem keeping pace with him. "Which they now hold."
"Please," Vadini's voice broke as he tried to keep up.
"You sure you don't want me to-Go." Nick urged when Finn shook his head. Nick put his phone to his ear shooting out rapid-fire orders to his own people on board his ship Scorpion. "Prep the chopper for immediate departure, and ready all the runabouts," Nick said into his own phone, running beside Finn. "Have security arm themselves and be ready to be wheels up the minute I get there." To Finn, "The others are doing likewise. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of back up for this assfuckery."
Callie reached up to kiss Jonah on the mouth. "Don't get any damned holes in you, Jonah Cutter, or I'll kill you. I still want that honeymoon you promised me."
"Always keep my promises."
"We have a veritable army," Finn said dryly. "These fuckers won't know what hit them. Núñez is mine. Let's go."
The Cutters headed to their runabouts in the garage. Finn took the stairs to the upper deck, and the helipad, two at a time
The metronome ticked at a furious rate as he climbed into the waiting Augusta Westland AW139. "Everything set?" he demanded of his men waiting for him beside the chopper, their hair blowing in the whir of the rotor.
"Yes, sir," Caplan yelled, climbing in after him, followed by Rodriquez. Both ex-NAVY SEAL's had been with Finn for over ten years. He trusted them with his life. Peri's life.
"Get in. Keep low when we go in for the approach. The house is made up primarily of glass. Don't want them to see you until we need them to see you."
Finn put on his headset. Blades already spinning, they lifted off the helipad.
Other than the dash lights, the interior was dim. His eyes adjusted to the night sky pressing down on the water. The wind had died down as if it had never been, and other than a few clouds, the sky was black and bright with stars. Using his left hand, Finn gripped the collective and increased the pitch of the blades to hover briefly over the deck as he opened the twist-grip throttle to produce more engine power as he pressed the yaw pedals.
Right hand on the cyclic, he pushed sideways, making a curving turn over Blackstar's stern before straightening out and heading inland at top speed. At almost two hundred MPH, they'd be there in minutes. "Show me you're worth your fourteen million dollar price tag," he said under his breath, pushing the machine to its limit.
The whirl of the rotors overhead matched the rapid beat of Finn's heart as he flew low over the star¬-speckled blackness of the ocean. His earpiece came on and Nick Cutter seemed to speak directly into his brain. "Finn?"
"Yeah."
"Vadini just admitted that he is the Protector mentioned in the tablets. Part of a group called el Ehnos- the Protectors of Blackstar's prophesy. Given what has transpired this evening, he believes Núñez is the head of the opposing radical religious group called the Chosen, el Elegidos. The Chosen believe they’ve been selected by God to fulfill the prophecy. Vadini claims the two groups are in direct opposition. The Protectors are just that, protectors of the tablets, certain that the prophecy he read on our tablets is gospel and the direct words from the seer."
Listening with half an ear, Finn snapped, "And I give a fuck-why?"
“Núñez doesn't believe the interpretation at all. His cult's belief is that the end of the world is coming, and he'll be the one to lead the remaining eleven thousand people to the Chosen's version of Nirvana. Vadini believes Núñez will stop at nothing to get his hands on those tablets. He has five fucking hundred years of indoctrination behind him.
"Vadini believes Núñez intends to kill anyone who knows the truth about the prophecy on the tablets. He'll lie to his disciples flat out since no one but Núñez and Vadini can read the ancient text. Núñez needs to keep the real meaning of the tablets a secret to maintain his hold on his followers. From the images, it looks as if he has his followers who are militarized and willing to kill, or die, for what he believes in. We don't know how far reaching the Chosen are. But Vadini claims they are dogmatic, violent and will stop at nothing to achieve their goal. Oh, yeah and another thing. . .The end of the world is in three days. Just sayin'. "
This was all so much bullshit.
All Finn knew was that some fuckhead had his filthy hands on Peri.
If it was a choice between the end of the fucking world and Peri, there was no contest.
Peri was his world.
“He won’t need to destroy the tablets or anything else if I kill him first.”
“Works for me,” Nick responded. Under Nick's voice was the sound of the motor on his runabout, and the faint slap of water as the Cutters made their way to their own ships.
The green dash lights shone eerily on the slight chop of water below as the rotors churned up the surface. Finn made a small adjustment to change course slightly when the lights of the small town of Puerto Mahon appeared in the distance.
"As ludicrous as it seems, goes to motive." So much for the story he'd considered a bullshit scam to part him from his money. Considering these nut jobs held Peri's life in their hands, he'd swallow his disbelief and go along with it. "We need to know more about these 'Chosen'. How many people are part of this cult? Are they prone to acts of violence? Do they have more assets at their disposal? Can you have T-FLAC delve deeply into what we're dealing with here? Walker will give them the access info to the NASA satellite contact person."
"Excellent, already working that angle. I should have more soon."
"Sooner would be better," Finn said, voice grim.
"I hear ya. I'll let you know, the second I know," Nick told him. "Our ETA is fifteen minutes behind you." He disconnected.
The lights of the small coastal town became brighter, and Finn swooped the helicopter low over the marina, heading south.
Sick to his stomach, he realized that what he'd dismissed so readily might just be something that would cost Peri her life.
All the lights were on in the house as the helicopter rose up the rock face. He counted at least half a dozen heads inside. He did not see Peri's bright hair. Mouth dry, he skimmed the chopper above the glass roof to hover briefly over the gravel driveway. Finn brought the chopper down lightly in a hail of gravel that sounded like buckshot against the metal body.
"Stay down," he instructed his men. "Sit tight. The only way I want you to leave this chopper is if you see Peri coming through that door. Once she’s secure, take off."
"But, sir-"
"No variations. Your prime goal is to make sure Peri leaves here alive."
A triangle of light flooded the driveway when the front door pivoted open. Finn stepped down from the helicopter as four men emerged, each pointing an assault weapon at his chest.
Her heartbeat sounded deafening in her ears as Peri calculated that it would take about twenty-running-flat-out-steps to reach the open pantry door.
Bound, and in full view of the armed men surrounding her? That was going to be some trick.
Hopeless.
No. Hopeless was accepting whatever Theo had in store for her. To hell with that.
Think.
Every inch of her body protested painfully as the sheep tranq wore off. Her stomach roiled in reaction, and it was hard to fight her way through the mental fog and lassitude.
Think harder, damn it.
She'd been scared before. She loved scared, she reminded herself. Scared and doing shit anyway, was her crack.
But this was a whole other level.
A faint and distant whop-whop-whop of rotors caused her heart to gallop.
Nobody was crazy enough to fall for Theo's ransom demands, she was pretty damn sure. The tablets had historical significance and were worth an untold fortune. They might show up to try to bargain with Theo for her release. But whoever was out there, was coming empty-handed.
Which was exactly something Rydell would do. If, somehow, Ry had gotten wind of this and broken the sound barrier to get here this quickly.
The sound of the helicopter got closer, and Peri worked harder to liberate her numb hands. Her bloody wrists made her skin slippery, and the cord bindings were stronger now that they were wet.
"Someone's here," Santi cupped his hands to peer out of the blackness behind the window.
She renewed her fight against the fastenings while everyone was distracted. There was no give in whatever was tying her ankles together, and instead of expending useless energy trying to free them, she'd worked her wrists for what seemed like hours. She almost didn't notice the pain any longer as she twisted and pulled. Backed up against the coffee table as she was, whoever stood behind her couldn't see what she was doing. If they had, they would've stopped her long before now.
The cut on her cheek stung like fire ants, her jaw ached where Theo had backhanded her, and her wrists were an agonizing, bloody mess. The son of a bitch was a sadist, and she had no intention of waiting to see what he had planned for his freaking finale.
Theo and the two men who seemed to be running this kidnapping with him, had retreated to the window where they'd been talking quietly for some time. Every now and then one of them would look through the telescope to see if anyone was approaching from the water.
Someone was coming. By air. The throbbing sound grew louder and louder.
The group of three, eight-inch marble fertility statues from a long ago dive with Ry, rattled on the coffee table, seconds before the entire house vibrated. The men at the window backed up in a hurry as a helicopter rose up the cliff face out of the darkness, like Kong peering into the windows of the Empire State Building. For a few seconds, the bubble of light hovered, a blade's-width away from the thick windows.
Finn.
For a second she saw his set face through the glass, then the helicopter rose overhead, blocking him from view.
It looked as though he was alone. Oh, God. He had no idea how many armed men he was about to face, and there was no way to warn him before it was too late. The instant burst of hope was crushed by fear for Finn's safety. He had no idea he was walking into a trap.
The sound of the descending rotors so close to the house was deafening. It drowned out the crackle and pop of the two-way radios that the men outside had been using to report in every five minutes with 'No intruders.'
The intruder was here.
"Time to go," Theo shouted to be heard as he walked cautiously across the glass floor to her side. It was impossible to miss the gun he held loosely against his leg. His smile instilled the fear of God in her. It was unnerving seeing him in this new, scary light. He'd always been respectful, always gentle when they'd been together. A fact that had frequently got on her nerves. Now that calm stillness had a whole new meaning.
It was merciless, sterile, psychotic, like someone picking apart a biology specimen just to see how it ticked, only the specimen was still alive. When he'd used that knife on her face earlier there hadn't been one shred of empathy in his eyes. She was merely a means to an end.
He motioned impatiently to a soldier standing nearby. "Get her up."
A pair of black military-style boots came into view. A rough hand grabbed her upper arm, and beefy fingers dug into her bicep like a vice. The guy hauled her unceremoniously to her feet. Pins and needles sent shards of agony through her legs as the blood rushed to her extremities. Peri couldn't help sucking in a gasp of pain as her knees seemed to melt. It was only the man's grip that kept her upright.
"She's our bargaining chip, Excellency," the new voice was elderly, respectful, but determined. The man was right behind her, which gave Peri the creeps. "They must not know how important she is. We do not want to show our hand until we have the tablets."
"That's Gallagher." Theo brought the gun up to Peri's face, stroking the barrel under her left eye, then sliding it down her hot cheek, smearing the blood in a wet trail across her skin.
His eyes were snake-dead and creepy as hell. Peri went hot then cold, then hot again.
"He came alone, willing to die." Theo motioned someone behind her to come forward. "Get the tablets and then grant him his wish. I'll take my lady below. We'll be long gone before anyone else shows up."
Several years ago, dogging Logan's salvage off the coast of Peru, she'd thought he was coming after her underwater. She'd ascended too rapidly and almost given herself a pulmonary embolism. Peri felt like that now. Restricted lungs made it impossible to drag in a breath, pressure on her chest, heart beating too fast.
Panic attack. Breathe. Just breathe.
Why didn't he kill her now that Finn had arrived, presumably with the tablets? Not that she wanted to be dead, but wasn't she redundant now? Why take her down to the caves? And how and when had Theo discovered the caverns below her house? What else had he found? The freight elevator filled with Cutter artifacts? Had he disabled Sea Witch? If so, she was really screwed. The only way out of the caverns was by water. Deep water. Dead of night black water. She was an excellent swimmer, but still. . .
Never allow yourself to be taken to a second location rang in her head. First rule to remember if you’re kidnapped. She'd read that somewhere. But below meant Theo knew about the elevator and the caves. That was the bad news. The good news was she knew her way around down there, and, hopefully, he didn't.
"You won't get away with th- Omph!" The man Theo had motioned forward materialized to grab her around the waist without warning, then sling her over his massive shoulder like a bag of flour. The movement jarred her wrists and caused black dots to swarm in her vision. She turned her head so she didn't have her face smashed into his back, it was hard enough breathing, let alone upside down. "If Finn doesn't shoot you on the spot, he'll beat your ass, put you in jail and throw away the key."
No. Finn would be summarily shot. If he'd brought the tablets, the men would take them, then kill him. If he hadn't, they'd kill him, then contact one of the Cutters or her brother. They wouldn't stop until they got what they wanted.
"Your lover won't find you, querida," Theo told her, in the creepiest, most gentle tone. He motioned the man to get going with her. Every step the guy took jarred her wrists, and made the compression on her lungs worse as blood drained to her head.
Theo entered the pantry ahead of them. "You are an important key in the narrative of the Chosen, Ariel." He pressed the button to open the narrow door of the elevator. "Once I explain the true meaning of Blackstar's prophecy, it will all be made clear to you."
That sounded ominous. "Give me the Cliff's Notes."
"You will rule at my side, and bear me fine, strong sons in the New World."
Oh, hell no. "You had your chance. We broke up way back, remember?" She listened for gunshots, but only heard her own rapid heartbeat. The shirt of the guy carrying her was damp with sweat, and he reeked of what she imagined dirty socks would smell like. She braced her bound hands on the man's belt at the small of his back so she could lift her swimming head. "You didn't seem that devastated about us breaking up at the time. I thought you were fine with us being friends."
"I allowed you freedom of choice. All women like to sow some wild oats before they settle down. I have always known you would be my goddess, and help me lead my people. Gallagher was a misstep, I must admit. I wasn't prepared for you to fuck another man."
"Yeah, that must've been a tough one," she said dryly while her heart ached.
"Untenable. But I knew you would be mine in the end. Blackstar ordained it."
"If so, Blackstar was a freaking moron. Never going to happen. Believe me, I'm no goddess, far from it. Which you would've noticed if you'd been listening to my confession this afternoon. And news flash, this is not how you win a woman’s heart."
"I don't give a fuck about your heart. It's your womb I want."
"My wo- Are you listening to yourself, Theo? You're nuts."
"I've never been more sane, more focused. I've waited my entire life for this moment. In this the tablets were correct. You are my Fire Warrior, Ariel. "
"If that part was true, why isn't the rest of Blackstar's prediction, Theo? I didn't hear anything from Dr. Vadini that indicated you could pick and choose what to believe and what not to believe."
The man's shoulder dug into her belly. Her blood pounded in her head, and it was hard to draw air into her lungs. Theo didn't answer. "We won't fit in the elevator with me slung over this guy' shoulder like this, nor will we fit in the tunnels."
The narrow elevator door slid open emitting a faint blue light. Theo pulled her head up by the untidy braid dangling over her face. She'd never noticed that he had the eyes of a reptile.
He must've given the other man a signal because she was flipped onto her feet. "Don't do anything foolish." Taking out his curved bladed knife, Theo sliced between her ankles, then made a sharp upward stroke. "In three days I will become Supreme Leader of the World."
Peri snorted out a laugh, even though the action hurt her ribs. "Supreme leader of the World? Not just Argentina, but the entire world? Theo, you're delusional." Probably not a wise thing to say to a man who was delusional.
"You are my lifemate. Blackstar ordained it. There is no other." He shoved her into the tiny elevator first, then he and the other man got in.
"Either you can stand beside me proudly, bear my children, and reap the benefits of being by my side. Or I will hold you by force, put a child in you, and make your life extremely unpleasant. The choice is yours."
"My choice is none of the above."
His black eyes flashed, and his mouth tightened, but he didn't respond. The elevator barely contained the three of them and she did her best to put space between them by crowding the back corner. The elevator moved slowly; less than five minutes to get to the caverns below. Did Theo have more men waiting there? Did he have a fast boat? Oh, hell. Was he planning on kidnapping her in her own damned boat? "How did you know about the elevator?"
"I followed your runabout into the cave last year. I've been exploring every time you left the house."
Which was often, as she'd been diving Napolitano every day. "Snooping." Her brain was like a gerbil on a wheel while she strategized her escape. It beat worrying about Finn, possibly already lying dead on her flokati rug in her living room.
"You are too stubborn, Ariel. Too opinionated. Too independent. When we were together I thought you an unworthy vessel to accept the planting of my seed."
"Thank God. My vessel would repel your seed so fast your head would spin. You really are delusional, Theo. I'm not your anything. I never will be your anything.
"Blackstar's prophecy is clear. Not the false prophecy of the tablets you found, but the prophecy passed down to me for hundreds of years. You are my lifemate," he repeated. "We will be joined before the apocalypse."
"If the tablets aren't the prophecy you think they should be, why the hell do you want them, Theo?" They were speaking in English and she wondered if the expressionless man with them understood what they were saying.
"Because I am the only person who can read them. Because they will fucking say whatever I want them to say when I show them to my people. They will confirm what I know. There will be eleven thousand people left after the apocalypse, and I will have you ruling by my side, Ariel."
The elevator door opened. Heart pounding with dread she breathed in the familiar scent of sea air and the unfamiliar stink of old sweat coming from several shady figures of Theo's men waiting for them. "My name is Persephone Case, dickhead!"