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When she put the phone away, she felt strangely empty. Everything was changing. And she didn’t like change.
She turned off the light and tried to sleep. After two hours, she finally drifted off, the lost children of strangers heavy on her mind.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Baldwin hated not being able to share everything that was happening with Taylor. It was better that way, safer for her. She didn’t need the details. After the debacle last year, when one of Atlantic’s premier assassins had decided to come after Baldwin through Taylor, he’d become adamant about keeping his personal life out of his professional life. He didn’t make a lot of friends when he worked with Atlantic. He was fairly certain that would be the case tonight.
One of those nonfriends was the next call he made.
He put the phone to his ear, let it ring once, twice, three times, before a heavy voice answered. Baldwin could tell the man had been drinking. He didn’t know if that would work in his favor, or against.
“She’s safe in bed. Unmolested, I might add. Surely you don’t think I’m that much of a heel,” the cultured, lackadaisical voice of Memphis Highsmythe said.
“That’s not what I was calling about. I need your help.”
“Oh. Quite. Whatever can I do for you, Baldwin?”
“Who do you know at MI-6?”
“Goodness. Pla
“Seriously, Memphis. I need a favor.”
Memphis’s voice lost its jocular sarcasm. “What level of favor are we talking about?”
“One from the very top.”
Memphis sighed. “That would be Nigel then.”
Sir Nigel Ainsley was just the man he wanted to speak with. Knighted in his forties, subsequently involved in the arms-to-Iraq deal, Ainsley had been outed as an agent, then retired, so to speak, to MI-6, where he ran the men and women he’d previously been a peer of. He was an exemplary spy, well known for his genial ma
Discretion Sir Nigel applied when arranging to use members of Atlantic’s Angelmakers. He’d been the last to engage the now-errant Julius’s services. Memphis didn’t need to know that.
“Good. That’s who I was hoping for. Can you ask if he’d be willing to speak with me?”
“I can. But why? What sort of scheming is the FBI up to? Speaking of which, I’m a bit chafed at you. Getting me pulled back to New Scotland Yard last month wasn’t necessary.”
“Wasn’t me. I swear it.” He was telling the truth, too, he hadn’t been the one to pull the trigger. There had been concern about Memphis from other quarters. Granted, Baldwin had cheered silently when Memphis had been pulled off the Quantico counterterrorism detail, but it had come from within his own service, not from Baldwin’s end.
“Ah. Interesting. Why, exactly, can’t you call him yourself?”
“Classified.”
“Right.”
“I’m available by phone for the next hour if he can spare me five minutes.”
“Fine. I’ll call him. But I’m going to need a favor in return, then.”
“Anything within reason.”
“My case. I’m probably dealing with a religious zealot who is schizophrenic. I make this call, you give me some guidance on how to approach him. Deal?”
Hardly a big price to pay. “Deal.”
“Thank you. Have a pleasant evening, Baldwin.”
“Memphis, wait.”
“Yes?”
“How is she?”
There was a pause. “You were right. She’s exceptionally fragile. But stubborn. The essential spark of her is still there. She has a pure heart. She will get through this.”
Baldwin breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m glad to hear you say that. Please, let me know if anything changes.”
“I will. Good night.”
“You as well, Memphis.”
Keep your grubby paws off my woman, he added silently.
Memphis hung up the phone and stared at it a few minutes. John Baldwin, profiler extraordinaire, in need of a private chat with Sir Nigel Ainsley. The call was a ruse; Baldwin could get through to Ainsley anytime he wanted. He just wanted to check on Taylor.
He couldn’t say that he blamed him.
He placed the call, had Nigel’s assistant cum bodyguard roust the man from his nightly game of dominoes. It was late, but Nigel would be up, in his library, an untouched Macallan 18 at his elbow, engrossed in his game. He sounded slightly a
“Sir Nigel. A pleasure.”
“Ah, Lord Dulsie. It’s been too long. How is your father?”
“Just headed to South Africa as we speak. We celebrated his birthday yesterday.”
“I hope he received the Benelli 20-bore. I had that stock hand engraved by a company called A&A, in South Dakota. The real Wild West.”
“He did. He loved it. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from him soon.”
“Ah, good, good. At our age, any birthday is preferable to none, and we all need our toys.”
“I’m sure it is. Sir, I have a request. A friend has asked to speak with you. Can you make a call?”
“I’m all tucked in for the night. Tell him to call me at the office tomorrow.”
“He’s an American. FBI. I trust him. If he needs you, it’s important. I’m assuming that he must speak to you outside of your official capacity.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. Memphis decided to sweeten the pill. “Fancy a bit of sport? I’ll let you have the run of the estate, whenever you’re next north of the border.” Sir Nigel was as rabid about hunting as he was terrorists and other threats to Queen and country.
Sir Nigel chuckled. “Not above a bribe, are you?”
“Now that’s not a nice term.”
“All right, James. For you. Tell your father hullo and I intend to help him break that Benelli in. I’d best be going if I have any hope of finishing my game.”
Memphis imparted Baldwin’s information and hung up, pleased. A shoot on the estate was a small price to pay for a favor from Ainsley. He wondered if Ainsley suspected something was up already, and that’s why he agreed to talk with the strange American so easily. Ah, well. He’d find out about that in the morning.
He had a lovely outing pla
Thought about Taylor’s glossy blond hair, and her eyes, the two mismatched grays competing for his attention. He didn’t know if he could win her or not, but he’d damn well enjoy trying.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
She walked the corridor, the familiar length of the hall leading to Memphis’s office, the warm, crackly fire beckoning her in. She was barefoot, dressed in a long, silk nightgown with a richly embroidered robe atop it, her hair pulled into a braid that spilled down her back. Her stomach was distended, full of the child they’d created.
She was worried. Would he be there? The note said to meet him before dawn, before the house awoke. But the house never truly slept. Watchers were everywhere. She knew what foolishness this was, but couldn’t help herself. Just the thought of him, his eyes, deeper blue than any loch, the sharpness of his jaw, the gentleness of his hands. She needed him.
Her hand was on the door now. He was inside. She could smell him. The scent made her careless, and her heart pulsed between her thighs. She pushed open the door.
Blood. Blood everywhere. The room was drenched. The walls dripped with the scent of sex, of lust dampened by the coppery tinge. She tasted it on her tongue, turned to vomit. Once she finished retching, she forced herself inside the room, shut the door behind her. She knew what had caused this. She was to blame. She’d pushed and cajoled.