If Ever I Fall: Book 3 of The Six Series (16 page)

He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, worrying the skin to a white line.

“Please tell me yer not gonna give me the same song and dance everyone else has. I have the right to know what I’ve been brought into,” I said, trying to keep myself from lashing out at him.

His hand came up, a smooth lift and wave, telling me he wasn’t trying to make excuses, but merely thinking. “Grant came to me a few months ago, long before all of them showed up. He’s a good man, Grant is.” His fingers steepled in front of him as he tapped them against his lips for a moment on a sigh before dropping them back in his lap. “Airen, I gave my word as a man of God that I wouldn’t speak of this. That no matter what, his cause would go with me to the grave. I can’t break that promise, I’m sorry.

“But I can tell ye that Grant and Aiden are good men. Men you can trust wholly and completely with your life. I know that doesn’t answer yer question. I’m asking you to believe me, based off the fact that I trust them enough to allow them to be here, operating under the protection of this church.”

Lacing my fingers together in my lap, I thought about what he said. “Ye must have a lot of faith in them and who they are to allow it.”

He dipped his head. “Aye, I do.”

“Why? You hardly know them,” I countered.

“Sometimes, ye have to have faith in people. It’s the only way to truly get to know them.”

I snorted at that, thinking of Aiden. “But what if yer mislead from the beginning? What if ye didn’t meet the real person, but the one they’re playing at in the beginning?”

“Ask yerself this… Was it the person or the situation ye were misled on?” he asked, one brow raised as he let that sink in.

Had Aiden been playing at who he was? I really couldn’t say. If so, he’d been a really good actor. If not, then he really was a great guy.

Did that matter though? He’d been untruthful from the beginning. He’d come into our lives under false pretenses, and I didn’t know how or what to think of that.

“Sometimes, Airen, it’s for our own good that we’re not privy to the reasons why. Maybe, we’re just not meant to know them until it’s time. It’s up to us then, when the truth is known, to decide if the intentions were true enough that it doesn’t matter the why anymore.”

“So it’s okay for someone to lie to us? We should just accept it because they’re a good person when you get down to the crux of it?” I couldn’t believe what he was saying. It was like telling me that I should just omit one of the Ten Commandments he lived and breathed his life by.

Understanding dawned on his face as he answered me, “Thou shalt not lie. Aye, oddly enough, there are situations where that particular rule can be a bit tricky. And no, I’m not bashing my own religion. I’d rather think that no man, woman, or child could get through life without one or two lies chalked up against them. It’s the intent of the lie, I believe, that makes it a sin. It’s sad, but some people are so quick to judge others and condemn them based off ten rules written a verra long time ago, then to understand the reason why the rule was broken to begin with.”

Did that make me feel any better? Not really. Aiden had lied to me, not outright, but he’d hid things from me about himself.

How could I forgive him of that and move past it? Would he even care how everything that had happened affected me?

Anger rolled through me again. If I’d have known Aiden’s purpose… if any of us had known why Aiden was really there, would we have been more vigilant? More careful? Would it have made any difference in the outcome?

“Playing the ‘what if’ game will only drive ye crazy,” Father McKinnon said, taking a stab at the thoughts going round and round in my head. “The only thing that truly matters is what happens from here on out.”

I sighed, not ready to let go of the only things holding me together. My feelings. If I chose to release it all, it might just break me. “I appreciate your advice, Father McKinnon, but it’ll take a little while, aye?”

The warmth of his smile warred with the hardened shell I was trying my best to wrap around me as he said the one thing that shattered it completely apart, leaving it laying in shards around me. “This is about the young man, Aiden, aye?”

I swallowed a sob, refusing to give it the power to unleash everything inside of me. Looking away, I gave him his answer by not saying a single thing. And it pissed me off.

Not the lies or the withholding of truth.
Nope.
It was the fact that I’d somehow developed feelings for him. Real feelings in a fake situation. Feelings that had snuck up on me.
Fast.
And I didn’t know what to do with them.

Worse was, I wanted so desperately to believe that Aiden had been just as caught in the situation as I was, but that couldn’t be true. Not after witnessing the way he interacted with Agent Jackson, and the argument he’d had with the guy he called Ace.

They’d argued like they’d done it for years. Like they were brothers or something. The way Adam, my best friend, and I had acted all those years ago.

“Airen, have you ever heard the expression ‘the eyes are the window to the soul’?” Father McKinnon asked, pulling me back to the conversation.

“Yes,” I answered, waiting for him to expand on where he was going with that.

“Then you know that ye can look at a person and see them for who they really are as yer talking to them, or even when ye watch them interact with others?”

I thought about it for a second, trying to think of a situation with Aiden that would link Father McKinnon’s meaning.

“I watched him, really looked at him, when he carried ye into the church earlier. There’s a depth to him that echoes the man he is. I saw a lot of things in those brief seconds when the two of ye were both in front of me. And I’d put my faith, and everything else I stand for, on the line by saying that he cares deeply for ye. More than even he might understand right now.”

“That’s a lot to wager for someone neither one of us know much about,” I tossed back at him.

“It is. Which is why I’m so sure of it. Now, even though I see those things, it doesn’t mean he’d be just as willing to admit them. But for the sake of argument, I’d also bet my best hat on the fact that he’d walk away from ye before he admits the truth to ye. Men like Aiden are few and far between. He’d sacrifice his own happiness for ye and yer safety. Remember that in the months to come.”

There was nothing I could say to that as I watched Father McKinnon get to his feet. “I need to get back upstairs. Think about what I’ve said, Airen. Try to put yerself in his shoes and ask yerself how he feels before ye say or do something that may or may not be something ye can take back.”

He left without another word, and all I could do was stare at the door he’d closed behind him.

"
I
THOUGHT YOU SAID HE
had a head start on us,” I said, focusing my binoculars at the truck as it came to a stop beside the construction trailer.

“He did,” Grant answered.

“Then why the hell is he just now showing up here?” Ace jumped in.

“No idea. But whatever he’s been up to, it can’t be good. See the logo on the door of the truck? It matches the one on the construction trailer,” Grant said, hissing a curse under his breath, but loud enough that we all heard him.

“Either he stole it or he took out whoever was driving it,” Oliver said, voice dripping with disgust.

“I hope it’s stolen. If not, there’s either a body to report or an ambulance needed. Shit,” Grant answered, cussing louder that time. “He just can’t fucking help himself, can he?” he hissed, not really expecting any of us to answer his rhetorical question.

“What do you want to do?” Oliver asked.

“Hold your positions until we can figure out what he’s up to. If he goes inside the trailer, I’ll move down and around to the back of it to report what I see,” Grant answered.

“And if he goes the opposite way towards the cliffside?” I asked.

“If he does, you and Oliver follow him. Ace, keep your rifle trained on him. I’ll make my way to the trailer and see if anyone is inside,” Grant replied as we watched the door of the truck open and Robert de Fleur emerge from the driver’s seat.

It was a good thing Ace and Grant had the rifles, because my fingers itched to pull the trigger on him where he stood so brazenly out in the open.

Satisfied with his surroundings, Robert hauled a bag across the seat and then closed the truck door, moving around the front and away from the construction trailer.

“Somethings not right, Grant. He’s headed towards the water with a damn overnight bag,” Oliver said, shifting beside me as Robert moved closer to the beach.

Before Grant could reply, Robert brought his arm up to check his watch, looked back over the water, and then up at the cliffside to his left.

“He must be waiting for someone to pick him up. I need to make a quick call, give me a second,” Grant said, disconnecting the com from us.

Around us, the wind picked up, blowing in a cold, stiff breeze and some nasty-looking rain clouds. Somewhere in the distance, a low rumble of thunder rolled across the sky. Hearing it, Robert pulled the strap of the bag over his head so that it ran across his chest.

The contents of the bag sat snug against his back, unmoving as he turned to head for the jagged rocks on his left.

“He’s going for the rocks. I’m gonna lose sight of him in fifteen paces,” Ace said.

Oliver’s steady voice came across the com. “Hold your position, we’re moving now to get a better vantage point.”

“Copy that,” Ace replied.

Oliver turned, communicating with me in hand signals.
Stay low and keep an eye out,
they said.

I nodded and fell into a crouched walk behind him as we picked our way over the uneven ground as quickly as we could.

Stopping at a low point in the wall, Oliver brought his binoculars to his face again.

Grant’s voice came back over the com. “What’s the status, Oliver?”

“You’re safe to make your way to the construction trailer. Ace is out of range, so Aiden and I are moving to the path on the cliffside.”

“Copy that. Ace, keep your eyes open. He’s a wily bastard and if he even has the slightest inclination he’s being watched, he’ll backtrack,” Grant said.

“Copy that,” Ace replied.

Oliver pulled the binoculars away from his face, waving for me to follow him as he reported what he saw back to Grant. “He’s starting his climb up the rocks.”

Slowly, we made our way down a narrow path cut between two massive stones.

Stopping when we made it to a level spot on the hill, Oliver put the binoculars up to his eyes again and focused them in.

“I’ll be damned, do you see that?” he said, lifting a finger to point at a spot above where Robert hefted himself up onto a narrow slab of rock jutting out of the cliffside.

My eyes followed his finger before bringing the binoculars up, giving me an idea of where I’d need to focus them in at.

From where I stood, there was nothing to see, but once I zeroed in on it with the binoculars, I could.

It was a cutaway, blended in so well with the rock that unless you knew what to look for, you’d never see it. And it was exactly where Robert de Fleur was headed, inch by inch of his climb.

“Grant, there’s an opening in the cliffside like we’d talked about. He’s still climbing, so we’re going to wait at the base of the cliff until he disappears inside. Once he’s in, we’ll make our way up,” Oliver reported.

“Copy that. I’m heading into the construction trailer now,” Grant answered.

As we waited for Grant to report his findings, Oliver and I watched Robert’s progress up the cliff. He definitely knew what he was doing as he put his hands and feet in places that ensured he made it up to the next rock.

The good news for us was that the climb didn’t take us up the face of the cliff since the rocks jutted out all the way to the top in sections. It would, however, keep us hugging the wall and climbing the side on a demented set of rock stairs.

Putting the binoculars up to my eyes, I looked at the cave entrance again, trying to get an idea of how big the opening was. It didn’t look like much from where we stood, but looks could be deceiving and the cave, once inside of it, might be huge.

“It’d be nice to know how big that cave is before we climb up there. I’d hate to step inside and have a gun put to my head,” I said, keeping my voice low as I spoke to Oliver.

“Won’t know ‘till we get up there. Besides, it wouldn’t be you he’d put the gun on if I’m going in first,” Oliver said, giving me a weird look. “You getting cold feet about this?”

“No, I’ve just seen what he’s capable of, and frankly, I don’t want to be another name on the long list of people he’s taken out to get what he wants. I don’t want you to be either.”

Hearing myself say that, I realized it really did sound like I wanted to back out.

If we didn’t stop him, he’d get away, and everything Airen and her family had been through would be for nothing if he was still on the run.

Looking back up to where Robert stretched his left arm up and gripped his next handhold made my stomach knot. “We see where he’s headed. Why not take the shot and end this now?”

Water rolled over my feet, surprising me. “What the hell?”

“Tide’s coming in, Grant. We’re gonna have to move soon before we either have to backtrack, or climb while he’s still climbing and take the chance of him seeing us.”

Grant’s voice came through the speaker, almost breathless sounding as if he were running. “Hold your position; I’ll be there in just a couple minutes.”

“Copy that,” Oliver answered.

Pulling the com out of his ear, he pegged me with a hard look. “You went and fell in love with that girl. Didn’t you?”

“What?” He’d thrown me for a complete loop.

“You heard me. You’re thinking with your dick and not your head. After this is done and we move on to another case, she’ll still be in danger. You can’t live this life and not expect that. I thought you of all people knew better,” he said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“First of all, I didn’t fall in love with her. And second of all, keep your fucking nose out of my personal business and worry about the fact that we have to climb up that and square off with a madman who’d rather shoot us than look at us,” I said, jerking my thumb over my shoulder where Robert had almost made it to the mouth of the cave.

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Your business is my business when we’re putting our lives in each other’s hands. What affects you, affects me. If your heads up your ass, you won’t be the only one who pays for it.”

“Fuck you, Oliver,” I said, rolling my shoulders as my bunched muscles begged me to punch him in his arrogant face.

He sighed, shaking his head as he brought the binoculars up to his eyes. He said, “You think you’re the first one to fall for a beautiful girl you’re in charge of protecting? I’m not saying this to be an asshole. I’m saying it to remind you that loving someone, hell, even caring deeply for someone, could get them killed. Might not be today, might not be years from now, but it happens. You have no idea what that does to you. What kind of hell it puts you through day in and day out. There’s no escaping it.”

Anger ripped through me. “Sounds like your story, not mine. And I’m not in love, so drop it.”

“Grant, he’s only got about two more feet and he’ll be inside the cave,” Oliver said, bringing the com up to his ear as he spoke.

“Be there in just a few seconds,” he huffed. “Just coming down the path now.”

Oliver dropped the com, and it swung against his chest from the neck of his black T-shirt. “Look, Aiden. I’m not trying to be a dick, but I saw your face when you had her in your arms. I saw the looks passed between the two of you before we left to come here. You can deny it all you want. Maybe you don’t even realize it yet. But there’s something between you. You can’t deny that at least. I just don’t want you to suffer the same fate I have. It breaks something inside of you. Something you can never fix.”

“And you chose now to say something? Seriously?” Did he have any idea what kind of turmoil he’d thrown me into when I needed to keep myself focused?

“Now is just as good a time as any. Maybe hearing it now will make it sink in a little deeper, especially when things go to shit. Because they’re gonna go to shit. We’re chasing a fucking lunatic up a cliffside covered in moss and slime with no place to take cover, into a cave we have no idea the size of.”

“Well, your timing sucks,” I snapped at him.

“Yep, it usually does. That’s my point. Just do me one favor… walk away from her. If you really care about her, that’s the only way you can ensure she lives a long and happy life.”

“Whatever, Oliver.” I rolled my eyes at him, turning away and hoping he was done spewing his advice. “I’m not in love with her, so drop it.” Putting my hand up to stop him from saying anything else, I said the only thing I hoped would end the discussion entirely. “If ever I fall, I’ll make sure it’s not in love. I’ll make it a damn mountain or that,” I answered, stabbing a finger in the air at the cliffside.

Water poured over the tops of my boots and spread up the heavy canvas of my cargo pants. If Grant didn’t hurry up, we’d be swimming our way to the cave opening.

As if he heard my thoughts, he stepped out around the rock we’d kept to our backs. “Tide’s coming in pretty fast.”

Oliver handed him his binoculars, stepping out of the way so Grant could take his position.

“This puts us in a really bad spot all the way up. Never mind it being actual suicide once we’re at the mouth of the cave.” Pulling the binoculars away from his face, he tapped his finger against them.

“Can you hear that?” Oliver asked, craning his neck to look at the sky.

Grant whipped the binoculars up to his face, cussing when he spotted something in the distance. “Helicopter. About four minutes out and closing in. We’re losing our chance.”

Tossing Oliver’s binoculars back at him, he spoke to Ace over the com. “If for whatever reason we don’t make it up to the cave entrance and you see Robert swinging from the sky, climbing into a helicopter, take him out.”

“Copy that, moving into position now.”

“Hurry, Ace, you don’t have much time,” Grant said, gesturing for us to follow him.

That saying
, the first step’s a doozy?
So not the case when we started up the side of the cliff. It was more like the eighth one that almost sent me sliding off the slippery edge.

Worse than that though, was when fat drops of rain plopped down as if in warning before all hell broke loose.

The wind picked up, ripping at our clothes, pulling at us with invisible fingers as we clung to the rocks, out of breath and fighting, of all things, the elements, in order to survive.

“This is a suck-ass plan, Grant. We’ll never make it all the way up with this shit.” Oliver’s voice hammered into my ear as he yelled loud enough for the com to pick up the sound of his voice over the howling wind.