The Belial Library (The Belial Series) (33 page)

So much for my poker face
, Laney thought.

Victoria looked into Laney’s eyes, not flinching.  “I don’t regret taking his life.  He targeted my family.  He killed my husband.  It was only going to be a matter of time before he came for Henry.  I always protect my family.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Laney noticed Jake nod. 
Oh good.  They’ve finally found something to bond over.
 

But even though her thoughts were sarcastic, would she really have done any different?  If someone targeted someone she loved?  Weren’t they rushing to save Henry right now?  And the cargo compartment of the plane sure wasn’t being filled with flowers.

Victoria reached down to her bag and pulled out a manila envelope.  “In here is a listing of all the Flourent family’s holdings.  A few months ago, they purchased a warehouse in Vegas.  It would be big enough to hold the Shuar collection.”

Jake took the file.   “How’d you find this?  We have people searching for everything they can find on Flourent and no one’s come up with this.”

“I trade in information, Mr. Rogan.  If it’s out there, I can find it.  My son’s resources and contacts don’t even come close to touching mine.”

Jake looked over at Laney. 

She shrugged.  “It’s a lead.”

He nodded.  “I’m going to put some people on it.  You okay for a minute?”

“Yeah.”  Laney watched Jake walk over to his truck and pull out his phone.  She turned back to Victoria, struggling with how to react to this woman.  It was obvious she loved Henry, but Laney couldn’t help but wonder about her sudden appearance.               

“Henry spoke about you,” Victoria said.  “He thinks very highly of you.  And your Uncle.”

“We care a great deal about him as well.”

“It makes me feel good to know Henry has had such people in his life.” 

Laney tamped down her irritation.  Who the hell was this woman?  She’d disappeared from Henry’s life and now she was saying she approved of the people in it?  She doesn’t get an opinion.  Laney nodded abruptly, turning her eyes back to Jake. 

“I get the feeling you're angry at me.”

Laney looked up at Victoria, and Henry's eyes stared back at her.  Screw being polite.  “You show up after being in hiding for almost twenty years and in spite of what you say, I can’t help but think that maybe your situation has something to do with Henry’s abduction.”

“It doesn’t.”

“How do you know?  In fact, how did you know Henry was missing?  If you haven’t seen him in twenty years, how-”

Victoria put up her hands.  “I never said I hadn’t seen him in twenty years.  I said the world was told I died.  Henry has always known the truth.  We talk almost every day.  Seeing each other’s more complicated, but we manage it a few times a year.  Always different locations, different times of the year.  I love my son, Laney.”  Victoria’s voice cracked on the last sentence.

“And now what?  You tell us all of this and then just leave?”

“It’s a risk for me to be here.  And I won’t further endanger Henry’s rescue by my presence.  There’ll be enough to worry about without what I bring.”

Laney shook her head, blowing out a breath. 
How much more cryptic could this woman be?

Victoria reached out and took Laney’s hand.  “I know this all seems incredible, but I promise you, I have always had Henry’s best interest at heart. Whatever you think of me, please believe that any child of mine will always be my priority. I would have much rather spent my life at his side.  But that was a sacrifice I had to make to keep him safe.”

“I don’t understand that.  What were you keeping him safe from?”

Victoria sighed, releasing Laney’s hand.  “There were people after me.  I managed to stay a step ahead of them for years, but they were getting close.  I had to disappear to protect Henry.  And those people are still looking for me.”

“The Council?” 

“Not just them.  I didn’t want Henry’s death on my hands as well and I also wanted him to have a real life.  Not one in hiding.  So I died.  And Henry got to live a normal life.”

“But how can you be sure Henry’s abduction doesn’t have anything to do with you?”

“I am good at hiding.  Very, very good.  No one knows I’m alive.  No one knows who I really am.”

Laney leaned back against the counter.  'No one know who I really am.'  An interesting choice of words, but Laney let it pass.  There were more critical questions at the moment.  “How did you know Henry was in trouble?”

Victoria smiled.   “I have a bug in Henry’s communications system.  I had it added when Henry first set up the system.  He doesn’t know it’s there.  I was in D.C. when it alerted me to the search for Henry.”

“What were you doing in D.C.?”

“I had some business to attend to.  And that’s all you get from me, Laney.  It’s safer if you don’t know anything about me.”

Laney struggled with the questions plaguing her.  “Aren’t you worried that the people looking for you will track you now that you’ve shown up here?”

Victoria glanced up, her voice filled with conviction.  “It’s worth the risk.  Henry’s worth any risk.”

Laney buckled her seatbelt on the Gulfstream.  Her head fell back as the pilot taxied down the runway. 

Victoria had left just after Jake returned from his phone call.  The warehouse checked out.  Jake had Yoni recon it, but it looked like that would be their destination once they hit Vegas.

Once the plane leveled off, she glanced toward the back of the plane.  Jake was on the phone, coordinating for the op.  The plane was filled to capacity, every seat filled.  Another, larger plane had taken off earlier with more personnel. 

Victoria had promised to arrange to clear their way through the airport.  Jake had planned on having them all stay in a nearby warehouse, but Victoria said she’d arrange lodging. 

And Laney and Jake were both sure she would come through.  She might be mysterious as hell, but it was also clear getting Henry back was her priority. 

Laney rested her chin on her hand, staring out the window.  The visit from Victoria still seemed unreal.  Who the hell was she?  If she was just some ‘normal’ human being, she wouldn’t have had to go into hiding for twenty years.  Laney didn’t doubt how much Victoria loved Henry.  Unless she was one heck of a good actress, those emotions were real.  But was the rest?  Was it possible Henry was the son of Enoch?

Laney looked down at the clouds.  Was the idea of Enoch returning time and time again really so crazy?  Wasn’t that the essence of reincarnation?  The soul returning to human form, and reliving life over and over again?

Now that she was thinking about Enoch as living multiple lives, the similarity to others became clear.  The most obvious was the tale of the prophet Elijah.  As in the case of Enoch, Elijah had the gift of prophesy.  He also was alleged to lived an incredibly long time, and been taken up to heaven before he died.  In the Bible, Elijah and Enoch were proposed as two different individuals.  Was it possible that they were actually the same man?

Laney knew that a number of religions believed in reincarnation. Buddhism, Gnostic Christianity, and Jainism all did.  But was it really reincarnation that Victoria was referring to?  Or was it rebirth, like the Buddhists believed?  In reincarnation, the individual  in essence retained their identity from one life to the next.  In rebirth, one’s previous life determined the conditions of one’s current life.

Laney rubbed her eyes.  She was in no shape to parse out the intricacies of Eastern religious beliefs right now.  The best she could hope to achieve was probably sleep.

She closed her eyes.  The next couple of days were probably going to be brutal. 

As she drifted off, though, she wondered idly what she’d done in her past lives to result in having multiple life-threatening situations placed at her doorstep in this lifetime.   Or maybe she was the reincarnation of someone.  She knew that support for reincarnation often came from studies of young children who remembered their past lives in detail.  Maybe she’d just forgotten who she used to be.

Turning towards the window, she pulled her blanket up to her chin. 
Probably for the best.  This life is tough enough without the baggage from my former lives chasing me around. 

Las Vegas, NV

The flight to Vegas was short and, happily, uneventful.  Buses took them from the airport to the Wynn.  Victoria had arranged for them to have two full floors of the hotel.  She’d also had crates of weapons and gear waiting for them.  They had enough firepower for a small war.  Victoria had been telling the truth about one thing, at least.  Her resources were extensive.

Laney dumped her bags on the king bed in the suite she was sharing with Jake.  He was still at the airfield making arrangements. 

She made her way back into the large living room.  Off of it was a full kitchen and dining area, all done in dark woods against a plush white carpet.  In fact, all the living room furniture was sleek and white.  She walked to the wall of glass that overlooked the Strip. The neon of Vegas shined back at her. 

The doorbell rang.  Laney glanced over her shoulder in surprise.  Almost everyone in the group had keys to this suite.  It was going to be command central.  She crossed the long suite to the door. 

Glancing through the peephole, she let out a little whoop of happiness.  Flinging the door open, she crushed Jen in a giant hug, pulling her into the room.  “What are you doing here?”

Jen unfolded herself from Laney with a grin.  “My brothers were a little concerned for my safety when they heard about Henry’s abduction, especially after we had a little chat.”

Laney led her over to the couch.  “How'd that go?”

“Surprisingly well.  Jordan knew about the superhumans because of Montana and he’d told Mike about them.  They paused after I told them and I thought for sure that was it.  But then Mike gave me a hug and asked me how come he’d had to do all the heavy lifting when I moved into my apartment two years ago.”

“And Jordan?”

“He claimed it was unfair not to reveal my abilities prior to our basketball games.  Demands a handicap the next time we play.  And he wants to know if he can tell Yoni, to get him off his back.”

Laney laughed.  “I’ve seen Yoni needle him.  He might have a case.”

Jen grinned, but Laney could see the relief.  “It doesn’t make a difference to them.  All this time I’ve been worried and it doesn’t make a difference.”

Laney gave her another hug.  “Your brothers are good men.  You’re one lucky woman.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“Speaking of the Witt boys, where are they?”

As if on cue, the door swung open.  Jordan and Mike stepped in, Yoni following behind.  “So I told my wife, a Sig Sauer 9 millimeter’s a perfectly appropriate anniversary gift.  I even got it in pink.  She said it was unromantic.  What do you think?”

“I think you owe the woman flowers,” Mike replied.

“A lifetime supply,” Jordan added.

Yoni grunted and looked at Laney.  “What do you think?  Isn't a Sig a good anniversary gift?”

Laney smiled.  Only Yoni would think of handguns as romantic.  “Maybe flowers, jewelry, and a pink handgun.”

Yoni grimaced.  “Not you too.”

Laney and Jen followed the men to the large dining room table next to the open kitchen.  Yoni pulled up the plans to the warehouse on his tablet.  He began explaining the security features of the warehouse to the Witts.  They were planning on going in in just under two hours.

Laney had already reviewed the details.  She headed to the kitchen to get some water.  She’d just pulled a bottle out of the fridge when the suite door opened again and Jake walked in.  Spying her, he changed directions to join her.

“Did everybody arrive?” Laney asked.

Jake nodded.  “Yup. We should be good.  And before you ask, you can't go. It's way too dangerous.”

"I can hold my own.”

“I know that.  But you’re not trained for this.  These guys have been working together for years.  They have their moves down.”

Laney looked at him, hearing the words he was trying not to say.  “And I’ll just be in the way.”  She paused.  “Is that the only reason?”

“No.” Jake lowered his voice.  “I know you can defend yourself, but the idea of putting you in harm's way or letting you anywhere near Hugo, it kills me.  Let me protect you, just this once, okay?”

She could see the guilt that still weighed him down from the last time she’d confronted Hugo.  She couldn’t do that to him again.  She sighed.  “Just this once.  But when you get back, we're going to have a long chat about the strides women have made since the 1950s."

He grinned.  "Absolutely."

The smile faded from Laney's face.  "Just get him back, Jake."

He traced her cheek with his finger.  “I will.”

She held his hand to her face.  “You better.”

“And when this is all over?”  Jake asked her, his eyes intense.  She stared at him a moment, knowing what he was asking.