The Belial Ring (The Belial Series 3) (30 page)

The Range Rover pulled through the gates of the airport and drove onto the tarmac, coming to a stop next to his mother
’s jet.  As soon as they stopped, Henry opened his door, coming around the other side to open Laney’s.

Mustafa beat him to it.
The agent gently helped her from her seat. “As salaam alaikum, Dr. McPhearson,” he whispered.

Peace be upon you
. In Arabic, it was a standard greeting, almost the equivalent of a “hi.” But as Mustafa said it to Laney, Henry had the feeling that the sentiment was deeper. It was more of a wish. Mustafa was recognizing the loss Laney had suffered,

Henry took Laney from his arms.
“Thank you again, Mustafa.”

“
I believe the thanks is mine. You and Dr. McPhearson are our hope. If you ever need us, we’ll be there.”

Mustafa bowed once more
, then got back into the car and drove to the entrance of the airport, stopping next to the other two Range Rovers. Henry knew that Mustafa and the other agents would wait to make sure no one prevented the jet from taking off.

As soon as Mustafa
’s car drove off, Laney sagged against Henry, all the fight going out of her. Grief-stricken eyes turned up to him. “He’s dead, Henry. Jake’s dead.”

A
s her breaths turned to sobs, Henry lifted her up and carried her gently into the plane. Laney’s cries tore through him.

Jake
’s dead
. Henry’s eyes filled with tears, and he had trouble maneuvering up the steps. Henry was now Laney’s only protector.

As he entered the cabin of the plane, Henry promised that no one would be allowed to get to her.
No one.

A fierce need to keep her safe settled in the pit of his stomach.
But he knew that without Jake, the fight was going to be that much harder.

His mother had been right: a
triangle was strong. Now that they were only two points, how could they possibly win?

CHAPTER 62

T
he flight home from Egypt took close to twelve hours. Laney spent the first three sobbing. Henry felt helpless, not having a clue how to help her. Then she’d fallen into an exhausted sleep, only awakening as they landed.

The plane wheeled to a stop.
Henry took off his seat belt. He glanced down at Laney, but she hadn’t moved. “Laney? We’re back.”

She looked at him with vacant eyes.
Slowly she reached down and undid her belt. She couldn’t seem to focus.

Henry reached down and helped her stand.
She didn’t protest, just leaned against him. The pilot had already opened the plane’s door and pushed out the steps. Henry helped Laney to the door.

At the bottom of the steps, Jen, Rocky, and Kati stood.
They all looked devastated. But when they saw Laney, they were a flurry of movement. They rushed up the steps. Henry stepped back, letting them take her.

Laney looked at her three friends.
“He’s gone.”

Kati ran a hand over Laney
’s hair. “We know, sweetheart. We know.”

The women took Laney
’s arms, cooing soft phrases as they bundled her down the steps and into the waiting Town Car. Once she was settled in the back seat, with Kati and Rocky for support, Jen walked back to Henry.

She placed
her hand on his cheek. “Henry?”

He looked at her and felt the loss crash down on him again.

Jen wrapped
her arms around him.

Henry cried, feeling the pain of Jake
’s death, the emptiness that had taken up residence in his chest.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Henry pulled away.
He wiped his eyes. “You should take care of Laney. She’s going to need you.”

Jen wiped a tear from his cheek.
“We will. But I’m here if you need me, too.”

Henry nodded.

Jen leaned up, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

It wasn
’t a kiss of passion, but of love, support, and maybe the promise of something more some day.

Then she
walked back to the car, climbing into the driver’s seat.

Henry watched them drive away. The hole in his chest ached and he leaned against the bulkhead.

How can Jake be gone? How am I going to tell Danny? Oh God
.
I have to tell Tom, too.

He pictured Jake’s foster brother. They’d just re-connected after years apart.

He crushed his hand in his fist.
God damn it. This isn’t fair. It’s not right. Those bastards are going to pay.

Henry walked down the steps to his own car.

Kevin Chang, his security chief, got out of the driver
’s side. Jake had hired everyone on security. In fact, he’d served with most of them.

Kevin
’s face was blank, but Henry read the grief in his eyes. “What do you need me to do, Henry?”

Henry paused, but he knew.
He’d known all along what was coming next. “Call everyone. I need every operative we have.”

Kevin nodded.
“What should I tell them?”

“
Tell them we’re going after the bastards that killed Jake.”

CHAPTER 63

Cairo, Egypt

P
atrick closed the bedroom door, leaning heavily against the wall behind him, his head bowed. He still couldn’t believe everything that had happened since last night: flying to Egypt, finding the ring.

His breath hitched.
And then Jake
.

Patrick winced as he remembered Laney
’s screams of anguish, her shocked face as she looked at Jake. He closed his eyes, trying to shake the image from his mind.

With effort, he pushed off from the wall and headed down the tiled hall with its stucco walls.
He rarely felt old, but right now, he felt every creak, every ache in his body. Walking down the hall felt like running a marathon.

At the
end of the hall was the kitchen: Patrick’s first destination. Idly, he acknowledged that it was a chef’s dream kitchen. Sleek lines, lots of stainless steel.

But Patrick couldn
’t work up the energy to be impressed. Even the back wall, which opened into a large patio with an infinity pool, raised no enthusiasm.

He knew it was beautiful
with the desert hills in the distance. But it was as if he was looking at the world through dimmed lenses. All the colors and sounds felt muted.

Turning his back
on the landscape, Patrick filled a kettle with water and then rummaged through the cupboards for teacups and tea bags. Setting up a tray, he stared out the window, not really seeing anything, his mind all but shut down. The whistle of the kettle roused him.

Shaking his head, he pushed back from the counter.
He added the teabags to the teapot and poured the water in. The familiarity of the ritual calmed him. Feeling more centered, he took the tray and headed out of the kitchen.

There was a solarium around the corner.
At least, he thought it was this way. The place was so big, he’d already ended up lost a few times.

Turning right at the end of the hall, he saw the large double French doors he was looking for.
He made his way toward them, hoping Victoria was there. He pushed them open and stepped into the room.

The glass ceiling and walls, as well as the fact that they were three stories up, gave
one the impression of sitting in the sky. A large, white, leather couch wrapped around two thirds of the wall, with colorful rugs and pillows scattered about the room. Victoria was curled up in one corner of the couch, her feet tucked under her, her head resting on her hand as she stared out the windows.

Patrick crossed the room, placing the tea tray on the ottoman in front of her.
“Victoria?”

She didn
’t move.

Patrick reached out
a hand and gently touched her shoulder. “Victoria, are you all right?”

Victoria turned around from the window, her face looking drawn and tired.
She gave him a small smile. “Sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“
I thought we could both use a cup of tea,” Patrick said, pouring two cups. “Milk?”

She nodded.
He added it to one of the cups before handing it to her.

Victoria nodded her thanks.
“Laney and Henry are home now. I just spoke with Henry.”

“
How’s Laney?”

Victoria
’s chin trembled. “Not good. Her friends met the plane. They’re taking care of her.”

Patrick nodded, his heart feeling heavy.
He watched Victoria and, for the first time, he noticed the resemblance to Laney. They had the same cheekbones, the same full lips.

Their eyes were different, though.
Laney must have gotten those from her father.

Victoria interrupted his inspection.
“You were older, when you first became a priest, right?”

Patrick nodded.
“Older than some. I’d been in Vietnam, done and seen some horrible things. I needed to feel like I was giving back. I needed to find goodness. The priesthood offered me that.”

“
Do you ever doubt that decision? Wonder if you should have done something else?”

Patrick leaned back on the couch.
“I think everybody second-guesses their decisions at some point. Especially the important ones. For me, it was when I got custody of Laney. I worried that my being a priest would somehow take away from my being a parent to her.”

“
Did it?”

“
No. It was no doubt different. But she grew up knowing the importance of giving back, helping others, being strong. How can I say that was wrong?”

“
But you did doubt sometimes?” Victoria pressed.

Patrick could tell his answer meant a lot to her.
He nodded. “Of course. Kids can be cruel, and having a priest show up for all those events when parents are supposed to be there . . . I don’t think it was easy. Never mind having her dates pick her up from the rectory.”

Victoria smiled.
“That must have been a sight.”

Patrick returned the smile, knowing he was latching on
to the memory to distract himself from his grief. “The priests all took a shine to her. For her first date, she was twelve. The boy’s name was Michael Buffalino. He was a nice kid. He came to the door, and there were four of us waiting to greet him. Not sure I would have been able to stand up to four priests in order to date a girl, but he did.”

“
I missed all that,” she said softly.

“
Are you having doubts? About your decisions regarding Laney?”

Victoria sighed.
“How can I not? I gave her away to try to protect her from all of this, and yet—here she is in the middle of it. And now Jake . . . “

Victoria took a sip before placing the cup on
its saucer. “I just keep wondering if I did the right thing, sending her away. Would it have been better if I’d kept her with me? Could I have prepared her for what was to come?”

“
Is there really any way you could have done that? Without making her hard? One of the parts of Laney I love the most is how much she cares for other people: strangers and friends alike. If you’d told her about her future when she was young, I can’t help but wonder if she would have closed herself off from people.”

Victoria nodded.
“She probably would have. I’ve seen it before.”

“
You have? When?”

Victoria looked startled, as if she only just realized what she
’d said. “Forgive me. I’m exhausted. I don’t even know what I’m saying.”

Patrick nodded
, but he wondered if she was telling him the whole truth. “Victoria, how do you know all the stuff that you know? How do you have all of these resources?”

She smiled.
“I may be tired, Patrick, but I’m not that tired. I know I’m asking a lot, but it’s easier for everyone if they don’t know too much about me. It keeps them safe. It keeps me safe.”

“
You can’t think we’d bring you harm.”

“
No, not intentionally. But a small slip-up, and it would be . . .”—she paused as if struggling for the right word—“ . . . problematic.”

“
I take it there have been problems before.”

She nodded.
“Once or twice. Now I play it safe.”