TrackingDesire (6 page)

Liv was completely used to forging her own life and creating
her own luck. She knew she would never be the sort of girl who could settle
back and not be involved in everything. This would be the perfect opportunity
to show Julian that. Hopefully it wouldn’t turn him off too much. She had plans
for them later this evening.

Wild, wicked, sensual plans.

Flame checked her watch and nudged Blade’s arm. “We need to
get moving. Final briefing is in half an hour, then we’re due at the mansion an
hour after that.”

Everyone simultaneously dug into their wallets and piled
money on the table, leaving a hefty tip for the waitress. Liv scooted out of
the booth, followed a moment later by Julian.

“Is it wrong that I feel this excited?” she asked, the
question more rhetorical than real.

Julian snorted and shook his head. “We all get a buzz when a
mission becomes real,” he explained. “Anyone who says differently either is
burned out and needs to quit, or is a liar. Surely you get a buzz when you
finally get on the trail of a Retrieval? When you can feel a case come together
and it really starts to get moving?”

“Oh, yes,” she replied as they led the group out of the
diner. “But this still feels different—bigger. And it also feels faintly wrong
to be so excited and pumped when we’re effectively going to—”

Liv cut herself off with a wry grin as she realized she
probably shouldn’t really say what she’d been about to. “Do what we’re planning
to do,” she finished with a secretive little smile. “I’m really starting to get
giddy from the anticipation. I’ve never been on this side of the fence before.
Usually I’m Retrieving something that’s already been stolen. I can understand a
whole lot better why Kelly was unable to give this up. It’s a rush.”

“A dangerous one,” Julian said. “But we’ve planned this out
as well as we can. And with six of us on site, our chances are good that
nothing uncontrollable will happen. Besides, I’ll be watching your back. I
promise it will go smoothly.”

“Can you really promise that?” Liv asked with a smile as she
tilted her head thoughtfully to stare at the handsome blond. “Or can you just
promise that together we can handle anything the mission throws at us? You
realize, I hope, that I am quite capable. I figure that in any scenario that
occurs tonight, between us we can manipulate or manage and end up having it
work in our favor.”

“You’re supposed to stroke my ego,” Julian laughed, “tell me
what a big strong powerful man I am and how you trust me to watch that utterly
delectable ass of yours.”

Liv laughed and tossed her hair saucily back over her
shoulder. “I do trust you, handsome,” she said cheekily but also with the
weight of honesty firm in her words. “And you most certainly are a big, strong,
powerful man. But I’m an equal partner, here. I wanted to make that point.”

Julian nodded more seriously and stroked his fingers down
the side of her cheek in a gentle caress. He looked as if he were about to add
something, but Matt and Kelly came through the door with Blade and Flame right
behind them. The privacy of the moment was broken and Liv had to take a step
back from Julian as they formed a small, tight circle.

“We’ll call if anything else relevant comes up in the final
meeting,” Blade said. “Otherwise, Flame will expect to hear from you all when
you’re in place and ready to proceed. She’ll give you all the green light and
we can get this done. Good luck, and if you find anything useful make sure you
let us know.”

They all shook hands, then Blade and Flame left to collect
their motorbike. Liv, Julian, Kelly and Matt stood together and exchanged
glances. Liv checked the time on her watch and drew in a deep breath.

“We have to be at Will’s office all kitted out and ready to
roll in under an hour,” Liv said. “I have to go home and change, pick up my bag
and such. I’ll meet you all there?”

They agreed and disbanded, heading their separate ways. The
logical, rational part of Liv’s head was full of the list of tasks she needed
to perform in order to be ready for the night ahead. Only the tiny twist of a
secretive smile at the corner of her mouth indicated how her body hummed
happily from Julian’s touch. Regardless of how the night panned out, they had
unfinished business they would wrap up to their mutual satisfaction.

Sensual, vibrant, sexy, smoking-hot unfinished business.

Liv shivered in the inky darkness of the night. The
temperature had dropped dramatically in the last hour while they’d been waiting
halfway down the block from the Tiens’ front entrance. Hidden thoroughly in the
shrubbery, they had watched the last of the straggling visitors drive up, then
Kelly had climbed onto the fence to peer into the gardens through her
binoculars.

They’d all waited patiently as she watched the brightly lit
house filled with noise and people, giving them a running commentary with funny
remarks to keep them vigilant and paying attention.

Finally, Kelly nodded that it was time to start the mission
for real and they all switched on their comms.

“Will, do you read me?” Kelly spoke clearly into the unit
and came across perfectly into Liv’s earpiece.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he answered, his voice sounding slightly
tinny over Liv’s device. She wondered if this was normal, or if perhaps her
magic was already interfering with the technology. She could only hope it
didn’t malfunction at the wrong time, and winced, banishing the thought. “How
are we looking?”

“Everything has settled down,” Kelly replied. “The dinner
should definitely be underway and we haven’t seen any movement in the windows
of the second or third floors. We’re waiting to receive confirmation to move
out and contact Flame.”

“Go,” Will replied promptly. “I’ll stay radio silent but
keep the comm on and open in case you need me for something. Good luck, team.”

Liv took a deep breath, realizing that as of now they were
fully committed. There was no chance—even had she wanted to—of turning back
anymore. She flexed her muscles and did a few stretches to warm up as Kelly
spoke to Flame over the comm and confirmed their point of entry.

“You’re clear to go, team,” Flame said in their earpieces.
“Be safe.”

Liv glanced at Julian and grinned, her blood pumping fast
with excitement and anticipation. He scaled the wall with the help of ivy that
clung tenaciously to the stones, then turned around and offered her a hand to
help her to join him. They moved slightly to the side and made room for
Matthias to join them on the top of the fence.

“Okay, we’ll all run up together,” Julian reminded them.
“Kelly, we’ll need you to unlock the door and as arranged we’ll go our separate
ways. Barring any last-minute difficulties, we’ll meet you back here in this
very spot in as close to thirty minutes as possible.”

They exchanged wishes of luck and nimbly jumped down onto
the soft grass beneath them. A fast, loping running pace was set as they headed
off through the grounds toward the brightly lit mansion. They ran in single
file across the grass, Kelly leading the way, Matt directly behind her. Liv
lagged a few paces behind and Julian brought up the rear.

They had agreed beforehand that Kelly would initially lead
them, as she was the only one among them with experience of breaking and
entering a home with subtlety, finesse and—most importantly—success. They stuck
to the darker areas, the shadows created by mountainous trees, overhanging
vines on a trellis and waist-high hedges that separated the wide lawn into
discrete areas.

Matt, Liv and Julian hung back as they came up to the
mansion and Kelly crossed the final distance and bent over by the side door.
She withdrew a slender pouch from her pocket and after a quick glance at the
door selected two pin-like objects. Liv marveled at how, even with gloves on,
Kelly’s fingers were nimble and dexterous as she fiddled with the lock.

Less than a minute later she depressed the handle and the
door swung open.

“We’re in,” she said softly over the comm.

Liv watched as Kelly held the door open, leaned in slightly
and froze as she listened. For years she had heard the details of how her best
friend ran her thieving missions, but seeing her in action was something
totally different and truly akin to watching a master at her chosen craft.

With adrenaline pumping through her body and her heart
hammering a staccato in her ears, it would be all too easy just to rush blindly
in and make an error. Kelly had always taken as few risks as possible. Listening
to test the area around where she was about to enter, feeling any vibrations on
the air, was a particular magical talent of hers and one of the reasons she had
initially learned to become a thief.

Matt stood guard behind Kelly, watching her back and making
sure she stayed safe. Julian and Liv remained a few paces behind, waiting until
Kelly gave the all-clear before they moved and started their mission in
earnest. It couldn’t have been much more than a minute, but the seconds ticked
by with excruciating slowness.

Liv had to struggle not to jiggle impatiently. For the first
time ever, she truly understood just how rigid Kelly’s control was, how her
magical powers were not something she could suppress or create an alternative
outlet for. Liv had never underestimated her best friend, nor been blasé about
her gift, but now she genuinely understood how powerful and addictive thieving
could be. Finally, Kelly moved and tilted her chin to indicate that things were
all right.

“Let’s go,” she said softly over the comm. Kelly and Matt
entered the large room, Julian and Liv following just a pace or two behind.
They crossed to the door and discovered that, as detailed in the blueprints, it
did indeed open out into a corridor.

“Flame, we’re in,” Liv heard Matt say over his comm unit.

“Good. Keep me updated, guys. Nothing much happening out
here, and Blade says things appear quiet inside the mansion. The guests are in
the middle of their main course—roast duck with three different salads,
apparently. Your timing is perfect. Keep an eye out for wanderers, though, and
don’t forget we’re against the clock here. Good luck,” Flame replied.

With silent nods to one another, they split up. Matt and
Kelly went one way down the corridor to find the stairs that led to the upper
levels, Julian and Liv moving in the other direction to find the conservatory,
Blossom’s office and the basement on the floor below.

Side by side, Julian and Liv walked quickly down a series of
corridors, turning left and right to follow the route they had memorized. As
they neared where the conservatory should be, Kelly’s soft voice came over
their comms.

“We’ve found the stairs and are heading up,” she said
quietly.

“Got it,” Liv replied. A moment later they came to the end
of the hallway and entered the conservatory. The room was enormous—cavernous
enough that from the doorway they could not see clearly to the other end.
Darkness filled the room but the humid, dense smell of a rainforest made it
feel almost as if they had stepped from inside the house to the outside
somewhere.

“It’s like a jungle,” Julian observed in a low tone. His
words echoed her thoughts.

“I know. This woman obviously has a thing for dense
foliage,” Liv commented, caught somewhere between astonishment and wry
amusement.

“Look at all these exotic species.” Julian whistled. “I
don’t even recognize half of them. And they’re so densely packed you can’t even
see the walls. You could hide an army in here and not discover them until they
jumped out on you.”

“Will mentioned that she was interested in horticulture, but
there’s more than mere interest shown in this room,” Liv said as they started
to walk gingerly through the enormous conservatory. “There’s passion
here—almost obsession. This is not some hobbyist. This woman
loves
gardening and these plants. I wonder if she’s transplanted a lot of these from
their homeland?”

“That sounds very likely,” Julian agreed, and spoke softly
into his comm. “We’re entering the conservatory. It’s a total jungle in here.
The data on her liking horticulture is an understatement. This place is nuts.
You can hardly see more than a couple of feet in front of your nose.”

Kelly, Matt and Flame acknowledged his comment and they
continued slowly through the large room. As they neared the far side, Liv
caught a glimpse of floor-to-ceiling windows. It didn’t take much imagination
to visualize that during the day they would make the room look amazing, letting
the full sunlight in for hours and hours. With a clear blue sky, even though
the area was technically enclosed it would almost feel as if you were outside,
in an entirely different world.

Liv struggled not to think too hard about the plants they
were carefully pushing their way through. Old B grade horror movies about vine
tendrils reaching out to decapitate unsuspecting heroes or heroines, Venus fly
traps and other carnivorous plants digesting flesh with masticating motions all
lingered in the back of her mind.

Firmly pushing aside the freaky thoughts, she finally saw
the door that should open onto the corridor they sought. Julian reached it
first, turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Kelly’s soft voice came over Liv’s comm. “We’re on the third
floor, almost at the master bedroom.”

Julian and Liv half-ran down the corridor together, counting
the rooms until they arrived at Blossom’s office. Hastily, they simultaneously
checked up and down the hallway before Julian twisted the knob and opened the
door. They rushed inside and Julian closed the door behind him.

The office was full of wood paneling and gold edging. The art
decorating the room was obviously Thai, and considering that Blossom had spent
the majority of her life with the country as her homeland, Liv assumed the
carvings and golden statues were mostly genuine.

Oddly, there was no computer on the desk. The smooth surface
was covered with large hardback notebooks and agricultural, horticultural and
other plant-related textbooks piled six high, almost obscuring the top of the
table. Many large potted plants decorated the area, with a deep windowsill
overflowing with smaller flowering species that scented the room.

Julian went directly to the three-tiered filing cabinet and
Liv went to the desk and discreetly checked through the texts. They quickly and
silently searched their respective areas.

“These are all fairly standard textbooks—heavy on gardening
and advanced breeding, cloning and natural genetic splicing and modification of
plants,” Liv said in a low tone.

“Her files all appear to relate to her private tests. She’s
breeding plants—probably those monsters we saw out in the conservatory. These
are all notes, laboratory style notes. Dates, times, lists of experiments she’s
performed, which plant she’s cross-pollinated with another. Creepy stuff, but
not drug-related as far as I can determine,” Julian said as his fingers skimmed
through file after file at lightning speed.

“Are they all purely plant-related?” Liv asked curiously as
she moved on to the notebooks.

“Seem to be,” he confirmed. “These tests go back years. It’s
definitely a passion and a calling for her. This isn’t some tame hobby she
picked up between charity board meetings to help her to cultivate some nice
roses and win awards. She has full genealogies for some of these plants, and
file upon file documenting her research into certain breeds and how they’ve
come about. Half the botanical and scientific terms here are just going
straight over my head.”

“These are worse,” Liv said. “They have to be more difficult
to follow, if not impossible. Look at all these scrawls. Little squiggles and
what appears to be a private shorthand. If it weren’t for the observations
she’s written, it could all be written in Greek and say she’s part of the major
Thai drug cartel, and I’d not have the faintest idea. I mean, listen to this.”

Liv took a deep breath before she read directly from one of
the laboratory-style notebooks. “Generation four appears to have brought out
some recessive genes. The white of the flower is not pure anymore. There are
faint undertones of pink and the yellow centers have definite flecks of red in
them. Might need to re-graft the second generation to keep these recessive
genes in the background and keep the white pure as needed.”

Liv stopped there, though there were notes for almost every
day, many of them with two or three time-marked entries for the same date.
“These are her records and observations of what she’s witnessing in her plant
breeding program.”

For a moment, Liv felt deflated. While slightly creepy and
definitely coming under the heading of weird and obsessive, it appeared that
Blossom had nothing worse than a serious green thumb for them to hold against
her.

As they were there and needed to carefully look over the
entire room, Julian and Liv searched under the rugs and hurriedly tapped the
wall panels to check for hidden safes or loose boards something could be
stashed behind.

After five minutes they had found absolutely nothing.

Liv checked her watch and sighed. “We should get moving down
into that basement,” she suggested, then frowned as a thought crossed her mind.
“Hey, I think I’ve worked out why they have all those heating cables and
humidifying modifications.”

“For Blossom’s experiments?” Again Julian echoed her
thoughts. He cast her a disappointed look and nodded as her depression reached
him. “I know. It sucks. But we can’t search the whole place and these guys are
our best lead. Maybe Kelly and Matt are having more luck than we are.”

“Wouldn’t they have said something over the comm if they’d
found a sample?” Liv asked.

“Not necessarily. For the most part we’re radio silent—it’s
not as if we can chatter to one another. We haven’t, for example, told them
about Blossom’s experiments and notes, have we?”

They stood in the middle of the room, Liv with her hands on
her hips, and surveyed the area one last time.

“I think we’ve done all the damage we can here,” she
suggested. “Let’s go down to that basement and see what we can unearth.”

Julian took another slow, careful look around before
nodding. “I really don’t think we’ll find anything else here. Hopefully Kelly
and Matthias have found something in that empty wall space.”