Egan, page 18
Berry shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what she did then, but she saved me afterward, and that’s what counts. She’s the one who was playing around with my boyfriend, and I was really struggling over their betrayal. However, I let her off the hook, when he was caught with a date-rape drug in his possession. He was convicted for it, I think.”
Egan leaned back and looked at her in shock.
She nodded. “Of course she had been sleeping with him the whole time, which I didn’t know, and it hurt both of us.”
“Hurt both of you?” he asked. “Only one of you was seriously damaged by it. Did this boyfriend ever use the drugs?”
“No, and he protested his innocence the entire time,” she stated, with a groan, “but it didn’t do any good. I don’t even know if my family knew. We had both moved out by this time. I was living at college and working a job too, while Cherry was living in her own apartment. So all four of us in my family split apart at that point in time, and it was years before my sister reached out to me again, mostly after my parents had talked me in and out of reconciling with her. Like I said, we weren’t terribly close.”
“Yeah, you’re not kidding. She had an affair with your college boyfriend. And you find out at the same time that he’s got drugs in his pocket that are not great. I hate to ask but …”
Berry nodded. “Yes, we were lovers at the time, so the drugs didn’t make any sense, and I told the cops that, but they figured that, since there had been a rash of rapes locally, then either he was trying to emulate them or he was part of the supply chain or … something.” She shrugged. “He wasn’t connected to any of the rapes at the time by DNA, so I think they eventually gave up looking at him. He was charged for having the drugs, but I don’t know what the charges were.”
“What was his name?”
She sighed. “Rick Mendas.”
He nodded. “Have you seen him since?”
“No, not at all. That was a relationship I walked away from very quickly, once I found out that he was unfaithful.”
“Of course,” Egan muttered and looked down at her. “So, just for the record, I don’t cheat or play around.”
“I’m really glad to hear that because I don’t either.” She chuckled. “And you’re supposed to be taking my mind off all this, not bring it back up again.”
“Sorry about that,” he murmured, as he lowered his head and gently kissed her again. “It is really nice to just hold you though.”
“It is, isn’t it?” she murmured. “There is something very special about just being here with you, knowing that we have a few minutes of privacy, with no prying eyes, no crazy things happening, just some time for us,” she whispered.
He squeezed her hand gently, holding her close, then shifted a little lower. “Of course something else could be pretty nice too,” he whispered, as he dropped his lips to gently kiss a trail from her chin to her neck to her collarbone.
She moaned softly as the heat inside rose gently. “You’re right,” she whispered. “Something else could be really nice right now.”
He chuckled, as he slowly traveled a little farther down, then pulled the blanket back, and she shivered. He laughed and said, “Just give me a minute, and soon you won’t feel the cold at all.”
As he slid down and shifted the material out of his way, he took one plump breast into his hand, and suckled on the nipple, pulling on it deeply and heavily. She felt an answering tug in her womb, her hips shifting upward, as she cried out softly. When he was done ministering to that one, he moved to the other plump breast, gently licking and teasing the nipple, before taking it in for several deep long sucks.
She shuddered and whispered, “God, that feels good.” He shifted her slightly surprised to find herself nude in the cool air—and not caring one bit as heat curled her toes from the inside.
He murmured something that she didn’t hear, but she wasn’t exactly listening anymore, her mind caught up in everything he was doing to her. His hands were busy, his tongue was teasing, and, when he separated her thighs and moved on down her body, she cried out, as her body came apart at his actions.
When he moved his way back up and slipped inside her, she shuddered, holding her fist against her mouth to hold back the cries. He gently removed her hand and lowered his mouth onto hers, sealing her cries and swallowing them as he drove steadily inside her. When he finally surged at his own release, she came apart a second time, as he filled his own need deep at the heart of her.
He shuddered, as he slowly collapsed beside her, and whispered, “As I said, there are other nice things to do too.”
She gently moved and curled up against him, her heart and mind full, as she whispered, “That was beyond nice.”
“Good, then you won’t have a problem doing it again.”
She yawned. “No, but maybe in the morning. I do like mornings.”
He chuckled. “I happen to love mornings myself, so go to sleep and get some rest.”
“I’m trying to,” she whispered. “That’s what I really need, to just crash and forget everything.”
“You do that, and I’ll make sure you’re safe tonight.”
She closed her eyes and whispered, “I’d say thank you, but, at the same time, I wouldn’t want you to take it the wrong way.”
He chuckled. “Not taking it the wrong way. Just sleep.”
She closed her eyes and slept.
*
Day 8 Early Morning
Early in the morning, he woke her, then made love to her all over again. When she collapsed in his arms and then went right back to sleep, he smiled and drifted off himself. Soon he woke with another thought in his mind, and it was pressing enough that he got up, quickly dressed, and headed out to make himself an instant coffee.
As he sat in the kitchen all alone, he texted Mason with questions about this Rick Mendas, Berry’s college sweetheart. It took a bit via text to explain what was going on, but, as soon as Mason got it, he replied.
I’ll get back to you in a few minutes.
When the phone rang, thankfully the reception was holding. Mason quickly explained some ugly details. Soon after the breakup, a bottle of the date-rape drug had been found in Rick Mendas’s possession. What followed had devastated the young man, and he’d taken his own life, after protesting his innocence and maintaining that he absolutely loved Berry and would never have done anything to hurt her or any other woman.
“The Mendas family professed his innocence the whole time as well, but I guess it drove him to end his life because he just couldn’t handle what happened.”
“Damn. Look, Mason. This is an ugly thought, but I do need you to check on something else for me.” As soon as he explained what it was, Mason whistled.
“Jesus, seriously?”
“I don’t know,” Egan replied. “I really don’t know.”
“And none of this has anything to do with Mountain’s brother either,” Mason noted.
Egan replied, “I just know that we have Yegorahn, a dead Russian, who we just found out had mentioned that something illegal was going on, and we don’t know what it was. All I’m saying is that this is another potential avenue that we never checked out.”
“Who the hell would?” Mason snapped, his anger rising at the very thought. “I’ll get back to you.” And, with that, he hung up.
Sensing a presence, Egan looked up to see Mountain, staring at him oddly, and Egan smiled. “That was Mason. I just checked in with him on something. A very unpleasant theory.”
“Speak up,” he said.
With their voices low enough to ensure they weren’t overheard, Egan explained the little bit that he’d discovered overnight.
Mountain shook his head. “That can’t have anything to do with this whole mess.”
“No, it can’t, but, if we can at least get some clarity and clear up some of it, maybe it would help.”
“Sure, clarity,” he muttered, as he stared off in the distance. “But that’s hardly clear, is it?”
“Nope, it isn’t, and yet it’s something that I need to speak with Sydney about, and we need to have a very genteel interview with the other women on board.”
“Good,” Mountain said. “You can take that one on, all on your own, but talk to Magnus before you hit Sydney with that conversation out of the blue.” He shook his head. “I’m heading out to the locals this morning and another ridge beyond the other side that I want to check out. I thought I saw something the other day, just a glint, a reflection,” he muttered, “and then it stopped, almost as if the person was immediately aware of my presence.”
“Interesting.” Egan stared at Mountain. “You’re thinking it’s our thief?”
“I think it’s Amelia,” he stated. “I know that I don’t have any reason outside of instincts, but there’s a reason why she’s avoiding the camp.”
“Sure. According to everything she’s probably heard, some sick puppy is here. For all we know, there’s more than one.”
“If what you just shared with me is true,” Mountain replied, “it’s more than one, and we need that like a hole in the head. And so does the colonel.”
“Yeah, I gather he’s not terribly happy.”
“Your notes were found, by the way.”
Egan looked at him, relief washing over him. “Thank God for that,” he said with a sigh. “I wasn’t terribly impressed at the way the colonel handled that.”
“No, he was panicking yesterday,” Mountain shared, “and I’m not sure he’s feeling a whole hell of a lot better. The brass is really on his ass, and he’ll take the fall for this whole mess, if we can’t get some answers soon.”
“And yet, all we have is a mess going on. One after another really. It’s not, … I don’t want to say it’s not his fault, since it doesn’t matter whether it’s his fault or not. You and I both know the buck stops with our CO.”
“Exactly, but, in this case, I think a whole lot more is going on than we’re even thinking of. Yet, at the heart of it,” Mountain added, “it’ll be damn simple. It always is.”
“Sure it is,” Egan muttered, as he looked around. “Do you need any help getting ready?”
“No, I’ll be out of here soon.” He checked his watch. “I want to be out before dawn, so I can catch sight of any smoke out there.”
“Surely anybody living off the land must be shutting things down very quickly.”
“Which is another safety measure, but, if anybody is left alive out there, and there’s a reason for them to be hiding, I need to find out if they’re okay and if they need anything. Even if they don’t want to come back in again. Honestly I can’t let go of the thought that my brother might be out there somewhere.”
“And you think that maybe Amelia’s got him?” Mountain wore a look Egan could only describe as haunted.
“I find myself hoping so,” Mountain admitted. “Yet it makes no sense because Amelia went missing well after my brother did, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t anybody else with her. For that matter, another Good Samaritan may have looked after Teegan all this time.”
“And Amelia should also have one guy from her team with her. At least that was the last I had heard.”
“Exactly, so I don’t know what’s going on, but none of it’s good.”
“I hear you,” Egan whispered.
And, with that, Mountain gave him a hard look. “Look after Berry, and keep an eye on everybody here. Start those sensitive interviews first thing and see if you’ve got answers for me by the time I get back.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice?” Egan laughed. “Not asking for much, are you?”
“At this point, I think you may have something that’s about to break wide open,” Mountain suggested, “so answers might get easier to come by.”
“I hope so,” he said slowly.
Yet, as Egan watched Mountain slip out, Egan wasn’t so sure. He started by submitting a request to see the colonel ASAP. When the request came back, he was told the colonel wasn’t up yet, but that Egan would be booked in first thing. As soon as the colonel was available, they would let him know. He then moved on to sending Magnus a text, asking if Sydney was up. When the affirmative came back, he sent another message. I need to talk to Sydney privately, and then you and I both need to talk to Cherry again.
Magnus called him. “Where are you?”
“Hovering over coffee,” he replied, his tone brisk. “I think we need to be looking at something else here.”
“Good, because I’m about fed up with the lack of solid information we’ve got so far.”
“I don’t think any of this is good information, and I’m not sure how far back it goes, but, if it takes off some layers and leads to a way out of this mess, that will be progress, at least.”
“I’ll be there in five,” he said. And, with that, Magnus hung up.
Egan was still here, contemplating the task before him, when Chef walked in with a huge pot of fresh coffee, then looked at him and shrugged.
“You’re up early.”
“Yeah, I am,” Egan noted, with a bite to his voice. “But I’m hoping that, after what’s looking to be a rough day, we might get somewhere.”
“I hope so,” Chef agreed, as he motioned at the coffee. “Looks as if you’ll need some of this to get through the day. Good luck.” And, with that, he headed back into the kitchen.
True enough, Egan would need coffee and lots of it. No easy way to get a start on a day like this one was shaping up to be, and, as soon as Magnus showed up, Egan quickly provided an explanation of where he was going with this. As Magnus sat here in shock and stared at him, Egan nodded. “It sucks,” he acknowledged, “but I think we have to pursue it as a line of questioning.”
“Absolutely,” Magnus agreed, shaking his head, as he poured himself a big cup of coffee. “Glad you’re here for this one because heads will roll. But listen. I need to tell you about something that happened before you joined us, with the strangled Russian named Helsky, before he died. He got himself all worked up over Sydney and propositioned her in front of a bunch of people in the dining room. She turned him down cold. In front of the whole dining room. Next thing she knew, right after that event, he was waiting for her in the clinic and tried to force himself on her.”
“What? Was she okay? Did he hurt her?”
“There was a scuffle, and another one when I turned up, and he was dealt with. So, maybe the date-rape drug idea isn’t so far-fetched, not where he was concerned, you know?”
Day 8, Later That Morning
Berry woke up and stretched, noting an uncomfortable soreness in her body, then smiled as she realized where it came from. Relaxed, she curled up under the covers, wondering at how quickly her life had shifted in both good and bad ways.
When her door was flung open, and her sister stormed in, Berry stared at Cherry in shock. Right behind her was Egan, who was apologizing.
Berry looked from one to the other and said, “Somebody want to explain what’s going on here?”
Her sister spat, “You! You did this!”
Berry blinked at her, not sure what was even happening. Turning her confused gaze to Egan, she asked, “What on earth?”
He replied, “Sorry, I’ll explain in a little bit.” And, with that, he jerked her sister out of her room, Cherry screaming at the top of her lungs. Quickly grabbing her clothes, Berry dressed as fast as she could and headed outside to where the commotion was ebbing in his wake, as Egan headed down the hallway, her sister still screaming the whole way.
As soon as Berry got to where her sister was locked up in a room, she asked the guard to let her in to see Cherry, but he immediately shook his head. “Not happening.”
She stared at him, nonplussed, then nodded and headed back, hoping to find Egan. While she didn’t locate Egan, she did run into Magnus.
“Come here. We need to talk,” he stated, pulling her aside.
“Ya think? What the hell is going on?”
He pulled her into the medical clinic, and she looked over at Sydney. “What’s going on?” Berry asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
“Nothing good, that’s for sure,” Magnus stated. “Hopefully it will end up being a false alarm, but your sister’s not cooperating.”
“Of course not,” Berry muttered, with a sigh. “That’s the name of the game with her, isn’t it?”
“It is, and unfortunately this is not a good time for her to be causing trouble.”
Berry winced. “What has she done now?” she asked fearfully, her gaze going from one to the other.
“You mentioned something to Egan last night.”
She flushed. “Yes, I probably did.” She stared at Sydney. “Is this something problematic?”
Just then Egan stepped into the clinic and looked over at Magnus. “Give me a minute with Berry, would you?”
Magnus nodded. “You’ve got a minute, but, as you know, we must get to the bottom of this quickly, so do it fast.”
“I know,” he said, with a tired sigh, as Magnus and Sydney both stepped out. He looked over at Berry. “You’ll think that I completely betrayed you, but I didn’t. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of this.”
“I get that,” she replied, hating the nervousness overtaking her. “Please tell me what’s going on.”
“The thing is, I got permission to search your sister’s room.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Okay, and why would you need to do that? I’m surprised that it wasn’t done already.”
“I know, right? It should have been done as soon as we realized she was involved in some way.”
“Involved? What do you mean by involved?”
He winced. “That, of course, is the next thing. We have a lot of questions surrounding date-rape drugs and the fact that I found them in your sister’s possessions.”
She stared at him and slowly sagged into a chair. “You found what?” she asked in a faint whisper.
“I found a bottle of it,” he murmured.
She stared at him, then shook her head and whispered, “Please, no.”
“I’m sorry, but, yes, and it was open. Meaning it wasn’t a sealed bottle. And, under the circumstances, she won’t tell us anything.”
