Garret's Gambit, page 7
Immediately that same voice of reason reminded him that it wouldn’t be the same because Astra was a completely different person. She had a career of her own and a life of her own. She had been through relationships and understood the trauma of the breakups.
It was a completely different scenario, and he had to remember to give her the chance to get over whatever it was that needed to be dealt with. Because some things in life were worth the wait. And that included his own ability to open himself back up to being hurt again, if that’s what he chose to do. That’s not what he wanted to think about, but it was definitely there in front of them, and the longer he looked at Astra, and the more he was around her, the bigger the issue became. As he stood outside, staring at the sky, Kano joined him.
“What are you thinking about, looking like that?” Kano asked.
“I like Astra,” he said, “and I can sure as hell see why I don’t want anything to do with Amy anymore, although, apparently at the time, I couldn’t see it for some reason.”
“Because you had it all worked out,” Kano said. “Like you always used to do. You’d have a plan ten steps ahead of where we were, before anybody else even got close to it. You probably figured it was time to get married, and that was just the way it would go.”
“Makes me sound like a real jerk,” Garret said. “I guess maybe I rushed her. Clearly I didn’t realize what I was getting into or what I was pushing her into.”
“Relationships can be like that,” Kano said. “Doesn’t mean the next one will be though.”
“No,” he said. “That’s true.” Just then, Astra and her sister came out, but instead of even looking at Amy, his gaze was locked on to Astra. “I like her,” Garret muttered to Kano.
“She’s a much better choice for you.”
“No choice involved,” he said. “I know it, and that’s how I can tell how serious I am.” At that, he looked at Kano, shook his head, and said, “Wait. That’s not what I meant.”
“I know that too,” he said, as he smiled and shook his head. “I’m driving.”
“I want to drive,” Garret said, not willing to give over the driver’s side door.
“Nope,” Kano said. “You need to sort yourself out a little more. Besides, I think we need to head to Charles’s.”
“With the women?”
“Yeah, we need a place to hide, and that’s as good as we can get.”
“Right,” he said. “I guess I should call him then.”
“Exactly.”
After Garret helped the two women into the car, he stepped away a few steps and called Charles.
“There you are,” Charles said. “Are you coming this way?”
“We’re about ninety minutes out,” he said. “Maybe a little bit longer. I’m not alone.”
“Good enough. Do you know how to get in?”
He smiled. “I do, and I’ll send you a text when we’re close.” He hung up and walked over to see that Kano was already in the driver’s seat. Garret got into the vehicle, and they started back into London. He looked at Astra. “Did you grab everything she had there?”
Amy glared at him, speaking of her like she wasn’t even here.
Astra held up the bag with the few groceries and the sleeping bag. “Yes, we’ve got it all.”
“Good,” he said.
“Where are we going now?” Astra asked.
“To a friend of ours,” he said. “Somebody who’s got a safe place for us to spend a few days.”
“I hate to intrude,” Astra murmured.
“Sure,” he said.
“I’m assuming this is kind of the work he does too, so he’s used to people bunking down whenever they need to?” Astra asked.
“If that’s what we need to do,” he said. “He works with several groups that I know over in the US, plus Bullard’s camp in Africa.”
“Bullard?” Amy said. “That was something he said.”
Garret spun around and looked at her. “Who said that, and what was said?”
Amy stared at him in confusion. “I’m not exactly sure, but there was some mention of Bullard as part of the conversation on the phone call before Gregg left.”
“Huh,” he said. “You don’t remember any more of it?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t even remember what it was. I just caught that last little bit of a name.”
“Was Gregg laughing, joking, angry?”
“No, it was more like an ‘Okay, so Bullard’s in it,’ or whatever.”
“Is that what he said?”
“No,” she said. “He didn’t say that, but it was something like that, and that was the tone of the conversation.”
“Right, so nothing to give you any kind of feeling about it?”
She shrugged and said, “No, I didn’t spend any time on it. I knew his work was dangerous, and it was his stuff, so I didn’t get involved.”
Her tone was suddenly morose, realizing that she should have, over the last three years, gotten a little more involved. But Garret could hardly blame her. As it was, he knew perfectly well that his brother was really good at keeping people out of his life. That’s how they worked and lived. It was part of the job. He glanced back at Astra and murmured, “We need to know everything.”
She nodded and settled back with her sister.
He turned and looked out the front windshield, one ear listening to the conversation in the back. But they’d already turned to discussions about the baby.
“Did you pick out a name?”
“No,” Amy said. “That’s something I was hoping to do with Gregg.”
Her sister’s voice broke, and he heard the authenticity of emotion threading through Amy’s tone. If nothing else, she may actually love Gregg. And, for that, he was grateful. Because it would really be terrible to think she was screwing Gregg over too. Garret had already asked Amy if the baby was actually Gregg’s, and, despite her claim it was, Garret still doubted her word. It was hard for him to not consider it, considering what she’d done to him. But this wasn’t the time or place. He found it interesting that Astra had as much patience with her sister as she did.
Chapter 7
Astra wasn’t part of the same shadowy underworld as these guys. At least not in the real world. Thankfully she was at least one step removed from the dirty details of her job. All her work involved cyberstuff, but, even then, she didn’t do the hacking. She was part of the front company that worked on investors and alliances with other countries. They certainly needed cooperation between countries in order to catch some of these assholes. Now here she was, seeing firsthand what this cyberworld looked like in the real physical world as they went around the block twice.
She leaned forward and asked, “Why are—?”
Garret held up a hand, and then, on the third pass, a garage door opened. The garage door was there so suddenly, and they made such a sharp turn, that it caused her and her sister to slide against each other. She frowned as they abruptly disappeared downward, off the main street, into an underground parking lot.
She looked at him. “What? Is this spy stuff?”
“Absolutely it’s spy stuff,” he said, turning to shoot her a smile. The area was dark, with fluorescent lights flicking on overhead as they pulled into one of what looked like easily a dozen parking spots.
As soon as they were parked, her sister hopped out and looked around. “Is Gregg here?”
“Why would Gregg be here?” Astra asked in surprise.
Her sister’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t know. I just figured he was into this superspy stuff, and maybe he was here too.”
“As far as I know,” Garret said. “Gregg is not here.” He thought about it and wondered just what Charles might know. Garret led the way to an elevator. He punched the elevator button. In front of them on the nearby wall was a security keypad, and its cover opened up. Astra watched in surprise as Garret punched in a code that had the double doors to the elevator opening, which led into the elevator itself. With all four of them inside, he shut the doors and took them up.
The elevator buttons noted three floors, and Astra didn’t get that, since one floor should have been street level, so where were they going? As soon as the doors opened, they walked out into what looked like a living room.
He smiled and said, “Now we take the stairs.” They went down a set of stairs, and, at a door that looked like it might go to a bedroom, he opened it up and knocked on what looked to be a wall on the other side. Immediately a hidden door opened, and everybody was ushered through.
As she watched, Garret carefully pulled the first door closed, locked it, and then they closed the second door. She was in a completely different townhome, from the looks of it. She stared around in surprise, her gaze landing on their host. Charles was a silver-haired man and still had a heavy dash of verve in his gaze, for a sixtysomething male. She reached out a hand to shake his and said calmly, “Hi, I’m Astra, and this is my sister, Amy.”
“And I am Charles, at your service,” he said, with a courtly bow. She was charmed.
He led the way into a living room, and he said, “Please be seated. We’ll have tea.” Then Charles left the room.
Astra sat down, always amused at the British answer to every situation. But, as she checked the time, she found it was actually tea time for them.
Her sister sat down uncomfortably on the seat beside her. She looked around at the heavy brocade furnishings from an era gone by. “What is this place?” Amy asked suspiciously.
Astra patted her gently on the knee. “This is Charles’s home,” she said quietly, “so please treat it and him with respect.”
Her sister glared at her and slumped backward on the couch.
Garret looked at Astra and nodded in approval. “It is, indeed, Charles’s home. His granddaughter lives here sometimes, when she comes to visit, but, other than that, he’s here alone.”
“Interesting,” Astra said. “Is he likely to have any information for us?”
At that, Charles’s voice chimed in, as he came down the hallway. “Depends on what information you’re looking for,” he said. “I do get a lot of information, and some might surprise you.”
“My brother,” Garret said, “he’s missing.”
“I heard that,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
“But you haven’t heard anything about it?”
“No, I haven’t, but we do have feelers out.” Charles walked over to the ladies and set a tray down on the coffee table in front of them. “The tea will help fortify you.”
Amy looked at him in disgust. “Fortify? Nobody uses that language.”
Charles laughed gently. “That’s true. I’m a relic of times gone by, though that doesn’t mean it’s any less valid.”
Astra gave her sister a look that clearly stated Astra was ashamed of Amy’s words, and that was a damn good thing because they’d been taught better than to insult their host. Astra smiled and admitted, “Thank you. A cup of tea sounds perfect.”
“A cup of tea is perfect, any time, my dear,” he said, with the gentlest of smiles. “Your rooms are ready, should you need a nap or just even to lie down or freshen up for a bit.”
“That would be lovely,” Astra said.
Amy looked around and said, “I’m not even sure where we are.”
“South of London,” he said smoothly. “Not to worry, you’re safe and we have your luggage with us.”
She glanced at him and asked, “What street?”
“Do you need to know?”
Astra smiled and said, “No, she does not need to know.” She wasn’t sure why her sister was being so difficult, but, given her condition and what she’d been through, maybe it made sense. “I’ll take you upstairs,” she said to her sister.
“You don’t even know where the upstairs is,” Amy snapped.
She looked at Charles and said, “I’m sorry. My sister is pregnant.” Then she let her voice drop away.
“Sure, let my pregnancy be the excuse for my manners,” Amy said, with an eye roll.
“It would be nice if something was,” Garret said, his tone much less amiable than before.
Amy glared at him and sank back again into the couch. But a yawn caught her sideways. Surprised, she said, “I guess I am more tired than I thought.”
“Pregnancies will do that to you,” Charles said.
This time, at least, she didn’t dare insult him with another smart remark. He motioned at the tray on the sideboard and said, “I did bring some treats, in case anybody would like a pastry.”
Immediately Astra sat up and asked, “Are those honest-to-goodness cream scones?”
He gave her a beaming smile. “They are, indeed.”
Kano hopped up and said, “You have no idea how good his cream scones are. This man’s a genius when it comes to baking.”
“Do you have a recipe that’s really good?” Astra asked. “I never seem to make them taste quite right.”
Charles immediately hopped up, walked over, and pushed the tea cart closer. Then placed a large tray with cream scones and other treats on the coffee table in front of the ladies, with a plate of saucers and knives. “Help yourself, my dear. You tell me if it’s a recipe you would like, and I’d be happy to share.”
Eagerly, Astra reached for one, broke it in half, and just took a sniff, rolling her eyes in joy. “Now this looks wonderful.” She put a little bit of butter on the side, took a tiny bite, and moaned in joy. “Delicious,” she announced.
“Aw, for crying out loud,” Amy said. But she leaned forward, picked up a scone, and, after she cut it and buttered both sides liberally, she sat back. Once she demolished it in a few bites, she reached for a second and finally a third. She stared down at her empty plate.
The three others looked at him, and Charles said, “They must have been delicious.”
“I’ve never eaten so many in my life.”
He just gave her a paternal smile and said, “Babies will do that.”
She just continued to stare in surprise.
But Astra was happy that Amy had eaten at least. It didn’t look like she’d touched much of the food she had brought to the cabin, certainly not enough to sustain anybody, not to mention a pregnant somebody. Still, her sister being amiable was a whole lot easier to deal with than her sister being rude. A few moments later Astra asked if it would be okay if they went up to their bedrooms.
“Of course,” Charles said. “Follow me.”
When they all trooped up behind him, even the men, Astra looked at Garret and said, “You don’t need to come.”
He gave her a smile and followed behind her. She still wasn’t sure what to think of him and his behavior, but it was pretty hard to do anything, given the way they were acting now. Upstairs, the women were shown to two bedrooms on the right, with the men given two bedrooms on the left. Surprised, but happy to see the divine quality of the rooms, Astra smiled and said to her sister, “Why don’t you go lie down for a bit? It will make you feel better.”
Amy shrugged and said, “Why not? I ate so much that I’m tired.” Stepping inside, she shut the door in their faces.
Astra looked back at Garret, shrugged, and said, “Do you want me to disappear? I can go spend some time in my room.”
“No,” he said. “You’re fine.”
She frowned. “Are you sure? Do you guys need some private time?”
“It’s fine,” he said. “Come on down, and we’ll talk.”
Back downstairs again, with her sister settled in her room, Astra motioned at the tray and said, “Charles, would you mind terribly if I had another one?”
He said, pleased, “Absolutely not, please have more. I’m delighted that you’re enjoying them.”
“Thank you,” she said, with a smile, then watched as the other two men helped themselves to more and soon had demolished the rest of the plateful as well.
“This is great,” she said to Charles. “I would love the recipe.”
“Not a problem,” he said. “I’ll get it for you in a few minutes.” He sat back, looked at the two men, and asked, “So any news?”
“No, and it’s very, very frustrating.”
“Of course it is,” he said. “Nothing quite like family to both infuriate and impress.”
At that, Garret smiled and said, “You’re right. It’s just been a while, and it seems like one thing after another in my world.”
“This too will pass,” he said, “although I suppose it’s frustrating.”
“Of course it is, but we’ll get information. It’s only a matter of time.” Just then Garret’s phone rang with an incoming text.
“Anything?” Kano asked.
He checked the message, then smiled and said, “Apparently there is facial recognition data of my brother in Belgium, after the point in time that he was kidnapped.”
“If he was kidnapped,” Charles said.
“Exactly,” Garret replied. “There is some concern regarding his disappearance. That evening, as he supposedly walked away to attend a meeting, he was picked up by facial recognition after leaving Amy’s place. He got into his vehicle and went down to a pub,” he said, reading the information slowly. He then read off the address where the pub was located.
Immediately Kano brought it up, and Charles walked over to a big wall above the fireplace, pushed some buttons, and a huge screen opened up.
Astra laughed in delight. “I love it.”
Garret grabbed the remote and brought up the address on the much bigger screen. They all gathered around to see where it was. He picked up his phone, dialed the texting number, and said, “Hey, Fallon. Where’s his car now?”
“Abandoned, on the side street. Somebody moved it from the original position, so it wasn’t initially picked up. Then it was towed by the police, as they tried to locate him.”
“And, of course, he went nowhere, right?” Garret asked.
“Exactly, he doesn’t appear to come out of the pub at any point in time.”
“So, in theory, he’s still there?” she asked.
