Haven house, p.17
Support this site by clicking ads, thank you!

Haven House, page 17

 

Haven House
Select Voice:
Brian (uk)
Emma (uk)  
Amy (uk)
Eric (us)
Ivy (us)
Joey (us)
Salli (us)  
Justin (us)
Jennifer (us)  
Kimberly (us)  
Kendra (us)
Russell (au)
Nicole (au)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Larger Font   Reset Font Size   Smaller Font  

  “Yes, of course.”

  He laced my arm through his, and we descended into the belly of the ship. I excused myself to clean up and returned to find him waiting next to the dining table, the chair pulled out. I settled, and he slid the chair in behind me. The gentleman I’d never expected to find, let alone marry.

  Over the meal of chicken and vegetables, cooked to perfection, Andrew shared what he’d learned.

  “Master has taken up residence in the hotel. The women were sent to a farm some miles away.”

  I frowned. “Farm?” That jogged something in my memory, and I wondered if it could really be that simple.

  “You remember something?” Damien’s hand slid over mine.

  “Yes. I mean, the money had to come from somewhere, right? I remember talk of yields and bales. Not a lot, because they didn’t like to share information with the women, but… There’s more than one farm.” Now I looked up and glanced at Andrew. “Do you have access to a map?”

  He nodded and hurried off, returning a few moments later. Gloriana cleared the table while Andrew, Damien, and I looked at the map.

  “The meat was Haven’s own. They would have a Thanksgiving meal annually. A sheep, a cow, and a pig were killed, the food cooked, and there’d be a large gathering of the household. Everyone had to attend. It happened just before Eldora came to live with us. I remember helping in the kitchen when the delivery arrived. I knew the face of one man. Caster Aldridge brought the carcasses inside. Made some remark about how good it must be to have food when others starved.”

  Andrew marked the map with an X. “Aldridge Farm is owned by HH Corporation.”

  HH Corporation. “Haven House,” I breathed.

  He looked at me. “The money trail you asked about? HH Corporation. There’s more. Darren Smidwick and Francis Osmond also made regular deliveries.”

  Andrew noted them too. “I’ll bet they’re also owned by HH Corporation.” He smiled. “I’d be willing to bet she’s on one of those farms.”

  I bit my lip. “What if she isn’t? There are plenty of places where you could hide a body.” I looked at Damien.

  “If she’s not there, we’ll find her, Ammy.”

  Gloriana cleared her throat. “Actually, I think there’s another company. HH Corporation may be the shell used by the sect, but my father isn’t a man who’d leave something like this to chance, nor his own personal comforts. There’ll be at least one more, maybe two. We should check the list of company names registered in the state. They’ll be some kind of amalgam of names, I would think.”

  Andrew grunted. “You could be right. Damien, I need you to have your men look into the HH Corporation, see who is listed as trustee or directors.”

  Damien nodded and pulled out his communicase, tapping out the request. “It will take time.”

  Now Gloriana cleared her throat. “I may have snuck into his office once or twice when I was younger and looking for things. He kept a notebook.” I stared at my sister-in-law. “A small black-and-red one where he kept information he deemed important. If we could find it…”

  Andrew’s grin widened. “Yes, of course, my love.” He took her face in both hands and kissed her soundly before us. Never had I seen the casualness of such affection. I’d come across them embracing since I’d left Haven House, but none of them had been expected. This here, it reminded me of Damien and our relationship.

  I bit my lip and turned slightly. Damien took my hand, and I glanced up at him, read the understanding of how flustered I felt.

  “When we land, we’ll head to the house. It’ll be better if we travel on horseback. No engines to give away our presence, and the terrain isn’t conducive to using the machines anyway.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  I dressed in the pants and shirt Damien brought to me. It felt oddly constricting around my legs but also freeing, my movements unhampered by gowns, petticoats, and such other apparel. I bent to slide on the boots he’d given me, the laces strange, but Damien bent down and tied them. “Now you’re ready.”

  I glanced at the looking glass. He’d already instructed me to tie my hair back and up. He wound his arms around my waist, dragging me back, his face pale. “You stay at the rear, no matter what happens. We know Master has men with him, enforcers. They’ll see you as a target, and that I can’t allow.”

  “I’ll stay out of the way, and when the time is right, Gloriana and I will retrieve the notebook.”

  He prowled the room, a caged lion, and I moved to him, taking his hands. “I won’t take chances, my love.”

  His gaze blanked for a moment. “I won’t lose you, Ammy.”

  A rattle caught our attention. “Miss Ammy? Sheriff? Your presence is required downstairs in the office,” called Aloysius from the other side of the door.

  I took Damien’s hand, and we left the room, both of us aware of the dangers of the mission ahead. I just hoped I’d be able to assist and not become a thorn in his side.

  We entered the library, and I noted Gloriana was dressed in trousers as well. Glasses sat on a tray filled with a ruby liquid. “Come,” she said. “We’ll drink a toast and prepare.”

  I took the glass offered to me and sipped. It was heady liquid, full-bodied, and I replaced it on the tray, waiting for Andrew to explain how we would achieve the final outcome.

  He’d drawn a small map of the town, showing the hotel at the very end, nearest the hill where Haven House stood, now empty.

  “Damien, you’ll lead a contingent directly to the house. Enter via the rear. Ten men and three automative dogs on silent. Their handlers are non-combatant, hence not included in the count, and I’ll send them in fortified carriages. You go in, secure the premises only. We’ll search later.”

  Andrew cleared his throat, and Damien nodded. “They may clear out—”

  “That’s why it’s imperative to round up their men. I’ll take a second team and storm the hotel. We take Master alive. He’s got much to answer for. Once he’s secured, we send Gloriana and Ammy in. They secure the notebook. With that, we then take a smaller third contingent and move to the farm. We search for and hopefully secure the remains of Eldora.”

  It sounded easy to hear Andrew say it, but fear was forming a yawning pit in my stomach.

  “What if we don’t find the notebook on him?” I asked.

  Gloriana placed a hand on my shoulder. “He always has it with him. I’m sure we’ll retrieve it easily.”

  The others finished their glasses, and we left the office. By now, the men and machines would be waiting for us.

  The horses snuffled as we mounted. It felt odd to be atop a horse once more. I hadn’t ridden in years, but the practical knowledge returned swiftly, and I took up the reins and followed the others down the driveway.

  Night was drawing in. I shivered beneath the oilskin coat I wore, but we travelled swiftly, the groups Andrew had decreed forming as we closed in on the town.

  Before he left, Damien grabbed me close. “I love you, Ammy. So stay safe, because we have many happy years ahead of us once we’re done here.”

  My eyes pricked. “You too, my love.” I knew my voice sounded thick, but I couldn’t help it. Terror nipped at me as I watched him in the light of the lamp he carried. That would be extinguished soon, but I followed it for as long as I could.

  Then it winked out.

  Gloriana’s horse sidestepped and whinnied. “We should move out of sight,” she whispered, and I followed her into the shadow of the closest building. The bank.

  The town wasn’t big, but we could find locations that would hide us from view as Andrew, badge now pinned to his chest, rode up the main street. He didn’t extinguish his lamp.

  Nerves bit at me. How simple would this truly be?

  Two men appeared at the end of the laneway, and I grabbed Gloriana’s hand. “Men coming.”

  She turned her head, spotted them, and dug her heels into the side of her horse. I followed suit, and we burst from our cover and rode closer to the action. This was not where Andrew wanted us, but I didn’t question her movements. She’d been trained, Andrew had explained, and I hadn’t.

  But if I trusted my gut, it would tell me this was not where we needed to be.

  Shouts echoed in the air. Gunshots.

  My heart stilled, then began beating again, faster than before, as if it wished to jump from my chest.

  Lights illuminated the hotel. Voices and screams. Demands.

  Then a gunshot.

  Just one.

  “We need to get in there,” Gloriana told me as she slid down from the saddle. “Quickly now,” she urged, and I followed her forward after we’d secured the horses to the railing.

  The door of the hotel hung drunkenly on a single hinge. I stared at it. The building had always been perfectly cared for. This was a reminder that we were about to change something I’d known my whole life. It didn’t matter that it was for the better, that we would save other women the indignities I’d shared with them.

  We pushed inside, and I noted the huddle of women on the floor. Some I knew. “It’s all right,” I called. “Stay there and you’ll be safe.”

  A head peered over the balustrade of the staircase. “What are you…?”

  Feet clattered down the stairs, and we were pulled to the side. “He’s gone,” one of Andrew’s men muttered.

  Gloriana’s gaze locked with mine. “My husband?”

  “Upstairs searching.” His terse answer came quickly. “Round up the women and get them outside.”

  Here was something I could do. I hurried back to the main room. “We need to go outside,” I told them.

  Voices rose as they questioned and queried.

  “Why should we?” It was a voice I knew well. One of Master’s earlier wives. She was loud and demanding.

  “Because it’s in your best interests,” I answered, and she scoffed.

  I knew some women and called them by name. A few rose and hurried for the door.

  Gloriana had disappeared, and I was here on my own with a bunch of women who had no intentions of leaving.

  Anger rose in me, wild and deep. “Get up!” I bellowed. The woman who’d questioned me just blinked. “Now!”

  They did, mouths slack.

  “Outside. Form a group in the roadway. Sit down and wait.” I spoke with a firmness I’d never used before used. But my nerves were shredding, because I didn’t know what was happening. All I knew was they needed these women to obey.

  They did, although more than one muttered under her breath, calling me a harlot and unbeliever. I didn’t let the verbal arrows find a soft place to land.

  Once they were out, I glanced back and saw Gloriana, her face white. I hurried to her.

  “What?”

  “We found him. Dead. He’d been choked and hidden in a cupboard. I checked, and there’s no notebook!”

  My mind spun. She’d been so sure! “Have you checked drawers, cupboards?”

  Gloriana nodded. “Yes. I need you to go to the house, Ammy. Find Damien and search there. He must have hidden it.”

  I nodded and shot from the building, my feet pelting down the wooden veranda and onto the ground.

  I grabbed the reins and mounted the horse, my brain and heart urging me to speed.

  I rode full tilt to the house. Once more, I tied the horse to the rail just beyond the house and then hurried up the stairs I hated so much. I thrust the door open and saw a sight that froze everything in my brain and chest.

  A man, face down.

  I knew him. He was an enforcer.

  “Damien?” I called, then heard racing footsteps and the growl of the dogs. Automative dogs, capable of tearing a person limb from limb.

  I glanced upward. On the stairs lying across the steps was another body. Scarlet ribbons adorned his chest, eyes blank and wide open. I ran up them, heading to the rooms where Master had lived. I hoped I’d find Damien alive.

  The scent of copper grew stronger, and I heard grunts and the sound of flesh striking flesh.

  Another growl as I rounded a corner to find three men, backs to the wall, eyes wide with terror. More enforcers.

  “We’ll get you!” one of them shouted at me.

  I ignored them and searched, eyes wide and hair escaping from the tight braid, almost blinding me. I shoved the strands aside and hurried for Master’s room. The door was painted in scarlet. My hands circled the frigid silver knob. It turned beneath my touch. I entered the room, and there was Damien, three men before him.

  One lunged, and I clamped my lips together, not wanting to surprise Damien, because they’d kill him. I knew it.

  A man lay upon the floor, another of Andrew’s men, his hand pressed against a wound in his belly, but it still bled copiously. He’d need help quickly if he were to survive. He caught my eye, and I nodded. As soon as I could safely do so, I’d be there.

  Damien circled, knife in hand and the glow of his badge bright in the lamplight.

  The three men laughed and horsed around as they also circled.

  One feinted, and Damien slashed out.

  The man jumped back, and another lunged. A swift movement from Damien and he was on the floor, rolling and holding the area between his legs, shrieking.

  One down, but the other two still danced against Damien.

  His eyes were hard, searching, and I watched the way his muscles bunched and strained. The third made a move, and Damien was there, ploughing his fist into the man’s face. Blood spurted into the air, and the man dropped, howling, to the floor.

  One remaining combatant against Damien.

  I held my breath. Please, God. Please! The entreaty became a refrain that ran over and over in my mind.

  This man wasn’t weak like the others. He moved in to attack, fists and feet flying.

  Damien retreated, the knife flashing.

  Again the man advanced, and Damien’s face hardened.

  The sound of metal flying through the air.

  Then sudden stillness.

  Damien had tossed the knife, and it found a home embedded in the man’s eye. He stopped, grunted, then, as if his legs could no longer hold him, crumpled to the floor.

  Damien turned. “Dammit, what are you doing here?”

  I brushed past him, dropping to my knees by the injured team member. “Master’s dead. No sign of the notebook at the hotel. I was sent here to look because I know the layout.”

  My hands moved quickly now, tearing at the man’s shirt, and Damien crouched beside me. “How bad?”

  I moved the man’s hands and hissed. “Very. Get him outside to the carriage. He’s going to need the physician if there’s any hope of saving him. Send someone to me, but I’ll begin searching in here.”

  While I spoke, I bundled up the shredded remains of the shirt and stuffed them tightly into the wound. “I’ll pack this first, get the pressure on. You get him downstairs.”

  I scurried into the bedroom, not stilling to check out the enormous bed but instead going immediately to the wardrobe and taking out three shirts. As I returned to the sitting room, I started tearing them into strips.

  I hunkered down beside the injured man. “I’m going to tie this around you. It’ll hurt, but we need pressure right now.”

  My hands were slick with blood, but I quickly had the makeshift bandages in place, then moved out of the way so Damien could lift him.

  Men raced into the room, members of Andrew’s team. They took control of the two on the floor, and I moved on autopilot, tearing out each drawer and hunting for the book. The sitting room didn’t hold the item I was hunting for, so I entered the bedroom again and finally allowed myself to look over what I saw.

  “Where would you hide something like that?” I’d already seen inside the wardrobe, but the shelf at the top was possible. I tugged all the clothing out, and when it lay on the floor, there was still no book. I tossed the bed, emptied every drawer.

  Nothing.

  I turned in a slow circle. “Where?”

  A glint caught my eye, and I advanced. The bed head sat oddly, more than a little off-centre, and I reached over and slid my hand down. A panel caught my hand. “Dammit!”

  I jerked at it, and the panel came away. A dirty, slightly dusty hidey-hole was revealed.

  There it lay—the book. Black and red, just as Gloriana had said.

  Only there wasn’t just one. There were three, plus a sheaf of papers and something else. I grabbed them all and looked for a bag.

  None!

  I tore a case off a pillow and shunted the items deep into it, then tied it to my belt, thinking I may yet need my arms free.

  I slid over the mountain of detritus that littered the floor, then wrenched the bedroom door open.

  A rumble began toward the back of the building, and I stilled, wondering what it might be.

  The floorboards beneath my feet started dancing and jostling up and down. Wide-eyed, I looked around. Smoke, thick and greasy, rose through the floorboards and from the doors. But there was really only one way out of the building. I coughed, choking on the silent plumes of grey smoke.

  A thud sounded, louder than before, then another. Getting closer.

  Blood surged in my veins.

  “I need to get out of here,” I muttered and reached for the door, but it was hot. My hand was seared in contact with the metal knob, and I screamed with the pain. I hauled it back, cradling the damaged appendage against my belly.

  Horror filled me.

  If I don’t get out now, I may never. The reality rode me hard, the tiny hairs at the nape of my neck standing on end.

  “Move!” I shouted at myself.

  Another boom echoed in the air.

  The building shuddered beneath my feet, and I stumbled hard. Plaster rained down, and I fell to my knees with another crack. “Oh my God!” I lurched back up, turned for the window, but before I could reach it, a thunderous boom sounded, and things started falling from the walls and the ceiling.

  A large light fixture crashed down, sending up shards of glass, and I raised my arms to protect my face.

  Darkness descended on the room, and something heavy whacked me from behind. I landed on the floor, the weight and pain warring to capture my attention.

 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Add Fast Bookmark
Load Fast Bookmark
Turn Navi On
Turn Navi On
Turn Navi On
Scroll Up
Turn Navi On
Scroll
Turn Navi On
216