Page 64

CALVIN BIGALOW

Siren Song, Maine

C alvin parked his Camry on the dirt shoulder of the cliff road and cut the engine.

He had no idea what to expect, so he followed his spy manual and approached on foot.

If Sofria was in danger, he would help. If she was in hiding, Calvin would keep her secret.

No matter what, he had to warn her about Shadow Man.

With a mental pat on the back, Calvin bolstered his confidence.

At least he knew enough to know what he didn’t know—which was pretty much everything.

As he neared the driveway, movement in the woods between the road and the house caught his attention. Calvin crept behind a thick pine and observed a man crouched in the shrubs, watching the house through binoculars. Shadow Man.

It was all Calvin could do not to gasp. He clasped a hand over his mouth and stood still as a statue as he evaluated what was happening. The creep watched the house for several minutes from the dark shrubs. Then he pulled a gun from the holster strapped to his side and screwed on a silencer.

Prying a heavy rock from the moss, Calvin crept up behind Shadow Man. The man’s body stiffened as though he were aware of a presence. Without wasting a second, Calvin bashed him over the head. The binoculars tumbled to the ground, and the man collapsed.

Calvin wished he could bask in the moment.

Unfortunately, he was far more rattled than he imagined.

His hands were shaking, and his knees nearly buckled.

Reminding himself there was no time for panic, Calvin shook off his jitters and sprinted to the house.

He had no idea how long Shadow Man would be unconscious and needed to warn Sofria.

Stella

S tella opened the bedroom curtains and placed the votive candles she found in the pantry along the sill. Phase two of her flooding therapy would involve a little strip tease. She didn’t have any sexy lingerie, but Stella was nothing if not inventive.

The pounding on the door set Newton barking.

Stella’s nerves tingled. That wasn’t Ginny’s knock.

Who else would drop by? The dog raced down the stairs.

Stella slipped Ren’s backup weapon into the waistband of her jeans and followed.

There was no hiding the confusion on her face when she opened the door.

“Calvin?”

“Everything is okay, Sofria. I had to find you. You’re in danger.”

All Stella could think was that she really must be slipping if this untrained guy from the mailroom could track her. “How did you find me?”

“That’s not important.” He braced a hand on the discolored plaster wall. “Whoa, I may be going into shock. Shadow Man is outside, and I think he’s coming here to kill you.”

“Who?”

Calvin was a ghostly pale. Stella wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but he displayed all the signs of a waning adrenaline surge.

She grabbed a half-full glass of orange juice from the dining table and handed it to him.

“Drink this.” When he complied, she calmly demanded, “Now tell me what’s going on. ”

After three panting breaths and a puff on his inhaler, he said, “Remember when I ran into you in Baltimore? Well, right after you left, I saw a man. I didn’t think much of it, but then, a few days later, I was working the night shift at Langley and saw him again, searching your desk.”

Stella’s eyes widened as the picture slowly came into focus. “Shadow Man.”

“It’s stupid. I started calling him that because he always seems to slip into the shadows.”

“That’s not stupid, Calvin. It’s a good observation.”

“Thanks.” Calvin stood a bit taller. “I overheard him talking on the phone. I think he wants to hurt you. I’ve been trying to find you ever since, to warn you.”

Stella couldn’t fathom what it must have taken for Calvin to find her. “That’s, um, that’s very kind of you.”

“There’s no time. He’s here.”

“What do you mean he’s here?”

“Shadow Man. He’s outside. I hit him over the head with a rock, but I didn’t kill him. At least I hope I didn’t kill him.”

Calvin continued to ramble, but Stella’s eyes were drawn to the looming figure in the doorway.

The assassin stood unsteadily with blood trickling down his temple and a suppressed Sig in his right hand.

With his left, he grabbed the side of Calvin’s head and smashed it into the wall three times until Calvin crumpled to the ground in a hail of plaster.

He pointed the gun at Stella. “Don’t even think about it.”

Stella abandoned the idea of pulling her weapon.

“You know the drill. Two fingers only, by the handle. Set it on the ground and kick it to me.”

“What do you want?”

“My employer would like a word.”

“What does Theo want?”

Stella knew from The Priest’s reaction that her suspicions were correct. The man she considered a father figure was behind this, and she needed to find a way to let Ren know.

The Priest pointed his weapon at Newton, who was crouched beside her and growling. “Lock little Pluto here up, or I’ll shoot him.”

“Pluto?”

“The dog. Quit fucking around.”

She had no idea why The Priest thought the dog’s name was Pluto, but she played along. Stella stepped in front of Newton. “Okay, okay, don’t hurt him. I’ll put him in the kitchen. Come on, Pluto.”

Stella took Newton by his collar and pulled him into the kitchen, bumping the swinging door closed with her hip.

She spotted the book she was looking for on a small mounted shelf.

The man called from the living room. “Let’s move it.”

“I’m just giving him some food to keep him quiet.”

Stella flipped to the page and laid the book face down on the counter.

The intruder pushed open the swinging kitchen door and spotted Stella scooping kibble into Newton’s bowl. The assassin zip-tied her hands and pushed her out the door. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” she asked.

“Move.”

As he shoved Stella forward through the darkness, he added, “Looking for your lover?”

“He’ll find me.”

“That might be tough, considering he’s currently burning into a charred pile of ash in a hunk of twisted metal.”

Stella dropped to her knees and convulsed.

She had heard the explosion on the cliff road and ignored the sick feeling in her stomach.

Ren . No, it couldn’t be. The Priest was trying to get in her head.

She tried with all her might to convince herself, but deep down, Stella knew it was true.

Death was part of her job, but this was different.

It was devastating. She hadn’t had much of an appetite of late, but what she had managed to eat that day came up.

The Priest jumped back to avoid getting vomit on his boots. “Fucking gross. Come on. Let’s go.” He hooked an arm around Stella’s bicep and hauled her to her feet. Continuing the momentum, she fell forward and grabbed for the kidnapper’s forearm with her bound hands.

He anticipated the move and shoved her to the gravel. When Stella rolled to her back, the barrel of the gun was touching her forehead.

“Nice try. Hand over the ring, or I’ll cut it off your hand, finger and all.”

Stella set the jewelry in The Priest’s palm and stood. That was all the fight she had left. If The Priest was to be believed, the man she had fallen for was dead, and her mentor had betrayed her.

The wind kicked up, and the wistful melody from the cliff rocks swirled around them like a spell. The Siren song invaded Stella’s brain and penetrated her being. The sound renewed her, and Stella rose to her feet, propelled by anger and resolve.

Sometimes, the bad guys win; sometimes, justice doesn’t prevail.

Not today.

The haunting sound of Siren Cliff ebbed and swelled with the wind.

“What is that fucking noise?” The Priest shook his head like a Labrador hearing a dog whistle.

“My battle cry.” Stella marched to the pickup and climbed in.

So, Theo Stritch wanted a word? Good, because so did she. That was her final thought before Stella felt the needle from her own ring pierce her neck.