His Princess (A Royal Romance)(130)

“I will allow you to see them again. I know your guilt and foolish hopes that you can actually stop me will motivate you to come. As you know, I am not without honor. If you meet my conditions I will allow you some time with them, and give you a chance at a doomed attempt to free them and save yourself. Of course if you do not, I will flay the mother living, make the children watch, and then feed them her skin.

“You will want to write this down. You will meet Lily, whom I’m sure you remember from the hotel. She will not kill you, but will bring you to me that I may do so myself and show to the employers you angered that the word of an assassin is bond. The address is…”

I scribble down the address.

“Forgive the cliché, but come alone and unarmed.”

I stand up and the video starts again.

“Hello Quentin.”

It must have been playing on a loop since the son of a bitch killed Dale. I turn it off and stand up, sighing.

There’s a sticky note on the monitor that says USB and it jumps out at me for some reason.

Wait, Dale sent me a USB key at the drop box. What the hell did I do with it?

I run back down to the car and rummage through the trunk, opening boxes until I find it, then charge back upstairs and shove it in his computer.

A window pops up and a bunch of green-on-black code flies by; it’s running one of Dale’s programs, custom shit that he doesn’t design a graphical interface for.

Then a video pops up. It’s him.

“Quentin, listen to me. I knew you’d come back here. I figured Santiago would come after me first. I didn’t tell him where you were, or at least I hope I didn’t. If you’re seeing this I’m dead and, obviously, I recorded this message first. There’s some things I need you to do.

“First, this place needs to blow. I already have a program running uploading all of my files and information. You’ll be able to access it through one of my custom terminals, like the one at the safe house. By the time this video stops it should be done, but I gave you a safety window to get gone. After we’re done here I want you to type some commands into the computer for me and throw some switches in the next room. Write this shit down.”

Hurriedly I scrawl down the info as he reads it off.

“Once that’s done you’ll have fifteen minutes to clear the building before the implosion charges I planted blow the whole place. The other safe houses and caches will be intact. I’m passing it all on to you. Cache four is not far from here, it’s in the city. A list should start printing any second.”

Nearby a printer chugs to life.

“You want to go to four. I know Santiago is going to make this a bitch on you. I left you a couple of presents. Godspeed, Quent. Kill the son of a bitch for me.”

I turn to his rotting body.

“I will. I’ll make what he did to you look like Christmas.”

Time to go get my girls back.





18





Rose





This can’t be happening.

There’s a man in a mask in my living room and someone is pointing a gun at my daughter. This can’t be happening. I’m sitting on my couch shaking like a leaf in between my two girls, as this person sits in the side chair, crosses his leg over the other, and leans back.

“We shall be leaving soon. Before we go I would ensure it is made clear that all three of you must cooperate, or there will be unfortunate consequences.”

“What?” Karen blurts out.

“Do what I tell you or I’ll make you suffer.”

I grab Karen’s hand as she starts to shake even harder.

“If you’re looking for Quentin, he’s not here.”

The masked man sighs, puffing out the face of his mask a little.

“My dear, I am not so amateurish as to move against you unless he has already been found. I have been watching him since he arrived. Did he tell you why he is hunted?”

“Yes.”

The masked man nods slowly and rubs the fingers of his upraised hands together.

“You sound less disturbed than I had expected. A rare woman you must be. Did he tell them?”

I give Karen a nervous glance.

“I thought not. Always a sentimental one, my Quentin. I should have dealt with his weakness with greater strength, but alas I myself am human, despite all the rumors to the contrary. I had a soft spot for Quentin once.”

Karen squeezes my hand.

I can’t think of a way out of this. If I even move too fast, an unseen gunman will put a bullet in my chest and this creature will be free to do whatever he wants to my girls.

As if he isn’t already, Rose.

Where are you, Quentin?

“He will come for you,” the masked man says. “Gripped by some delusion, he will come and, thinking himself the hero, try to ‘save’ you. He was also so concerned with ‘innocent’ life. I tried to teach him the truth: no one is innocent. Evidently he didn’t listen.”

“He doesn’t care about us.” I squeeze Karen’s hand harder. “Or me. He had his fun and dumped me. He won’t come back.”

“That is unfortunate for you, since I have already sent him an ultimatum in a place he is sure to find. I made a promise, and Santiago de la Rosa is a man of his word.”