Page 39 of Home Free

They waited while he tapped a few keys. A moment later a satellite image filled Julia’s screen. A house, a big one, surrounded by open fields bordered by thick woods.

“What are we looking at?” Elise asked.

The image got tighter as Clay zoomed in, the house not a house at all, but a real-life castle, something that looked like it had been ripped from a medieval history book.

Finn watched as a long road came into view, leading to a circular drive with a fountain. Clay zoomed in on the fountain, an enormous sculpture at its center. Finn had to remind himself to breathe as the sculpture became clearer: a man wearing the helmet of a Trojan soldier, kneeling on one knee, an arrow piercing his ankle.

“Achilles,” Finn said, his eyes glued to the image. He had a flash of Eudorus, the tattoo on his arm smeared with his own blood.

“Want to know the name of this place?” Clay asked.

“I really, really do,” Finn said quietly.

“It’s on the Isle of Skye, and it’s been in the Cromwell family for generations,” Clay said. “It’s called Blackridge. Castle Blackridge.”

“Fucking-A,” Ronan muttered. “It’s him. Aldrich Cromwell is Achilles.”

Elation surged through Finn’s body. The elation of discovery, of possibility.

Of completion.

Aldrich Cromwell was the man who’d ordered the murder of Fedir and Iryna — and who knew how many others.

He had to be.

“There is one, uh, problem,” Clay said, suddenly nervous.

“What’s that?” Ronan asked.

“Cromwell is protected.”

“We know,” Finn said. “We saw his detail at the museum last night.”

“Not that kind of protected,” Clay said. “I mean, yeah, that kind of protected. His security team is large and well trained actually, a mix of former military and foot soldiers from organized crime. But also…”

Ronan sighed. It had been a long night, a long day. “For fuck’s sake, Clay. Just say it.”

“He’s got ties to the Syndicate,” Clay said. “He’s been protected by them for years.”

22

Elise turned her face from the window and looked at her sister, sitting next to her in the back seat. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

They were in the car Ronan had hired to take Julia to the airport. She was going home while Elise was staying in London to see things through with Finn.

Julia smiled and squeezed her hand. “Me too, but I miss JT, and I have stuff to take care of at the house.”

“I get it,” Elise said. “I’m just going to miss you. It’s been fun.”

Julia smiled and rolled her eyes. “So fun.”

“Okay, except for that whole getting shot at and almost trampled by the one percent thing,” Elise said.

“I think we might be the one percent,” Julia said.

“Speak for yourself. And anyway, you’re low-key one percent. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have walked all over everybody to get out of that room,” Elise said. “You don’t count.”

“Whew,” Julia said. Her expression grew serious. “You sure you don’t want to come with me?”

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