Page 61 of Shield of Fire

“Yes, but one by necessity leads to some expertise in the other.” His voice was dry. “If I can’t get through it, then he should be fairly safe. If I can, then he’s agreed to move.”

“And, in the process of checking, he will calm down and you might finally get a reading on him.”

“That’s the hope.”

A white Nissan came around the corner, its number plate matching that of my Uber. “Listen, my ride is here. Where do you want to meet?”

“Are you hungry?”

“Always.”

“I meant for food.”

“Oh, so did I,” I said, with just enough huskiness to belie my words.

“So, Chinese served on a big soft bed?”

“Sounds perfect. Just remember to send me the address so I can meet you there.”

“Will do.” He paused. “Be careful if the address does belong to our Gannon. He might also be a marked man.”

“I know, and I will. See you soon.”

“Looking forward to it,” he replied, and hung up.

I hopped into the Nissan, gave the driver Gannon’s address, and then sent Sgott a text, giving him the information about Cherry. Given she might well do a runner once she heard of events here, it would be easier and quicker if he sent his people over.

By the time we’d gotten through the traffic, night had settled in. I climbed out, slung my bag across my shoulder, and studied the building in front of me. It wasn’t, as I’d been expecting, a house, but rather a five-story apartment block built right next to the concrete breakwater wall. The buildings on either side were surrounded by scaffolding, and the houses behind me were in various stages of completion. Lights burned brightly at either end of the curving street, but there was nothing but darkness in the middle. None of the other buildings in the immediate area were lit, and even Gannon’s was mostly dark. Margaret hadn’t been kidding when she’d said it’d be something of a ghost town at this hour.

Just as well the damn Annwfyn hadn’t been active lately.

I dug out the note and checked if she’d written down the apartment number. She hadn’t, so maybe she didn’t know. I frowned and headed toward the glass front door. It was locked, so I studied the intercom on the left. There were nine buttons in all, meaning there were two apartments on each floor except for the top one, which was a large penthouse. There were only two names listed on the buzzer, however—a K and R Richardson, who lived on the ground floor, and Gannon, who’d claimed the penthouse.

I pressed the buzzer, waited for several seconds for a response, then pressed it again.

I frowned, moved back to the middle of the road, and looked up. The light situation hadn’t changed in the few minutes since I’d last looked up, so either he wasn’t there, or the sheer size of the apartment meant I wouldn’t see any light leakage coming from any of the rooms on the other side of the building.

Several cyclists zoomed toward me, their flashing bike lights bright in the shadows otherwise clinging to the street. I quickly stepped off the road and walked around to the sea-facing side of the building. The wind hit ferociously, and my steps briefly faltered before I caught my balance. The heavy scent of rain filled my nostrils and, overhead, thunder rumbled ominously. There was no hint of Beira in that rumble, but I nevertheless felt her frustration.

Or maybe the storm was simply echoing mine. It wasn’t as if things had gone exactly to plan so far today.

I pulled out my phone and glanced at the time. Close to twenty minutes had slipped by, so maybe I should just give up and head for the treehouse Eljin had booked for the night. Maybe hot food and hotter sex would not only clear my mind but clarify what my next step should be.

I returned to the front of the building. As I neared the street, a cab pulled up on the opposite side of the road, and a big man with a ginger beard climbed out.

Gannon.

It was fucking Gannon.

I quickly stepped into the shadows, and not a moment too soon. His gaze swept the street, his expression cautious, wary. With good reason, really. I had no idea who’d given him a warning to leave, but I doubted it was Ka-hal. It made absolutely no sense to kill one partner and leave the other free to talk to the police and IIT.

If these explosions were about Ka-hal erasing everyone who knew anything about his recent history, that is.

The cab driver must have said something, because Gannon ducked down to reply before slamming the cab’s door closed and stepping back. As the cab left, he scanned the area again, then moved onto the road.

Just as a white van screamed around the left corner and accelerated toward him.

Gannon threw up a hand against the glare of headlights, but barely had time to do anything else. The van hit him with bone-destroying force and sent him flying up and over its roof.

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