Alex quietly closed the door behind him. “I’m not your enemy. Don’t attack me, Adam. You must be quiet, both of you.” He looked down at her back. “I didn’t know, I swear I didn’t know. Weston is my boss, in the Order and at MI Five. I trusted him for three years. But now—” He shook his head. “I was dead wrong. I had no idea Havelock had come to West Park, no idea what he was going to do. I’m so very sorry. They wouldn’t let me take care of you.”
Adam said, “What do you mean Edward Weston is your boss? And at MI Five? Are you some sort of spy?”
“Weston is the frigging deputy director general, which is why I trusted him, but he’s working with Havelock now, maybe he was all along, I don’t know. There’s a lot to explain, but we don’t have time.
“Half the British military will be here soon. I left a note for them at Weston’s house. I heard Havelock talking about your call, Sophie, before he caught you. They’ll have triangulated it. Now I’ve got to get you two off this boat and to safety. There’s a small rescue raft lashed to the port deck. That’s our lift. Havelock’s gone down to the sub to find the key.”
He looked down at Sophie’s back. “I nicked a first-aid kit. Hold still and I’ll do the best I can to make you feel better.” He sat beside her and set to work. Since there was no water to clean her back, he uncapped a large tube of medicinal cream and lightly rubbed it into the welts. The blood made the cream turn red. He knew he was hurting her, just as Adam did. Adam took her hand.
“Done,” Alex said finally and rose. “I know that hurt.” Hurt wasn’t the word she’d have chosen, but at least she hadn’t made a sound. Alex wrapped the entire roll of gauze around her while Adam held her up. He pulled off his shirt and helped her into it.
“You’re wearing a bulletproof vest under your T-shirt,” Adam said.
“Yes, and a good thing because Havelock shot me back at West Park.” He tapped a round hole in the armor. “Now, Sophie, do you think you can walk if I help you?”
She wanted to hold herself perfectly still so the pain would lessen. She said, “Of course I can walk.”
Adam watched Alex Grossman—no, Shepherd—help Sophie out the narrow cabin door. What to do? Who to believe? He hated being helpless. He saw a wrench sticking out of some oily rags in the corner and picked it up.
Adam’s brain was near full power again. He remembered this particular ship was one of three in Havelock’s personal fleet, two hundred fifty-one feet from stem to stern, and she had all the latest technology. When they reached the deck, he saw Havelock’s helicopter tethered to its platform, but the MIR-2 submersible was gone. No one was around.
Adam caught up to Shepherd. “There should be forty hands on this ship. Where are they all? Who’s running this thing?”
Shepherd said quietly, “Havelock put the crew off on another of his boats before we sailed into the loch. He doesn’t trust anyone. Everything’s on autopilot. Only März and Weston are on board. They’re up on the bridge. I’m supposed to be bringing you water. That was my excuse.”
Adam’s hands fisted. “That man, März, he drugged me and brought me up here, after he murdered my godfather.”
Shepherd stopped cold. “What did you say? Leyland’s dead?”
Sophie was shaking her head back and forth. “No, this can’t be happening. Not Oliver.”
When Adam told them what had happened, Shepherd closed his eyes against the enormity of it. “I am the biggest idiot alive.”
Sophie said, “You didn’t know, you couldn’t know.”
Alex said, “I met Oliver Leyland when Weston assigned me to protect your father three years ago. It was Leyland who told Weston I should be in the Order. I admired him, believed he could move mountains. He was honest, an excellent man. He was my mentor and now he’s dead. Because of Havelock.”
Adam laughed. “But you want to know the big joke? Weston’s supposed to keep Britain safe.” He broke off, swallowed.
“Sophie, Adam
, we have to get off this ship.”
“I don’t think so, Mr. Shepherd.”
It was März and he was pointing the same gun at them he’d used to kill Oliver Leyland. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted when I saw the look on your face. You’re betraying us because of this useless bitch. You think you can outsmart Havelock? You can outsmart me? You can’t. Now you will lose everything. We will all go back to the cabin and I will lock the three of you in. Mr. Havelock can decide what to do with you.”
Adam saw the slight nod. He grabbed Sophie, jerked her back against him as Alex Shepherd turned. His right leg came up and kicked out so fast it was a blur. The gun flew from März’s hand and skidded across the deck.
März cursed, grabbed his wrist, then came at Alex. Adam couldn’t get to the gun because the two men were fighting in front of him, the kicks brutal, both men heaving and grunting. Alex kicked März in the kidney, whirled about and sent his foot into his neck, but März was strong and fast and when he kicked Alex in the groin, he went down. He bounced up, but then there was a shot.
It was Weston and he’d shot Alex in the shoulder. März grabbed Shepherd around the neck and slammed his head against the rail. Alex went limp.
März cast a dispassionate eye at Shepherd, who was oozing blood onto the deck.
He looked at Adam and Sophie. “A taste for you of what happens if you don’t do as I say,” and he lifted Alex’s body off the deck and dumped him into the cold waters of the loch.
“No!” It was Sophie. März was nearly on her when Adam went for his throat.