Geomancist (Seven Forbidden Arts 5)

By using his forbidden arts title, she was paying him a compliment.

“What?” he said.

“Do you have control?”

“Yes.”

“Good, because you’re up for a fight.”

The limo stopped in front of the hangar next to a private runway a short distance from the main airport. Asia sat quietly next to Juan on the backseat, her body tense. Tony and Garcia faced them, their expressions grim. This was where the meeting with Godfrey was supposed to take place.

“Are you sure about this?” Garcia asked.

“What’s he going to do?” Juan smirked. “He won’t kill his biggest investor.”

“I don’t feel right about going in without a weapon,” Tony said.

Juan laughed. “You just love the feel of steel in your hand. The shaft of a gun is like pussy to you.”

A bodyguard, one of Godfrey’s men, opened the door. Tony and Garcia got out, but Asia didn’t budge.

“I’ll wait in the car,” she said with feeble hope.

“There’s nothing to be frightened of, my sweet.” Juan slipped a hand under her dress. Cupping her mound, he pressed his fingers against her entrance. “I’ll take care of you.”

She shifted, trying to escape the touch, but he pressed the fabric of her panties into her dry slit with the tips of his fingers.

“Need to relax?” His lowered his head and licked her neck. “I can do that for you.”

“I’m fine,” she bit out, a shiver of repulsion running over her.

He gave her a dashing smile and pushed her toward the door. “Thought so.”

She had no choice but to get out ahead of him. Another three armed guards stepped around the car. Juan tapped the roof, the driver’s cue to take off, and then there were only the four of them and Godfrey’s four guards standing on the tarmac.

“Spread your legs,” one of the guards said.

Juan and his men complied, Juan with much irritation. Asia didn’t escape the onslaught. The guard swept his hands over her thighs under her dress as well as over her hips, sides, and back.

The man who’d opened the car door nodded to the others, apparently satisfied. “Walk.”

Instead of escorting them into the hangar, as Asia had expected, he steered them in the opposite direction.

Juan seemed as surprised as she was. He glanced at Garcia, who shrugged. Tony’s expression was tight as they made their way toward a Learjet parked on the runway.

“Wait,” Tony said to the guard behind him. “This wasn’t the plan.”

“It’s fine,” Juan said. “Keep on walking.”

“I don’t like this.”

“Shut up,” Juan snarled. “I’m not paying you to like your job.”

They advanced silently and mounted the steps to the plane. At the door, a man with an automatic rifle took Asia’s handbag.

“I’ll keep this for you, ma’am,” he said with a grin.

The guards entered and secured the door. They were shown to their seats and instructed to buckle up. Asia was sandwiched between Juan and Garcia while Tony took the opposite seat.

She swallowed. This was an unexpected turn of events. She checked the time on her watch. Six-thirty. She’d told Sean the meeting was at seven, and now she couldn’t warn him that Godfrey was transporting them somewhere else.

“Clever,” Garcia whispered, leaning over her to catch Juan’s attention.

“Fucking audacity,” Juan said.

The guard punched a code into a door, locking them into the small cabin.

Juan looked around. “Cameras?”

“Possibly,” Garcia whispered.

“They didn’t take our phones,” Juan mused.

Garcia took his phone from his pocket and flicked his finger across the screen. “The signal’s scrambled. We can’t use them.”

Juan removed his phone, unlocked the screen, and typed something before showing it to Garcia.

You said Godfrey keeps Nicolas by his side.

Yes, Garcia replied.

Juan typed, If he tries anything, go for the son. We’ll use him as a hostage if we must.

He showed the text to Tony too, who nodded.

Asia tried to settle in her seat, but it was impossible to relax as the plane took off. They were in the air for almost fifteen minutes before the door opened and a guard entered. He walked to another door at the back and punched in a code. The panel slid open.

“Follow me,” he said.

Asia followed the men, her heart thumping in her chest. When they entered a second, bigger cabin, she bumped into Tony, who’d stopped in his tracks. A man with russet hair and freckles sat in a leather seat. His attire consisted of a pair of jeans and a tweed jacket with elbow patches. He was neither handsome nor unattractive, but unremarkable in a nerdish kind of way. Asia didn’t miss the intelligence that sparked in his eyes as he measured them with a quick assessment.

Tony stepped aside, revealing the other occupants of the cabin. Asia sucked in a breath. A man was strapped to a reclining seat, wearing only a pair of shorts and socks. An array of wires and electrodes were plastered on his skull and chest. Machines beeped softly next to him with his heart rate and blood pressure showing on a monitor. His head was bald in patches and one eye and half of his face drooping. A male in a white coat stood beside him.