Chapter Fourteen


One of my initial impressions of Patrick Drake was that he was the type of guy who would make and probably had made a land-speed record when the word commitment came up (the other was how damn hot he was, not that I am ever going to admit that). Acquaintance did not lessen the perception. Then somewhere along the way I forgot. Perhaps it was due to an engineered virus that caused hallucinations? Maybe it was because of mind-bending, toe-curling, pelvis shattering sex? But, yeah, land-speed record impression reared its ugly head again. I could see it in his eyes the morning after Kell's, the night that we made a connection that neither of us could deny – or talk about. It was in his stilted swagger at the hospital the next day. And it was definitely the deliberately blank look he gave me when I caught him in a clinch with one of the new nurses. I knew, I know Patrick was looking for a buffer/mattress, but it still hurt. And the thing is that no matter the feelings that we might have for the other, I have no right to be upset because our agreement was no-strings sex. I can't make him act on whatever it is he feels and I feel so alone now. I didn't even realize how much of my life Patrick had become. I really wish Brenda was here. Or my mother.



"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Anna rolled her eyes as she helped Noah muss his hair and put the finishing touches on his playboy rocker outfit. "Shouldn't your son help you with the hair, he seems to have a knack for it?"

"If I had talked you into anything you'd be wearing that little nurse's uniform you wore when we were questioning Robin's patients." Noah smirked into the mirror, catching Anna's eyes in the reflection. "Besides, I like your fingers in my hair."

"I didn't wear one of those!" Anna rolled her eyes.

"You did in my mind." He winked at her, clearly impressed with himself that he had made the international super spy woman blush.

"You're insufferable."

"Two gorgeous twins on the arms of a hot playboy rocker and their two bodyguards is the perfect ploy to get in the front door. You're just miffed that you didn't think of it."

"I think it's the outfit that has me miffed," Anna said dryly and ran her hands over the black material clinging to her hips.

Noah licked his lips as he turned and ran his eyes deliberately over Anna's provocative, black outfit. Before she could retaliate, Patrick's voice cut through the room.

"You sure this is going to work? Why aren't we going in under cover of night, again?" Patrick asked, hands on his hips. His eyes were on his father and Anna and he didn't look happy with what he was seeing.

"Because this is real life, mate, not fiction. It's a lot easier to get into a private residence in the light of day – less security. Especially when said residence is a hundreds of years old castle built for defense," Aidan said. They were all standing around the map of Prague Castle working out the plan. Much of the castle was open to tourists, but they were breaking into the part that was comprised of recently renovated apartments that were sold as private residences with a cache address, a model copied from Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. They were fairly certain that Brenda was being held in was the largest of them, comprised of four apartments together and a pool area – the one where the photos were taken.

"It can't be too hard if my high school buddies did it," Patrick pointed out.

Noah laughed at Patrick's comments and the father and son shared a grin at the memory of Patrick's high school partners in crime. The moment of shared history gave Patrick a fleeting sensation of warmth. It had been a long time since he and his father had shared a connection and it was occurring more and more often lately. Thanks to Robin. The warmth dissipated, he eyed Anna and turned his attention back to the map and the points that Anna was marking.

"Make sure that you have your syringes on the ready," Anna told Aidan and Patrick, ignoring Patrick's obvious displeasure. "Aidan and I counted ten guards, but we couldn't see to the pool area and we didn't see Brenda. The windows seem to be blocked off."

Aidan mumbled under his breath his continuing distrust of the concoction David Hayward had sent to Anna. He knew that it was quieter than using guns and risking someone overhearing and either calling reinforcements or the authorities, but he just didn't trust Hayward and still couldn't understand how his aunt had fallen for the guy. At least, he reminded himself again, the unethical doctor hadn't shown up himself.

"Shouldn't we have guns?" Noah asked, the eagerness in his voice made Anna chuckle.

"Aidan?" Anna said.

"Taken care of. We'll show you what you need to know before head out, but don't draw them unless you absolutely have to," he said to the Drake men.

"I know I'm the rank amateur here," Patrick said slowly, "But if Brenda is sitting by the poolside as she is in these photos maybe she isn't being held against her will?"

"Brenda would not miss Fashion Week, not only does she love it, it's important to her business. And she would not be out of touch with either her business or Robin. Has she made any of her regular calls to Robin?" Anna asked Patrick who periodically checked Robin's messages. Patrick shook his head. "Fine. We'll show you what you need to know about the guns and get going."


"You all right?" Noah asked his son. They stood off to the side of the group as they made their way to their rendezvous spot where Alex was using her Marric connections to arrange for their transportation once they had retrieved Brenda to a safe house outside the city to a safe house.

"Shouldn't you be practicing your Australian accent?" Patrick said stiffly, keeping his eye on the syringes he was checking one last time. "Or maybe hitting on Robin's mother? Because there's nothing like trying to get laid while Robin is in danger."

Noah's eyes softened. "Anna is worried about her daughter; I'm trying to keep her spirits up."

"That's not the only think you're trying to keep up," Patrick accused bitterly.

"I won't insult your intelligence by denying that I find Anna Devane to be a very attractive and compelling woman. I mean no disrespect to Robin. Or your mother," Noah added pointedly. "But my main focus is finding Robin and being here for you."

"This isn't about Mom." Patrick licked his lips and looked away.

"You sure?"

Patrick sighed and tilted his head back. "It's not. You deserve to be happy." He looked at his father uneasily.

"It's a bit early to talk about being happy," Noah's eyes darted towards Anna and then back to his son. "We have to keep it together and if my being an insufferable pig helps Anna keep on game." He stopped and shrugged. "I have a knack for it."

"Robin calls me that." Patrick closed his eyes and shook his head, a ghost of a smile tilting his full lips. "I love her, Dad." He choked on the words and opened his eyes. "I want her here even if she hates me. I need her here. Watching you with her mother reminds me of how much I miss her. God, now I'm sharing my feelings. How can she miss this?" Patrick choked out and bracketed his lips with his fingers.

Noah gripped Patrick's arms and waited until Patrick looked at him. "I know. I know." His words were firm and deep with empathy.

From the other side of the room Anna called out that it was time to leave.

"We're going to find her and she's going to be okay," Noah affirmed. Patrick nodded and walked away. Noah blew out a breath and wondered when he had become such a cheerleader.


"Why do I think that your lustful enjoyment is not completely an act?" Alex said in an undertone as they walked up to the front door of the residence they had cased earlier that day.

"I surely can't imagine," Noah said, rolling his hips and his letters with ease in a more than fair approximation of an Australian accent.

"It's scary you can do that so well," Patrick muttered from behind where he and Aidan in their matching black suits and sunglasses were bringing up as bodyguards.

"Please ring the bell, darling," Noah instructed Alex as he nuzzled Anna's neck, chuckling quietly at the shiver and quick dig of a heel at his ankle the movement elicited from her. "Mmmm," he murmured into her neck. "Tastes like Cristal." He kept up his ministrations even as Alex took back his other arm and feigned a pout as she scoped out any movement around them.

"Oh brother," Patrick muttered.

"In character," Aidan ordered.

Patrick stiffened and crossed his arms in front of his body and stared straight ahead, blocking out the mental image of his father canoodling with Robin's mother.

"Don't want you to feel neglected, pet." Noah turned his attention to Alex. Put his arm around her waist and pulling her closer and brushing a kiss over her lips as the front door opened. "Ah, there ya are. We're here to look at the place, maybe enjoy some amenities!" Noah said, this time his put on accent sounding slurred with drink.

"Get out." The man at the door's hazel eyes were blank, his voice accented and his tone mean.

"What my employer means," Aidan smoothly cut in, "Is that you should be expecting us to look around."

"This is a private residence, not a hotel. You have the wrong door," the beefy man at the door made to close the door so Noah dragged the woman forward into the breach before he had the chance, Patrick and Aidan moved in menacingly behind them.

"Like I said, we should be expected." Aidan pushed past Alex, shoved the door hard and flashed his gun. "Your boss should have gotten a call from his host that his Marrick connections wanted to look around."

The beefy man waved over another beefy man. "We don't know what you're talking about." He flashed his own gun.

"What's with all this gun play? There are so many other types of playing that are much more fun. Come now, let's take a little tour, have a little drink. Do you have a drink? I could sure use a drink. And lord knows we'll all need one when the paparazzi that follows me everywhere shows up." Noah smiled the sweet smile of the drunk and famous and with Anna and Alex they moved erratically around so as to be hard to contain. "I'm interested in staying in a castle. Is this one haunted?" He walked to the end of the foyer and went to open a large, wooden door.

"Don't open that!" One of the security men stormed over and blocked Noah from the door.

"Hey, man, what's the deal. If there's a VIP room I need to be in it. Don't you know who I am? Like I said, the photographers will be here in a kangaroo minute!"

"We don't and you need to leave."

"Our boss isn't going anywhere until you show him what he wants to see." This threat came from Patrick. The adrenaline rushing through him gave his voice a hard edge and the gun at his hip gave him a boost of confidence.

"Check with your boss, mate," Aidan said, his gun hidden, but clearly within easy reach. "No one wants a picture of this kind of thing to make the papers."

The two men exchanged a glance. "You wait in here." The man in front of the door Noah tried to open pulled it open to reveal a large den-like room.

"Well, this is just lovely. Can't you see me with a smoking jacket and a pipe in here? Maybe some hounds to finish off the picture. Might make a good album cover for the next release? Change the image up a bit."

"Sort of retro," Alex chimed in as she and Anna pretended to guide the inebriated rock star into the den.

Aidan and Patrick stayed in the foyer with the other two guards in a stand off.

"You need to get in there," one of them said in his heavily accented English.

"After you," Aidan said implacably facing off with the men. His actions were a diversion so that Alex could get the syringe Noah was hiding in the pocket of his shoddy corduroy sports coat and Patrick could get at the one he was holding.

Patrick cleared his throat and Aidan moved forward past one of the guards and then spun with a quick round house and brought him down. Alex rushed out of the room and immobilized him with the contents of her syringe as Aidan and Patrick rushed the other guy and got him down too.

"Maybe we should have done this in the room," Patrick said as they struggled to quickly drag the two men into the room and closed the door behind them.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

"Shut that off!" Alex whispered to Patrick who was hurriedly trying to top off the syringe, put his gun away and get to his Blackberry, the sound of which was echoing through the room. Alex and Anna were busy securing the two guards and the person claiming to be their host onto the heavy furniture.

"Dammit." Patrick uttered when the syringe dropped to the floor. He put his foot on it and pulled out the device. His eyes widened when he saw another cryptic text message come through. One that was eerily familiar.

Turn 3's a tough 1 - If u drift ur toast

"I could use some help here! Big guy needs another dose!" Alex jarred his concentration. He shoved the device back into his pocket, this time on vibrate, and grabbed another syringe from his pocket and plunged it into the guy Alex had down on the ground with as much finesse as a first-year med student.

"He's out." Patrick said a moment later after shining the penlight in the guy's pupils. He got up from the floor and walked towards the door with Alex. As soon as his hand touched the door knob he remembered why the text message was familiar.

He had said it to Robert Scorpio in front of Robin. His stomach jumped with excitement as he pulled the door open right into a crew of three beefy security guards.

"Hey, how ya doing?" Patrick smiled and waved idiotically, momentarily distracting the guards and giving Noah the opportunity to sneak up from the side, bend down low and jab one guard while Alex lunged under Patrick's arm for the other. Everyone immediately began dragging the guards into the room and Noah clipped their hands behind their backs with handcuffs while Alex and Patrick checked pulses to make sure everyone was alive.

"Let's go." Anna stood at the door and waved everyone out. "This is where we split up. No more than twenty minutes and we meet at the prearranged spot."

Aidan waved Patrick with him, while Noah ran off with the women to check upstairs to see if Brenda was being held up there.

Four down. Six to go.


"Remind me not to piss you off." Noah whistled at the three guards Anna had taken down in less than a minute and that he and Alex were now injecting and tying up.

"I definitely will," Anna said as she opened every door in the hallway they were in. "She must have been kept in here!" she called out as she ducked into a room.

Alex kept watch in the hall, her gun drawn as Noah followed Anna. Noah walked in and whistled again at the mess of women's clothing and product strewn around, while Anna walked over to the window and pulled the curtains apart to show a window that was blocked off with wood. As hasty, but effective job.

"Let's finish searching up here." Anna led Noah out of the room.


"Not bad," Aidan said as Patrick cuffed the last of the guards they had run into. He was referring to Patrick's admirable take down of one of the guards with a right hook followed up with a swift kick to the balls.

Patrick grunted and headed towards the kitchen where they knew there were doors to the backyard and pool area. Brenda hadn't been found in any of the downstairs rooms. As they walked through the kitchen they saw the fixings for mixed drinks and lunch. Patrick moved to one side of the French doors as Aidan moved to the other. On Aidan's signal, Patrick unlatched the door and Aidan rushed through, gun in his hands.


"Beautiful," Anna murmured and ran her hand over the desktop computer they had found in one of the bedrooms that was obviously operating as a communications center. She reached into her cleavage and pulled out a thin screwdriver and got to work unscrewing the case.

Alex meanwhile was disconnecting a secondary drive and began doing the same once Anna tossed her the screwdriver.

Noah stood at the door, his gun held firmly, but awkwardly in his hands.


They turned a corner to see a beautiful blue pool shimmering under the waning sun. On the far side of the pool a woman who appeared to Aidan to be a dark-haired goddess was lounging in a tiny red bikini. Aidan, gun held in front of him, kept his eyes on her as he waved Patrick to walk on the other side of the pool. He walked slowly, turning around every few steps to prevent anyone from taking them by surprise. Patrick mimicked his actions.

As he approached, he wondered why the woman didn't hear them and then he realized she had earphones in. He swallowed as he saw her luscious body moving to the beat of whatever she was listening to. He looked up at Patrick.

"She can't hear us, get her attention." Patrick slid his gun back into his waist and tapped Brenda on the shoulder.

"Brenda?" Patrick's husky voice cut through Brenda's music and she opened her eyes, pulled her ear buds out of her ears and propped herself up on her elbows. She grinned and removed her sunglasses and looked at the gorgeous specimens in front of her.

"Oh, good, I need another drink." Brenda smiled at the two handsome waiters and held out her empty glass.

Aidan and Patrick looked at each other and then back at the gorgeous woman lying in the sun in a black bikini in surprise.

"And then I need more sunscreen on my back." She tilted her glasses down her nose and looked at Aidan. "You're cute. You must be new."


"I told you she wasn't in danger," Patrick groused as they walked into the house an hour outside Prague they were decamping to for the time being.

"I most certainly was!" Brenda regally walking ahead of him protested.

"Nice tan," Patrick snarked as he followed her into the house carrying the baggage Brenda insisted on retrieving from the house once she found out her captors were all down for the count.

"What the hell else was I supposed to do being trapped there?" Brenda spun around and snapped. "I don't know who the hell you think you are…"

"I am the guy who has been worrying night and day for days about Robin, about whether she's all right, whether she's scared or hurt. That's who I am. I'm here looking for her! I wasn't sitting poolside working on my tan!" Patrick shouted.

"I didn't know Robin was missing! He lured me with some story about real estate for an expansion boutique and then locked me in! I was supposed to be back days ago to go to Paris and then I would have known that you had lost her!"

Patrick stepped forward ominously. His face red with rage.

"Enough already," Aidan put an arm between the two combatants. "Let's take this inside."

Patrick tossed Brenda's bags off his shoulders and stormed past her into the house.

"It's not his fault," Aidan said quietly to the woman who was rapidly blinking back tears.

"I know. I just can't believe." Brenda broke off and covered her mouth. "I didn't know what was going on. I don't understand why they were holding me."

"You were part of the WSB's story that Robin was on vacation with you."

"I don't get why Sean Donley would lie about that. Who were those guys? Were they WSB or part of the people who have Robin?"

"We brought one of them back with us so we'll find out." Aidan knelt down and began to retrieve the baggage Patrick had dumped.

"With a little help from Robin's stepfather's potions. Let me help you." Brenda reached out to grab her makeup kit. Her and Aidan's hands touched on the handle and her eyes widened in surprise.

TBC