Page 58

Chapter

Thirty-Three

Poppy

All he said was, I know a place and I drifted off. He said he was fine, and I swallowed a handful of Advil and fell fast asleep with ice packs on my back and a heating pad on my stomach. Next thing I know, the man is unbuckling me and cradle carrying me into a pink house. The crunch and kick of stones is all I hear as I snuggle into his chest. He punches a code as I look up at him dreamily.

“Do I own this place?”

“No, my darling, he does but it’s clean. He won’t watch his own place more than standard security, and Mel rewired this complete system. He keeps it stocked but doesn’t use it because he doesn’t come to the states. Lou and I hid here right after. I need information and it might be here. If not, then we can sleep and shower.”

I quirk an eyebrow at him as he sets me just inside the door. Before I can process anything, his lips are on mine. We’re hungry for each other and the message he’s conveying is that the drive was long enough without contact. He takes my concerns from me by sliding his tongue against mine.

When we pull apart, I notice light out back. There’s a luminous and lavish pool area that looks like it’s from a movie. It’s giving this gorgeous mid century modern home an aqua color cast. Then there’s movement.

I hiss in a panic. “Sal.”

He leans down to me, and I see he’s already drawn his gun. “Shh. You gotta work on your stealth.”

He puts me behind him. We slink along the wall, but soon we’ll be exposed because the entire back of the house is windows. My pulse is out of control, and I wipe my sweaty hands on my dirty leggings.

There’s a voice that yells at us before we can even do anything and I relax. “Bout fucking time you showed up.” I bound out of the house and don’t hesitate leaping into the pool in my clothes and into Mark’s arms. I hug him hard.

“How?” I say.

“After you two left, we all bugged out. Everyone is safe and in their places. I got word this house was clear and needed to regroup. The Diana Group still owns it, but no one’s been here. Glad you had the same thought.”

I groan and dive under the water to try to get away from Cady talk for a fucking second. The slight chill of the water feels great on my bruised back. I swim to the other side trying to piece together things. I sit on the steps and look to Sal.

“Becca, Boomer, and Brick?”

“Safely away while we regroup. Boomer’s with Josh coordinating security coverage for the Five. And Becca and Brick went back to…”

I smile and finish his sentence. “Back to Aunt Saoirse’s cottage in Ireland.”

“Yes. If anyone goes looking for them, they won’t find them,” Mark explains.

His bandage is leaking a bit. Mark points to his side. Sal lifts his chin in a sharp movement, and Mark shakes his head.

I ask, “What’s the Diana Group again?” Mark seems a little tight as if he’s stretched like a taut rubber band.

Sal explains. “The Diana Group is the shell company he funnels tech cash into and pays out to different government officials and the courts.”

Mark puts his hands on my shoulders as we stand dripping wet in the shallow end of the kidney-shaped pool that screams the ‘60s. “Diana is his missing wife’s name.”

“I can’t be transparent at the moment and you need to know that,” Mark says and then crosses his arms over his chest.

“What the shit are you saying to me?” Sal says.

“Nothing yet but I have burners in the ‘Five Families’ network for you. Please text at least Boomer, that you’re ok. You’re a brave and stupid woman, Poppy Gelbert.”

I raise my finger and he corrects himself. “Poppy Pietro.”

Sal claps loudly. “We’re taking the green bedroom right now. We need to sleep. Lou and I spent some time here when we were dead. No one’s looking here, not since Bax.”

Mark says, “It’s depressing as hell that this property is the perfect spot for a station that will connect a high-speed rail from Palm Springs to Los Angeles.”

“Is it wrong I hate him even more that he’s going to destroy this place for his own power?”