Two weeks, Beth thought suddenly. Had it really only been fourteen days since they’d returned from Vancouver? It felt like a lifetime to her. And not just because she’d been stuck on babysitting duty. Scotty had been avoiding her since their return. Beth hadn’t seen him once during this whole time. Well, not in the flesh. He filled her dreams every night, making love to her in the forest-green bedroom, in the garage in Vancouver, on her kitchen table, in the elevator of her apartment building, in the blue room at the Enforcer house, in the pale yellow room at the Enforcer house, on the beach, in a movie theater, in the bathroom of a nightclub, and, last night, in the cooking section of a bookstore.
The backgrounds for their dream trysts were growing more and more risqué, taking place in spots Beth would never consider in real life. She wasn’t choosing the locales. Scotty was. Sort of. Last night she’d been dreaming she was at the shopping mall, trying to figure out what to buy Drina for her coming birthday. Beth had wandered through various stores, trying to find something, and had been in the bookstore when Scotty had appeared in her dream. She’d actually been in the fiction section when he found her, but he’d looked around, caught her hand and dragged her to the nearest display table, which happened to be in the cooking section.
In the past, Scotty would have taken her from the more public spot to a more private spot for their dream sex, but now he wasn’t. And she understood exactly why. While their dream sex had always seemed hot and satisfying before, now—after having experienced the incredible, passionate, almost violent need inspired in true life mate sex—the dream sex was somewhat disappointing. It simply couldn’t compare, and they were both yearning for that explosive union they’d had in the garage. At least, Beth knew she was, and could only assume that was the reason their private moments were taking place in more public spaces. Scotty was trying to replicate or boost the passion they’d experienced during real sex.
Kira’s shifting restlessly beside her forced Beth back to the matter at hand—the dilapidated old barn and the coffin that was supposed to be inside.
After eyeing the building for a moment more, trying to figure out what bothered her about it, Beth gave it up. “I’m going to go see if I can get a look inside. The rest of you wait here.”
“Nyet,” Kira said at once. “We are team. I go with you.”
Beth considered her stubborn expression, and then nodded reluctantly. “Fine. You come. The rest of you stay here,” she ordered.
“Where she goes, we go,” Oksana announced with a shrug that said there would be no argument on the matter.
“Whatever,” Beth said with exasperation and moved out of the bushes in a crouch. Honestly, she was beginning to understand why everybody at the university had seemed to dislike Kira. It wasn’t just her attitude, and she did at times have some serious attitude, although there seemed to be less of that every day since she’d come to Toronto. The real problem was the women who guarded her. All but one of them were stubborn, sullen and miserable, and seemed to want to make everyone around them miserable as well.
Beth crept along the edge of the woods toward the barn, very aware that she was being followed by a parade of Kira, Oksana, Nika, Liliya, and Marta. Liliya was the only bodyguard Beth liked. The petite woman, unlike her larger compatriots, was quiet, efficient and easy to get along with. If Beth had a choice, Liliya would have been the only one with them.
Pausing at the edge of the woods adjacent to the corner of the barn, Beth took a moment to survey the building, and then ran lightly across the open area to reach it. Once there, she put her back to the wall of the barn and watched the others follow. The moment they were all standing like her, with their dart guns out and their backs against the building, Beth turned and began to move along the wall.
She hadn’t gone far before a nail caught on the material at the shoulder of her long-sleeved black shirt. Beth paused to unhook herself, and then continued. Another nail caught at her at the same place several more feet along, and she paused again, this time taking note that the nail was bright silver and shiny-new . . . and Beth wasn’t positive, but she thought the first one might have been too.
She considered that briefly, and then continued on much more slowly, scanning the wall as she went. Three boards later, Beth found the tip of another shiny silver nail poking out of the wood at her shoulder level. She examined that nail briefly and then the wood itself, noting that the board wasn’t as thick as the ones on either side of it.
Glancing along the length of wall ahead, Beth saw that every third or fourth slat was recessed a bit. Whoever had built the barn hadn’t bought the wood at a Home Depot or some other big-box store where the planks would have been a standard width, depth, and length. Heck, for all she knew, the barn had been built before big-box stores. Whatever the case, the nails were showing only on the slats that weren’t as deep as the others. But they were all new and at the same height.
“Those nails are new,” Kira whispered by her ear.
Beth turned to nod at her. She almost wanted to pat her on the head and say “good girl” for paying attention and using her brain, but managed to quell the urge. Kira might think she was being condescending or something, so Beth merely whispered, “Something doesn’t feel right. Stay alert, remain at least a step behind me, and keep your eyes open. Tell the others.”
Kira nodded and turned to pass along the message to Oksana.
Beth watched the Amazon stiffen and narrow her eyes, and knew at once that the woman didn’t appreciate orders from her. As far as Oksana was concerned, Beth was a nobody, with no say about anything she did. Fortunately, Kira seemed to realize that too and stepped past the woman to pass the message to the others herself.
Beth waited patiently until Kira’d finished, ignoring the glowering looks Oksana was giving her as she did, but once Kira returned to her side, she continued along the building. This time, Beth didn’t stop until she reached the barn doors. Dropping into a crouch just to the side of where the two doors met, she glanced back to see that the others were doing the same . . . all but Oksana.
“You are so slow,” the Russian growled with disgust, standing out in the open. “Why you not just walk in there and shoot up rogue if he there? Is no good you skulk around like big English, Spanish, American coward!”
Well, Beth thought wryly, at least the woman had got it mostly right and hit on every continent where she’d lived. Deciding the element of surprise was definitely over now, and stealth and caution were wasted, Beth turned away from the angry woman and eased the far door open enough to poke her head through and glance around.
There wasn’t much to see. A couple of moldy old bales of hay were stacked at the far end of the barn, but other than that it appeared to be empty. Frowning, Beth straightened and pulled open first one door and then the other. She then moved cautiously to stand in the opening to survey the interior of the building again, but now with the aid of the day’s dying light coming through the open doors.
“There is nothing,” Kira whispered a step back on her left, and Beth was pleased to hear concern in her voice rather than confusion. It told her that the girl seemed to understand that that was wrong. There was supposed to be—
“Where is the coffin?” Liliya asked just as quietly from a step back on her right.