Chapter 26 - The Normandy Sanctuary
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Rain lashed against the windshield of the black armored Range Rover as we sped along the winding coastal roads of Normandy.
The heavy fog rolling off the English Channel shrouded the ancient stone hamlets in an eerie, ghost-like mist. Outside the window, the dramatic cliffs dropped off into the churning white waves below.
"The villa belongs to a shell company tied to Elizabeth Bennett," Lena explained from the front passenger seat, checking the night-vision scope on her rifle. "It was bought ten years ago as an emergency safehouse. Andrew must have stolen the access codes from Elizabeth's personal safe before the raid."
"Is anyone else inside?" Ethan asked from the backseat beside me, his hand resting securely on my knee.
"Thermal imaging from our drone shows three armed guards patrolling the perimeter," Lucas answered from the driver's seat. "And one high-heat signature inside the primary study on the second floor. That's Vaughn."
I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart pounding against my ribcage like a trapped bird. "He knows we're coming, Ethan. He didn't cover his tracks in Paris by accident. He wanted us to trace the bank transfers."
"I know," Ethan said calmly, checking the magazine of a sleek silver pistol before tucking it into his shoulder holster. "He wants a confrontation. He thinks if he can eliminate me, he can take you and the biometric key."
"He's insane," I whispered.
"He's arrogant," Ethan corrected. "And arrogance makes men careless."
Lucas pulled the Range Rover off the main road, killing the headlights as we coasted into the shadows of an overgrown pine forest three hundred yards from the villa's iron gates.
The villa rose out of the mist like a gothic nightmare—a sprawling, three-story stone chateau overlooking the jagged ocean cliffs.
Ethan turned to me, taking my face in both of his hands. "You stay in the vehicle with Lucas."
"No!" I objected instantly. "Ethan, I'm not sitting here while you walk into his trap!"
"Ava, listen to me," Ethan insisted, his grey eyes blazing with fiercest love and authority. "If you go in there, you give him leverage. If you stay here, I can do what needs to be done without worrying about a crossfire."
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He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to my lips—a kiss that tasted of rain, cold air, and absolute promise.
"I'll be back in ten minutes," Ethan murmured against my mouth. "Wait for me."
