“That’s stupid. The money is the same, and a lap dance brings joy to the world,” Liam pointed out.
Avery’s hand slapped at his arm. She sighed. “That was an accident.”
As long as she still cared about how she looked when he said something dumb, there was still a chance. “What I meant to say was, isn’t money just money, Eve? From whom I would never accept a lap dance.”
That was better, right?
“I think they would say it’s a question of public impression. They don’t want to run off donors who might be offended. Even if the donation is quite large, it can be smart to keep the smaller, more traditional donors happy because they tend to donate on a yearly basis,” Eve explained.
“Does this have anything to do with Simon’s theory?” Knight turned to Avery. “Simon Weston is my man on the inside. His last report talked about donors and some files he was trying to get from you. Did you get the files for him?”
Avery paled visibly. “Simon is in on this?”
“Yes, he’s the one who will keep you safe on the inside,” Knight explained. “I want you to consider him your partner.”
Oh, that was not fucking going to happen. “She is not going back to that place.”
“She has to.” Knight frowned. “If she disappears now, it could put a chill on the whole operation. You’re the one who can leave, O’Donnell. Tomorrow your mission is going to be finished, and Simon can handle it from there. You can simply go back to the States like the nice tourist they all think you are.”
“I am not leaving.”
Knight sat back. He appeared to enjoy having the upper hand. “You will if I kick you out. Don’t forget for a second that I can have you tossed into places you don’t want to go. I’ll do it without a single qualm if you threaten my mission. I’ll shove you so far into prison that no one will remember you even existed.”
“Oh, they’ll remember when I break him out, Damon. As pissed as I am right now, don’t think for a second I’ll leave a man behind. You do not want to play that card.” Ian stood up. “We can’t decide anything tonight. Miss Charles, if I’ve been hard on you, I apologize. My dick isn’t involved in this so I can only go by what my brain tells me and that’s to keep you at arm’s length. Since I can’t do that anymore, I have to trust that Eve’s judgment is correct and you’re not a supersecret terrorist out to bring down the US military. You should understand that we’re not the only ones who have been watching you for weeks. When I took your phone in order to bug it, I found out it was already bugged. Watch what you say and do. If it was up to me, I would pull you in a heartbeat, but it’s not. As for you, Li, we’ll talk about it when we get back to Dallas. After we bring in Nelson, it’s up to you whether you stay or not.”
“We’re not staying,” Liam replied. “Neither one of us. She’ll come back with the team because we owe her protection.”
Avery shook her head. “I’m not leaving. I’ll help out MI6.”
Liam gave her his best Dom stare. “You will not. You are not involved anymore. You’re out of this.”
“She’s not out if she doesn’t want to be,” Knight insisted.
Avery turned to Liam, her eyes bright with tears. “I’m not leaving, Lee. Liam. God, I hate this. I won’t leave because he’s sending guns in to kill the very people I’ve been trying to save, that Stephanie is trying to save. What the hell happens when some boy soldier gets it into his head that he can take over the clinic where she works, where she does good? I gave up everything so she could do something good. I will take down anyone who gets in my way. You think I’m so weak, don’t you? Well, you watch me now. You watch me. I won’t allow you to hold me back.”
A sob went through her, her whole body shaking, and he couldn’t help it. He pulled her close, his hand soothing down her back. He hadn’t thought about it that way. Avery had a stake in this game, a big one. She’d put so much of her grief and pain from the accident and turned it into something good, and she would be devastated if it all went wrong and she had any sort of hand in it.
“It’s all right, love. I’m going to take care of it. I’m going to fix this. Do you understand? I’ll do whatever it takes to shut this down. I promise.”
She pushed away from him after only one sweet moment where she’d softened against him and let him hold her. “You owe me, Liam.”