Avery wasn’t going anywhere. She looked around trying to find anything that would help.
Nelson’s face scrunched into a confused mask. “This isn’t about revenge, Liam. This is a fun game between rivals. Ian thinks he’s so much smarter, but I am far better at this than he is. I’ve been playing for years, and he didn’t even understand the game was going on. And I definitely am going to need Avery Charles. One of the things your brother did right was to encode everything. I don’t even know how to contact my new clients to let them know that management has changed. I made a deal with one of his men to get me the cipher, but I don’t have anything to decode. By the way, thanks for killing Malcolm. It saved me the trouble of having to do it myself. I never actually intended to pay him, of course. Miss Charles, if you would fetch the files.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know where they are.”
Nelson frowned. “That’s really too bad.”
He raised the gun, and Liam’s other shoulder jerked back, taking a bullet. Avery screamed. How many bullets could he take? Neither one of his arms seemed to work, but he was trying to struggle to his feet.
Nelson sighed as though bored with it all. “Don’t blame yourself, my dear. I was going to shoot him again anyway. I can’t have him getting to that knife. But now it really is up to you. The next shot I take will be lower. I’ll take out his right lung and then his left, so you really should find those files.”
Anger threatened to take over. Who the hell was this man to think he could just walk in here and take what he wanted? She couldn’t lose Liam, but she was utterly helpless. Nelson had the guns, and she doubted she would be allowed to get the knife.
“I’m giving you a chance, dear. If you find the files, I’ll walk away. All I care about are those files. Personally I think leaving O’Donnell alive might mean Ian Taggart stays off my ass for a couple of months.” He sounded so reasonable.
“Stop moving. You’re making it worse,” she told Liam, her love, her Master. He was still trying to protect her, but he’d done his job and now it was time to do hers. “Does he mean it?”
“He left Sean alive,” Liam admitted.
“Look, I could kill you both and find the files myself. It really would be easier.” Nelson looked at his watch.
Avery struggled to her feet. “He kept them on paper. They weren’t in his office at work, so they have to be here. I’ve only been here a couple of times.”
“I would check the desk. Hurry along, dear. Time is ticking by.” He kept his gun trained on Liam.
She opened the top drawer and rifled through it. Nothing. She checked the side drawers. Everything was neat, and there were no files to be found.
“Okay. I’m going to be merciful. I’ll go for a leg this time.” A little ping sounded through the room.
Avery screamed as Liam’s thigh started to bleed.
“Two more minutes and I’ll start on the lungs.”
She wanted to plead. She couldn’t lose him. Where would he hide the files?
He’d been leaving. He’d scheduled a flight for Dubai.
“It’s in his luggage. His briefcase. Where’s his briefcase?” Avery nearly shouted the question.
“Clever girl. I think you should look inside and make sure. I wouldn’t want to find out you were wrong.” He gestured behind her and sure enough, there it was, the designer case he’d carried with him when they traveled. He’d never checked it, always preferring to keep it close.
She got to her knees, her back to Nelson. There was something else he would have kept in here. His phone and his tablet. Nelson would take the whole thing, but she was going to make a play for the backup. She wasn’t about to allow this man to just walk away, and if he betrayed them, MI6 would find it and Simon would break the code.
The files were right there in the side pocket beside his tablet.
“Well? Do I shoot Mr. O’Donnell again?”
“Don’t give him anything, Avery,” Liam growled.
She slipped the tablet out and onto the floor. She grabbed the files and stood. “I have them. There are three here.”
“Excellent. I’ll take the whole bag.”
Deep breath. Stay calm. The tablet was black. If she was careful, he wouldn’t notice it. She slipped the files back inside and turned, her hands shaking. She couldn’t fight him physically, but she wasn’t going to let him win. She tried to walk a straight line so her body hid what she’d left behind.