His phone just kept on. He looked down. Eve. Damn it. They were sending in the big guns. He picked it up. “Donnelly.”
“Can I talk?” Eve asked. What she was really asking was whether she was on speaker or whether someone was close enough to potentially hear her over the phone.
“Sure.” He never put anyone on speaker, and his volume was always low.
“Liam, you need to come in. Ian is so concerned.” Her soft voice came over the line. “We’re all concerned. I know what Weston showed you, and Ian would like a chance to explain.”
Damon Knight had looked at the file folder. It had been a good bet he would let his friend know he’d been made. Liam thought quickly knowing that someone, somewhere was listening in to his side of the conversation. He hoped the fuckers had enjoyed the show last night. Avery was turning out to be a screamer. “It’s so good to hear from you. Yeah, I’m going to stay in London for a while. I don’t think I’ll be taking on any new jobs soon.”
She sighed over the line. “Liam, this is your family. Are you really just going to drop us because some asshole puts a thought in your head?”
“I don’t know. I need some time to think it over.”
“He’s getting ready to pull you from the op, Li.”
A savage rage rolled over him. No fucking way. He kept his voice calm. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Someone ran a trace on your cover. They’re looking at you.”
“It’s only to be expected.” He was going to have to deal with this.
“Please, Liam,” Eve pleaded. “Come to the club tonight. Talk to Ian. He’s messed up over this.”
“I doubt that.” But he was having a hard time telling Eve no. She’d helped him so much. “I don’t have all the information I need to make an informed judgment.”
Because it had been so much nicer to focus on Avery. He’d kept her out of trouble. He’d sent Adam the names Weston had left her to find the files on. He’d done his job. Mostly.
He’d managed to not kill Simon Weston. He’d seriously thought about it when he’d caught the bastard still sniffing around Avery. And attempting to bring Avery deeper into this game. That was what rankled. Weston knew Avery wasn’t involved, and he still tried to pull her in. She wasn’t a bloody agent. She needed to get out.
“You aren’t going to get the truth by staying away. Please, Li. Come to the club tonight.”
“I won’t be alone. I would need to bring a friend with me. Is there going to be a problem with that?” He wasn’t going to leave Avery alone. He wasn’t happy about letting her go to work. Something was brewing in that head of hers. He’d caught her staring at those names from time to time, her eyes glassy as she thought. She could sink into her head and get lost for long periods of time. He hated that. He hated not knowing what she was thinking.
“That can be arranged,” Eve agreed quickly. “I can talk to her while you talk to Ian. Li, you need to come in. I’ve never seen Ian so pissed off and, quite frankly, upset. He damn near threatened that MI6 agent with death for pulling that crap on you.”
Yeah, Liam could bet he’d done that. Ian didn’t like his plans being upset. “It’s always good to know the truth.”
“You don’t know the truth, Li.” There was a little pause. “Can’t you talk to him?”
He knew he would have to. “Yes. We’ll be there tonight.”
A long sigh came over the line. “Thank you.”
He hung up the phone. What was he going to do? He was caught. He was trapped. He had to figure out what the fuck he was doing, and he needed to do it fast. Not just for himself but for Avery. Weston had put him in a corner. He’d given Avery names to research. Somehow, those names were connected to the arms dealing, or Weston suspected they were. Weston was pulling Avery further in, and Liam didn’t know what to do about that except to bind her up in chains of pleasure and affection so maybe she would obey him when the chips were down and the shit started to hit the fan.
Because he was more sure than ever that it would hit the fan.
She was going back to work, and he was going to figure out just what was going on at United One Fund and how Eli Nelson figured in. According to her day planner, Molina was going to meet with Nelson tomorrow. At least he thought it was Nelson.
The Nelson project might be a done deal tomorrow and then he would focus on Molina. He would need to get into Molina’s office.
He had the key to the office, but he wasn’t able to copy the security codes to get into the building. He’d been hamstrung with that security system, but if he was there with Avery, he could get in. He just had to make sure she didn’t see him going into that office. That might be a problem.
He might be forced to work with Weston. He would rather see the files without Weston around. He needed to make sure there was no way to tie Avery to anything. It wouldn’t be the first time some criminal bastard had set up his assistant to take a fall. Grace Taggart was proof of that.