‘Nathaniel messed with my head when I was a kid. I was vulnerable and he took advantage of it. I’ve never denied the mistakes I made. But I’m telling you – I’m swearing to you – that I’m done with him. I see who he really is now. He kills people. Or at least, he hires people to kill for him. And that scares the crap out of me.’ He hesitated, his eyes locked on hers. ‘I thought he’d kill you, Allie. I really did. And I still think he would, if he thought it was useful for you to die. So… if you want to know why I’m here now, that’s why.’
For a moment, Allie couldn’t think of anything to say. She’d thought many times that Nathaniel might kill her. Or get Gabe to do it. But hearing Christopher tell her she was right was somehow even scarier.
Perhaps more importantly, though, she believed him. The passion in his voice, the veiled loathing for Nathaniel – no one could fake that. No one. He might have been lying about some things, but she believed this part. He was here because he was afraid for her.
‘OK,’ she said. ‘Then, here’s the thing. I need your help.’
He searched her face hopefully. ‘You believe me?’
‘More than I did before,’ she conceded. ‘But if you want everyone here to accept that you’ve changed, help us get Carter back.’
His brow creased. ‘Al, I was right about St John’s Fields. I still believe that’s where Nathaniel would hold him. He doesn’t trust anyone in the world enough to let them hold an asset as valuable to him as your friend. He’s too cautious for that. He’s going to keep this guy on his own property.’ He thumped his finger against the table for emphasis. ‘He’s there, Allie.’
Her heart jumped, but she kept her expression steady.
‘We’ve got people watching the grounds,’ she said. ‘If you’re right, we’ll know soon. But, even if Carter is there, we still need to get in. And that doesn’t look easy. I’ve been listening to Nathaniel’s guards – there seem to be loads of them.’
Christopher didn’t disagree. ‘He’s got his own army. And he likes that farmhouse for a reason – it’s set back from the road. Like this place.’ He glanced at the guards watching them from across the room. ‘He has a good electronic security system inside the house…’ He paused. ‘Basically, the guy’s obsessed with security.’
This was just what Allie had expected.
She schooled her voice to sound casual when she broached her idea. ‘We think the key is the guards. We need one of them on our side.’
She hadn’t exactly told Raj this. But she was sure she was right. Nine would help. And now that they were so close, she needed to know as much about him as she could.
Christopher considered this, nodding thoughtfully. ‘That could work. You get a guard on your side, he distracts the others, helps you get in and out safely. Yeah.’ He looked impressed. ‘That’s probably the best way, actually. Has Raj been working on one of them in particular?’
‘I think so,’ Allie lied. ‘But we need to know more about them. That way we could know how to reach them.’
He seemed to accept this. ‘What do you want to know?’
‘Why are they loyal to Nathaniel?’
He didn’t hesitate. ‘Money.’
‘Money?’ Allie didn’t hide her surprise. ‘What, he just pays them? That’s it?’
‘Almost. Nathaniel chooses his recruits well and pays them a fortune.’ He leaned forward, warming to the subject. ‘Most of these guys have real financial problems when he hires them. Child support, bankruptcy, gambling debts… Their lives are a mess. That’s what he looks for. Ex-military or ex-police with problems. He swoops in and offers them a solution to all their troubles.’
Allie must have looked sceptical because his tone grew a little defensive. ‘We’re talking life-changing money here, Al. You work for Nathaniel for a few years, if you’re a regular guy, you’re made. You just won the lottery. All your worries go away.’
Allie thought of the things she’d heard Nine and the other guards say on the radio. That no money was worth what they were being asked to do.
‘After a while, though,’ she said, ‘why don’t they quit? This can’t be an easy job.’
‘Because money is addictive,’ he said. ‘They start out thinking it’s the perfect job. By the time they realise how dodgy it is they’re trapped. If they leave, they slide right back into the problems that brought them to Nathaniel in the first place. And they want a new car, a new house, a new girlfriend… There’s always something more they can buy to make it all worthwhile.’ He sighed. ‘That kind of money’s like a prison without walls.’
Allie thought of all the zeros on the papers she’d signed the other day with Lucinda’s lawyers, and blood rushed to her face.
Was she in that wall-less prison now?
She forced herself to stay focused on the subject at hand.
‘Do you know any of them by name? On the radio they only talk in code.’
Christopher’s eyes widened. ‘You hacked into Nathaniel’s system?’ When Allie nodded in reply, he smiled. ‘You guys really are smart as hell.’ He ran a hand across his head as he thought it through. ‘I know a few, but there are dozens of them. If you showed me some pictures of them, I could tell you all I know about them. But it’s hard without images.’