Dani looked up to see the Dodge drop on the driver’s side and catch. It flipped on the dead tire and rolled once, arcing into the air and hanging majestically for a moment, until it landed on the hood and screamed its death cry, sliding down the freeway on its hood.
Elaina sat up, closed the door and held on as Marcus slammed the brake, tore the wheel, protesting and groaning, till he was facing the right way, and threw the gear back into drive again.
“Thank you, dear,” Elaina said, putting the safety back on and handing the pistol to Maria, who stared at her, jaw dropped, eyes wide.
In the stunned silence Maria asked, “What color do you want that purse?”
Chapter Thirteen
“Mr. McConnell,” the man in the back seat said with a smile, “...and Mr. McConnell, Jr., perhaps I can just call you Luke? And greetings to you as well, Mr. Rhinehart.”
“You have me at a disadvantage,” Edwin said stiffly as he settled into the seat of the car and fastened his seatbelt with an uneasy glance to the driver.
William’s expression was somewhat sullen, someone having stolen his thunder. “Edwin, this is Thomas Howard. American controller, British Intelligence.”
“Controller?”
Thomas waved that off. “I’m afraid it’s an awfully grotesque title signifying only that I’m the point of blame for whatever goes wrong. But only in this country.”
“That doesn’t narrow the possibilities by much,” Luke muttered, glancing around the car and wondering what the odds were for escape.
“No, it does not. More goes belly up in this country than any other posting.” Not that Thomas seemed bothered by that. Job security, Luke supposed.
“Larger landmass,” William said as the car sped off down the surface streets.
“Quite,” Thomas said dryly. “May I?” He tugged the flyer from William’s hand and looked at it and nodded. “I should have realized. To the convention center, Driver.”
“Odd,” William said. “I was under the impression that you were based in New York, and yet here you are in Houston. You couldn’t have arrived in less than... what... eight hours?”
“Six, actually, but the plane will need some extra maintenance.”
“Maria is one of yours, isn’t she?”
Edwin looked up from the window. “What?”
Thomas said nothing at all for the longest time. When he glanced back at the passengers in back, he smiled a little. “She is. She used to be one of yours, but Americans seem to be such consumers. Use something a short time and throw it out for something newer. Shame, really; I do think she’s a better operative now than she was twenty years ago.”
“Sixteen,” Edwin said, his expression hard.
“My mistake. At any rate, she was still collecting. That’s quite remarkable really. The fact that she’d woven a network of informants so vast and complete and did the entire thing after she was considered a liability and sacrificed, her daughter, too... You really must admire the iron in someone like that.”
“How did you know about Houston?” William pressed, leaning forward, angry now.
“My man inside, of course.”
“Marcus,” Luke said as the puzzle pieces came together in his mind. “It could only have been Marcus.” Damn, this game is complex.
“The same. Very loyal; unfortunately, not to me. On the other hand, he still reported in regularly and, despite his refusal to abandon his charge, he continued to provide good intel. We don’t dispose of our people as readily as you do.”
“Knock off the holier than thou act, Thomas.” William rolled his eyes. “I had nothing to do with that decision, and you know it.”
“Marcus was that loyal?” Edwin said, a hint of wonder in his voice. “To me?”
Luke shot him a glance. Seriously, the guy teared up over a loyal henchman and ignored the fact that his own daughter needed him. And I thought my family was dysfunctional.
Thomas laughed, and seemed to surprise himself by it. He stopped mid-chuckle and held up his hand dismissively. “No. I am sorry if I was unclear, Mr. Rhinehart; I meant that Marcus’ loyalty to Danielle was complete. Not to you.”
“Dani?” Edwin raised his eyebrows until they threatened to roll over the top of his head. “But he’s my age! And... aren’t you marrying her?” He rounded on Luke, shades of Mafia coming out in the glare, and the sudden way he drew himself up.
He chooses NOW to remember who he is?
“Get your head out of the gutter!” Luke snapped. “He means that Marcus felt protective of her—he was the father she never had.”
“I resent that,” Edwin snapped, the very hair on the top of his head seeming to bristle, the way a dog’s hackles would rise when it spotted a threat.
“Tough,” Luke snapped right back, tired of holding back for the sake of politics or discretion or whatever the hell reason you were supposed to have to not deck a guy. “I saw it, that day at the party. I saw how you doted on that psychopath son of yours, Dani’s half-brother. And I heard you slap her down. You told her she wasn’t even considered for Markland. How the hell do you think that made her feel? It’s no wonder she despises you.”
“Like your relationship with your father is so stellar,” Edwin sneered.
“Gentlemen! Enough!”
Both men snapped their heads around to stare at Thomas. Luke was about ready to stuff that gun in his hand down his throat if he started waving it around one more time. His temple throbbed with built-up frustration and rage.
He hated them in that moment. Every last man in that fucking car. Thomas’ scheming only added to the fire started by William’s blatant use of Dani as bait, and Edwin’s complete and utter lack of caring in regard to his daughter. Maybe Edwin had had a point—he hadn’t exactly been a devoted son, but then William sure as hell was never going to earn a Father of the Year award. They were all screwed up in their priorities, caring only for whatever got them ahead in this idiotic, crazy game of international politics and intrigue.
But Luke cared nothing for any of it. Let empires topple. What did it matter to him if another politician exploded like a fireworks display—all flash and bang and then the inevitable fade into darkness. The world was full of people who’d brought ruin upon themselves. There was always another politician to take their place. Would the world truly end if it became public knowledge who had a mistress or who played what faction against the other? Was he unpatriotic to not want to protect the imagined integrity of his country against the slings and arrows of public opinion?