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For once, I found myself speechless. Me. Tracker Team’s greatest conversationalist, nominated by the crew as Mr. Social Butterfly and the outfit’s official chick magnet. I had nothing to say.
Silence stretched between us like a bungee cord about to snap. The tension in the air tugged at my body. I wanted to lean over and kiss her, even if it was just one last time.
She looked down on her hands, breaking eye contact and proving that her thoughts were going in a totally different direction when she asked another question. “Why was Thena poisoned?”
“See?” I pushed my left forearm over my right elbow and stretched out my back. “This is why I wanted all of this shit explained by someone else.”
“It’s just you and me.” Her quiet voice rang with anintimacy that teased and terrorized me at the same time. “Please?”
Her pleases were a total mindfuck. They were gonna be the end of me.
“Your father made a mean enemy,” I said, unable to deny her much. “It appears he got involved with a nefarious organization called the New World Order. The NWO is a multilayered entity composed of terrorists, rogue nations hostile to the United States and its allies, and a bunch of wealthy assholes generously bankrolling a potential Armageddon. Their goal is defeating democracy and replacing it with a new axis of totalitarian regimes to bring ‘order’ to the world.”
“How did he get involved with them?”
“We don’t know for sure,” I said. “But we do know the NWO believes you and your sisters are in possession of something your father stole from them.”
“Something like what?”
“Information, maybe, or perhaps incriminating evidence of some sort.”
“Have you found it?”
“No,” I said. “The skinny of this is that the leader of this organization vowed to wipe your father’s seed from the face of the earth. He hired the fuckers that attacked you.”
She pressed her hand over her mouth, her eyes huge. “Why kill us, though? Why not kidnap and interrogate us, maybe ransom one of us to get whatever it is they want?”
“Excellent question.” Nothing escaped her mind’s blinding brightness. “Total annihilation is the NWO’s standard MO, the fastest and most thorough approach to eliminating threats. They don’t know that you and your sisters have no idea of what they’re looking for. They’re assuming you all know, and therefore, they have to kill all of you. This doesn’t mean they won’t change tactics in the future. It’s a shift we must anticipate.Meanwhile, the killers rely on doing what they do best: cold-blooded murder.”
“So, murder it is.” Her mouth twisted into a bitter grimace.
“They failed with Thena,” I reminded her. “She’s now safe, living at Astor House under the protection of Tracker Team. This is why we need to get you back there asap.”
“Astor House.” She frowned. “All that space and money. Ridiculous, don’t you think?”
“It’s grown on me.” I shrugged. “Turns out I like luxury as much as the next dipshit. Sandy and Cook are first class.”
She perked up. “Are they doing well?”
“They’re awesome. They take such good care of us. And the food. Yum.” I kissed my fingers. “Never ate so fancy in my entire life. Your sister tells me the place is a little different now that it has become Tracker Team’s headquarters.”
“At least it’s of some use to somebody.” She ventured another question. “What about Cece and Affie? Are they safe?”
“I’ll be honest with you.” Even if honesty rarely won the game. “We’re following up on some clues, but last I checked, we hadn’t gotten eyes on them. They face the same threats that you do. I figure you wouldn’t ask about them if you knew where they are. Am I right?”
“I wish I knew.” Her chest rose and fell. “When we decided to leave, we figured we had a better chance to escape Father if we went in different directions. Looking back, I’m not sure it was the right idea.” She paused before she spoke again. “It’s been so lonely without them.”
Tears bulged in her eyes. The sight of it squeezed my chest. I suppressed a totally selfish need to console her.
“We’re gonna find them.” I’d never wanted to reassure someone as badly as I needed to reassure her. “Just like I found you.”
“What about my father?” she asked. “How does he figure in all of this?”
Ah, hell. The question had been bound to come up. It was my rotten luck that I had to reply, if only because I knew the answer would cause her pain.
“He doesn’t figure in this, not anymore.” I sucked in some air. “Richard Astor is dead.”
Chapter Nine
