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She lifts her chin. “It’s not something you need to worry about.”
Really? I feel the ire build. My tolerance for this nonsense is even lower now, after being guarded by Giana and Sabio, who treated me like an adult invested in her own safety. This is not going to cut it.
“Does that mean the precaution was put in place for your safety or, perhaps, the crew’s?”
Her eyes widen.
“I’m never surprised when a male guard tells me not to worry my pretty little head, but I expect more from you. I have the right to know if there’s a problem.”
“Of course, miss. Your father will explain everything when we land.”
This is not what I envisioned when I told my father I wanted guards who interacted forthrightly with me. I should have known he would never step back and allow the guards, my guards, to have an honest relationship with me. Another thing I kidded myself about.
“I understand that you’re following orders, Ivy, but I want to talk to my father, now. Before we land.”
“Communication with the ground has been spotty for the past hour,” she says, more forthright now, “but let’s see if we can connect you from the main server in the conference room.”
6
RAFAEL
“I want to stress, again,” Tamar says on the way to the new hotel, “it’s a very, very bad idea to keep that shoot order in place. Please reconsider.”
By again, she means for the fifth time she’s raised the issue since I got off the phone with Will. She’s now added two verys for emphasis. I plan on ignoring this the same way I ignored the four previous pleas to reconsider. It’s only her training and respect for chain of command that’s stopped her from telling me it’s the fucking stupidest thing she’s ever heard. It wouldn’t be far from the truth. But if Will retracts the order now, we’ll lose control of the narrative. I don’t want that.
“Everyone understand what they’re doing?”
“Yes,” the two soldiers grunt in unison. They’re seated in the front of the SUV and were on the plane with us. I don’t know them well, but Zé handpicked them for the trip to the US after I refused to take him. I have no doubt they’re capable and lethal.
“Do not forget,” I order, mostly for Tamar’s benefit, “Ms. Clarke’s safety is our primary concern. Today, I’m just a soldier, like you.”
7
LEXIE
Communication with the ground must be better, because my father answers immediately. “Clarke,” he growls.
“Dad, what’s going on?”
“Lexie,” he murmurs. “Everything all right?”
That’s rich. “That’s what I’m wondering. We’ve been circling the city as a precaution. What does it mean?” Please don’t let it be anything to do with the traffickers.
“New flight crew. They’re just being extra cautious.”
Bullshit.
“Does this have anything to do with the traffickers who’ve been terrorizing the Continent?”
My father doesn’t say anything. I shouldn’t have blurted it. That was a mistake. But from the moment I learned we were circling as a safety precaution, I haven’t been able to push the thought away. What if they skipped a city beginning with the letter R and went straight to Q? What if I was wrong, and another woman’s been abducted?
“Why would you say that?” he says finally, in pure form. Answer a question with a question.
I try to read between the lines, but it’s my father and he’s not easy to read even in person, let alone over the phone. His tone isn’t at all defensive. It’s more like those times when he suspects I’m up to trouble and fires questions at me until I’m backed into a corner—step by step. I need to be careful or he’ll turn this plane around in a heartbeat.
“It’s in the back of everyone’s mind. Certainly every European woman under twenty-five who has any sense. If it’s not that, what is the problem?”
He’s quiet again. “I hoped not to have to worry you until the matter was settled.” My father draws a breath. “That bastard, Rafael Huntsman, who doesn’t deserve you and never did, commandeered a satellite and has been tracking your flight.”
