horn-rimmed glasses and he clutched at a laptop. My laptop. I guessed that this was Alexander’s tech guy.
It was indeed. “George,” Alexander greeted him cordially. “Good to see you. Sorry about the mess.”
I cracked up. Partly out of nervous tension, but partly because the blandly voiced words were so surreal in the situation. Alexander shot me an amused look before turning back to George. “You know Jean-Luc and Pavel, of course. And this is my girlfriend Ellie.”
Whoa . Girlfriend? I looked up, startled. Alexander’s eyes were on me, watching my reaction. As was Jean-Luc. Way to put me on the spot, Alexander.
Except I wasn’t feeling put on the spot. Muted though it was by the events of the day, the emotion that coursed through my veins was joy.
I cursed Lucien under my breath. Damn him. I wanted to savour this moment, untroubled by thoughts of assassination attempts and leaks in Alexander’s organization. I just wanted to lean back and close my eyes and play back the sound of his voice saying those words, over and over, till it sank in. This is my girlfriend Ellie.
“Hi,” I shook George’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Did you find anything useful on my laptop?”
The answer to that question was maybe . George launched into a long explanation, but the gist of it was that most hackers didn’t hack into every single database out there. Mary had been able to pull from a variety of information sources, which meant that she would have had to work with other people. Money would have exchanged hands and when money was involved, there was always a trail somewhere. George was going to start following that trail, but it would take time.
“How long?” Alexander asked.
“A few days,” George responded. “Maybe a week. It’s Christmas break. Even hackers celebrate the holidays. Things are slower and people will take longer to respond to my queries.”
Alexander nodded, exchanging a tense glance with Jean-Luc. When George had left, he turned to me. “Ellie, can I talk to you in private? Jean-Luc, Pavel, would you excuse the two of us for a moment, please?”
The two of them left the room. “What’s the matter?” I asked as soon as we were alone. For some reason, when Alexander had said he wanted to talk to me, I had a flashback of being in the principal’s office.
“You look worried.” His hand caressed my cheek. “I thought I should tell you this when we were alone, so you could process the news without an audience.”
“Tell me what?” I asked. I linked my hand in his, needing to feel his warmth. I didn’t have a good feeling about what he was going to say.
“Paris isn’t safe,” he said. “My movements here are too public and until George succeeds in locating Bectell, we are at risk here.” He grimaced. “We need to go somewhere fortified.”
I shut my eyes. I had an inkling of what he was going to say next.
“I don’t own fortified estates, Ellie. I’ve always operated behind the scenes. I couldn’t have Dylan find out what I was working on until I was ready to finally put him away for good, and I couldn’t afford to expose the people I cared about to undue danger. But now, we have to evacuate in a hurry and there’s only one place to go, only one of Dylan’s properties I haven’t yet sold.” He looked deeply regretful. “We must go to Nigeria.”
“To Abeokuta.” My voice was flat. We were about to fly to the estate where I’d spent the worst two years of my life. The source of every bad memory, every nightmare and every single fear I’d ever had. The place where I’d been a captive, afraid and alone. I was going back to the place where I’d been repeatedly raped, beaten, punched, hurt.
“Yes.” His grip on my hand tightened. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Ah well,” I kept my voice light. “It’ll help with the nightmares, I guess. Will you excuse me?” I rose and detached my fingers from his. “I just need to be alone for a bit.”
***
He found me in
It was indeed. “George,” Alexander greeted him cordially. “Good to see you. Sorry about the mess.”
I cracked up. Partly out of nervous tension, but partly because the blandly voiced words were so surreal in the situation. Alexander shot me an amused look before turning back to George. “You know Jean-Luc and Pavel, of course. And this is my girlfriend Ellie.”
Whoa . Girlfriend? I looked up, startled. Alexander’s eyes were on me, watching my reaction. As was Jean-Luc. Way to put me on the spot, Alexander.
Except I wasn’t feeling put on the spot. Muted though it was by the events of the day, the emotion that coursed through my veins was joy.
I cursed Lucien under my breath. Damn him. I wanted to savour this moment, untroubled by thoughts of assassination attempts and leaks in Alexander’s organization. I just wanted to lean back and close my eyes and play back the sound of his voice saying those words, over and over, till it sank in. This is my girlfriend Ellie.
“Hi,” I shook George’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Did you find anything useful on my laptop?”
The answer to that question was maybe . George launched into a long explanation, but the gist of it was that most hackers didn’t hack into every single database out there. Mary had been able to pull from a variety of information sources, which meant that she would have had to work with other people. Money would have exchanged hands and when money was involved, there was always a trail somewhere. George was going to start following that trail, but it would take time.
“How long?” Alexander asked.
“A few days,” George responded. “Maybe a week. It’s Christmas break. Even hackers celebrate the holidays. Things are slower and people will take longer to respond to my queries.”
Alexander nodded, exchanging a tense glance with Jean-Luc. When George had left, he turned to me. “Ellie, can I talk to you in private? Jean-Luc, Pavel, would you excuse the two of us for a moment, please?”
The two of them left the room. “What’s the matter?” I asked as soon as we were alone. For some reason, when Alexander had said he wanted to talk to me, I had a flashback of being in the principal’s office.
“You look worried.” His hand caressed my cheek. “I thought I should tell you this when we were alone, so you could process the news without an audience.”
“Tell me what?” I asked. I linked my hand in his, needing to feel his warmth. I didn’t have a good feeling about what he was going to say.
“Paris isn’t safe,” he said. “My movements here are too public and until George succeeds in locating Bectell, we are at risk here.” He grimaced. “We need to go somewhere fortified.”
I shut my eyes. I had an inkling of what he was going to say next.
“I don’t own fortified estates, Ellie. I’ve always operated behind the scenes. I couldn’t have Dylan find out what I was working on until I was ready to finally put him away for good, and I couldn’t afford to expose the people I cared about to undue danger. But now, we have to evacuate in a hurry and there’s only one place to go, only one of Dylan’s properties I haven’t yet sold.” He looked deeply regretful. “We must go to Nigeria.”
“To Abeokuta.” My voice was flat. We were about to fly to the estate where I’d spent the worst two years of my life. The source of every bad memory, every nightmare and every single fear I’d ever had. The place where I’d been a captive, afraid and alone. I was going back to the place where I’d been repeatedly raped, beaten, punched, hurt.
“Yes.” His grip on my hand tightened. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Ah well,” I kept my voice light. “It’ll help with the nightmares, I guess. Will you excuse me?” I rose and detached my fingers from his. “I just need to be alone for a bit.”
***
He found me in
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