Shroud of Concealment (Jake Dillon Adventure Thriller Series) by Andrew Towning Page A

thing stinks of the gutters of Delhi, but doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the real issue.”
    “But, Jake, this is all supposition. You don’t have any firm evidence, and this man Bharat could just be a coincidence. After all, how could Charlie Hart know that you were going to be in that pub at that time today?”
    Dillon smiled wryly. “Hart would know that. In fact, Hart would know quite a lot about me by now. Get rid of them, Issy; I’m dead serious.”
    “I know you are and I will. But it does seem to be a little ridiculous. Especially as they both know where I work.”
    “You’re a junior partner, take some holiday. Surely you can tell your office that you’re going to be away for a few days? Delegate your workload to another partner. I’m sure that someone would help you out.”
    “It’s not that easy. If I pass my workload to someone else it’s to the detriment to their own work. Everything has a knock-on effect and I just can’t do that, Jake. I must go in.”
    Dillon shook his head; his eyes never left the road.
    “I must insist, Issy, that you do take some time off. Work from home if you have to. If I have to lock you up in a room with no windows to make sure that you don’t go to work, then that is what will happen. You call Lihiri from your mobile phone, and don’t forget to withhold the number. Tell him that you can’t undertake anymore work for them. But that you’ll obviously finish off everything to date after which they’ll have to find another firm.”
    “And what reason do I give him for this sudden turnaround?”
    “Tell him the truth, of course. That you feel compromised by a conflict of interest.” He sighed heavily. “This damned traffic is doing my bloody head in.”
    Issy gazed at him.
    “Jake, you’re being unreasonable and far too controlling. You, more than anyone else, should know that I’m quite able to make my own decisions. What’s the point? We can’t just disappear off the radar.”
    “I’m sorry if you see it like that, Issy. But disappear is exactly what we’re going to do. Because as it stands right now, every time you or I make a cup of coffee they know about it. Hart has managed to be one step ahead every time. So I’ve arranged for two of our junior field agents to stay in the apartment, and I’ll be staying at one of the firm’s apartments. Can you stay with your friend Grace what’s-her-name?”
    Issy started to dial her friend’s number, holding the mobile phone with a mixture of anger and fear. She resented her life being disorganised like this. She stared at Dillon again, trying to break his concentration.
    “It’s no good looking at me like that, you know? Hart is going to come after me one way or another. And if he can’t get at me he’ll simply get at you. Believe me.”
    “But what about my clothes? I’ve got nothing with me.”
    “She’s got a broadband connection, hasn’t she?
    “Yes, I think so.”
    “Well then use your laptop and spend your time buying a new wardrobe on line. Think of it as compensation, you can use my credit card to buy everything.”
    Dillon glanced sideward, and gave her a boyish grin.
    “How long will this imprisonment last and how do I contact you?”
    “As long as it takes for me to sort this mess out. You don’t contact me. I’ll contact you by email, and you must promise not to use your mobile phone. You’re safer if you keep it switched off, just in case they’re running any GPS triangulation software. And don’t worry.”
    She wanted to say she wished he had a normal nine-to-five job, but if he had she doubted she would be sitting beside him now; he wouldn’t be the same person. But she would never get used to moments like these and they terrified her.
    “Jake, is it really so bad?”
    “I’m afraid it is.”
    For a split second, he turned to face her and she saw his expression.
    “It is,” he repeated.
    More than his grim expression, it was the thought of what might happen that