The Despirate deal

mber's message still burning on her screen: "You

a cruel echo. She had forwarded it to Adrian

ng wasn

anything involving her safety. Even if he'd been mid-fli

damp as she red

cem

ai

The assistant picked

Are you

e from an unknown number. It said I'm being watched.

and the legal team. Let me try him again. In the meantime, I'll ale

d hard, her m

he called

he told her

ed? What if the message wasn

of the room, forcing h

drian's rival-Crane-had declared war on Blackwood

s dan

-

led to say Adrian's personal security gu

e was tall, in his early forties, and wore a bulletproof vest under his black w

threat?" he as

ed him th

, no traceable metadata. Whoever sent

could b

tricia. Or someo

hitched. "What

llance. From now on, someone from the team will st

nod

urned with somethi

as g

ed her... she couldn't shake the feeling

-

up in the large bed, r

ssed, but the si

g lighthearted on TV. She t

d to hear

after midnight,

ri

stantly. "Where

My phone died, and then we were pulled into emergenc

l sooner?" she whis

rry, Lena. I never meant t

watching me. They sent that mes

n this coming. Crane's playing dirtier than ever. He's

lls apart," she said. "Maybe this w

"You're not the problem, Lena. You're t

tened. "Adrian.

omorrow night. Screw Geneva. I

omi

wear

-

le Blake stood discreetly nearby. True to his word, he had set up three new surveillance camer

ciated th

t like a prisoner

from her phone s

er me

de her bloo

But your husband is hiding something too. Wou

hands t

ch

's ex-

'd never fully explained. The name he

ed hard and

ou? What are yo

came sec

hel's accident. Ask him what reall

her heart beating i

r Crane. That was what Adrian had told

fferent truth hidi

" Blake asked, sensi

phone screen. "Y

eded a

erson could gi

-

stepped inside, she ran into his arms, clinging to him like a lifeli

he murmured ag

g his face. "You promised

slightly. "

che

ed. "Where is t

nother m

aled sharp

. "That something happened the night Rachel v

retched be

ell me everythin

She was caught embezzling funds from one of my non-profit accounts. I confronted her, and she ran. Two d

ever t

usted her with everything. And in the end, she not onl

y. "So you don't kn

t of me does

she said. "And they're us

e just made a mistake. Because now I will fin

r heart was still caugh

t, Rachel was no longer ju

s a wa

e was determined to