She drew in a breath, regained her composure. “Then we’ll have to replace those funds somehow. I leave it up to you to figure that out.” She injected an icy undertone of threat into her words.
She could see he caught it. “Yes, ma’am. He looked down at his feet. There’s something else.”
“What is it?”
“Before I got the call, I received an express package.”
“What was it?”
“A listening device. There was a scribbled note stating it was found in an air vent where a meeting of some of our men took place.”
“What does that mean?”
“There was a serial number on the device. I traced it. Apparently, the device was part of the equipment that was recently pilfered.”
“Do you mean the equipment taken by Simon Sloan a few weeks ago?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The corners of his mouth tightened.
She raised her chin and drew in air, as her back stiffened. “Sloan was involved in the destruction of our operation in Buenos Aires?”
“We believe so.”
She put her hand to her head, her mind reeling. “How can that be? Sloan is supposed to be dead. You told me you sent your best man to get rid of him.”
He looked down at the floor and rocked back and forth again. “My man is in a hospital in Buenos Aires recovering from a gunshot wound.”
Now her hand went to her throat. “What? How did that happen?”
“We’re not sure, ma’am.”
“Not sure? You’re not sure?” She was screaming at him now.
Was her empire falling apart before it even started? This couldn’t be. She had to get control. Of herself. Of her operation. A firm hand, her uncle had always told her. This needed a firm hand.
“You have to find Sloan and kill him.”
“We will.”
“Get someone else to do the job.”
Now his head snapped up with an air of defiance. “Agent Breaker is the best one to do it. He knows Sloan.”
She didn’t like his tone. “You know Sloan, too, so you’ve said.”
“We trained together in Patagonia ten years ago. The three of us, with some others.”
“So as I just said, you know Sloan. Why don’t you do the job?”
She watched his jaw tense. “I’m an administrator. I don’t have the field training Breaker has. He’s the right man. It won’t take him long to recover.”
Forcing in air, she turned to stare out the window. He was right. This was just a temporary set back. So Sloan had taken out an operation. There were so many more left.
She’d simply demand an increase in revenue across the board to make up for it.
“All right. I’ll let you make that decision. But I’m warning you, the next time you come to report to me, Simon Sloan had better be dead.”
“You can rest assured that will be the case.”
And with that, she dismissed him and waited until he got into his car and drove away.
Then she turned and went upstairs.
Her aide straightened and grew wide-eyed when she appeared in the bedroom door.
“I’ve arranged your things as you like, ma’am.”
“Thank you, Davies.” Slowly she closed the door and locked it behind her.
He was a good looking young man. Early twenties. Bright, ambitious, pliable. He’d been in his Washington position about two years now.
He cleared his throat. “I was thinking I might go into town for some groceries.”
“The kitchen staff will handle that tomorrow.”
“Well, then. If you don’t need anything else.” He took a step toward the door.
She blocked him. “You know very well what I need.”
“We—aren’t in the office.”
The usual place she attacked him. “Did you think things would be different here?”
“Please, ma’am.” The look of helplessness on his youthful face filled her with a rush of power.
“Now don’t fuss. Take off your clothes and get on the bed.”
“But I have a girlfriend now.”
“She won’t know.”
“But I—.”
“You do like your position, don’t you, Davies?”
“Of course, I do.”
“You don’t want to end up as a waiter or something, do you?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Then do as I say.”
With a shudder he pulled off his things and laid them neatly over a chair. His tie, his coat and shirt, and finally his slacks.
She watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he tried in vain to avoid her steady gaze. He looked so helpless. Like a frightened little child. Just as she had once been. Now it was her turn to give the commands.
The thought aroused her.
She took off her clothes and tossed them on the floor. She’d make him pick them up when she was done with him.
Greedily she watched him pull down the covers of the bed and lie down.
It was the only way to get satisfaction for what her uncle had done to her. Taking over his empire helped, too. But this was more immediate. And just now it was a perfect way to forget the outrage of what Simon Sloan had done to her.
That cursed agent had better be dead soon.
Thinking of how she’d feel when he was, she climbed on top of her aide and put her hand over his mouth to stifle his cries.
THE END
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Escape from Danger, the first Wesson and Sloan FBI Thriller. I’m working hard on my next book in one of my series now.
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Linsey
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Copyright © 2020 Linsey Lanier
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