Page 74 of Locked Down

“Sorry, but I need you to focus on what I’m telling you, Invicta.”Archer leaned forward.

“I…sorry. It was just a shock. That’s not what I had…anticipated. My uncle has made a few comments over the years, saying it was in hard shape and it would take a lot to rebuild it. I thought that was probably true so I didn’t bother checking.”

“Your uncle is a bastard,”Archer said bluntly.“A bastard who only thinks of himself.”

She was going to defend him but suddenly it hit her; she agreed with Archer Gray. God only knew she’d seen enough examples of his reprehensible behavior during her time working for him. Even before that.

Yeah, she was done defending him.“So what is it you want to tell me?”

Archer held her gaze.“When your uncle had you write a will designating him as the beneficiary, he knew the true value of the corporation. Probably to the penny. He checks up on it monthly according to your father. I’ve spoken to him. He’s very excited about your birthday by the way.”

That was a gut punch. She didn’t know what to say.“Wait, why would he tell you anything?”

“Because, Invicta, your father has never liked your uncle and has always feared for you being under his care. He agreed to go along with boarding school and university but hated that you went to work for your uncle. He’s been worried about you for a long time.”

Great. Now she felt even worse.

“But the real point here is this”—he made sure he held her gaze again—“your uncle commissioned a bomb and we believe he plans on detonating it this evening. He will, of course, be fine, but we believe he is planning that you will not survive the blast. He will announce he is running with the President as Vice President and your death will not only give him great sympathy in the public’s mind, but it will furnish him with all the money he will ever need. Your death is a win-win for him.”

Vic was numb, like seriously out-of-body numb. She understood the words Archer was saying but she just couldn’t seem to process the meaning. She blinked rapidly.“I’m sorry. Are you telling me that Austin is planning to kill me using a bomb? Here? Tonight?”

“Yes,”Archer agreed.

She turned to Hawk. He seemed quite reasonable. Surely, he would call Archer on this.

Vic’s heart stuttered when he also nodded.“Knowing all of the details of what’s going on, I’m afraid I agree with Archer.”

“But a bomb? That would kill lots of people. There’s no way he would do that.”

“Not even to become Vice President?”Archer asked.

Vic stopped. Dread filled her veins with ice and she shivered.

He was right. Her uncle was ambitious as hell. She thought back to when she’d been shot at and how he’d reveled at being the center of attention. How he made her go out to brunch the next day. This party was really about his announcement and he’d even ditched Marilee until he needed her. The son of a bitch would stop at nothing to become VP. Which meant he needed money. She knew money was tight at the moment. Hadn’t he said as much? This would fix all his problems.

She squared her shoulders.“How do we stop him?”she asked in a quiet voice.

Hawk spoke.“First, we rewrite your will. Once that’s done, we can tell him and hopefully that will dissuade him.”

Archer added,“Ryker and many others are downstairs now trying to find the bomb. We will clear the room before the deadline but we’re hoping to find the bomb before that.”

“Deadline?”

“Invicta, you inherit the solar farm at one second after midnight. He won’t do anything before that. That is our deadline.”

She glanced at her phone screen. Not long now. Her screen was filled with texts.“Sorry, my uncle and Marilee are wondering where I am.”

“Tell them you were feeling overwhelmed, and you went outside for a breather. You’ll be back in a few minutes,”Hawk suggested.

“Sure.”Vic typed but she was shocked her fingers moved and could form words. This was all so crazy. She couldn’t process it now. She decided not to try.

“Now,”Hawk pulled out the chair beside her and flipped open his laptop.“Let’s do a quick revision of your will. I would suggest doing a much more in depth version once things have settled down, but this will suit for now.”

Vic nodded. She would do something later for sure, but she already had an idea of two things she wanted to do now. It seemed the least she could do since it was her fault her uncle wanted to blow up half of Washington.

THIRTY-TWO

Ryker noted movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Floyd Armstrong ushering Cal Wallingford through a door in the corner of the ballroom. Armstrong closed the door again and then seemed to be searching the room for someone. He was struggling because he was moving through the huge crowd and occasionally standing on his tiptoes.

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