Page 91 of Between Love and Honor

“But I keep asking myself, why kill Ronoff?” the secretary continued as if she was trying to outwit the man at a game of backgammon, not life or death. “How does he fit into all of this?”

Sir Rodney remained stoic. There wasn’t a tremor in either hand. Clearly, he was professionally trained.

“I’d rather know how this she fits into the all of this,” Ben tossed out.

“It’s a long and sordid story,” Secretary Lyle replied.

“But I might as well explain while we’re waiting. The she we speak of is Lady Eugenie, Sir Rodney’s very wicked daughter.”

The revelation exposed a slight chink in the guy’s armor. His hands weren’t so steady at the mention of his daughter. Ben hoped the secretary knew what she was doing.

“The British Service and the CIA have an exchange program and Lady Eugenie was assigned to headquarters at Langley. Specifically, to work for the Phoenix.”

The secretary’s tone grew sharper. Ben had an idea where all this was headed. And he didn’t like it. Not one bit. For her part, Quinn was taking it all in as if it were a production at the Kennedy Center.

“Except she wanted more than to just work for the Phoenix, she wanted to seduce him.”

Quinn gasped softly. Sir Rodney’s sigh was more resigned.

“Eugenie has always been impetuous,” he said. “I’ve apologized every way I know how, Sabrina. You have to know Ethan only had eyes for you.”

“Which made your daughter not only impetuous, but dangerous,” the secretary snapped.

“You still can’t blame her for his death,” Sir Rodney exclaimed.

Holy shit.

“The proof is out there and I’ll find it. But let’s get back to the issue at hand, why kill Alexi Ronoff?”

Sir Rodney’s British reserve was slipping. “Because he was the only one who would benefit from the information Eugenie had to sell. With him out of the picture, she’d have to cease this ridiculous nonsense.”

“And by nonsense, you mean the constant threats to my career and reputation?” the secretary clarified.

“Yes!” Sir Rodney glared at Ben. “That was until this dolt decided to reveal his true self. What a stupid risk you took. Now she has something else to hold over Sabrina’s head. Don’t think she won’t sell you out in a heartbeat. If she hasn’t already.”

Ben refused to be cowed by a caricature of a spy wielding a poison umbrella. “And you thought my plan was idiotic,” he blurted out. “This guy is trying to flush out his own daughter with a damn poison umbrella tip!”

“He’s right, Daddy. You do look a tad ridiculous.”

Four heads turned toward the dock where a woman stood holding a Lugar equipped with a silencer. It was aimed directly for the secretary’s jugular.

Double shit!

Several beads of sweat began to form on the back of Ben’s neck. His brain was working overtime to figure a way out of this mess. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Caracas hunkered down behind a Chris-Craft cruising boat. His gun was trained on Sir Rodney. The addition of another weapon made the other agent’s job nearly impossible. The only thing Ben could hope for was that Caracas had called for backup and Adam was somewhere in the dark waiting for a clear shot.

“Eugenie! Don’t do anything rash,” her father ordered.

“You’ve caused enough trouble.”

“I’ve caused trouble?” Eugenie laughed humorlessly. “The troublemaker is this woman. She ruined my life. Destroyed my career. All because her husband preferred a younger, more vibrant woman over a cold-hearted bitch.”

Quinn flinched. Secretary Lyle didn’t so much as bat an eyelash.

“And you.” It was Ben’s turn to flinch when Eugenie aimed her gun at Quinn. “You became the darling of MI6. You were nothing until I made you. Your mother refused to involve you until she was ordered by the Phoenix to do so.”

“Ethan would never have used an untrained operative,” Secretary Lyle insisted. “Especially not one as young as she was.”

“Of course, he wouldn’t. I needed the case solved so I could prove to him I was worthy to stay on the project. So I acted on the Phoenix’s behalf.” She swerved, pointing the barrel of the gun back toward the secretary. “But you had to intercede, didn’t you?”

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