Page 76 of Stuart Woods' Golden Hour

“What is it?”

“I asked, but she said she’ll only pass it on in person. She’s worried about the mole.”

“Rightfully,” Teddy said.

“I can’t argue with that.”

“Has Lance made any progress on that front?”

“If he has, he hasn’t told me.”

“So, standard Lance behavior.”

“You said it, not me.”

“Who’s the agent?” Teddy asked.

“Danielle Verde.”

Teddy’s memory of Danielle was that she was a tough-as-nails operative, who did her job well.

“I’ll meet with her,” Teddy said.

“I was hoping you’d say that. She’s currently in Romania and needs to be careful about moving around. I would think she could be in Italy by tomorrow.”

“Not Italy, Budapest. I’ll be there in the morning.”

“That should be even easier.”

“Have her leave word with Billy Barnett. He’ll be staying at the Ritz-Carlton.”

“I’ll contact Danielle and send her your way,” Rick said and hung up.

From the hotel hallway came the sounds of someone pounding on a door. Not to Mark’s suite, but somewhere close by.

After a moment, a stern male voice began yelling, “Mr. Barnett! Open this door right now!”

Teddy headed to the door of his room, ready to give whoever it was a piece of his mind.

“Bianca, I know you’re in there!”

Teddy stopped in his tracks. The voice was that of Bianca’s ex-husband, Eduardo. Teddy went into his bedroom, where he used his cell phone to call Bianca’s room.

“Pronto,”she answered.

Making the appropriate adjustments to his voice, Teddy said, “Bianca, it’s Billy Barnett.”

“Billy! I was hoping you’d call. Are you in your room now? I can be there in minutes.”

“I’m afraid I won’t be coming back to the hotel. Something’s come up, and I’ve had to go out of town. But you’re probably going to want to come up to my room anyway.”

“If you are not there, why would I go?”

“I received a call from Mark Weldon. Apparently, Eduardo is outside my door, demanding you come out and talk to him.”

“Oddio!I am so sorry. I will take care of the problem.”

“Thank you, Bianca. I appreciate it.”

---