Page 24 of The Duke

Trane hurried beside her, his face tight. He watched over their heads and frowned.

Once the limo doors closed, the car moved away, down several streets. It stooped, Lucan stepped in and it continued. “Nice friends.” He said to her.

Her heart stuttered. “What?”

“Your friends. Real friendly.”

“EcoFresh?”

“Yes, but let’s drop the façade. We all know they are the Environs, and even though this is normal from them, I didn’t think with you involved they would revert to their typical tactics.”

She couldn’t believe it. “No. Lucan. EcoFresh are not, the Environs. These guys are fresh out of college, excited to make a difference…” Her voice trailed off watching Lucan’s expression. She gasped. “I’ve been working with the Environs?” She felt dizzy, her breathing picked up and as the car began to spin, she worried she would pass out.

“Come Phina, surely you knew who you were working with.” Trane’s disapproving voice pinched at her chest, tightening inside.

She shook her head. “What happened?” Her voice shook, but not as badly as she felt. At least she was keeping it together.

“A bomb. At the facility.”

Trane groaned.

“How bad is the damage?” She would donate to recover it. She felt sick.

Lucan’s face intense, he leaned forward. “Bad enough.”

“And the summit? Can we move forward?” The despair in Trane’s voice cut Phina at her center.

Lucan frowned. “That’s the question. We have to move locations, keep it secret. Closed doors.” His eyes flicked to Phina. “Probably best discussed without present company included.”

She gasped but said nothing. She didn’t blame them. “If you knew EcoFresh were these terrorists, why didn’t you approach me about it?”

“We didn’t know how entrenched you were with them. And we didn’t want you to go into hiding.” Lucan crossed his leg. “I knew you weren’t totally aware of their potential, listening to you talk at the café. It was obvious no matter what you knew them to be, you were expecting peaceful demonstrations.”

“So you spied on me instead?” She was furious, but she brushed her anger aside. She had to remind Lucan what she knew. “They have plans along the parade routes. All those people.” She felt sick, and tears streamed down her face. “What can I do?”

“Nothing.” Trane’s eyes were cold, his body stiff. “Don’t. Do. Anything.”

The limo pulled in front of a different hotel. A team surrounded the door and Lucan said, “Phina, this is where you get off. Your belongings will be moved. Stay in your room until we give you the all-clear.”

She looked from one to the other. “I’m sorry. You know I would never want this. I am so sorry.”

Lucan nodded. Trane looked away.

She stepped out of the car and was rushed into the hotel. She thought her heart would break from her lost trust within the Valdez family, in particular from the closed off expression on Trane’s face.

But in the stillness of her room, her heart quieted and her fingers flew across her keyboard. “Trane, the future of the world’s resources is in your hands.”

Chapter 14

Trane stared out the window in their limo ride to their secured location. Lucan wisely held his tongue. The injustice of it all struck him the hardest. He was the only one who was trying, the leader in environmental protection, had dedicated his life to preserving the Mediterranean. And yet he was the one attacked.

The summit drew attention. It was the perfect location to make a point. He understood that. But he couldn’t stop to make sense of the rushing feelings that raced through him. Anger. He clenched his fists. “How close are we to taking the Environs down?” His voice sounded calm, but Lucan’s eyes responded with the same fire that Trane felt.

“A matter of hours.” He uncrossed his leg. “One benefit from Seraphina being involved and the reason we didn’t inform her of all that we knew, was that through her we were able to get a jump start in tracking their movement.” He checked his phone. “Don’t worry, brother. They don’t have long to last on this earth.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“I just mean, their entire structure will be take down, the lead members put on international trial, and they will be made an example of.”

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