Page 84 of Scarlet Angel

“Via mobile?” There’s disgust in his tone.

“He tracked me to the Savoy. That night you approached me in the bar, he was there.”

“And?”

“After you approached, he disappeared. The agreement was he wouldn’t approach me when I was with anyone.”

“Right.” He waves the mobile back and forth.

“I reached out today. Figured he’d be worried. I didn’t want him sending anyone to rescue me.”

“You think they’d do that?” His eyebrows lift, and I can’t tell if he’s amused or dismayed.

“I’m an asset.”

“A gold coin is an asset.”

“You don’t think?—”

“There’s nothing to think. I’ll verify you’re talking to who you think you’re talking to, and then we’ll go from there.”

“Are you mad?”

He tugs at his chin, considering, and huffs. “Annoyed. Why would you keep that from me?”

“Wasn’t sure how to tell you.”

“How about, ‘Hey, Nick, by the way, before you came along, this chub asked me to give him the nitty-gritty on the drug smuggling business, and now he’s sniffing my tracks, hoping he doesn’t lose his source. Think I should tell him I’ve gone and shot the load with Interpol and I’m no longer nearly as valuable of an asset?’”

“I should’ve trusted you.”

“What was your plan? Using the chub as a backup should things go awry?”

“Wouldn’t you have a backup?”

He narrows his eyes. “Aye, I would. But let’s circle back to the trust bit.”

“You’re right. I should’ve told you.”

“Can’t blame you, I suppose. I don’t trust anyone.”

“Not even me?”Why would he?

“Did you not just see me send off the request to my team?” My gaze falls. “Truthfully, I had an idea what was going on.”

“You did?”

“You were the perfect target. The intelligence folks spend their days searching for people just like you. Folks who’ve been slighted but maintain a presence in whatever—a government, a business, anything that might have information of value. Was that the only one who approached you?”

“No. Someone from Italy did, too.”

“You’re an asset for?—”

“No. I didn’t trust him. Seemed too likely it was a setup. My uncle feeling me out to see if he could trust me.”

“Likely it was.” He yawns. “But you trusted me. Why’s that?”

“I trusted we had a common goal.”

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