Page 79 of Arrogant Bastard

She smiles at Faith. “All in good time, dear,” she replies in a perfect imitation of Jessica Fletcher.

“So Galveston may or may not still be in New York City. Are they planning something? What about Raj Phillips?” I demand.

Her brown eyes gleam before she waves my questions away. “Raj has been dealt with. He’s no longer a problem. Galveston is our main concern now.”

“Why does he want…Why is he looking for me?” Faith asks.

Fionnella’s gaze is almost sympathetic. Except the steely directness is hard to ignore. “The guy you killed in Cairo was a sleazebag. But he also had an unholy trinity thing going for him that made him a key player in Galveston’s operation.”

“Who was he?” Faith asks.

“He was the shipping minister. He was also Galveston’s distant uncle through his mother’s side—don’t ask me to give you a genealogy lesson. And he was a minor royal of some sort. Word got out about where and how he died. Caused all sorts of ripples in all sorts of circles.”

I scrub my fingers through my hair. “Shit.”

She nods at me. “Yes, they weren’t very happy with his nephew Paul. But because of his connections, he managed to avoid a trial and imprisonment, but they weren’t about to let him go scot-free. Galveston’s been off the radar because he spent a little time under ‘house arrest.’” She makes quote signs with a grin. “They tried to release him last year, but we pulled a few strings to extend his stay until his father stepped in with a bigger sweetener than we could afford.”

“So the senator is still involved, despite knowing what went down in Cairo?” I ask.

“Yes, up to his eyeballs.”

“Then why haven’t you arrested him? Why didn’t you arrest Galveston the moment he stepped foot back in the US?” I demand.

“It’s not that simple. If it were, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Bullshit. He tried to kill her.” I nod at Faith. “Have him charged with attempted murder.”

Fionnella’s smile dims, and she all but rolls her eyes at me. “Don’t be naïve. Exposure like that won’t be sanctioned by anyone at the agency.”

“Ex-agency. I…we don’t work for them anymore,” I tell her.

Fionnella raises her eyebrows. “Right. I heard the rumors to that effect, but let’s leave that for now. Faith, you can’t just walk away. There are protocols you need to go through. The uncoupling doesn’t happen just because you wish it.”

“I’ll sign whatever they want. I was there for less than five minutes anyway,” Faith says.

Fionnella remains silent for a long moment. “But you made an impact, in a good way. Before Cairo anyway. Are you sure you—?”

“She’s sure. We’re both sure,” I interject. “Can we get back to Galveston?”

“Sure. You want to know why we can’t just scoop him up? Because we still don’t know the intricacies of his operation. And we’ve confirmed that it’s still going on. It’s a much smaller operation than it was before now that Black and Phillips are out of the way, and thanks to what you did in Cairo. But it’s only a matter of time before Galveston expands again. Especially now that we’re sure that he has—” She pauses as the buzzer on the door sounds, and stares at me with a question in her eyes.

My apprehension ramps higher. Mitch or Linc wouldn’t interrupt unless it was important. As in life-or-death important.

Faith jerks forward in her seat too. “Killian…”

I lean down and brush a kiss on her forehead. “It’s okay, baby.”

Fionnella’s gaze shifts from Faith to me. “For what it’s worth, your security is impressive. Whoever’s out there will have a tough time entering if they’re not on your approved list.”

Faith glares at her. “Everything’s a laugh riot to you, isn’t it?”

Fionnella smiles serenely back. “No, not everything,” she murmurs softly.

I puzzle over the odd note in her voice as I walk out of the living room and head to the door. I push a button to display the camera’s view outside. It’s Linc.

I hit the intercom. “Everything okay?”

He holds up a small envelope to the camera. “This was just delivered for you downstairs. We’ve checked it out. It’s a thumb drive with no incendiary components. But it’s encrypted, so we don’t know what’s on it.”

---