Page 51 of A Moment Never Forgotten
Lambert considered for a moment then added, “Yes. Put a rush contract out for Berit Barker. She will be at the Christmas party tonight, if anyone is willing to move on the contract immediately. Bonus if they do it tonight. I need to get that bitch out of the way.”
“I agree. She spent most of the morning digging around the personnel files, including yours.” Smugly he added, “She didn’t find anything.”
“Excellent. Everything is set for deletion on Sunday?” Lambert questioned.
“At one minute past midnight. We’ll be long gone by then.” The smile in his voice was evident. “I’ll see you in Rio New Year’s Day.”
“No, we’ll see you tonight at the party. Be sure to be there.” Lambert demanded. “We must keep up appearances.”
“You know how much I hate fucking parties, but I’ll be there.” Dwayne was loyal and followed instructions precisely. He’d be needed under the new order.
Lambert chuckled. “You don’t hate parties. You hate people.” He ended the call. His friend would rather sit in his office plowing through bags of potato chips, adding to his already three-hundred-pound body, than talk to a real person. Lambert had bought his friend his first sexual experience when they were freshmen. Thankfully, there were still American whores who would do anything for money, including Dwayne.
Checking his watch, he wondered if he had time to make one more trip to the club. He’d miss Mistress Tigress. At least for a little while. He wondered if he would like living in the White House. He would do his duty with his multiple wives, implanting them with babies, but she would service hisunusualproclivities. Yes. He liked that plan.
He picked up the secure phone. “Sydney, has Matthew Saint Clare given up the location of the gold yet?”
“Joseph, I’m sorry, but Saint Clare hasn’t been cooperating. He hasn’t even shown up, and I’ve done everything I can to get him into my office,” the psychiatrist whined. “With his pregnant wife on bed rest, he refuses to come in. I need several hours, maybe even days.”
Lambert was ready to explode. He was to leave the country within days, with the gold! He knew his uncle was fond of him, but he wasn’t a fool. Nassar al-Jamil needed him. If he didn’t have the gold though, he’d be killed. “Listen, you little fucking pin-dick. If you want to live long enough to fuck all those little girls you’ve been dreaming of, gather everything you need to remove the memory cap. Someone will meet you out front in twenty minutes. If I don’t have the location of that gold by midnight, Allah will judge you before morning.” He slammed the phone down.
Fuck. None of his plans were coming together. They weren’t falling apart, just not melding. There was still time.
His next phone call was to local assets. Not only were they faithful to the caliphate, but he also paid them well.
Thank goodness the club was close. He needed some stress release. Then he had to go to that damned holiday office party. Berit Barker would be there. Fuck the other contracts on her, he’d take care of her himself. Snatching the vile from his desk drawer, he glanced around his office one last time. Allah had been good to him. With a duffel bag filled with cash in many currencies and passports in multiple names, Joseph Lambert left his office…forever.
Chapter Eighteen
As Micah pulled the SUV into the driveway at the Saint Clare’s house, the front door flew open, framing Elizabeth. She shouldn’t have gotten out of bed just to greet him. He would gently scold her, but he, too, was anxious to spend the holidays with all their friends.
As he stepped out of the car, two men appeared out of seemingly nowhere, armed to the teeth. Micah rolled to the balls of his feet and reached for his weapon.
“This is Captain Micah Reid,” Elizabeth called from the door. “He’s expected.”
Wordlessly, the men blended back into the shadows.
Suitcase in hand, Micah strode across the porch, ready to hug one of his oldest friends. As he drew closer, he could see and feel the tension vibrate from her.
He dropped his suitcase and wrapped her in his arms. “What’s the matter? What happened?”
“Matthew.” She was barely holding her shit together. “He called and said he was on his way home. That was hours ago.” Her voice broke and the tears began to fall.
“Let’s get out of the cold. There’s no reason for us to stand here on the porch.” With his arm around Elizabeth, he grabbed his bag with his free hand and guided her inside. He glanced toward the family room and saw Liza and Austin playing with toys while an animated Christmas movie blared on the flat screen.
He tossed his jacket over a chair. He’d take care of it later. Elizabeth needed him now. She went directly to the couch and put her feet up.Good girl.
“From the beginning, please,” Micah ordered.
“Matthew said he’d been called into Director Hennel’s office this morning.” She gave him a hard look. “Berit was there.”
Hearing her name made his heart hurt. He knew he’d treated her badly Sunday night, but she’d betrayed him. He’d been spinning after learning that Matthew was Mason, and then she admitted that she’d been sent to spy on them. He thought Berit was different. The hardest part was that he’d already developed feelings for her. He enjoyed being around her, talking with her, not to mention the outstanding sex. Holy fuck, sex with her was unlike any other woman.
“Let me guess, she’d already told Matthew’s boss everything.” He didn’t try to hide the disgust in his voice. Another betrayal.
“She did, but Matthew was good with it. He sounded excited because Director Hennel is going to help.” Elizabeth took his hand in both of hers. “Berit is helping too. This morning, her boss, Joseph Lambert, ordered her to kill me.”
“What the fuck?” Micah jerked back to face her. “Berit is going to try to kill you?” Suddenly, the outside guards made sense.
