Page 45 of Bastard
My heart skips a beat. “So, not diamonds.”
“No. They’re mining and selling uranium.”
“Uranium?”
“A component found in nuclear weapons. The party is for prospective buyers. You and I will be part of a select group.”
“Now I wish it were diamonds.”
“Fuck, so do I. Or guns. Or drugs, like we previously suspected. Your brother discovered the truth back in Mexico City. One of my men followed the uranium shipment to Cork. We eliminated the distribution channel there and traced the source of the mine to South Africa.”
“But you didn’t recruit Diego for this job?”
“No.”
“Or any of your other operatives?
“No.”
“You came to Africa to handle things yourself?”
“That’s correct.”
Because I’m in Africa? He’s been spying on me. He knew where I was living.
“You must trust me to share such classified information.”
“I’m nobody’s fool, Luciana.”
I freeze. “What?”
“You heard me. If I had lingering doubts about your loyalty, you squelched them.”
“You heard? Do you have a listening device planted in the gym?”
His smug smile fades. “Microphones built into cameras. Several are hidden around the yacht.” With elbows on the table, he leans forward. “Nothing gets by me.”
Cameras? I curse beneath my breath. He heard ... saw ... everything.
“You’ll learn to knock a man twice your size off his feet or you can forget South Africa and you can forget Nmimpi. Your brother will be called to escort you home.”
He stands.
I sit, bracing myself for him asking me about those kisses.
Instead, he surprises me once again.
“I’m a fool, Luciana. But only when it comes to you.”
14
“Where’s Niko?”
“Family emergency,” the stranger dressed in combat gear and standing near the mat inside the gym informs me. “I’ll be taking care of business from this point onward.”
I scowl at the man and then at the person responsible for replacing Niko with this drill sergeant. Hayden’s close by and pounding a boxing bag like he’s preparing for a championship title.
“Don’t dally. We’ve got work to do.”
