Page 19 of Wild Card (The Trident Trilogy 3)

“I need for you to go to Rome and talk to the wife.”

“No.”

“Millie, don’t make me force you.”

“Really?” I say, laughing and gesturing toward the window. “You and what army? I know you saw the protection I have out there.”

“I have a video, Millie,” he says hesitantly. His bottom lip quivers slightly. “It’s of you and Agent Laskin having sex in your hotel room in Pakistan. I would hate for your boyfriend to see it.”

“That’s what you’re going with?” I say, laughing. “You know damn well I didn’t sleep with Alex in Pakistan.”

He smiles slightly. “I said I have video of you having sex with him. I believe you know what that means.”

I shake my head and start toward the limo door. He grabs my arm and tries to pull me back to my seat.

“Get your hand off me or you’re leaving here with a broken arm,” I say calmly as I open the door. I look over my shoulder at him and smile. “You know I can and will break it. Last warning.”

He removes his hand slowly. “Millie, please don’t leave. We need to finish this conversation.”

“I’m not leaving,” I say without looking at him. I poke my head out of the door. “Mason, will you join us, please?”

Mason covers the ten feet between us in one step. I sink back into my seat. Mason looks into the car and gives Paul a long, hard stare before he crawls in and sits next to me—closing the door behind him.

“What do we have here?” Mason says as he puts his hand protectively on my knee.

“The director says he has a video of Alex and me having sex in Pakistan,” I say, smiling up at Mason. “He would like to show it to you.”

Mason sits up straighter and wraps his arm around my shoulder. He’s glaring at Paul. “Is that right? Well, I would like to see that.”

“Millie,” Paul says, slowly looking from Mason to me. “You know what I have.”

“Yes, I do. Mase, the agency’s very talented at making fake videos to blackmail people into talking—insanely talented. They hire actors that look just like the people they’re trying to blackmail.”

“Interesting,” Mason says, nodding his head. “Well, let’s look at it. Frankly, I want to see who you got to play Millie. And let me tell you, her ass better be amazing because Millie’s is the best I’ve ever seen.”

“Aww, baby, thank you,” I say, snuggling into his chest. He kisses the top of my head.

Paul shakes his head. “Let’s forgo the video. He can leave now.”

Mason laughs. “Naw, I just got all comfortable,” he says, pulling me closer to him. “Why don’t you catch me up?”

“The agency thinks Amar Petrovic was working with my uncle’s network—”

“Millie!” Paul instinctively reaches over to stop me. Mason grabs his wrist and twists it almost to the point of breaking. Paul cries out and pulls it back quickly when Mason releases it.

I look from Paul’s shocked face to Mason’s deadly face. “They want to question him, but he’s gone missing. His wife says she’ll only talk to me. They want me to go over to Rome—where Amar and his wife are living now—and try to get her to tell us where he is.”

“Petrovic? The guy we picked up in Sarajevo?” Mason doesn’t take his eyes off Paul.

“Yeah. He called Dad about me when I was a baby and then warned him about Yusef coming after me just before Dad disappeared.”

Mason looks down at me. “Do you think he was working with Sayid?”

“Not a chance.”

“Well, then we’re done here,” Mason says, reaching for the door.

“Not quite,” Paul says, raising his arm, but making sure to keep it far away from Mason. “There’s something else I need to tell Millie about Amar and I think she’d probably like to hear it privately.”

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