Page 63 of Stripped

Chapter 30

Pim followed the men into the tall stone house and down a hallway. Wraith kept his hand on her lower back, probably fearful she would flee at the first possibility. She should be used to meeting strange men at this point, but her heart rate increased, the closer they got. She was obviously being taken to their leader. Gabriel held the door open for them as they entered. The room was warm, a fire burned in the fireplace, reflections dancing off the richly polished wood walls. A handsome man in his sixties sat in one of the leather armchairs. He stood as they came inside. "Lads, you're not needed. I'll speak with you in the morning. Gabriel, be sure a room is prepared for her."

"Yes, sir."

Wraith put his hand on her shoulder. "I told Pim I would stay with her."

The man smiled. "I think she'll be fine on her own. And for a child, she managed to outwit all of you. She can handle a conversation with me."

Pim looked over her shoulder at Wraith and glared. "Child?"

"I'll wait for you outside in the foyer."

"That won't be necessary," the colonel said. "I'll make sure she gets to her room."

Wraith gave her shoulder a squeeze before leaving with the other men. She stood there, looking at the man. He was dressed in gray slacks, white shirt and a navy sweater. The sweater brought out the deep blue in his eyes. "Ms. McNeil, let me introduce myself. My name is Alexander McKay." He held out his hand, smiling.

She put her bag down and took it, keeping her grip firm as she shook it. Child? She had been called a lot of things but never that."Primrose McNeil, but you already know that."

"Please, have a seat." He motioned to one of the armchairs by the fire.

"I think I'll stand." She moved closer to the fire; the sweater she wore was thin and the tower house was cold.

His smile tightened. She was sure he was used to people obeying him, but she wouldn't give him the pleasure. He was the enemy, no better than Sokolov. "Would you like a drink? Sherry or brandy, perhaps?"

"Alcohol for a child?"

"I meant no offense, and I think you are an intelligent young lady, not a child. It was a dig at the lads, not you."

"Whiskey's fine." She spied his unfinished glass on the small end table by his chair.

"Of course." He poured her a glass from a crystal decanter and handed it to her, picking up his own. "Slange," he said.

She raised hers. "Slange," she repeated. "The Macallan eighteen years. Ginger, vanilla and hints of cinnamon."

"Clever," Alex said. "You know whiskey."

"I know good whiskey."

"Your performance made the news. An intense and brilliant rendition of the swans, I believe they called it."

She wasn't sure why they were engaging in small talk, but he seemed to be moving cautiously with her. "Are you going to kill me, like you did my grandfather, after I give you the information you want?" she asked, getting to the point of the matter.

"We didn't kill your grandfather."

"But you were going to. Wraith was going to."

"Primrose. Will you please sit for a moment, lass?"

She sat down on the edge of the chair. "It's Pim. No one calls me Primrose."

He scooted his chair closer until their knees were practically touching. His blue eyes searched her face and she saw something close to empathy in their depths. "Pim. I think we find ourselves in uncharted territory." There was something about him that nagged at her. "I'm hoping we can find some common ground."

"I beg to differ, Mr. McKay. Your organization kills people. There is no common ground."

"Aye, it's true we do eliminate some very bad people, but that's just one part of what we do."

She stiffened, clenching her jaw. He sat forward, invading her personal space. She had nowhere to go. "I know you don't want to hear what I have to say, and it will be painful, but you deserve the truth." He looked her in the eyes as he spoke. "Your grandfather was the leader of an organized crime gang called the Tartan Mafia. He ran the entire west coast operation of opioid trafficking, laundering his dirty money through his various businesses, and loaning money to people who could never repay him, so he would control them. He was using children and the mentally disabled to ply his drugs. He has cost thousands of people their lives. We know about Natasha, and now we believe he was also caught up in the sex trafficking of young girls."

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