Page 48

Kurt’s stomach threatened to revolt at the fact that he was trying to sell the idea of an immunity deal to this bastard.

But it was perhaps a way of telling the world he was still alive, and of saving Rowena.

And perhaps, even though he hated the idea and hoped to find a way around it, he was beginning to think Gilder was the bigger threat and far more dangerous than this tin-pot dictator.

Hurek tried to look affronted, but intrigue gleamed in his eyes. “I don’t betray my friends.”

“Are they as loyal to you?” Kurt let the question hang in the cold air. These men didn’t have a clue about true loyalty. What they had was a weak cover-your-ass imitation, not a fight-to-the-death determination.

Hurek thrust his plate away with the remnants of the lobster shell strewn everywhere. “You’d broker this deal for me? Immunity for information?”

“You’d have to let Ms. Smith go first.”

A sly kind of amusement glinted in Hurek’s brown eyes. “She must be better in bed than her mother was.”

Kurt froze at the direct reference to Hurek having had sex with Allie Smith. “You and she were intimate?”

Hurek sneered. “She spread her legs often enough. Except for Dougie. Dougie believed they were in love and mooned over her like a little bitch. We decided to prove to him she was just a little slut looking for a payout.”

Hurek looked away. Red tinged his cheeks.

So he didn’t truly believe his own lies. Not even now .

Kurt wanted to leap over the table regardless of the automatic weapon pointed in his direction and punch this guy in the face until his features were unrecognizable. Instead, he picked up his glass of wine and took a small sip. Asked casually. “How did you do that?”

“It wasn’t me. Nolan and Leo”—He’d stopped pretending Kurt didn’t know who he was friends with—“got it into their heads that if Dougie realized she’d slept with one of us then he’d stop pining over her and boot her out.”

His scalp prickled. “One of you seduced her?”

Hurek looked at him scornfully. “Who needs seduction when a girl likes her wine?”

Kurt’s gaze flashed to his glass.

Hurek waved his concerns away. “I have no need to drug you, my friend. We are on the same side it seems.”

The meal Kurt had eaten wanted to crawl up his throat.

“Nolan slipped her something while Dougie was…busy elsewhere. By the time he got back to camp, she was in Nolan’s tent and quite obviously…entertaining all three of us.”

Gang rape was something this man had been participating in for decades, and he’d persuaded himself women were somehow complicit and to blame. It seemed on brand for an animal like Hurek.

“Dougie immediately went off in a sulk for a few days, but we knew he’d get over it.

Allie disappeared. We didn’t know where she’d gone at first. I thought she’d wandered into the jungle in a drunken stupor and been eaten, but it turns out she cleared out before we even woke up—we’d all been pretty wasted.

” He laughed as if excusing their behavior.

“Turns out she ran back to England with her tail between her legs, taking Nolan’s precious watch with her and, interestingly enough, a baby in her belly. ”

“Rowena could be your daughter.” What would the knowledge do to her? She’d been searching for her father but in all likelihood had not been expecting anything like this.

“She’s the right age, but the girl doesn’t look anything like me.” Hurek lifted his wine and took a long swallow. “Who knows how many men Allie Smith fucked back then.”

Even though Kurt wanted to kill the man with his bare hands, he knew Hurek spoke this way as a defense mechanism. Cast the victim as the villain, and you didn’t have to spend emotional energy dealing with your crimes and failings.

Had Hurek been born this way or become twisted over time?

“If you are so disinterested, why test her DNA?”

That gaze narrowed in surprise. “Because knowledge is power, my friend. Knowledge is power. I’ll think about your kind offer.”

“You know the terms.”

Hurek’s eyes widened as if only now realizing Kurt was serious about only helping him if he released Rowena.

“If there’s anything you need in the meantime to make your stay more comfortable, don’t hesitate to let my men know. Take him back to his room.” Hurek clicked his fingers at the guards.

Kurt had a feeling Hurek hadn’t meant to reveal quite so much, but that was Kurt’s charming personality for you. He figured the man planned to play the Department of Justice off against Rowena’s biological father should it turn out to be one of his friends.

“Thanks for dinner.” Because this was war, and war required strategy, not kicking sand in someone’s face.

He’d do whatever he must to get Rowena out of here safely, including being polite and palming the butter knife he’d hidden beneath his napkin.

He’d also happily stab the guy in the heart and hold him while he bled out.

He just needed the right opportunity. “Appreciate the hospitality.”

Rowena’s stomach had settled, and the seasickness had eased off. She felt a lot better now the ocean had calmed down, but she wasn’t hungry. Just as well. They hadn’t bothered bringing her any dinner. Which told her where she stood in the pecking order. Lower than the chickens.

Kurt had been quiet since he got back to the cabin.

He’d immediately taken a shower and came out of the bathroom looking tired and drawn.

He’d stripped off his new clothes and pulled on his freshly washed boxers which were still a bit damp.

The wound on his arm had completely healed, the pale scar the only visible legacy of being struck by a bullet.

“Are you all right?”

He curved his lips but couldn’t meet her gaze.

“What? What is it?”

He turned away from her. His shoulders sagged.

“Kurt,” she said sharply. He was worrying her.

He sat on the bed, head bent as he took her hand and folded it in his. “I have some information that might be distressing for you. Part of me wants to keep it to myself.”

“Tell me. Please.”

He closed his eyes.

“Hurek told me that Dougie was sweet on your mother to the point his friends decided to stage an intervention to drive them apart. According to Hurek, Gilder slipped something in her drink and the three of them raped her in Gilder’s tent, made sure Dougie found them all together.”

Her skin turned to ice as she held that inky blue gaze.

“Dougie apparently thought it was consensual, at least at first. Stormed off in a huff. The rapists all passed out, and it seems your mom woke up before them and was able to get the hell out of there. She took Gilder’s watch, which was why Hurek noticed it.

Apparently, it pissed Gilder off that she took it. ”

She started to sway, Kurt pulled her down beside him, slid his arm around her and held her tight.

Her bones felt brittle and old. “Are you trying to tell me that one of those animals might be my biological father?”

He pulled her into his chest and rested his chin on the top of her head. “She might have already been pregnant at that point, but I think it’s a possibility you need to prepare yourself for.”

She started to tremble. All this time she’d been chasing a romantic notion of a doomed love affair, and instead she was nothing more than the product of misogyny and sexual violence.

“It doesn’t affect who you are, Rowena. It doesn’t affect the fact that I love you and want you the hell out of here.”

This awful knowledge rang around her skull like someone banging a gong. She felt dizzy and disoriented. “Tell me the rest. Tell me everything that happened.”

By the time he was done, she was lying against him, covers drawn as the dark flowed over them, protecting them from the harshness of their confined quarters. She refused to cry.

“I think Peter and Anoona knew.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because whenever I brought up the subject, they’d change it. They never encouraged me in seeking out my father. Ever. I know Peter was close to his sister. I wonder if she told him about what happened.”

“Tell me how they died again?”

Her fingers clenched into a fist on his chest. “They had a static caravan on a campsite in North Wales. Portmadog—I think you call it like a trailer. My grandparents used to take my mom and Peter there as kids, and Peter and Anoona took me in turn. It’s a great spot.

Huge beaches and nice scenery.” She could see the blue sky and golden sand.

Hear the rumble of the waves. “It’s only a couple of hours from home.

They’d go up there whenever they had a long weekend.

Mainly to escape the chance of being called into work.

I haven’t gone with them since I finished university, although I did go up on my own or with friends occasionally.

“They went for a week in August. They’d been up in June before the schools broke up for summer, but Anoona loved the heat if she could get it and didn’t mind the crowds.

So they went up again in late August, start of September.

According to the local fire department, the gas burner on the stove malfunctioned, and the van caught fire. They didn’t get out.”

She held back tears because she’d cried a million times over their loss. “Fire department said it was an accident.”

“Timing is pretty damned suspect.”

“Why?”

“Hurek’s lair was discovered in August last year after he kidnapped a couple of American citizens including a colleague of mine named Quentin Savage.” Kurt huffed a laugh. “The two of us go at it sometimes, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t friends. He’s a negotiator, and we work together a lot.

“We were able to track them down after they escaped and sailed to another island. They managed to signal for help, and a rescue mission picked them up. By the time we got to Hurek’s island, someone else had massacred Hurek’s followers, but Hurek had managed to escape on a boat he’d stolen, presumably with a few of his trusted henchmen. ”

She remembered the story. The implications hit her. “So Hurek was thrust back on the world stage with maximum media coverage last August.”

“Maybe your Uncle Peter recognized him and got in touch with authorities. Or perhaps he contacted Gilder and threatened him…”

“You mean like to blackmail him? No way. Uncle Peter would never have done that. Wait. I do remember a weird comment he made on social media not long before he died.” She frowned. “Something about oligarchs and chickens coming home to roost.” She sat up. “Do you think Gilder had them killed?”

He tipped up her chin. “I think the fact you have lost so many relatives to untimely deaths might bear further investigation. I think it’s also why Hurek took a sample of your blood the day we arrived.”

She sat up, startled by the idea. She leaned against the wall, knees to chin. The thought of any of these awful people being her biological father made her sick. “Hurek doesn’t have the results yet, right?”

“I don’t think so. It usually takes a few weeks from what I understand.” He sat up too. “I told him I’d help him broker an immunity deal with the FBI”—Rowena felt her mouth drop open—“if he releases you.”

“But if he thinks I’m one of his friends’ daughters, he’ll hold onto me for them.” Like property or a bargaining chip.

“I don’t think they’re friends right now.

I got the impression Hurek was hiding out from his old buddies, which is probably why I was taken rather than shot on sight.

Maybe Gilder and Spartan want to get rid of Hurek the same way they got rid of Dougie Cavanagh.

He’s a threat to their current positions of power. ”

“Did Hurek admit that they’d killed Dougie?”

Kurt shook his head. “But it makes sense. Perhaps Dougie figured out what they’d done to the woman he loved and started threatening whatever business they were in together.

My guess is diamonds or gold mining in a conflict zone.

But, yeah, if those DNA results say you’re Gilder’s or Spartan’s kid, then I suspect Hurek will try to cut a deal with his old friend—a private island somewhere and a new face—rather than risk dealing with the US government. ”

“Why hasn’t Gilder or Spartan killed Hurek already?” She shivered. Her preconceptions had been turned upside down these last few weeks.

“If I was in any of their positions, I’d have damning information squirreled away that became public in the event of my death.”

“Dead man’s switch.”

“Yeah.” He looked surprised. “They already killed one of the group—what is to stop them killing another?”

Rowena’s teeth chattered. Kurt pulled her down on top of him and covered them both with the blanket again.

Her mouth tasted bitter like iron. “What’s the plan? ”

“Keep playing the docile dummies until we have a chance of getting out of here alive.”

“Would the FBI cut a deal with him?”

“As much as I hate to admit it, the Department of Justice might. If he could deliver clear evidence Nolan Gilder is a corrupt criminal, that is. Gilder has defense contracts, not to mention his fingers in every global communications pie with his satellite empire and space projects. DoD would want to know they were dealing with a criminal and potential enemy of the United States.”

The thought a man like Nolan Gilder might share her DNA was abhorrent.

“Leo Spartan also needs to be exposed. He’s in a position of power for a country that deserves better. Would they prosecute him?”

“We might not have the proof they’d need unless we can tie him to the plane crash and Anders’ murder.” Kurt squeezed her gently. “But that’s up to the Zimbabweans. Gilder is a US citizen now, and he answers to our laws.”

Rowena huddled against Kurt and tried to draw some comfort. Thoughts about what her mother must have endured and what kind of a person her unknown father was kept her awake long into the night.