Page 80 of Ruthless Prince

I nodded. “That’s right. Iwon’t.”

“I thought you might say that,” he said. “It’s okay. I want you broken, but I don’t need it. As long as you do what you’re told at all times, that’s goodenough.”

“I’m not going to do that.” I spat in his direction, narrowly missing his rightfoot.

“You will. Like I said, I have ways to make you, whether you’re broken ornot.”

He reached into the bag. My heart skipped a beat as I pictured any number of torture devices. Knife. Taser. Blowtorch. When he pulled out a phone instead, my pulse picked upagain.

“Remember how I told you Caldwell does business with the NSA?” heasked.

“Is Caldwell the company you workfor?”

He nodded. “Yes. Anyway, it’s not just the NSA. We’re in bed with plenty of other intelligence organizations too, so I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people. Ex-spies, hackers, government-trained assassins. I’m sure you can imagine what it’slike.”

“If you’re threatening to have me murdered by one of those assassins, don’t bother,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I already know you won’t do it, because you made such a big deal about your family needing me to serve their political agenda. Killing me would defeat thepurpose.”

He held up a palm and smiled patiently. “I’m not going to kill you, Willow. I’m just trying to tell you astory.”

“Right. I’m sure it’s very interesting,” I said with a sarcasticsneer.

I knew my difficult attitude would earn me some sort of punishment later, but right now, I didn’t care. I needed him to know he couldn’t faze me,becauseI wasn’t a weak, pathetic little girl like he claimed. I wouldn’t bend to his will, and I wouldn’t act like his little toy.Ever.

“Do you know what type of person makes the best kind of spy?” heasked.

“A sneakyone.”

He chuckled. “Very funny. But no. The best spies are those without any family, close friends, or any other ties. Can you guesswhy?”

I shrugged. “Because it’s an unpredictable job? I assume they have to pack up and go to new places with barely any notice all thetime.”

“That’s true, but it’s not the reason I’m referring to.” Logan crouched to match my eye level. “Spies aren’t supposed to have any close connections because a person with those can be easily broken when they fall into enemy hands. Think about it. Someone can clam up and claim they’ll never give in, but as soon as an enemy agent threatens to boil their wife in oil or skin their beloved puppy in front of them… well, they’re going to sing like a canary, aren’tthey?”

A chill ran down my spine. “I supposeso.”

“Nearly everyone has a weakness that can be exploited. That includes you.” Logan rose to his feet and held up the phone. “I’m going to give my friend Frank a call. Guess what his weaknessis?”

“I don’tknow.”

“Money.” He smiled thinly. “He has no family, but he’ll do anything to make a buck. The government used to pay him a lot to do terrible things for that very reason. Not that they’d ever admitit.”

Dread settled into my stomach as he dialed a number and put the phone onloudspeaker.

A gruff-sounding man answered on the second ring. “Hi.”

“Hey, Frank. Are you inposition?”

“Yes,sir.”

“Found a goodangle?”

“Thebest.”

“Nice. Give me a second.” Logan reached into the bag to retrieve a large tablet. He switched the screen on and handed it to me. “Can you set up the video link,Frank?”

“Yes.”

The tablet’s plain blue home screen went fuzzy for a few seconds. Then it lit up with a colorful image. Green grass, blue sky, white bleachers, red and yellow T-shirts and banners. I recognized the location instantly. It was the soccer field my little brother played on every secondSunday.