Page 155 of The 9th Man

“I kept our arrangement,” Rowland said, “just between the two of us. I sent Jack to Belgium and Louisiana to spur you along. His betrayal was definitely a surprise. Thankfully, it was dealt with and turned to an advantage.”

“And I did save your ass,” Jillian said. “That guy at the helo, in the mining camp, would have killed you.”

“That wasn’t because you cared. You needed what I had. Keeping me alive was the only way to get it.”

“The chase from the museum in Brussels,” Rowland said, “almost caused an issue. Persik’s men were just supposed to spook you, not engage, but they were never good at following orders. That drew police attention. But, thankfully, Mr. Daniels, you managed to escape. The two men inside Benjamin Stein’s house were sent by Persik to find the rifle. They too were part of the show. For your benefit.”

“Which Wonder Woman here handled.”

“I thought I did a good job kicking that idiot through the stairwell,” Jillian said.

“So Ray and Benji made contact with you,” Luke said to Rowland. “They wanted your comments on their theory, on their book. You, of course, declined, but investigated them, learning somebody else was involved. You just didn’t know who?”

“Actually,” Jillian said. “I found out about David Eckstein. Benji was quite the talker. Unfortunately, he had no idea where Eckstein lived, and Ray Simmons was dead.”

“The email you supposedly sent asking about Kronos?” he asked.

Jillian grinned. “All fake. Sounded great, didn’t it?”

“It actually did.”

“The codes, though,” she said, “were real. Benji and Ray were careful with their communications. Paranoid, I assume.”

“With good reason, considering what happened. I led you right to Eckstein.”

And got the man killed.

But, unfortunately, he hadn’t figured it out before Eckstein died. Which was why he’d kept what the old man said to himself. Just in case his suspicions turned correct. And they had. The good part, though? These two don’t know a thing about Pearl Yates or Victoria Sandberg.

Willful ignorance.

The Achilles’ heel for every self-absorbed psychopath.

75

ROWLAND HAD DEALT WITH MANY CONFRONTATIONAL SITUATIONS. INfact they were his specialty. He adhered to what Andrew Jackson said.I was born for the storm, a calm does not suit me.But this was the first time where he was the storm. And it made things different. But he showed none of his anxiety. Luke Daniels had come here, unarmed, for a reason.

Find out why.

“Do you plan to have me arrested?” he asked Daniels.

“Stephanie definitely wants to. But tying you to those murders is going to be tough without Talley, me, or your lying accomplice over there.”

“Do you enjoy insulting me?” she asked.

“I do, actually.” He was curious. “Was the sex in Dallas part of the show? Taking one for the team?”

“That was purely for myself, but it did keep you moving forward.”

“Ms. Nelle may find it hard to have me arrested,” Rowland said, interrupting the moment. “It’s why I came here, to the Bahamas. I own a lot of friends here.”

“Curious way to put it.”

“Perhaps. But accurate. More than enough to block any international extradition.”

“What was the purpose of the press and social media coverage yesterday?As I said, it seemed spotty and misinformed.”

“Stephanie wanted something out there, so she went with what I gave her. Which wasn’t much. Unlike you, she actually believed me when I told her the information had been lost in the mine. I was hoping, though, that it might get your attention.”