Read Online Play It Safe (The Safe House Series Book 2) by Leslie North - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Leslie North
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she emptied six rounds into a target.
“What do you want, Julian? I must be part of your plan or you would have killed me by now.”
“You were a surprise insurance policy. A guarantee of sorts that Angela McAllister would play right into my hands and not go to the authorities. I know the disdain Rockwell feels for the usual government channels of law enforcement. We both bend the rules a bit to get what we want.”
“And now?”
“I’m in a position to return the favor.”
“I’ll never accept favors from you.”
“Surprising, given that the loves of our lives were such good friends and, coincidentally, both taken too soon.” Julian sat in the leather chair opposite Samson and crossed his legs. “I’m prepared to make you a proposition. Emanuel Jacobs and full papers allowing him protected status in the United States. Effective immediately.”
“And what of Angela’s brother?”
“Reunited on home soil by week’s end.”
“And in exchange?”
“I want you on the ground in the region. You know the terrain, the people, the language, the infrastructure. You know the soft spots, the weaknesses, the enemy’s jugular. I want you to lead operations. Eliminate the rebel faction responsible for Marianne’s death. Think of it as a higher purpose. Here, you protect but one. But in Mthatha and the remote villages that have no voice, no power, you’ll be protecting them when they cannot protect themselves. And, you’ll have the chance to atone for your… choice …in leaving Emmanuel behind.”
He might as well have said selfishness for the distaste with which he infused the word. Samson cut his eyes away from Angela to focus eye-darts Julian’s direction.
“Yes, Riley told Marianne everything in letters. How you weren’t ready for the responsibility of raising a boy. How you wanted time, alone, with your bride.”
Below, Angela shifted her eyeglasses further up her nose. She had hustled him—twice—to achieve her desired outcome. Why couldn’t he do the same to Julian?
“Angela wants no part of this,” said Samson. “It’s a perversion of everything she set out to do.”
“Her formula is a means to an end. Without her, there will be other ways. She’s smart. She’ll understand, in time, that choosing what benefitted her was really never a choice at all. Her brother will be returned. She will have no more call for protection and will resume her life, believing she saved her brother. The event will be isolated. A few international news agencies may pick it up. Largely ignored by the western world and masked as a climatological anomaly. It will take scientists years of posturing about global warming to uncover the truth. By then, nature will take care of all evidence.”
“In large doses, everyone on the planet will know.”
“That’s the beauty of aligning yourself with someone principled, Caine. I’ve witnessed the brutality of needless suffering. I simply want the concentrated and unequivocal justice our government is too cowardly to carry out.”
“And if the rebels simply move? Change locations to survive?”
“They’ll be contained by an alliance of warring factions.”
Samson rose to his feet, memorizing Angela’s movements as if he, too, would someday need to recall the formula to such a mysterious woman.
“You care for her.”
“I made a promise to protect her.”
Julian couldn’t know it went beyond mere duty the moment she disappeared at the open-air market and he knew loss. Again.
“Quite the martyr. I suppose no one understands this more than us. Those who have known love and lost it. Our lives ended the day theirs were taken. This is your opportunity to give Riley what she wanted all those years ago. And help someone you care about.”
“And if Angela learns the truth?”
“The deal is off.”
Samson watched Angela scribble something on a piece of paper. Christ, he hoped it wasn’t the correct formula. If it was, they were all as good as dead.
He
“What do you want, Julian? I must be part of your plan or you would have killed me by now.”
“You were a surprise insurance policy. A guarantee of sorts that Angela McAllister would play right into my hands and not go to the authorities. I know the disdain Rockwell feels for the usual government channels of law enforcement. We both bend the rules a bit to get what we want.”
“And now?”
“I’m in a position to return the favor.”
“I’ll never accept favors from you.”
“Surprising, given that the loves of our lives were such good friends and, coincidentally, both taken too soon.” Julian sat in the leather chair opposite Samson and crossed his legs. “I’m prepared to make you a proposition. Emanuel Jacobs and full papers allowing him protected status in the United States. Effective immediately.”
“And what of Angela’s brother?”
“Reunited on home soil by week’s end.”
“And in exchange?”
“I want you on the ground in the region. You know the terrain, the people, the language, the infrastructure. You know the soft spots, the weaknesses, the enemy’s jugular. I want you to lead operations. Eliminate the rebel faction responsible for Marianne’s death. Think of it as a higher purpose. Here, you protect but one. But in Mthatha and the remote villages that have no voice, no power, you’ll be protecting them when they cannot protect themselves. And, you’ll have the chance to atone for your… choice …in leaving Emmanuel behind.”
He might as well have said selfishness for the distaste with which he infused the word. Samson cut his eyes away from Angela to focus eye-darts Julian’s direction.
“Yes, Riley told Marianne everything in letters. How you weren’t ready for the responsibility of raising a boy. How you wanted time, alone, with your bride.”
Below, Angela shifted her eyeglasses further up her nose. She had hustled him—twice—to achieve her desired outcome. Why couldn’t he do the same to Julian?
“Angela wants no part of this,” said Samson. “It’s a perversion of everything she set out to do.”
“Her formula is a means to an end. Without her, there will be other ways. She’s smart. She’ll understand, in time, that choosing what benefitted her was really never a choice at all. Her brother will be returned. She will have no more call for protection and will resume her life, believing she saved her brother. The event will be isolated. A few international news agencies may pick it up. Largely ignored by the western world and masked as a climatological anomaly. It will take scientists years of posturing about global warming to uncover the truth. By then, nature will take care of all evidence.”
“In large doses, everyone on the planet will know.”
“That’s the beauty of aligning yourself with someone principled, Caine. I’ve witnessed the brutality of needless suffering. I simply want the concentrated and unequivocal justice our government is too cowardly to carry out.”
“And if the rebels simply move? Change locations to survive?”
“They’ll be contained by an alliance of warring factions.”
Samson rose to his feet, memorizing Angela’s movements as if he, too, would someday need to recall the formula to such a mysterious woman.
“You care for her.”
“I made a promise to protect her.”
Julian couldn’t know it went beyond mere duty the moment she disappeared at the open-air market and he knew loss. Again.
“Quite the martyr. I suppose no one understands this more than us. Those who have known love and lost it. Our lives ended the day theirs were taken. This is your opportunity to give Riley what she wanted all those years ago. And help someone you care about.”
“And if Angela learns the truth?”
“The deal is off.”
Samson watched Angela scribble something on a piece of paper. Christ, he hoped it wasn’t the correct formula. If it was, they were all as good as dead.
He
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