Chapter 26
Nathan wanted to punch something. “Answer the damn phone when I call you!” he bellowed as soon as Evan answered.
“I’ve been busy,” Evan countered, sipping his beer as he gazed out at the beautiful sunset. “What do you want?”
Nathan ground his teeth together, wishing that the man was here so he could…!
“I want to know why you haven’t gotten me proof yet. Is the woman with Sheik Al-Sintra? And if so, what the hell are you doing to get her out of that damn fortress?”
Evan took another sip of his beer, enjoying the moment of power. Finally, he set the beer back on the table. “No, I don’t have confirmation that the woman in the pictures last week is your fiancée.”
“Why the hell not? What have you been doing for the past several days? I thought you were going to create another explosion that would get the sheik out of the palace, and Tasha with him!”
“It’s not that easy. I’ve tried several ways to create a…diversion. But after last week’s power station explosion, everyone around here is on high alert. Hell, even the casual passers-by on the sidewalk are angsty. I put a small bomb in a backpack yesterday, but it was discovered within minutes and taken away.” Evan was really irritated about that. It had been a very pretty bomb! The impact definitely would have created several casualties and the bastard sheik what’s his name would have had to come out to inspect. And the pretty woman by his side would have been an easy target. He’d planned to capture her even if she wasn’t the O’Connor woman. If it hadn’t been her, she would have been released. Eventually.
“So, what the hell are you going to do?”
Evan contemplated the possibilities. “I need to wait. The people here are jittery.” And with reason, he thought with an inner chuckle. “I can try again in about a month. Everyone will be back to their regular routines by then.” And he could take that hit job in Switzerland during that month. It would earn him a cool hundred thousand dollars, then he could be back here to figure out his next step.
“No! I can’t wait another month! Hell, my re-election campaign is already underway and I need my fiancée by my side.” He sighed and Evan pictured the old man running a hand through his silver hair. “The press are starting to ask questions about Tasha. I need her by my side. Damn it, I need a ring on her finger before she gets some stupid idea to release those videos of our conversations to the press!”
“She won’t,” Evan assured him. “The bitch is either here in Lativa or some other place, hiding out. After that beating you gave her,” he chuckled, “she’s dug in and isn’t going to be a problem.”
“I can’t take that chance!” Nathan snapped. He breathed in and expelled the air slowly. “I guess I’m going to have to do this myself.” Then the prick ended the call.
Evan stared at the phone to ensure that the call was over. When the small screen showed nothing, he shrugged and reached for his beer again. “Looks like I’ll get to take that job after all!” he said, then tossed the cell phone into the trash.