Chapter Twenty
T he library door flew inward and a florid, overweight man entered. Like the great prow of a ship, his girth preceded him. His perspiring forehead shining from the overhead chandelier, he smiled and held out his arms. “Daniel! You can’t hide yourself away in here. The donors are all waiting to have a word with you.” He smiled at Becca. “I didn’t know your lovely daughter was coming tonight! Hello, you’re Rebecca, aren’t you?”
A visibly shocked Daniel came alive. Rio guessed he was truly surprised by the bomb he’d just dropped, that Rebecca had been struck by a bullet.
Daniel managed to find his tongue. “Maynard Ward, may I present my Rebecca. And ... her friend ... Mr. Lang?”
Rio stepped forward to pump the other man’s hand and herd him toward the doors. “Great to meet you, Ward. But Rebecca hasn’t seen her father in quite some time. She’s requested just a moment alone with him. If you don’t mind?” He opened the door, and pushed the other through the portal.
Blinking, Maynard Ward looked confused, but as a gracious host, he allowed himself to be ushered out. “Of course, of course. But only for a moment. Daniel is needed out here. The donors are waiting.”
Closing the door, Rio crossed his arms and leaned back against the wood.
Daniel took Becca’s elbows in concern. “You were shot? My God, are you all right?”
“Yes, it’s just a graze on my leg.”
Rio tired of the small talk. “Go ahead, Becca. Ask him.”
She drew a deep breath. “Dad, tell me about Uncle Tim. What’s he been doing at the warehouse?”
Daniel frowned. “What do you mean?”
Rio pushed off the door. “Look, De Monte, Becca has been kidnapped, nearly killed twice. Now, your partner is illegally gunrunning out of your business, probably to criminals across the border. And that’s at the very least. I think you know something about what’s been going on.”
“Did you say gunrunning ?” Daniel blanched. “What is all this about?”
“Dad,” Becca caught his arm, “we found proof. We caught Uncle Tim late at night shipping big boxes of rifles from the warehouse. He didn’t see us, we were hidden, but what we saw is irrefutable.”
Daniel’s gaze slid from side to side, as though casting about for understanding. “I just can’t believe that.”
“Believe it,” Rio spat. “It’s true. And it’s your business, with your name on it. If the authorities discover this little operation, you’ll be the one indicted.”
Daniel paled. “Any hint of a scandal will torpedo my senate race,” he said. “And the campaign is going so well.”
With difficulty, Rio suppressed a spurt of anger. Rebecca’s own father had not only discovered his daughter had been placed literally in the line of fire, he was now thinking only of his political career.
Politicians were unreal.
****
O ut in the salon, the reserved man with the bald head and pocked skin, the one who hadn’t spoken, took his whisky highball and slipped onto the rear patio. He needed the privacy. Harrison hadn’t spoken, because while Rio Lang didn’t know his face, he’d surely recognize his voice. They’d talked many times by telephone.
Harrison chewed the end of a fine, unlit Cuban cigar and studied the gardens.
In no way could Harrison allow the observant former Special Forces expert to know that he was intimately involved in Daniel De Monte’s senate campaign.
Rio could only know him as his contact with Black Eagle, the deeply hidden government entity that employed them both. Harrison had set up a sweet operation in Daniel De Monte’s warehouse. And he’d easily recruited a willing Tim to facilitate it. The products—weapons and fentanyl—they were shipping were bringing in a lot of money, and no one knew he was the brains behind the outfit. All the while he’d carefully kept any hint of suspicion off himself. It had been gratifying, secretly pulling the strings all this time.
Harrison studied his cigar. Because Rio had thrown a monkey wrench into the mix, he would have to act. His superiors at Black Eagle didn’t know what he was doing and they wouldn’t have stood for it. Tough shit. The allegiance he felt to them was nonexistent.
In his younger years he’d served the government as a proud Green Beret. While the life was exciting, the pay was terrible. Harrison had long ago decided it was past time to enjoy a little of the world’s wealth and power. After all, he knew how to accomplish difficult tasks. He also knew how to prevent others from asking too many questions.
The main thing was results, and Harrison always got them.
Rio Lang shouldn’t be here. He was supposed to deliver Rebecca De Monte to the new meeting place and be on his way. Instead, he’d smuggled her back across the border and brought her straight to her father.
Why he’d done that had become abundantly clear after observing the two together. Even in that short amount of time, Harrison spotted Rio’s obvious sexual interest in the alluring De Monte woman. Slim, with long gleaming hair, huge eyes, and an impressive rack, Rebecca De Monte was a hot young thing, and he could understand it. The way they’d entered the house, holding hands, whispering together, their physical connection was obvious.
This complicated matters.
Rebecca De Monte was never supposed to make it out of Mexico alive.