CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER
YOU’RE ACTUALLY ORDERING ME TO stay here?” said Nash.
He and Temple were out on the balcony of their apartment.
“Look, when I met with Steers earlier, she said I had to tell you to stay. I didn’t want to do it. I thought of every conceivable argument against having you stay, but she wasn’t buying it. The lady’s mind was made up.”
“Why?” asked Nash. “Why does she want me to stay here?”
“She’s nuts, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“And are you staying?”
Temple glanced away, his expression one of guilt. “Um, no, actually. I’m returning to the States. Fairly soon.”
“So she didn’t want you to stay?”
“Obviously not.”
“And you’re just leaving me here?”
“No, Dillon. I’m going to get you out of here, but I can’t do that if I’m stuck here, too. Once I get back home I’m going to work to get you out of here. I promise.”
Nash observed that Temple was rubbing his thumb and forefinger together, a tell that he had seen the man do over the years when stressed or lying.
“And Thura? Is he staying?”
Temple fixed his gaze on Nash. “I don’t know. She didn’t mention him. If not, he can fly home with me. But if he wants to stay, it’s up to him. If he doesn’t, I’ll get you both out. I promise.”
Temple looked away again, Nash noted. That was another tell of the man’s deceit.
“So you really have no idea why she wants me to stay?” asked Nash.
“If you want a spitball opinion, I think you’ve impressed her, especially with all you did back in Myanmar.
I’m sure her mother told her everything.
She likes having the best around her. It’s actually a compliment to you, Dillon.
And she will probably pay you, like, a fortune.
This actually could be an excellent career move for you to make,” he added, looking hopeful.
Yeah, so you can forget all about me, thought Nash. He said, “Sure, being a bodyguard to a global criminal, always on my bucket list. And she already has a world-class protection team, so what do I do?”
“Maybe she’s sweet on you. You know, the tatted, muscled bad boy and all. And she’s actually good-looking, and her body looks pretty rack.”
“Right, she’s a real catch if you overlook the homicidal element. Okay, so now what?”
“I would expect a visit from the woman to follow up. It seemed like a high priority.”
“And if I tell her I want to leave and go back home?”
Temple shook his head. “I would not advise that, Dillon. Steers does not take no for an answer. I know that better than most. And she already cut both of us up. And we saw her shoot Ryder in the head. She will not let you live if you cross her.”
“So I’m out of luck?”
“I will get you out of here. You just have to hang on, that’s all. So when she talks to you, tell her you’ll agree to stay on, for some period of time. Leave it open. Then I get back to the States and start working on getting you home.”
“And how exactly will you do that?”
“Hell, I’m worth billions now, Dillon. I can hire the best guys. I’ll take care of it, don’t you worry. It’ll be my top priority. I swear to you.”
He slapped Nash on the shoulder and went back inside.
Nash looked down at the streets of Hong Kong all those stories below.
It would be easy to jump. In sixty stories it would all be over.
Yes, that would be the easy way out. The hard path would be to stay here and finish what he came here to do.
And Nash knew which course he would be pursuing.
Every time his confidence failed him, all he needed to do was conjure up the image of his dead daughter, and it supplied his spine with necessary steel.
He thought things through, particularly his conversation with Temple.
It didn’t bother him that the man had just lied to him.
He had expected nothing less now that their goals were no longer aligned.
Yet he wondered why Steers had given Temple an out.
He had either agreed to go back and run Sybaritic as before and let her continue to use his platform for her illegal business, or else he had offered to put one of Steers’s people in as CEO.
So Steers wins, Temple wins, and you lose, Nash. But do you really? This is actually what you wanted. To stay here and keep working it from the inside. And then when the opportunity arises, kill her and end this whole thing.
He turned when he saw one of Steers’s bodyguards appear at the sliding glass door.
“Ms. Steers wishes a word with you. Now.” He said all of this with a grimace, as though something distasteful was in his mouth.
Nash reluctantly followed the guard to the elevator. Okay, here we go for round two. And I thought surviving Myanmar was hard.