“I have enough evidence on that thing to take out most of the current serving cabinet members, including the Prime Minister and past politicians going back to the early 80’s.”
“What?” I ask, eyes widening.
I blink at him, unsure if I even heard that right. My brain tries to piece it together; just how big this is. How serious it is. Hell, how dangerous it is.
“You’re joking?”
He isn’t. I can see it in the way he looks at me. Steady and serious.
“And you’ve just been walking around with something that has the potential to bring the country to its knees?”
“Exactly. So, you can see why I keep telling you that you have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. You will also understand why I didn’t include this in the briefing information I gave to Andrews.”
“Okay,” I say, taking a bite, swallowing, letting what he has said sink in. Us going into hiding straight after the attack maybe the best thing. It will keep him safe and make my job easier.
He throws his crust onto the plate and takes a sip of water. “Honestly, I wish I’d never opened his sodding package. Meeting Luca Knight has been the best and worst thing that has happened to me. But Lucy, I’m not hiding. We will go back to my apartment, and we continue with whatever plan Andrews had put in place to allow me to keep doing my job.”
Doing his job. Someone tried to kill him tonight. For that sodding hard drive.
“What’s your plan with the hard drive?”
“I haven’t worked out exactly what to do yet. Luca told me to reach out to Apex security. So, I did what I was told, and here we are. How could anyone possibly know that I have it?”
“Who knows. But regardless, someone knows you do, and will go to extreme measures to get it. And now knowing what’s on it, I understand why. So you have no idea who sent them?”
“No clue. We need to get the hard drive, though.”
“You don’t have it?” My eyes widen in surprise, my voice loud.
He shakes his head and goes to grab his tuxedo jacket from the living room.
“Where are you going?” I drop my food back onto my plate and follow him licking my fingers from the excess grease.
“Going back to my apartment like we discussed.”
“No, like you demanded. We didn’t discuss anything. Owen, stop for a minute. We can’t just blindly go back to your place, not whilst you’ve got a target on your back. I will make a compromise. We carry on with the original plan, upping your security as you go about your business.”
He watches me intently, waiting.
“BUT we stay here, andyoustay here whilst I go and retrieve the hard drive.”
“No! Absolutely not, you’re not going without me, without back up.”
I let out a humourless laugh. “And what, you’re going to protect me, are you?”
He goes to walk past me, ignoring my instruction to stay put, but he doesn’t get far. I swipe his legs out from under him whilst pulling him on his back.
He lands hard. I reach out to the side where a knife is laying and throw myself onto his body, straddling him, holding the metal blade up to his throat.
“I am not that little girl anymore. I do not need your protection,” I growl through clenched teeth. “Now let me do my job, and please, listen.”
We both stare at each other, breaths coming in heaves. “Fuck,” I mutter. I stand up, putting my hand out. He takes it, and I yank him to his feet.
I look up, and he’s looking down at me with the same fucking stubborn expression on his face that he had as a kid.
“Fine. We will stay here, but I am coming with you. Unless you’re intending to chop my finger off to get into my safe, you’re going to need me with you.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
