Otis moved his head side to side in regret. “I’m guessing evidence was planted pointing to you. They’re far too cocky just now not to have at least one ace up their sleeves.”
She wanted to ask him if there was anything he could do to help, but she knew better. Otis Fleming had been like a father to her. Loved her, she felt certain. But he would not sacrifice his standing to save her.
That she understood with complete certainty.
She was on her own. Just as she had been most of her life.
“Well, I should make arrangements to go before it’s too late.” She blinked back the burn of tears. Dammit.
“That would be the judicious choice.”
She started to end the conversation there, but she had to ask, “Why have they done this? I’ve been keeping the powerful in Birmingham out of trouble for ten years. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
A rare smile touched the older man’s lips. “You have indeed. I’m very proud of how far you’ve come. I have no doubt you will build an even more esteemed clientele elsewhere. However, power is a very dangerous thing. It can be your best friend or your worst enemy. You possess a great deal of power, Annette. It has become toxic to those in your debt. They will take you down, no matter how many of them must be sacrificed in the effort.”
They.The elusive they that no one could ever know about. Only Annette and Otis knew the names on her client list. Most didn’t even know about one another. But a handful of the most powerful who had given and received personal recommendations to acquireher services had come together, formed that alliance Otis spoke of. Wanted her gone. She could thank Dane Drake and his self-indulgence for that.
A moment of sentimentality struck her hard. “Will I ever see you again?” Her chest tightened. For nearly eleven years he had been her closest friend, her family.
“Perhaps.” Another of those rare smiles. “I’m an old man, Annette. I don’t travel as much as I used to. But not to worry, we’ll keep in touch.”
That was her cue. It was time for her to go. There was nothing else to discuss. Except ...
“There’s one thing I have to do before I go.” She dredged up her courage. She would not leave until this was done.
Otis studied her at length. “This thing is something you would risk your own freedom for?”
As outlandish as it sounded. “Yes.”
Finding Dane Drake and proving what really happened to Carson’s family wouldn’t exactly help her at this point. But she had to do it for Carson. It was completely irrational. Yet she could not leave him in this position. He stood on the verge of losing everything ... because of her.
“Ah.” Otis nodded. “I see. You’ve developed an attachment to this young man.”
“No.” Her first instinct was to deny the accusation, but deep down she knew Otis was right. He always was. “Perhaps.”
“Be warned,” Otis cautioned, “his glory days are over as well. He will not recover.”
That was exactly what she was afraid of.
“Before I can go.” She took a deep breath for courage. “I have to help him.”
Surprise twinkled in Otis’s eyes. “You wish to help him? Still? When I have warned you of the risk?”
She nodded. “I have to.”
When this whole thing had started it was about saving her ass, but now ... it was about saving his.
Annette had no idea how that had happened, but it had. It wasn’t as if it wouldn’t benefit her to some degree. So the decision didn’t quite qualify her for martyrdom.
“I see.”
She hadn’t expected otherwise.
Otis could help her; whether or not he would, she couldn’t say. But she had to ask. “I need to find Dane Drake. It’s imperative. He’s the only one left who can help.”
Otis inclined his head and contemplated her request for a time that prompted more of that sweat to secrete from her pores.
“I’ll nudge my contacts,” Otis offered finally. “He could be dead considering his consorts.”
