A sigh cleaves from his lips. “She can’t help it. She’s a naturally jealous woman.”
My eyes pop wide. “It’s not jealousy, Dad. It’s called being a complete cunt.”
“Language, Athena. My god.”
“Come on, Dad. Don’t act like I’m three.”
“You represent this family, and no child of mine will act so uncouth.”
“That’s a bit rich considering the things you force me to do. You have no problem getting me to seduce men of your choosing with said cunt, but I’m not allowed to mention the word?”
He scrubs his hands down his face. “You test my patience too much.”
“I could say the same,” I reply as he opens the door to his study.
He steps aside to let me walk in first. “We’re too alike,” he says, and I almost choke on my tongue. “We’re bound to clash on occasion.”
That’s putting it mildly.
I take a seat on one of the high-backed leather chairs in front of the roaring fire, smoothing a hand down the front of my red pantsuit as he fixes drinks.
“I know I haven’t always done right by you, Athena,” he says, and I’d fall over if I wasn’t already seated. “And it’s possible I’ve been far too hard on you,” he adds, walking over to the fire and handing me a whiskey glass. “But I am proud of you. No man I know has a daughter who comes even close to matching you for beauty, intelligence, and skill.” He claims the seat beside me, placing a brown paper folder on the coffee table and raising his glass to his lips.
I stare at him as I swirl the amber liquid in my glass, wondering how many of these he’s had already today. Before I can fall into the trap, I remember the kind of man he is. He’s sucking up to me because he knows Arlo has told me. And my ire is back. “I am the woman you forged me to be, Father. Let’s avoid pretenses. You have used my brother to control me, and I did it because you promised you would leave him out of this until he’s eighteen, but you lied.” I glare at him before knocking back a large mouthful of my scotch.
“I had no choice. My hand was forced.”
I sit up straighter as prickles of apprehension cascade over my flesh. “In what way? What don’t I know?”
“This is why I needed to speak to you in person. We have a problem, and the board has asked me to handle it.” He puffs out his chest, proud as a peacock, and I’m trying to work out why the board would trust him of all people if they had some top-secret mission.
“The board has specialist teams to handle high-level missions. Why come to you?”
“This is very sensitive, and it dates back to Rhett Carter’s time.”
Mention of that man sends shivers ricocheting all over my body and not in the same way my sex-club fuck buddy does.
“They want no one to know about it,” I surmise, and he nods.
“I was there when this happened, so I have a vested interest. The board knew I’d want to be involved. And they know you are efficient and discreet. That you’ll get the job done with the least amount of noise.”
“What exactly are they asking of me?” I inquire before taking a sip of my drink.
Dad taps the top of the file on the table. “It’s all in there, but the short version is there was a situation years ago with an illegal sex trafficking ring run on the down-low by Carter in South America.”
I know what he’s referencing. I’ve made it my business to know as much as I can about our world. Information is power, and I spend every second of my free time researching and learning. “I know about it. I thought it was shut down.”
“So did we, but it seems we were wrong. There were pockets still in operation, and our fear is there could be more. Some asshole is sniffing around, looking into things he has no business interfering in.” His eyes narrow to slits as he grips the edge of the chair. “We don’t need that kind of heat.”
“You want me to kill him,” I say before knocking back the rest of my drink.
“Ultimately, yes, but first we need you to get close to him. To spy on him and find out exactly what he’s up to, what he knows, and who he has told. We need to destroy all evidence he might have acquired. If he isn’t stopped, he’s going to draw too much attention. This can’t come out. It will have serious consequences. This goes all the way to the top. So, the approach is two-pronged. To shut down the rest of these operations and to find out what this elite bastard knows. When we know it’s safe, you will end him.”
“Why should I do anything you ask now you’ve broken your promise and drawn Arlo in?”
“Because his life is in danger.”
All the blood leaches from my face. “Explain,” I snap, feeling the whiskey sloshing uncomfortably in my stomach.
