“Katrina!What are you doing here?I thought you’d be getting ready for the wedding.”
“I should be,” she said, quickly walking over to slip into one of the two chairs in front of the desk.“But there’s something I need to talk to you about first.Before it’s too late.”
He frowned.“Too late for what?”
All the things she’d rehearsed on the way over fled her mind, so she took a deep breath and decided to wing it.
“I know about the Genesis Project,” she said.“I know your investment group is providing the funding for the development of the system, and that an international arms dealer named Nick Chapman wants to purchase the weapon for his own purposes, regardless of your existing contract with the Navy.”
Her father’s eyes widened more and more with every secret she revealed, and she rushed on before he could interrupt.
“I also know Arthur Davis and Harold Thompson were both against the idea of walking away from the deal you’d already agreed to with the Navy, which is probably why both of them ended up dead.As someone familiar with the subject recently told me, there’s a long history of people dying when they get between Chapman and what he wants.”
Her father’s eyes narrowed.“Where did you learn all of this?Who told you?”
“Does it matter?”she shot back.“Shouldn’t you be a little more worried about the fact that two men are dead because of your money-making schemes, and you’re facing a choice between backing out of a deal with a known killer or getting arrested for illegal arms trading?”
He stared for a long moment, stunned, before his mouth tightened.“I don’t know where this is all coming from, but you need to let me handle it.”
Katrina clenched her fists in her lap.He was so flipping predictable sometimes.“Did you honestly not realize you were getting into business with a criminal the first time you met Chapman?Or was the potential profit enough to make you grit your teeth and simply look the other way?”
Her father recoiled like he’d been smacked.“Do you really think that poorly of me?”
“Dad, every decision you’ve ever made for this family is based on what will make the most money.This time, though, you’ve put our family in danger.”
“No one is going to get hurt,” he insisted.“I have this completely under control.”
“Oh, yeah?Tell that to Arthur and Harold.”
“No one in ourfamilywill get hurt,” he amended.“That’s what I meant.You know that’s all that matters to me.”
Unfortunately, as twisted as that lame explanation might be, that was true.Her father had no problem looking the other way when it benefited him.
“You think you can wiggle your way out of everything, don’t you?”Katrina shook her head.“Dad, if you double-cross Chapman, he’ll come after you or someone you care about.And if you give him the weapon, you’ll be arrested for treason.”
“I can make sure the Navy never figures out Rhett and I were involved,” he said, ignoring everything else she’d said about Chapman.Which meant he’d already made up his mind about how he was going to handle this.He was going to sell Genesis to an arms dealer.
“The Navy already knows you and Rhett are involved in funding the Genesis project, Dad.”
“You told Darwin about this?”her father demanded.“How could you betray your family like that?”
“I didn’t betray the family.And I didn’t have to tell Darwin anything, because he was standing right beside me when Rhett, Arthur, Harold, and Silas were arguing about whether you should honor the existing Navy contract or go for the cash grab.Don’t blame me if they all talk too much.And too loud.”
Her father opened his mouth to say something, but his cell phone rang, interrupting him.He picked it up from his desk to look at the screen, then cursed under his breath.
“I need to take this.”
That was fine with Katrina.She wasn’t going anywhere until they finished this conversation.
Whoever was on the other end of the line must have said something interesting because her father stood and walked over to stand near the window so that his back was to her.Unfortunately, he spoke too softly for her to hear what he was saying.A moment later, he hung up and turned to face her.
“I have to meet with someone, so we’ll have to finish our discussion later,” her father said.
Katrina jumped to her feet.“But...”
Her father gently rested his hands on her shoulders and looked at her earnestly.“I’ll take care of this, honey.Everything will work out fine.”
She wanted to tell her father to at least wait until Darwin showed up before he did anything that might get him killed.Unfortunately, her father turned and walked out of the study before she could say anything at all, steadfast in the delusion that he couldfixthe situation and manipulate events back to his benefit.
