Samantha tightened her hold on the pistol, drawing Harlowe’s attention to the weapon if only for a brief second.Again he appeared unaffected, which only made her wonder what it might take for him to let his mask fall.
“I ensured her safe return to London,” Samantha said.“That alone shows more concern than most people would have offered a woman who meant to deliver them to their destruction.”
“You think that’s what I wanted?”
She had no doubt.“I am not to blame for the wound Hazel sustained.You’re the one who sent her into a dangerous situation that could have gotten her killed.She’s lucky the bastard who shot her had a poor aim, since I’m sure he wanted her dead.”
“She’d appreciate a visit from you.”
Samantha tilted her head.“As you can see, I’m in no position to visit anyone at the moment.”
“Later then.”
When hell freezes over.She kept her response simple, non-commital, and smiled.
He drummed his fingers lazily against the armrest, stilled the movement, and finally asked, “How much does Croft know?”
“Enough for him to blame you if anything were to happen to me.”
Those pale blue eyes of his narrowed.Finally a hint of emotion.Annoyance, she believed.“You’ve betrayed me in full then.”
“Only because you tossed me to the wolves.And because I realized something important.”
“And what would that be?”
“I was never more than a pawn to you.”
“That’s not true.”
“No?”She glared at him, half-tempted to blast a hole through his icy heart.“You encouraged me to sacrifice my innocence in order to get what you wanted.”
“Not what I wanted, Samantha, but what the country needed.”
She scoffed at that.“You don’t still believe that, do you?”
“You may have married the man, Samantha, but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous.And rather than help eliminate him as you should have, you’ve turned him into a hero.”
“Because thankfully you did one thing right when you raised me.”
“And what would that be?”
“You taught me to think for myself.”
His cheeks bulged as he tightened his jaw.“You do realize I’m not the only one playing a part in all this, right?If you expose the secrets you’ve been made privy to as an agent of the Crown, you will be arrested and charged with treason.The pardon your husband recently helped you acquire won’t save you from that.”
“Any more than your wealth will protect you or your precious Nightingale Project from causing public outrage.As I’m sure it shall once I’m done telling my story to the papers.”
“You’ll only be aiding your own downfall.”
“I’m starting to think it may be worth it.”
“And what about Hazel, Melody, Tara, and Holly?Or don’t you care how this may impact them?”
Of course she did.They had been just as misled by Harlowe as she.“Let’s consider ourselves at an impasse then.Rid yourself of any idea you may have of trying to kill me, and I shall refrain from sharing details about you or your project with anyone else.”
“Can you make the same guarantee regarding your husband?”
“Unlike you, he genuinely cares about me, so yes, I can.”
