“All right. Let’s say that you are correct. Let’s say that I do know more than I’m saying. Why should I tell you? I don’t know you. You may be a trusted entity in this process, but how would I know that?”
Dirk seemed to understand the Secret Keeper’s hesitancy in sharing all he knew, but it didn’t take long for him to snap back to attention.
“I don’t have time for this. I need to know what you know. The Paladin Courier might be in danger,” Dirk said, his eyes fervently wide and shiny with what looked like desire. It was unsettling. “Tell me what you know!”
The Secret Keeper decided he was right in his initial assessment. Madelaine made the correct choice in a husband to accompany her. Even if she had opened the envelope and met this man, she never would have trusted him. Ever.
“Perhaps there was an addendum that you were not privy to.”
Dirk perked up. “Addendum? What addendum? Explain.”
The Secret Keeper took a deep breath before saying what he hoped would send this foolish man on a path that would never connect with Madelaine Archer or her new husband, Jack Grey.
“I’ll tell you what I know, but please make note that I’m revealing this to you under protest.”
“Fine. Whatever. Speak.”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that a trip was added to the mission that may or may not involve Nocturne Falls, Georgia. As you likely know, Alphas hide in that town in plain sight, just like they do in Alienn, Arkansas. Anything foretold before you and I were born would not include that destination, would it?”
Dirk soaked in the information about Nocturne Falls and looked a bit pale. Good.
“The special trip that, again, I can neither confirm nor deny would add three days, possibly more, to the journey. That said, I must also point out that if you are here when the Paladin Courier attempts to contact you instead of in Alienn, then youare the one who has compromised this very important mission, haven’t you?
“Your self-important attempt to insert yourself where, trust me, you should not have may have jeopardized this entire journey. As a result of your hubris, Madelaine may have had to improvise and choose someone else. If that is true, then you are no longer needed.”
Dirk looked sick with apprehension. The Secret Keeper didn’t feel the need to make him feel better about his foolish actions. But he knew that once Dirk found out he’d been led astray, he’d follow Madelaine. Since he had knowledge of the trigger, he was likely in league with someone who may not be acting in the best interests of the Cabal or the Paladin Courier.
Dirk might not care that Madelaine had married Jack. He might insist on an annulment to proceed with whateverhisultimate plan was.
The Secret Keeper said, “I suggest that you make haste back to Alienn and wait, like you were told to do. I’ve already shared with you more than I should have. I hope you will not rat me out at the first opportunity to those in charge on Alpha-Prime or in Alienn.”
Dirk puffed up and said, “I can be trusted not to disclose what you have said.”
The Secret Keeper didn’t believe that one single bit. There was a brisk knock at the door. Without waiting for a response, a group of four security men entered, guns drawn, to escort Dirk out of his office. At long last.
The Secret Keeper doubted that Dirk Zandis would meekly go back to Alienn and wait for whatever happened next. His ego was set for the pinnacle of vanity and he was too self-important to care about anyone but himself and his own concerns. He’d find a way to follow Madelaine and Jack. The Secret Keeper just knew it.
He’d have to send a message to Madelaine, but would need to time it in such a way that he didn’t jeopardize her fraught journey.
First, he needed to warn someone else about Dirk Zandis, self-important dirtbag on the prowl.
He dialed a familiar number in Nocturne Falls.
When it was answered, he wasted no time in getting to the point. “Bubba? This is the Secret Keeper. I need to apprise you of something possibly coming your way.”
The Secret Keeper kept his explanation vague enough to satisfy those who had confided in him, but he trusted that Bubba Thorne would take this conversation to his grave without even being asked to do so.
The former guardsman listened and agreed wholeheartedly with the Secret Keeper’s assessment of Dirk Zandis, self-important dirtbag.
“Thanks for the heads up,” he said. “I’ll keep an eye out for him, but I suspect you’re right. He won’t chance a trip to Nocturne Falls in case your courier has already been and gone from here. He will likely follow her to one of the places he knows is on her itinerary or wait for her to show up in Alienn and cause trouble for her there. I hope you can warn her about him.”
Bubba had a point.
“That is good advice,” the Secret Keeper said. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to get in touch, but I’ll try.”
When their call concluded, the Secret Keeper sent a silent message to Madelaine on the device he’d given her.
There was no guarantee she’d see it. If he didn’t hear from her in a day or so, he’d have to call her. She needed to be warned about Dirk.
