Page 121 of Broken Wheels

“We need her.” Doc’s voice sounded strained. “If she disappears, we’re down one witness with a lot of credible information. As much as I hate it to admit it, we do need her.”

“This is bullshit,” Gary groused. “Total fucking bullshit.”

Dix couldn’t agree more.

“So you’re not here because you’ve suddenly decided you have a conscience?”

Kathy rolled her eyes. “I don’t care that people died. I wouldn’t have cared if Malone had died. But those kids? I care about that. And after that talk show aired…. Spencer is going to be more dangerous than ever.”

“Which talk show?” As if Dix didn’t know.

“Someone called in and asked awkward questions about the video footage. Knowing Spencer? When he heard that, he would have gone ballistic. He’ll want to know who this guy is. And when he finds him, he’ll have him eliminated too.” She pointed to the drone. “He’s right. You need me. And whatever you may think of my motives, Spencer will come after me.”

“Why do you think he’ll kill you?” Dix asked. “You’ve been with him for years. Do you really believe he’d toss you aside?”

She was quiet for a few moments, then met his stare. “Yes, because that’s what he does. He uses people until he doesn’t need them and then he gets rid of them. I didn’t care, because I was sure I’d be the exception.”

Chalmers let out a derisive snort. “‘I didn’t think they’d eat my face,’ said the woman who voted for the leopards-eating-people’s-faces party.”

She sneered, but her expression morphed into a look of sadness. “I did everything for him. You want to know why? Because I thought I was indispensable.” She gave a sardonic laugh. “What an idiot I was. But as his plan grew, it took on a life of its own. After he killed the board, I realized the truth. He doesn’t want anyone else’s input or help, because he thinks only he can get the job done.”

“What job?” Dix asked.

She shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Dix went out on a limb, trusting Doc’s instincts. “Spencer wants to be president.”

Her mouth fell open. “How did you—” Kathy’s eyes grew wide again. “You people are more on the ball than I’d anticipated.” She nodded. “He thinks he’s the only one who can steer the country properly. If you want to know what I think, he won’t stop there. Spencer believes he’s smarter than anyone else, richer than most, so to his way of thinking, it only stands to reason he should be in charge.”

“You’re saying Spencer killed the people he sent after Dr. Malone?” Michael asked.

Another nod. “Spencer has his elite crew, the people who will do anything for him without question. They were both part of that group, but they knew the price of failure.”

Dix’s skin crawled. “You’re a cold-hearted bitch, you know that?”

She shrugged. “I gave up empathy and compassion years ago. It got me nowhere.”

“And now it’s going to put you in the ground, if we can’t stop Spencer.”

Gary spoke again. “You still haven’t told us what you want from us, Ms. Robertson.”

“Protection. In return, I’ll go on record with everything you want to know.”

Shit, she was clueless.

Dix snorted. “Do you know what you’re asking?”

Kathy frowned. “Huh?”

“Do you have any idea how drastically your life is gonna change? You know how far Spencer’s reach is. If we protect you, you’re gonna be stuck in the deepest, darkest hole we can find.”

She gaped at him. “Why should I live like that?”

Chalmers sneered. “You’re complicit in the murders of God knows how many people. You fucking knew about the deaths, but did nothing to stop them. How long do you think you’re going to last in prison, without any kind of protection? Personally, I don’t give a good goddamn if Spencer kills you. At least it’ll save the taxpayers the expense of a trial.”

Her cheeks drained of color. “You can’t do that.”

Behind Dix, the door opened.

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