Page 87 of Protecting You

When she didn’t finish her sentence, he said, “My potatoes aren’t so small?” He sounded almost amused.

“Look, I don’t want to know. I don’t want to get caught up in whatever it is you’re doing, okay? I can’t. My father is sort of a bigwig in the government, and this could look very bad for him. Not that I know whatthisis. I’m just saying…”

She paused, hoping Charles would jump in.

He didn’t.

“I just want your assurance that, when I’m finished searching for vulnerabilities at your company”—she was very careful to add theyour—“then that’ll be the end of our…partnership. After that, I’m going to take some time off and…and you know what I’m saying, right? I want out.”

“I understand that, for a little while, you’ll be focusing all your time and attention on your fiancé and wedding planning.”

“Exactly. That’s exactly right. This has nothing to do with you.” And then she heard what he hadn’t said and added, “But what I’m saying is not…temporary. After I complete this job for you, I will sever my ties with you, and that will be that. You understand?”

“You’ll come back to my house today?”

“No!” The word came too fast. “I’m not…I can’t. Sorry, but no. And I don’t need to. I can do the searches on my laptop, and I won’t have to tell Caleb or anyone else what I’m doing.”

“Probably not the best way to treat the man you love, but alas, I’ve never been married. Perhaps a bit of deceit is necessary in a happy marriage.”

“I don’t want to deceive him. I just don’t see another option. He doesn’t trust you.”

“What does he think I’m up to?”

“He has no idea. I haven’t given him any details, and I don’t plan to. Which is why I can’t come back. I mean, we’re in Portland, a long drive from Boston. There’s no way I could come back without him knowing.”

They’d decided her best bet was to be honest with Charles about her whereabouts. The more truth she could share, the more likely he would believe her. “We’re going to his parents’ house tonight and to my grandparents’ anniversary party tomorrow. There’s no way for me to come back there. I mean, unless it could wait until Monday.”

Callan gripped her wrist to draw her attention, shaking his head vehemently.

She averted her gaze from the fear in his eyes.

The one thing he’d told her was not to agree to go back to Charles’s house under any circumstances, and she didn’t plan to.

But offering to felt right. She needed to sound as if she weren’t afraid of Charles.

Though it wouldn’t hurt to show a little fear, all things considered. It wasn’t like she had to fake it. The thought of going back to that house with all those guards churned terror in her stomach.

“And, honestly,” she said, “it wasn’t just Caleb who was freaked out. I’d rather just work on my own, like we’ve done for months. You know you can trust me.”

“Do I know that, Alyssa? After what you did last night, I’m not so sure.”

“WhatIdid? You blackmailed me. You insisted I come to your house even when I didn’t want to. You watched over me as if you thought I was going to…I don’t even know what you thought. You treated my fiancé like a criminal.”

Charles said nothing. He was better at the silence thing than she was. But then, she wasn’t trying to prove to him that she was as clever as he.

“Look,” she said, “I don’t want to argue with you or cast blame, but if I were having this conversation with one of my sisters, I’d say you started it.”

She hated bringing up her sisters. But both Michael and Callan believed Charles knew all about her family. Mentioning her sisters would lend credence to the idea that she was being honest. That she had nothing to hide.

The last thing she wanted was to put her sisters on his radar. To make them into targets.

Please, Father. Protect them. For their sake if not for mine.

“Perhaps we were a little too protective,” Charles said. “Though I disagree that your behavior was equal to mine—running away like you did was extreme.”

She didn’t say anything. She’d made her case.

After a moment, he continued. “I will make you a deal. If you get me the information I asked for regarding SJSSandthe name of the Russian I seek, then we can part ways as friends.”

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