Page 235 of Chandelier Sin
“I know my wife.”
“Yes, but surely anyone but Lance.”
“True.” He waved that off.
I leaned forward. “Only I would respect the kind of punishment you wanted for her. Would honor your fetish. Would deliver each strike of the whip as though it came fromyourhand. My whip was your whip. My cock…” I said the rest by raising my glass.
“Artfully articulated, Atticus.”
“Your wife adores you,” I lied. “She just wants to be near her daughter.”
“That’s a discussion for another day.”
I finished my drink and set it down.
“This is a Blood Royal.” He turned his glass in his hand. “Produced in Scotland. First distilled in 1896, using the famous blend of Radner and McMillan.”
“That explains the burn,” I said, annoyed to be talking about whiskey when his wife was distraught.
In my mind I willed Shay to complete the mission with his usual skill.
Get her out.
There’d be no leaving without her daughter though. We all knew that.
What Aemon didn’t know was that we’d replaced one of his men with our own. Having a man on the inside when all this went down was how it was done.
The guy had opened the gate.
He’d faked his way in and was now somewhere in the house clearing the way. Hopefully he’d escorted Eve to safety.
“Thoughts?” asked Aemon.
“I’m merely admiring this estate. Quite the property. I imagine it’s worth a great deal.”
“It’s grown in value. Real estate is always the way to go.”
“And weaponry, by the sound of things.”
“It’s served me well.”
“So business is good?” I asked.
“Excellent. We just imported weapons to end a skirmish in Europe. I was personally invited to join the fray by the president.”
“Impressive.”
“Our satellite gave away the location of the enemy’s central command. That war came to a swift end.”
“I heard about it.”
“We do what we can to aid our comrades.”
“Success looks good on you.”
He tapped his round belly. “You have no fear, do you Sinclair?”
“I know how to push past it.” I leaned forward. “As you can imagine.”
