Page 105 of Hot Intent

She continued, “I imagine André has told some of his staff about it by now. And then there’s my uncle, Charlie McCloud. You might know him? He’s the Deputy Director of Plans for the CIA. And then there’s my brother, Ian. He’s in naval intelligence. And my other brother in the FBI. And my dad, of course. He’s a retired Green beret and an ex-cop. And then my other brother--”

“Enough.”

The guys in the corners looked restless. They were watching Claudia with something akin to concern. As if maybe their boss was losing control of the situation. Katie pressed her advantage.

“What do you think, Claudia? May I call you Claudia? I feel as if I already know you. Do you suppose Alex has told Roman about it, yet?”

“You tell me.”

Katie shrugged. “You’d have to ask the two of them.”

“Oh, I will.”

“You’d probably better just ask Roman. I doubt Alex will answer if you ask him. You made a grave mistake, you know, leaving him with Roman. His father trained him superbly over the years. Alex is way too smart to fall for your machinations.”

“I hope for your sake you’re wrong,” Claudia retorted.

“What? You think this transparent little trap is going to catch Alex off guard? You really don’t know your son, do you?”

She probably shouldn’t have pointed out to Claudia that using her as bait wasn’t going to work. It made her useless to Claudia. The good news was she doubted Claudia would let the men shoot her in this pristine house. They would haul her outside to execute her. Good Lord willing, that would give Alex a window to do something miraculous to save her.

Katie said, “I’m assuming, of course, that Roman’s story about you choosing to stay in Russia when he defected to the United States to give his boys a better life is a load of crap?”

“A total line of bull,” Claudia replied derisively.

“Then tell me something, Claudia. Whydidyou leave your sons behind when you left Roman?”

Claudia leaned back and crossed one elegant leg over the other. Katie didn’t honestly expect the woman to answer, so she was surprised when Claudia said, “It wasn’t my choice, really. I had to get out fast before Roman had me arrested or killed. My escape route relied on stealth and speed. It wouldn’t accommodate several children.”

“And yet,” Katie replied softly, “Alex and I managed to escape Zaghastan with a squalling newborn. You could have taken your sons with you had you really wanted to. You would have found a way. But you chose not to.”

For an instant, Claudia looked stricken. As if the woman had actually believed her own excuse all these years. But then, her eyes shuttered the exact same way Alex’s did. Katie had scored a direct hit with that one.

After a long, thoughtful pause, Claudia commented, “I may have underestimated you, Miss McCloud.”

Katie nodded sympathetically. “Everyone does. I think it’s the whole girl next door vibe that throws people off.”

An unwilling smile tugged at the corner of the woman’s mouth. God, that was just like Alex. It was a little freaky looking at a blond, female version of him like this.

A need to keep this woman talking, to buy Alex time to figure out a rescue plan or call in the cavalry, pressed in on Katie. She murmured, “Roman must have been very angry when he discovered you were a spy. He told Alex he loved you.”

“He was furious.” Claudia shrugged. “As for having feelings for me, who knows? It’s complicated with spies.”

“Tell me about it,” Katie agreed fervently. “It’s all layers piled on top of layers, meaning buried within meaning, nothing straightforward, nothing black or white. It’s all shades of gray.”

“Spoken like a woman in love with my son.”

“Oh, I’ve never made any secret of my feelings for Alex. But as for how he feels about me…that’s anyone’s guess. You did quite a number on his head, Claudia. He doesn’t trust any woman any further than he can throw her.”

“For your sake, you had better hope he cares enough about you to reveal himself to me.”

Katie gulped. She honestly didn’t know if he would put himself on the line for her at this juncture. He’d been willing to play house with her and Dawn a year ago. He’d even pushed past his personal demons far enough to invite her to run with him.

But now? After his mother had turned on him? After the CIA had finished turning him into a killer? After the drugs in Panama had unleashed his subconscious paranoia? After his mother had jumped headlong into the ongoing game of who could manipulate and control him? After she, herself, had refused to believe him when he’d tried to show her how dangerous the world really was?

Who could he trust, really?

Tragically, she suspected the answer to that was no one. Absolutely no one at all.

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