Page 108 of Silent Threat
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
He stepped over, crouched down in front of her, and slapped her so hard, her ears rang. “No lying.”
His voice was as calm as if they were having a professional discussion in his office.
OK. She didn’t want to be hit again. She didn’t want to be hurt. She needed to be as whole as possible to make her escape.
“Why do you want Cole?”
“He’s starting to remember. When they start to remember, the game has to end. Most don’t. Ninety percent.” He sounded as thoughtful and caring as ever. “But one in ten aren’t as susceptible to the drug as the rest. I’ve had a pretty long run of good luck. Hard to believe now I have three failures back-to-back.”
She stared at him.
Three failures back-to-back.Was he talking about patients? Her mind jumped to a horrific possibility. “Trev?” And then, “Mitch?”
“Can’t predict these things.”
Her mind swirled. “What did Cole remember?”
“Giving me confidential information during a session, under some medical influence. As it turns out, US military information is a hot commodity in the international market.”
So that had been Cole’s investigation. Dan had turned traitor, and Cole had been sent to root him out. But then why was he leaving? A ruse?
She shrugged off the dozen questions that crowded into her brain. She’d ponder those later.
“I drug them, they blab, they don’t remember,” Dan went on, sounding pleased, as if he considered himself a genius.
“Except one in ten,” she said, so stunned she could barely think.
“No plan is ever perfect. But I’m in the right position for damage control. I can take care of the exceptions.”
Cole wasn’t anexception, she wanted to scream; he wasn’t an aberration that needed to be fixed. “Why? You’re not political. You’re not—”
“For the money. In another few months, I can retire. I’m tired of the same old shit. New day, new people, but always the same problems. I want to focus full-time on taking care of my mother.”
“You did this because you were bored?”
“You’re in no condition to judge me,” he snapped. “Did you spread your legs for a patient because you were bored?” Contempt dripped from every word. “Too good for me, but not too good for him?”
Dan seemed to have no regrets, no scruples.A sociopath?
How had she not noticed? But they hadn’t been close friends, hadn’t spent much time together outside her weekly sessions with him. And in those there had always been a certain professional distance between them.
Until that dinner when he’d kissed her.
Had she become some kind of obsession for him without even knowing it?
“I’m sorry.” She did her best to sound contrite. She would say anything that might help. “I didn’t understand how you felt.”
He stood. “Too late.” Anger hardened his voice as he said, “We could have been family. You have no idea of all the wonderful plans I had for us. I was going to introduce you to my mother.”
This was the second time he referred to his mother. “I don’t understand. I thought she skipped out when you were a kid. I thought you barely even remembered her.”
“I found her in Alzheimer’s care a couple of months ago. I’ve been searching for a while. I brought her home.” He shot Annie a cold look of hate. “I don’t want to talk about her. You don’t deserve to know her.”
He walked to the other end of the space and looked out, toward the path.
Waiting for Cole.
