Page 108 of Tell Me Why
Still no clue.
Tell got in the front seat next to Isabella, checking to ensure that Leonard didn’t have any obvious weapons with him in the back, and she started the engine, rolling slowly across the grass and then picking up speed as the tires hit gravel.
“He’s a triple agent,” Isabella said. “He’s been working for me for six weeks, now, with a promise that if he helped me finish this, I would take him back to my father’s court with me.”
Tell stared out the windshield.
“Youknewhe worked for Silix,” Tell said.
“I did,” Isabella said.
“And youknewhe was going to call in the strike on the house,” he said.
“Calculated risk,” Isabella said. “I told him to do it.”
Tell felt cold.
Colder than normal, even.
He hadn’t seen it at all.
“I tried to save her,” Isabella said. “If he could get her off the premises under the colors of recruiting her for Silix, at least they wouldn’t take her.”
“I misunderstood her completely,” Leonard said. “I never had a chance, did I?”
Tell looked back at him.
“You knew who I was,” he said, and Leonard nodded.
“What I told her was true. We’ve met before, but I was truly nobody, back then.”
Tell narrowed his eyes.
“And you thought you could turn her against me by trying to make her a part of the institution,” he said
“Like I said, I misunderstood her. I didn’t realize that you were working with Her Lady.”
Tell looked sideways at Isabella, who remained stoic.
“I didn’t want the two of you tipping off anyone that I had support here,” she said. “I didn’t tell you about him because I wasn’t certain I could rely on him until I actually did.”
“Calling in Silix to take Tina,” Tell said, and Isabella shrugged.
“He did his job. I’ll live up to my promise.”
“Where are we going?” Tell asked.
“I’m not going to call my father and ask him to mobilize to this scale based on a phone call,” she said. “We’re going to Italy.”
“Tonight,” Tell said.
“Would you prefer to wait for tomorrow?” Isabella asked.
“I haven’t left the continent in more than a hundred years,” Tell said.
“Doesn’t make much difference, then, today or tomorrow,” Isabella said with a quiet humor, and he glowered.
He looked back at Leonard.
