All Due Respect (26 page)

“Exactly,” Seth agreed. “Marcus doesn’t have full access, which is why Benedetto would recruit Dempsey Morse.”

Julia slumped against the counter. “Home Base could be obsolete before it’s even developed.” She swerved to look at Seth. “You’ll be ruined.”

“It’s worst than that, Julia.” Seth let his gaze drift from the mountain of books dumped on the floor to her. “The technology will be worth millions to all hostiles. If Morse and Benedetto black-market it, they’ll make ten times more money on it than Slicer Industries will make on Home Base.”

“Morse profits from both.”

“Provided he shields himself from guilt behind someone else.”

“Like Karl?”

“Maybe.” Seth grabbed a paper towel and used it to snatch up the phone. “We need to get Matthew in on this. If we’re right, then we’re facing huge challenges.”

She clasped her hands, resisting an urge to wring them. “Seth, are you thinking Morse or Benedetto recruited Karl, too?”

“I don’t know, honey. Someone got him out of jail. Morse doesn’t have that kind of political pull, but Benedetto does. And someone told Karl about your working in the Black World. If you didn’t—”

“I didn’t.”

“Then maybe he has connected with one of them. Or

maybe Karl just found out about your working in the Black World through his own connections and he went a little crazy about our affair.”

“Possible.”

Seth dialed Matthew’s number and then listened to the phone ring. “Julia?”

She turned toward him. “Mmm?”

“About that affair.”

Her pulse pounded in her ears. “Yes?”

The look in his eyes warmed. “I think we should start it now.”

Julia’s heart shot up to her throat. Before she could respond, Seth held up a shushing finger. “Matthew, it’s Seth. You need to get over to my house right away—and bring a forensics team.”

“Bodies?”

“No. Someone just trashed the place. But we’ve got a few theories to explore.”

“Ten minutes.”

The line went dead and Seth hung up the phone. Julia still stood, just staring at him. He’d shocked her, he supposed. He kind of liked that dazed look in her eyes.

They stood staring at each other for a solid five minutes. Seth had given her absorption time, but clearly if he didn’t make the first move, they’d still be standing there on the Fourth of July. “Well, do you agree or disagree?”

Wary, skittish, she frowned at him. “With what?”

“Our affair.” He stepped closer, let his hands slide over her hips, around to her back. “I think it’s a good idea, Julia.”

“I… don’t.”

“Why not?” He leaned toward her, pressed kisses to her neck, whispered at her ear. “You know I’m crazy about you.”

“I know you’re crazy if you think that’s a good reason to have an affair.”

“It’s not.” He could say aloud now what he hadn’t been able to say out loud for five long years. “But wanting you

is. And I’ve wanted you for a long, long time.”

“Seth.”

Hearing a protest coming, he nixed it. “Honey, don’t.” He rubbed their noses. “Sometimes you think too much when you should just feel.” He covered her mouth with his and kissed her long and deep, tasting her surprise, her hesitancy, and, finally, her hunger.

When she let out a little moan and slumped against him, he knew they had won the battle over fears from their pasts. There would be wrinkles from time to time, but they had gotten on the right path.

“Ahem.” Matthew cleared his throat. “Well, I see I’m interrupting.”

Julia gasped and tried to pull away. Seth refused to let her go. Circling an arm around her, he kept her anchored her to his side. “Great timing, Matthew.”

“Yeah.” Grinning, he looked at the kitchen. “You two making up from a little lovers’ quarrel?”

“Not quite.” Seth managed-a smile. Julia, conversely, looked mortified. Her getting comfortable with caring about him was going to take some time. Some time, and a lot of nurturing, and even more trust. “We evidently had a visitor while we were up at the cabin.”

“Mmm.” Matthew pursed his lips, looked around. “Your visitor’s a little on the sloppy side.”

He seemed distracted, but he wasn’t; Seth knew the drill. He was systematically scrutinizing, just as Seth had done.

A sergeant dressed in camouflage gear appeared at the kitchen door. Matthew opened it. “Bring in the team, Sawyer. Check everything.”

“Yes, sir.” The man turned and waved, and four others dressed as he was, carrying cases of gear, entered the house and then disbursed to different rooms.

Julia found her voice and began filling Matthew in on their suspicions.’

He listened attentively, and then voted with Seth. “Benedetto and most likely Morse. He has the most to gain, though we haven’t yet found a substantial link.”

“You will,” Seth predicted.

“Maybe.” Matthew walked through the den. “One thing I’m certain of is, if those two have joined forces, Benedetto will use this technology against the U.S.”

“If he builds Home Base, we’re dead in the water,” Seth said. “Whatever we throw at him, he’ll deflect, evade, and use against us.”

“I understand.” Matthew put a cushion back on the sofa. Tossed a pillow atop it. “But hating any-and everything American, anything he can use against us, he will.”

“All because his father committed suicide.” Julia resisted a sigh. It was difficult to imagine hatred running that deep. Not impossible but difficult, even for her.

“All because we disarmed his father and he felt forced to commit suicide,” Matthew corrected her. “And because he’s backing himself into a similar corner.”

Blaming America seemed twisted yet, in a way, natural. And with their code on family—Julia shuddered. “There’s nothing he won’t do.”

“Nothing.” Matthew’s expression turned from grim to bitter. “A couple of hours ago, I received an Intel update on Two West. We have confirmation. Their arsenal has been rebuilt.”

“Satellite, or visual?” Seth asked.

“Both.”

“Including access to the Rogue?”

“Everything but a visual confirmation on the Rogue and one hell of a lab. Makes ours look like a training ground for amateurs.”

Julia took it all in, spun scenarios, and found one that fit. “Benedetto knows you’re coming after him. He doesn’t want to be forced to commit suicide, like his father.”

“He’s too ambitious to let that happen,” Matthew said. “And too clever. We’ll never pin anything directly on Benedetto.”

Julia tried but couldn’t follow Matthew’s logic. “I understand all this, but none of it gives us indisputable proof that Dempsey Morse is working with Benedetto.”

“That’s true,” Matthew said. “But the Morse alliance is a logical deduction.”

Julia crossed her arms over her chest. “How did you eliminate Marcus, Seth?”

He stepped around the end of the bar, into the dining room. His mother’s crystal was destroyed. Every fragile glass had been broken. “Marcus lacks a comprehensive understanding of the project. He knows only his specific assignment—explosives. Sensors don’t explode, they gather info. Marcus would have needed verification of the sensor codes theft, yet not once has he attempted to get it. Morse doesn’t need confirmation. He knows the codes are accurate, so Morse has to work for Benedetto.”

Julia weighed it out and came to the same conclusion. “But how do we prove it?”

“Let’s think on that, get some people geared in that direction, and meet at noon tomorrow to discuss it,” Matthew suggested. “Right now, we need to explore the Karl connection. To tell you the truth, I’m not convinced there is a Karl connection.”

“Maybe he isn’t connected.” Julia shrugged, obviously disagreeing. “But he’s threatened me, Jeff, and Seth, and he knew about my work in the Black World and he called Benedetto by name. Someone got him out of prison two years early. Knowing Karl’s appetite for my blood, I don’t doubt he got himself involved, Matthew. I’m not sure how he got involved, or through whom, but I know Karl is connected.”

“I don’t doubt your sincerity, but his connection just doesn’t fit the profile.” Matthew leaned back against the stove. “It violates Benedetto’s code. They never involve families.”

“Karl and I are divorced.”

“Two West doesn’t acknowledge divorce. To them, you’re still his wife. And they never touch kids. If Benedetto did bring in Karl and he used you or Jeff, then Karl and Benedetto would lose honor with the loyalists. Benedetto might sacrifice Karl but he would never risk himself.”

“Maybe not,” she said. “But maybe Dempsey Morse would. He could have recruited Karl.”

“Or,” Seth interjected, “maybe Benedetto’s loyalists don’t know Karl is working for Two West and involving Julia and Jeff.” Seth tugged at his right ear.

Julia saw it, and stopped cold. Desperate men commit desperate acts. Benedetto could feel forced onto a ledge. “Could be.”

“We can’t discount the possibility.” Matthew glanced down at the floor and his expression turned curious. “Seth, when did you become a lunch-toting BAMA fan?”

“What?” Seth turned his gaze and saw a lunch box— one he had seen before. The bottom dropped out of his stomach. “It’s not mine.”

“Sawyer! Get a bomb squad in here,” Matthew shouted. “Now!”

“No.” Julia pressed her hands over her chest, let out a little whimper. “It’s not a bomb.”

“How can you know that?” Matthew glared at her. “You can’t know that.”

“Yes she can.” Seth stared at Matthew. “It’s Jeff’s.”

BENEDETTO took the nickel tour of the factory. The people looked content, the work was going well, and production was up. Mr. Branden appeared to be doing a good job, and Anthony told him so.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Any problems?” Anthony stepped outside, preparing to depart, and paused by a trash receptacle. On it, was written: “It’s your factory. Keep it clean.”

“No, sir.” Branden, a lean man with a broad forehead and intelligent eyes, smiled. “Not a one.”

“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.” Anthony returned to his limo, where Roger stood waiting.

Roger shut the door, then walked around and got in, worry in his eyes. “Hyde has kidnapped the boy.”

“What boy?”

“The scientist’s student, Jeffrey Camden.”

Son of a bitch. First the lunatic attacks a woman and now he kidnaps a child?

“I recommend you notify the council immediately, sir. This will be public. There’s no way to keep it from them.”

Anthony stared through the tinted window, feeling his world start to crumble. Hyde, the idiot, had created a catch 22 situation for himself and for Anthony. He needed time to think of a way out. Surely there had to be a way out.

“Sir,” Roger said. “Should I call a meeting?”

“No.”

“No?”

Anthony buried his temper. “We can’t. Not yet. We don’t have everything we need.”

Thoughtful, Roger stared at Mr. Benedetto. The man rarely became rattled, but he was rattled now. In twenty two years, Roger had never seen Anthony’s father rattled. But then that chairman had never been foolish enough to violate the coalition’s sacred code. He had never, not once, compromised his honor.

This chairman had said Hyde worked for the coalition’s friend in Grayton. But did he? Roger wondered. The news of this kidnapping hadn’t exactly taken Mr. Benedetto by surprise. He seemed to have anticipated it as a possibility. Perhaps not, but perhaps he had expected the scientist to resist, and he had surmised Hyde would use the boy to encourage her to cooperate. Hadn’t Mr. Benedetto asked for a detailed investigative report on her that included information on what it would take to get her to commit treason?

Definitely an ethics violation. The council would never believe Anthony Benedetto hadn’t authorized the kidnapping, or that any loyalist, even a green recruit, would commit one without his authorization. He was finished, even if he didn’t yet realize it.

The council would remove him from power. He would lose everything in disgrace, without honor. There would be no detente. No superiority over the United States. No retribution for disarming the coalition and Mr. Philip’s death.

Anthony too would die.

And his mother, Daisy, would again mourn.

That, Roger couldn’t allow; he’d given Mr. Philip his word.

Miss Daisy. Everyone loved her, sought her advice. She was a wise woman and had often counseled Philip.

Roger would seek her advice on this matter. If a way to protect her son and the coalition could be found, Miss Daisy would find it. Hadn’t she protected Mr. Philip, assisted him in his suicide?

MATTHEW declared Seth’s house off-limits and sent Julia and Seth to Julia’s apartment to await word on Jeff.

When two hours had passed and they had heard nothing, Julia’s panic nearly overwhelmed her. Pacing alongside the bar stools, she stopped and looked at Seth, sitting there drinking a glass of juice. “We’ve got to call Camden. We can’t just keep on sitting here and doing nothing. The not knowing is driving me crazy.”

“Honey, we can’t fly by the seat of our pants on this. We could get Jeff hurt.” Seth set down his glass and reached out.

Julia slid into his arms, curled her fingers deeply into his sides. “He’s just a baby.”

“I know.” Seth tucked her head against his shoulder. “I’m worried, too, and I don’t like it, either. But Matthew’s intervened. We’ve got to trust him.”

“Grace’s PD is probably throwing a fit.”

“Probably not. Matthew’s a pro at these things. He knows what he’s doing.”

“He’d better not screw up.” She muttered against Seth’s neck. This was Jeff. Her tiny Jeff with the big heart and sad eyes who desperately needed peace, who envisioned his mother burning in hell every time he closed his eyes and still had the courage to love her and Seth.

“Matthew will do his best,” Seth said, clearly believing it.

Would his best be good enough?

Worried sick for Jeff’s safety, they alternated between pacing the floor and reaching out to each other for comfort and reassurance. Hours passed. And long after dark, the phone finally rang.

Julia scrambled and answered it. “Hello.”

“Finally home, eh, sugar?”

Her stomach muscles clenched. She pressed a hand against them, mouthed to Seth. “Karl.”