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“This money is nothing. It’s a tool to entice him, and that’s all that matters.” Quint placed the phone down, pacing slowly. “There’s nothing we can do but agree to his demands. We can’t try to leverage our position, because he’s got us pinned. We do what he asks, or we don’t go home with our son.”
He picked up the phone, typing a simple affirmative and sending it. After a moment, a reply came in, and Quint read it aloud.
Meet on the cliff overlooking the shore at ten tonight. Both of you come, or no deal. We’ll be right above the biggest celebration of the night, so if you try anything, there will be a problem. Spend the rest of the day wondering about what that means. I can’t wait to see you both, but especially our dear, lying, Amara. Do you love her? How much?
Quint growled low, but sent another short message affirming the meeting before dropping his phone onto the counter, disgusted. “I can’t believe this … this nerve. That was a threat, and not a thinly veiled one either. It’s not safe up there — not for you. Damn. You can’t go. I can’t let you.”
“But I have to go. He said so. Like he told my mother, he wants me playing by his rules.”
The muscle in Quint’s jaw clenched. “It’s not safe. It’s not —”
“It’s not something we can debate, like the money.” For the first time in days, Amara’s head began to clear. A strength of will and purpose filled her and shoved away the fog of competing emotions which had been slowly driving her crazy.
“We have to do this straight up,” she continued. “No tricks, no questions, nothing but handing over what he wants and getting Hampton. That’s it.”
Quint looked at her oddly. “You don’t realize what you’re risking.”
“I do,” she said with utter conviction. “I know exactly what I’m risking, and I’d do it a thousand times over for Hampton.”
Quint stood and ran a hand through his thick, black hair.
Amara stood next to him and lay a hand on his sturdy shoulder. “I’m going to be okay. So are you. So is Hampton. It’s almost over.”
She thought she saw tears shimmering in the corners of his eyes.
“I wish I knew how he learned I’m Hampton’s father. Greed may be part of what set him off,” Quint said, stepping out from under her hand and beginning to pace.
“Perhaps. Probably, though, it was because he got fired,” Amara said. “I don’t know how he learned that you’re Hampton’s father. There’s no way he could. Kari would never say anything, and she’s the only person besides us who knew. Did he fly here knowing you had the resources to follow him?”
“I believe so.” He paced more rapidly. “And he demands that you come tonight. I don’t know if he’s going to try to hurt you, Amara. I’ll be ready if he does. I may not be fully recovered from the crash, but I can take care of him if the need arises.”
“I know you can.” Amara fell silent then, staring down at her half-finished breakfast, her appetite completely gone with her warring emotions. Everything was clear now. The end approached. And one emotion ha
d claimed victory: anger.
“We’ll give him what he wants so he won’t think he needs to punish me again,” she said flatly. “I can’t believe this is happening. I did everything right, didn’t I?”
Quint gave her a confused look.
Her voice began to pick up again, and the anger smoldering beneath the surface broke through almost immediately. “What else was I supposed to do? Yeah, I wanted people to know that Frederik lied about my work. And when other rumors started up around the department, I didn’t correct any of them, especially the ones that made Frederik look bad. I wanted him to lose face, wanted him beaten down after what he did to me.”
She leaned over the counter, head in her hands as she heaved a heavy, frustrated sigh. “He only thinks of himself. He’s always been that way. I was almost going to forgive the way he acted on the trip to Nigeria to help those families, but when I tried to talk to him about it, he got so haughty, so self-righteous … I couldn’t stand it. And then he got the grants pulled to get back at me? For what? What did I do to him? Nothing. He put human lives in jeopardy because his ego was bruised. I can’t believe I was ever gullible enough to fall for his shit. I’m so mad, Quint. I hate him. I wish he were dead. And I mean that.”
Quint stopped pacing, his expression was sharp. “Good. Get mad. Hate him. He deserves it. I heard enough about him to know what kind of man he is. Confidence is endearing, or sexy if used in a certain way. You can’t blame yourself for falling prey to something that doubtlessly was honed to be used exactly as it was. You have to understand the true nature of your relationship. Whether or not you realize it, at least on a professional level, he was riding your coattails. Not the other way around. Sure, he got you name recognition, but he was only there to take the glory for work he had no part of. He couldn’t even invest his time, let alone actually care about those people. And in a final insult, he tried to sell off your work, undoing everything you’d worked so hard for. Even now he wants revenge not for anything you actually did, but instead for what he didn’t do, which was earn a share of the award you rightly won. He needs to be seen for exactly what he is — a scared, empty man with nothing to offer anyone but betrayal.”
“Stop blaming yourself,” he continued with passion. “Put blame where it belongs, on Frederik. Take away his power over you, because that’s all your guilt does — empower him and turn you into a victim. Instead, hate him. Don’t take his misdeeds onto yourself. Despise him. Wish he were dead. God knows I do.”
It felt amazing to hear Quint say it the way he did. She reveled in the sensation of invincibility surging through her. “I do hate him. He’s nothing. Thank you. You’re right. He has no power over me.”
Quint gave her an approving look that sent her temperature soaring even higher.
“We’re going to meet on equal ground, tonight,” Amara said with unflinching confidence. “And we’re going home with our son.”
Chapter Thirty One
FAR BELOW THE ROCKY CLIFF, the Dia de los Muertos celebration was in full swing. The moon was eerily large and bright, glowing behind stretched, wispy clouds that formed the lead edge of a growing storm far out on the ocean’s horizon.
Throughout Montevideo, cheers and songs rose from the great throngs of people that crowded the streets and the rocky shore. Even from such a great elevation, the costumes of the revelers who’d set up a bonfire at the foot of the cliff could be seen.
