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“What do you have, Wagner?” she whispered almost in dread, sensing, somehow knowing that life as she knew it was going to be changed.
Wagner shook his head. “Sit down.” He indicated the chair across from the television. “Trust me, you don’t want to be standing for this.”
Bailey sat down warily as Wagner hit play and the DVD started up.
It was in Ford’s office. He was standing behind his desk as her father stalked into the room.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Her father growled, his deep voice resonating inside Bailey as she watched his beloved features.
“Searching for some papers.” Ford looked up from the desk. “What’s your problem? Getting cold feet?”
“Cold feet, your ass!” Ben cursed. “You little bastard. Who the fuck is Warbucks and what the hell is he doing with the test designs Serborne Research has been working on for the military? What the bloody hell are you up to?”
Bailey’s heart nearly stopped. Ford sat down behind the desk slowly. “What are you talking about, Ben?”
“I’m talking about the fucking rumor that the Mossad caught wind of. The rumor that an American traitor has military designs entrusted to my company. Designs that only you could have gotten access to. Designs you gave him.” Ben’s voice rose in volume as fury creased and flushed his face.
Ford regarded him silently over the desk for long moments.
“Forget you heard that rumor,” Ford advised him. “And advise your cousin Garren that he has his facts wrong. If you want to live, Ben, if you want your family to live, you’ll drop it.”
The fight progressed from there. Her father was out of his chair, fists flying. The fight turned bloody before Ben stormed out of the office, threatening to call Homeland Security.
As the door slammed shut, another door opened. Bailey wanted to scream in rage as Orion stepped from another room into the office.
“Take care of him,” Ford ordered him coldly. “Tonight. Before he has a chance to call anyone.”
“It’s going to cost you.” Orion’s smile was a monster’s grin of anticipation. “This won’t be as cheap as Mathilda and Anna’s was.”
She was going to pass out. Bailey stared at the scene with a sense of horror, praying the emotionless mask she had plastered on her face was still in place.
So many years she had fought to prove that Ford had hired Orion to kill his wife and daughter, and then her parents. So many sleepless nights spent trying to find proof, fighting to make Ford Grace pay for the deaths of those she had loved.
And here was the proof. Right here, in living color, taped by a man who had been smart enough to think about insurance.
“Price is no object,” Ford stated arrogantly. “Just make certain it happens tonight.”
Orion shook his bald head and gaze a mocking little laugh. “It’s always a pleasure doing business with you, Grace. Always a pleasure.”
Ford sniffed at the comment as Orion turned on his heel and left the room the way he’d come. That night, her parents had died.
She could feel the tears she needed to shed, ached to shed burning in her chest as she watched Ford return to his desk, straighten his papers, replace the phone on the desk, then pour himself a drink.
He was calm, humming to himself, as though he hadn’t just ordered the deaths of two people who’d loved him like a brother. As though he hadn’t just admitted to killing his wife and child.
And she couldn’t do a damned thing about it. Not yet.
Rising to her feet, she moved slowly to the television, found the controls, and ejected the disk. Holding it in her hand, she stared down at it, felt something shatter inside her soul, and prayed to God that she knew what the hell she was doing.
If Wagner tried to use this, then he was dead. Ford would have no compunctions about killing his heir if he turned against him like this.
“Tell me how to handle this, Bailey,” Wagner whispered roughly behind her. “Tell me how to make him pay.”
“Have you copied this?” she asked softly.
“Not yet,” he answered. “I can’t believe I even have it.”
She held the disk between her hands, took a deep breath, and snapped it in half.
