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“Very clever,” he remarked with grudging respect. “You think on your feet and cover tracks well.”
“Listen to me, Tate. If I get the tapes from Van, will you look at them to see if you recognize this man?” She told him how they had deduced that a professional assassin had been hired.
“You form quite a trio, all figuring to make big bucks at the expense of the Rutledge family.”
“It’s not like that.”
“No?”
“No!”
The sudden knock on the door brought them both around. “Who is it?” Tate called out.
It was Eddy. “We’ll meet downstairs in twenty minutes for a last-minute briefing over breakfast before leaving for the airport.” Tate glanced at Avery and held her anxious gaze for several moments. “Is everything okay?” Eddy asked.
She placed her clenched hands beneath her chin and silently beseeched Tate not to say anything. “Please, Tate,” she whispered. “You have no reason to, but you’ve got to trust me.”
“Everything’s fine,” he reluctantly called through the door. “See you in the dining room. Twenty minutes.”
Avery collapsed with relief on the nearest sofa. “You mustn’t say anything, Tate. Swear to me you won’t breathe a word of this to anyone. Anyone.”
“Why should I trust you above my own family and confidants?”
She answered carefully. “If what I’ve told you is true, then your silence could save you from assassination. If it’s all a wild scheme, then your silence could save you from public ridicule. Either way, you’ve nothing to gain right now by revealing me as an impostor. So, I’m begging you not to tell anyone.”
He gave her a long, cold stare. “You’re as devious as Carole was.”
“I hate that you see it that way.”
“I should have read the signs. I should have known the changes in you, in her, were too good to be true. Like the way you took to Mandy when you came home.”
“She’s come so far, Tate. Don’t I get credit for loving her?”
“You’ll get credit for breaking her heart when you leave.”
“It will break my heart, too.”
He ignored her. “Now I know why you suddenly took an interest in the election, why your opinions were more eloquently expressed, and why…” He looked at her mouth. “Why so many things were different.” For several moments, he seemed to be struggling against the pull of a powerful magnet that would draw him to her. Then, with a vicious curse, he turned away.
Avery charged after him, catching him before he could lock her out of the bathroom. “What are you going to do?”
“For the time being, not a damn thing. I’ve come this far. You and your nefarious scheme aren’t going to deter me from winning the election for myself, and for my family, and for all the people who’ve placed their trust in me.”
“What about me?”
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “If I expose you, I would expose myself and my family as fools.” He grabbed a handful of hair at the back of her head and pulled it back. “And if you expose us, I’ll kill you.”
She believed him. “I’m not lying, Tate. Everything I’ve told you is the truth.”
He released her abruptly. “I’ll probably divorce you, as I’d planned to divorce Carole. Your punishment will be having to remain the former Mrs. Tate Rutledge for the rest of your life.”
“You must be careful. Someone is going to try to kill you.”
“Avery Daniels has been dead and buri
ed for months. She’ll remain dead and buried.”
“Watch for a tall, gray-haired man in the crowds. Stay away from him.”
