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“I won’t deny it.”
“Uh huh. Fascinating. Someone…royal?”
“No.”
“Hmm. Famous?”
“Yes.”
“Famous why?”
“That’s cheating.”
She pouted, tapping her index finger to her chin as she considered that. “Famous…for acting?”
He pulled the car to a stop at traffic lights, automatically looking left and right, scoping the environment. It reminded her of the imminent danger he anticipated, and her smile slipped.
“No.”
“Music, then,” she said, her voice wobbly.
“No.”
“I’m stumped.”
He grinned, accelerating as the light changed. “Good. It’s confidential, remember.”
“Fine,” she sat back in her seat.
“I lived here on and off for eighteen months. My client worked in the city, as you do, and lived in Hammersmith. I’m familiar with these roads.”
“Did you drive him to and from work as well?”
“Her,” he corrected automatically. “On occasion.”
“Because she had a stalker?”
“No.”
“Then why –,”
“She was the target of national outrage. Death threats, newspaper articles. It was a modern day witch hunt.”
It was more information than he’d wanted to reveal, she was sure of it. Max didn’t probe though; she respected his boundary, and the fact he viewed his protectees as confidential.
“There was no one source of threat, but many. She required general round-the-clock protection. People in the street would attack her, berate her. I watched this woman go from a total ball-buster to a nervous wreck in the space of twelve months. God, I hated people.”
Max knew then who he was talking about. “Marina Oshvelt,” she said softly, referring to the Chairperson of a massive bank that had gone bust, leaving tens of thousands of Britons stranded, their money inaccessible, mortgages called in.
His eyes met hers for a fraction of a second then he looked away, turning into her street.
“People were livid about that.”
“Understandably. But there were many factors at play. Marina was used by the board as a fall guy. She didn’t deserve it. The criticism almost destroyed her.”
Max’s heart trembled and something dark clouded her mind, a question she wanted answered even when she was afraid of what that answer might be. “And you tried to comfort her?”
His brow crinkled as he turned to her. “Comfort her?”
