Page 28 of Spencer


Font Size:  

“That’s enough!” Toni snapped, clutching Spencer’s arm. “I’ve had enough violence today to last me a lifetime.” Her voice went high-pitched and wobbly. “Please, sit down.”

“Best take the lady’s advice, gentlemen,” Kyle said, his flat tone at odds with the growling men ready to tear each other limb from limb. He never raised his voice above a normal, conversational level, but the underlying threat was unmistakable. “Now.”

Spencer and Scotty grumbled but complied, while Gage shook his head and grinned.

“You’ll have to excuse them, Ms. Williams. Especially Scotty. First time away from his new girlfriend.”

“Oh. Well, that can be hard.” She nodded, leaving her hand on Spencer to keep him calm…and because it made her feel better to touch him. “And please, all of you, call me Toni.”

Kyle narrowed his gaze on her. “All right, Toni. Tell me, how well do you know Miles Arrieta?”

“Not well.” Nervous now, under the team’s scrutiny, Toni tucked her hair behind her ear. “As I told Spencer earlier, he’s done some business with my father, and I met him at a couple of Coran Williams Publishing events.”

“And where is your father at the moment?” Kyle asked.

“I have no idea.”

“That seems weird,” Scotty said. “I mean, he’s your father, and you run this foundation with his blessing, yeah?”

“My father hasn’t given me his blessing since the day I was born.” Embarrassment prickled up her cheeks. It hadn’t felt awkward sharing this information with Spencer, but it felt different telling it to his team. Maybe because she could sense that they hadn’t quite decided whether or not to trust her. Toni met Kyle’s gaze. “Am I under investigation here?”

“No.” Kyle narrowed his gaze. “We’re just interested in the whereabouts of your father.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

“We have reason to believe Coran Williams may be involved in terrorist activity,” Kyle said, his expression unreadable. “If you know where he is and you don’t share that information, you’d be aiding and abetting a terrorist.”

Having her own concerns about her father’s activities was one thing. Having these men all but confirm her suspicions was a sucker punch. She inhaled sharply and did her best not to vomit. “He’s my family, my flesh and blood.”

“And that’s what we’re afraid of,” Scotty said.

“Excuse me?”

“Just sit down,” Spencer said. He pulled her down onto the chair beside him. “I know this is a lot to take in, but we really need to talk to him. That’s all. Just talk.”

“Look, I don’t know how many times I have to say it,” Toni said, tired and irritated that they were having this conversation again. “We’re barely in touch. I don’t know why you seem to think I can just pull him out of a hat.”

“Are you saying you aren’t in contact with him at all?” Kyle asked, gaze unblinking.

Toni faltered. She didn’t want to lie—but she didn’t feel she could tell the truth, either. What was the right choice?

“Toni…” Spencer said softly. “I saw your text earlier. The one from your dad.”

“What?” She tried to pull her hand free from his, but he held tight. “I don’t understand. You were snooping through my stuff?”

“I was just trying to protect you.”

“By going behind my back?” She blinked back unwanted tears. Everything felt so unstable—the one thing she’d thought she could count on was that she could trust him. But this was putting a crack in that certainty.

Kyle’s gaze darted from Toni to Spencer, then back again. “We have reason to believe that your father may have had some involvement in the village attack yesterday and that he may be heading up an organization called SHEEPSKIN.”

Head swimming, she stared at the black marble floor. “The e-readers. You think those files have something to do with all this?”

Spencer squeezed her hand, then looked at his team leader. “I told her about the encrypted files Hayley hacked.”

“I see.” Kyle stared at Toni a long moment, as if passing judgment on her worthiness to know that information. Finally, he sighed and looked away. “We don’t trust many people these days, Ms. Williams. For good reason.”

“I know about the investigation into your brother’s death,” she said. “I’m sorry about what happened to him.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like