The Betrayal (31 page)

“I stewed over the dilemma for weeks and then, it came to me. Rather than wait and hope that Munro stayed quiet, I decided to preempt the battle. I decided to strike Munro where it would hurt the most, discrediting him to the point that no one, not even the lowliest member of the AFP, would believe a word he said. It wouldn’t matter if a jury believed his protestations of innocence. The damage to his reputation would have already been done. Munro’s life and career as he’d known it would be over.” He chuckled.

Chloe felt sick.

“The plan was beyond brilliant,” he enthused. “I realized I needed an ally in Munro’s unit. I canvassed various options and stumbled across Charlie—or Chip as I’m fond of calling him. It was an added bonus to discover Chip was gay. It meant that not only would he be instrumental in bringing Declan Munro down, he could also be a plaything.”

Chloe moaned in anguish. Her stomach rebelled at his words. She wanted to put her hands up over her ears and scream to block them out, but her hands remained frozen in her lap.

The Minister smiled. “We spent a thoroughly delightful month together before I approached him about the problem of Declan Munro. By then, Chip was ready to do anything I asked of him. And so it began…”

His grin widened and Chloe could tell he was lost in his memories. She eased herself out of the chair, intent on escaping the man she no longer recognized.

She made it to the door without incident, barely daring to breathe. Her uncle looked up, but remained where he was. His voice reached out to her where she stood outside in the corridor.

“As I said, Princess. Declan Munro had nobody but himself to blame.”

CHAPTER 25

Chloe’s hand shook uncontrollably as she swiped at the tears that coursed down her cheeks and stumbled out of the elevator. She headed toward her car. Somehow, she managed to turn the key in the ignition and get herself out of the parking station. The same security guard offered her a wave, but she barely registered his presence through the anguish that tore her apart. Exiting the car park, she drove barely a hundred yards before she pulled over onto the side of the road and gave into the pain that crippled her.

Her uncle had lived a lie, probably for most of his life.
He’d lied to his family, his staff, his constituents. She didn’t know if her aunt was wise to the subterfuge, but even if she was, that didn’t excuse it.

What Chloe couldn’t understand was why he’d gone to such lengths to hide his sexuality. They were living in the twenty-first century. Being gay was hardly a death sentence.

Sure, he might have to resign his ministerial position, but it seemed a small price to pay for the freedom to live his life true.

Chloe swallowed a sob. It wasn’t her uncle’s life-long deception and the knowledge that he was gay that caused the deep coldness that had settled in her belly. What had her limbs trembling like she was in the throes of a fever was knowing that her uncle had been prepared to ruin Declan’s life over something as trivial as a knockback.

The realization horrified her. People received knockbacks all the time. Some mattered, some didn’t. Some of them were forgotten quickly, some of them took a lot longer. The fact was, having someone turn you down was a part of life.

Declan had turned her uncle down. He’d passed on her uncle’s offer to sleep with him. And her uncle had sought revenge.

He couldn’t bear the thought of an underling knocking him back and telling him no. His actions were nothing more than that of a spoiled child who’d been refused a coveted toy. Was he really such a narcissist? The very thought of what he’d done made her ill.

Sucking in a lungful of air, Chloe fumbled for her phone. She punched in Declan’s number.

He picked up after the first ring. “Chloe, thank Christ; how did it go?”

Fresh tears overwhelmed her and emotion tightened her throat. She swallowed and tried to speak. “He-he…”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay. Where are you?” he asked.

“I’ve… I’ve just left his office. I’m on the side of the road, not far from the Hill.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Chloe ended the call and dragged in a breath. Knowing Declan was nearby and ready to provide comfort calmed her frantic thoughts. Moments later, the sound of a motorbike snagged her attention. She smiled tremulously when he drew up behind her on his Ducati.

* * *

Charlie wiped the sweat off his forehead and upper lip and wished he hadn’t finished the second bottle of rum. He could have done with a double shot right about now.

After telephoning the Master earlier, he’d spent the time since sitting in his pickup, not far from his Master’s office, planning how to do his lover’s bidding. He’d been there more almost an hour when he spied Declan on his midnight-black Panigale Ducati. He was heading toward Parliament House, less than two hundred yards from where Charlie was parked.

He was more than a little surprised that Declan would be in the vicinity of Parliament House. This early in the morning, the building was only open to parliamentary staff, or those with approved access to them.

He watched with interest as Declan came to a halt in the public car park right outside the building and parked the bike. After tugging off his helmet, he sat there, as if waiting for someone.

Intrigued, Charlie looked over his shoulder and then out his window to discover what might warrant Declan’s attention, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Confused, he settled back against his seat and prepared to wait.

It was more than half an hour later, when Charlie heard the sound of the Ducati roar to life. He sat up and blinked to sharpen his gaze. Declan had halted beside a little red Honda that had appeared from the direction of the staff car park under Parliament House. It had pulled up on the shoulder of the road a little over a hundred yards away. Charlie watched as the door to the Honda opened. His jaw dropped open in shock.

The IA investigator climbed out of the car and fell into Declan’s arms. He hugged her close, his lips moving against her hair, his hands caressing her back. Suddenly, everything dropped into place…

Declan was fucking the investigator.
No wonder she’d gone after Charlie like a ferret down a hole. She was doing the defendant…

Another thought struck him.

Had the Master changed his mind?
Had he summoned the investigator to his office to deal with himself? She was, after all, his niece. Had he doubted Charlie’s ability to do the deed?

Fear and desperation surged through him. He had to prove himself worthy—of the Master and of his love. He focused yet again on the little red Honda and noticed Declan had climbed back onto the Ducati. He and the Honda were now moving out into the traffic.

Determined to show the Master his depth of love and loyalty, Charlie started the pickup and tailed them. His orders had been to take out the investigator, but right here and now, it seemed too good an opportunity to pass off to rid the world of both of them in one fell swoop. He only hoped he could manage it.

Flattening the accelerator, he sped along the lane that ran parallel to the one the Honda was in. Its indicator came on and the vehicle moved into the left-hand lane. Charlie smiled in delight. She was about two hundred feet in front of him and another two hundred from the nearest exit. The Ducati had dropped back, caught up in traffic, but it didn’t matter. The investigator was his main target. He needed to stay focused.

His heart thumped hard. Once again sweat beaded his brow and across his upper lip and he swiped at them both with the back of his hand. Blood pounded in his ears. He stamped hard on the accelerator. His pickup leaped forward.

He closed the distance between him and the Honda, speeding past cars that were in the outside lane. Adrenaline surged through him. He was twenty feet away…ten…five… A wild, primeval yelp of triumph echoed in his ears.

The investigator turned and saw him, terror bursting across her face seconds before the side of his pickup slammed into the driver’s side of her vehicle, pushing her off the road.

The squeal of metal on metal was ear splitting. Sparks flew between the vehicles and still he kept the accelerator pressed flat to the floor. He glanced ahead and saw the huge gum tree. A grin widened his mouth. The little Honda was headed straight for it.

CHAPTER 26

Declan maneuvered the bike through the gridlock of traffic, cursing under his breath as Chloe’s Honda pulled ahead of him. He didn’t know what had happened in her uncle’s office, but he’d never seen such desolation on her face. She’d been almost beyond speech.

Reassuring himself that she wasn’t hurt and that she was capable of driving home, he’d urged her to go directly to his apartment and assured her he’d be right behind her.

She’d nodded her agreement and he’d scrambled back onto his bike, eager to get her home and do whatever it took to remove the sadness in her eyes. He didn’t want to admit it, but the blank expression on her face terrified him.

He glanced beside him and changed lanes, hoping to make up ground. A silver pickup ahead of him snagged his attention. He frowned as he recognized it. It was Charlie’s, he was sure of it.

The pickup was traveling fast, faster than the posted speed limit. It was headed right for Chloe.

Misgivings stirred in his gut. They quickly morphed into panic. He shook his head from side to side and a scream climbed up his throat.

He opened up the throttle and urged the bike on faster, but he was too far away. He watched in horror as Charlie’s pickup collided with the side of the little Honda and forced it into the gutter.

The sound of screeching metal reached him. No match for the pickup, the Honda’s wheels caught on the side of the curb and flipped up on its side. Seconds later, it slammed into a tree.

Shock and disbelief temporarily immobilized him. Chloe’s terrified scream reached him over the cacophony of traffic and other noise. His blood ran cold.

“No, no, no, no, no!” he shouted, bringing the Ducati to a screeching halt. Leaping off, he tore toward the site of the accident. Smoke billowed from Chloe’s car.

“Someone call a fucking ambulance!” he screamed, his gaze never straying from the mangled wreck that had once been a little red Honda.

He finally reached her and banged on the side of the car to get her attention. The driver’s side window had shattered, but he could still see her through the crazed glass.

“Chloe? Can you hear me? For Christ’s sake, answer me!”

He heaved on the door handle, but the battered and twisted metal didn’t budge. He tried the rear passenger side door and had the same result. He banged the side of the car once again in an effort to get her attention.

“Chloe, answer me. Please, sweetheart. Please let me know you can hear me. I need to know you can hear me.”

He spied the slightest movement of her head and his heart exploded with relief. The sound of sirens ricocheted through his brain. In some disconnected part of his mind, he registered the fact that emergency services were on their way.

Smoke continued to billow out from underneath the hood. He smelled the distinct odor of leaking fuel.

Christ, he had to get her out of there.

Racing around to the passenger side, he pulled up short when he realized the trunk of the tree had wedged itself firmly against the side of the car. There would be no way he could get past it.

Desperation and helplessness flooded through him. He fell to his knees and clawed at his hair. She was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it.

He jumped when a large hand landed on his shoulder. “We’ve got it under control, mate. You need to move away.”

Declan stared up at the fireman who held a thick hose in his hand.

“You don’t understand,” Declan implored the man. “She’s still in there. You need to get her out. Please, God, you need to get her out.”

“It’s okay, we’ll get her out. I promise you. Move away and let us do our job.”

The fireman opened up the hose and blasted the front of the Honda. Within moments, the smoke died down and Declan collapsed in relief.

CHAPTER 27

Declan forced air into his laboring lungs. Everything moved in slow motion. He clenched his fists and tried hard to concentrate on the emergency services personnel that were working quickly to free Chloe from the wreckage of her car.

His mind shied away from the possibility her injuries could be fatal. He wasn’t ready to contemplate that situation. She was alive. He’s seen her head move. He was sure of it. Hurt, maybe, but alive. He refused to accept any other scenario.

He was surrounded by police vans and fire engines when he noticed an ambulance had arrived. Uniformed policemen wearing bright, high-visibility vests, directed traffic around the accident site. The smell of burnt rubber and engine oil permeated the air. It looked impossible that anyone could have survived inside the crumpled wreckage of Chloe’s Honda where it lay twisted around the huge gum tree.

A gray-haired plain-clothes detective with an efficient manner approached him where he lay sprawled on the ground, right outside the cordoned-off area of the accident site.

“I understand you know the woman in the car,” the man said.

Declan nodded. “Yeah.” His voice was almost unrecognizable. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Yes, her name’s Chloe Sabattini. She’s a senior investigator with the AFP.”

The detective paled. “Shit.”

Declan understood how he felt.

“Who are you?” the detective asked.

“Federal Agent Declan Munro.” Declan waited for some sign of recognition, but there was nothing. After taking down details in his notepad, the detective looked up at Declan again.

“Did you see anything? Do you know what caused the accident?”

Declan drew in a deep breath and tried to suppress the anger and guilt that threatened to overwhelm him. “Oh, yeah, I saw it all right. And there’s one thing I’m certain of: This was no accident.”

The strained growl of a hydraulic motor filled the air. A screech of protesting metal followed. Declan leaped up from his seat on the ground and watched in horror as pieces of Chloe’s Honda were ripped apart by the metal teeth of the Jaws of Life.