Smoke and Sin (The Perfect Gentlemen 4)

“I’m not trying to hurt her,” he insisted. “I’m trying to protect her.”

Everly clutched the laptop to her chest. “See that you do or you’ll answer to the rest of us. I hate leaving her out of this. You think she could be a weak link, but I think she would be an amazing asset. She’s smart. She thinks outside the box. She’s good at damage control. Consider it at least. Lara’s right—compromise is important.”

Once the door closed behind her, all the women had gone. Roman found himself with three of the five men he’d considered his brothers for the majority of his life. Dax was missing, but for the best of reasons. No doubt, he was enjoying his honeymoon at that little bed and breakfast in Maui.

But Mad would always be a hollow space in their lives—and their hearts.

“When did the women get so scary?” Connor asked.

Gabe held his hands up. “Mine has always been scary. Let’s face facts—we have a type. Even Lara’s got claws. Oh, I’m sure they’re organic, cruelty-free claws, but they are claws all the same.”

Zack sank down to one of the ornate chairs, weariness plain on his face. “Can we all agree this is likely the shit we’ve been waiting to hit the fan?”

“I think that’s clear.” Gabe nodded.

“But it’s not the tactic I expected,” Roman mused. “If this Sergei person is out there and he’s been pulling the strings the entire time, why come at the president’s friends? Why not the president himself? Certainly he didn’t think Zack would betray his country to spare us some embarrassment.”

“Whoever is behind this plot has been working for a long time to ensure Zack got into office. Now that they’re clearly demanding that we stay out of the European energy market, we have some specific ideas why they might have gone to so much trouble. We’re talking billions of dollars,” Connor explained. “But none of the dirt they dug up on us is terribly compelling. This strategy doesn’t make sense.”

“I suspect this is only the beginning.” Zack sat back. “They’re testing my resolve and our defenses. Right now, they’re only making demands about delaying a pipeline that could eventually make America one of the world’s leading energy exporters and deal a major blow to the floundering Russian economy, since they’re Europe’s primary supplier of heating oil. That’s the reason Russia ‘annexed’ Crimea. The line about protecting Russian citizens was BS. They wanted control of that natural gas pipeline to Europe.”

“So now they want to ensure we don’t build one that would connect our resources to their number one customer,” Connor agreed.

That made perfect sense to Roman. The Russians had always been involved. At first he’d thought the threat merely stemmed from the Bratva, the Russian mob. But he’d realized a while back that the conspirators were pushing Russian interests and merely using the Bratva to eliminate anyone who got in their way.

Like Admiral Spencer, Dax and Augustine’s father.

Like Maddox.

Like Joy.

He’d come to England to find out if he should add Constance Hayes to that list. He’d hoped to see if he could pull the string that would unravel the conspiracy so they could finally understand what they were dealing with. And hopefully figure out how to stop it.

“The pipeline is a long-term project,” Zack mused. “It’s at least a decade out. We’re not even certain it can be done.”

“But simply announcing it could undermine some of Russia’s plans and further destabilize their economy,” Gabe observed, sitting opposite Zack.

“I agree. It’s a test to manipulate you,” Connor said quietly. “To see how quickly they push you into a corner. If they can get you to delay the pipeline for a few years, they’ll know they can influence your decision, maybe even force you to change your stance on world issues and eventually make you a puppet for Russian interests.”

“You’re right,” Roman murmured, horror and fury raging through him.

Connor shrugged. “In their shoes, I would slow play every move. Coming at Zack too fast could cause him to quit the game altogether, like the old anecdote about the frog being boiled alive. If you toss the frog in hot water, he’ll jump out quickly. So instead, you put the frog in the pot of nice, cool water. You give him some time to get used to his new environment, get comfortable. And when he’s certain everything’s normal again, that’s when you turn up the heat. You do it slowly, so the frog doesn’t even realize he’s boiling alive until it’s far too late. This is the first adjustment. They’ve come after your friends because they perceive us to be your weak spot. They give you an easy fix to the problem. Don’t talk about the pipeline, simply make it clear to the prime minister and other European leaders that any American policy on this topic is something we’ll deal with down the line. Which is easy because we’re not ready yet.”

Roman could see exactly where this was going. “So Zack figures it’s easy to concentrate on other negotiations. After all, there’s plenty of time. We’re not killing the deal, merely downplaying it, while saving his friends some heartache. But the conspirators have won the round, and the heat soon goes up. They realize Zack is vulnerable, so they aim higher next time, maybe ask Zack to ease up on the sanctions of Russian goods. And if he does, that gives them more dirt on him. Little by little, they chip away at him until, one day, he’s completely in their pocket without any way out. He won’t even be able to quit because they’ll have so much blackmail material on him. And probably us, too.”

“Has anyone considered that they could turn all these mysterious deaths over the years back on us? If I look at this rationally, examine all the evidence and try to figure out who profits the most from their silence, I can only come to one conclusion.” Gabe looked grim.

Roman knew the answer because he’d thought the same thing. “Zack.”

Gabe nodded slowly. “Yes. Mad knew too much, so Zack had him eliminated.”

“Admiral Spencer knew too much so he had to die as well.” Both had perished at a politically expedient time for Zack.

“I was losing the election by three points.” Zack’s voice was hollow. “So I had my wife take a bullet that everyone believes should have been for me. Mourning and sympathy swept me right into the White House. Even the pollsters said the election swung in that one moment.”

They had Zack in check, and none of them had even realized the game swirling around them.

Roman winced. He felt like hell about betraying Augustine’s confidence, but he couldn’t not tell his brothers what he knew. The stakes were far higher than anyone’s feelings. “Augustine believes that one of your Secret Service agents was in on Mad’s murder. She’s got proof he was at the airport the day Mad died.”

Zack sat up straight. “Are you kidding me?”

“I wish I was.”

Zack sent him a steely gaze. “Who? Connor, I want him arrested and questioned.”

This was everything Augustine had feared. Roman held out a hand. “Wait. The man in question is still working. If he’s a sleeper agent and you pull him now, we’ll lose the chance to figure out what he’s doing here in England. We could also lose the opportunity to see who he meets with and if there are any other traitors among the staff.”

Gus was right about that. She simply didn’t know how dangerous the game was.

“Connor can make him talk,” Zack said, his voice tight.

Connor hesitated. “Yes, but I think Roman’s right. I think I should follow him. Tell me it’s not Thomas. We have to have someone we can trust with Zack.”

Zack laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “It’s either Matt or Clint. I should have seen it. Am I right? That’s why Gus and Liz had a sudden desire to flirt with them. Damn Gus and her plots. She cannot bring Liz into her reckless antics.”

Anger sparked through Roman’s system. Zack didn’t get to criticize Gus…even if he’d thought the same thing at one point. “Hey, she’s trying to find out who killed Mad and you’re going to back off her. She loves Liz and wouldn’t put her in dange

r. And don’t confront her about this. She didn’t come to us because we’ve been assholes. We’ve kept secrets and she’s smart enough to know something’s going on. What is she supposed to think? She finds out a Secret Service agent was prowling around the airport before Mad’s plane exploded? We’re hiding something and won’t talk to her? Take the logic leap there, Zack.”

Zack had turned a sufficient shade of pale. “She can’t think I sent him.”

“Oh, I bet she can,” Gabe murmured. “At one point, I even wondered about that, and I’m one of your best friends. I know better now, but Gus has never been one of the inner circle. Without information to disprove her theory, how is she supposed to allay her suspicions?”

“I’m only trying to protect them. Right now, Liz has plausible deniability. She’s got to talk to the press on a daily basis. I do not want her to have to knowingly lie. And Gus is in roughly the same position,” Zack argued. “If I thought for a second they would be safer away from the White House and us, I would send them in a heartbeat.”

“But the conspirators already know how close we are to them,” Roman surmised. “If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have bothered to include either in the blackmail. That letter was also a statement of intent. He knows who we care about, and if we don’t acquiesce to whatever they demand, they will come after Gus and Liz. Pushing those two away won’t fool him. I understand you’re trying to ensure Liz’s job and integrity, but you need to rethink. I’m not pushing Gus away. I made a deal with her and I’m going to honor it. Well, after I’ve totally broken it by telling you all about Kemp.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Zack promised. “And the truth is, if Gus has it in her head to investigate, she’ll do it one way or another and she’ll bring Liz in, too.” He slapped at the table and stood up straight. “All right, then. You have a job to do, Roman.”

Keep Gus contained…somehow.