Chapter 42

Spencer glared at his monitor,his temper verging on white-hot.

This is turning into a clusterfuck of epic proportions. One that made no sense whatsoever. How? How the hell did everything go to shit so fast?

When he'd learned of the attack on the Santa Ana storage facility, he'd had to smile. Too late. He'd already given the order to terminate Director Carson. Not that Spencer thought Carson could tell the authorities anything—after all, he'd been the one doing all the talking—but it was a good idea to tie up that particular loose end, especially since Carson had served his purpose.

The fact that they'd gone to the facility in the first place? That piece of intel had to have come from Kathy.

He'd planned this meticulously for years. He'd accounted for every variable, made sure that every contingency was covered. Yet, somehow, it was all turning into a steaming pile of crap.

It had to be Malone's fault.

Then he reconsidered. That was too fatuous an explanation. There was no telling what the man had done, but surely it couldn't have affected what he'd spent a good portion of his life putting together.

There had to be another explanation.

I'm surrounded by idiots. That's as good an explanation as any.

His people had been an abject failure, but he'd expected that. They'd all lacked his vision, seeing only what they could get out of what he'd done. Even Kathy.

I wish I could have stopped her from leaving.

She was probably with CrossBow, although his people could neither confirm nor deny that. The information she had was damning, no doubt, but nothing that couldn't be explained away or paid off. It was fine. Everything was still on track, and in the end, he would come out on top.

He always did, right?

"Sir?"

He glanced up to find the mousy brown-haired woman he'd gotten to take Kathy's place as his personal assistant. And after the Kathy shit show, he was going to make sure this one saw nothing more than admin. Hell, he couldn't even recall her name. Spencer had told everyone Kathy had left due to a family emergency. He cursed that he couldn't even use Kathy's family as a bargaining chip to get her back. They'd all sided with her father after she accused him of abuse, so she'd cut ties with them.

Hard to threaten someone who no longer had anything to lose.

Her replacement was adequate, but not up to Kathy's standards. Plus, she was so timid, it made Spencer sick.

"What is it?" he snapped.

Her eyes opened wide. "I'm sorry to bother you, but you have a meeting this morning and?—"

"No. Cancel all my meetings for this week. No, make that for the foreseeable future. There are too many things going on, and my attention needs to be on those, not on the sales pitches they want to float."

"Sir, perhaps we should?—"

Oh for the love of….

He needed her to get the hell away from his desk and let him work. He had to adjust the plan to fit the new facts that had been introduced, and all she could do was bombard him with inane questions?

"Did I ask you for your opinion?"

"Well, no, sir, but?—"

"Get the fuck out of here!" he snarled, not bothering to watch as she scurried away.

Why did Kathy have to go? They were so close to fruition for the plan. He forced himself to take deep breaths. The only person required for the plan to succeed was himself. No one else could be counted on.

No one else mattered.

Sure, recent events had taken a bad turn, but he would get everything back on track. There was no way he was about to let it all unravel now. He wouldn't allow it. All he had to do was turn this around, make it work to his advantage.

I need to be out in front, not playing catch-up.

He'd already pointed a finger at Malone, hadn't he?

Now he needed to tighten the noose. But how?

It wouldn't take much to set the wheels in motion. The bombs were in place. They were ready to go.

Then it came to him, and he smiled.

How does the saying go? "Winners find a way."

And Aaron Spencer was the epitome of a winner.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped the contact he needed and held the phone to his ear.

"This is Spencer," he barked as soon as the call connected. "We've had new information that we're currently in the process of confirming. I will have my answers in a few hours, so we'll need a press conference."

"When? Today?"

"No, it's a ways out yet, so we have time. I'm not going to give the alleged locations. The last thing we want or need is a panic."

"Locations? There's more than one?"

"That's what our intel suggests, but we still need to verify. Regardless, my people are prepping even as we speak."

"Is this threat credible?"

"Yes, very credible. Malone clearly feels caged, so he's going to launch an attack very soon."

By the time he finished the call, he felt much better. In fact, he was grinning.

Dr. Malone, guess where you are? Back in my crosshairs again.