Scandal:The Complete Series(65)

“The Bronsons have delivered Lucius an ultimatum. He has one week to deliver me to them. Alive. They will stand down for one week. No bloodshed. If that time passes and their demand has not been met, they will target Ella again. Lucius will have declared war and that will make you a target as well. You are, after all, Lucius’ only weak spot.”

“It seems he has a soft spot for you, too,” I remind him. The idea that Lucius has any weak spots at all is laughable.

“That’s funny,” Carter says. “Lucius cannot give in so easily. That’s all this is about. One outfit makes a demand, the other has to show strength.”

I stare at Carter coldly. “You think you’ve made it this long without Lucius and his long arm protecting you?”

“That street runs both ways,” he says without bothering to elaborate.

I want to tell him Lucius might hand him over. It’s the best play, but Carter knows that. As much as I disagree with his tactics, he is still Ella’s father. I have to play nice.

“We’re going in circles,” I say instead with a yawn. “When’s this armistice coming to an end? And what’s your fucking plan once it does?”

If he had any honor or true concern for his daughter, he should turn himself in and life would go on for the rest of us. Carter would never do that. He’s convinced his being here keeps Ella and Lucius and everyone else protected. His delusions of grandeur eliminate any chance of sacrifice.

“The day after tomorrow,” Carter says.

“The day after tomorrow?” I repeat, like a delayed echo.

“That’s when the quiet period ends.” His tone is condescending, spiteful. I’m beginning to see that he despises me. I’m not sure why. He used to be nice to Jack Caleb, the boy I had been. Maybe it’s my uncle he secretly despises or maybe he can’t stand the thought of his daughter loving me and trusting me more than she will ever trust him.

“What are we supposed to do in two days?”

He faces me. His eyes are intense and youthful. “The way I see it there are two possible options,” he says. “Ella goes with me or you stay with her at HQ where she will stay guarded 24/7. She can’t be out roaming the streets.”

“Oh, she will love that,” I say under my breath. “Why in hell would she go with you anyway? Where?”

“I have a safe house up north, not connected to me in any way,” he explains. “She’d be off the grid.”

“That would mean she’d have to trust you or you would have to drug her to get her up there. Neither of those things are going to happen,” I clarify with as much intensity as I can convey.

He stares at my defiance and grins. “Then I guess it’s you and the HQ,” he says, taking a seat on the couch and exhaling a smoke ring. It hits me that this was his plan all along—to have me cornered so I have no option but to do as he says and take Ella to Lucius.

“You hesitate,” he says, rubbing it in a little more. “Do you have a better idea? And don’t give me that Paris bullshit. Bronson has all kinds of connections with the Parisian underground. Haven’t you done your homework? And those fucking French frogs are sadistic.”

Carter never loses. He is as precise as a watchmaker. He knows I want Ella safe. He had this exact conversation in his mind, blow by blow, before I even walked into this room. It must have been tedious for him to even voice his part knowing so surely how it would end.

“It’s not like we have a choice,” I say as a way of undermining any victory he might take from getting what he wanted.

Carter knows showing up with Ella and asking Lucius to give her shelter won’t go down very well. I can see it in the smug expression on his face. My uncle wants me as far away from Ella as possible. He wants Carter to take care of his own mess and take his daughter under his protection.

The only person who could convince my uncle otherwise is me. Carter has played me and I must accept it. Ella is all that matters.

“If I convince my uncle,” I say, “I need something, a single condition.”

“I didn’t realize her safety comes with conditions.”

“Carter, shut the fuck up. My condition is that you stay away from Ella and you stay away from HQ. You can’t be a part of any of this and you can’t be under my uncle’s protection. It’s the only way I’ll convince him.”

“Look at you, dictating terms,” he says, almost proudly.

“Take it or leave it,” I say.

“And if I leave it?”

“Then Ella and I will disappear. Just us. You’ll never know where we are and you’ll never see her again.”