Scandal:The Complete Series(85)
“It’s still going on,” he says. “It’s just the family is in Europe right now.”
“Let me guess, the family of a mobster.”
“It’s more complicated than that.” He looks at his watch and then, unexpectedly, offers me more information. “I only protect his daughters now. All four of them. I’m done with the rest of the shit.”
“Four girls, huh? How old are they?”
“Early to mid-twenties.”
I chuckle a little. “It must be a tough job.”
He doesn’t get my sarcasm. “Not really. Women are easy to handle. They follow orders and try to please. At least the three of them do.”
“You like easy, huh? You’re full of shit, Tanner. I bet you like the fourth girl better.”
He doesn’t answer. The gate opens wide and we sail right through it.
Tanner is asked to wait in the lobby while I am led to a large room with a long table. Nobody seems willing to answer any of my questions. Five minutes go by before the door opens and Lucius walks in.
“Miss Wade,” he says. “How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Jaxson,” I say. “Or my father.” There, I said it. Father. Somehow I’m hoping my connection to Carter will soften up Lucius a bit.
“You’ve lost both of them?”
What? “I’m not quite sure…”
“Relax, I’m joking, eh?” He laughs but there’s nothing happy about his laughter. “Jaxson is at a meeting, negotiating your safety. As For Carter, he left the day he brought you in. I thought you knew.”
“Oh,” I say, taken aback by the fact I feel disappointed that Carter’s not around and even more so that he didn’t bother to tell me. He’s never been good at goodbyes or sticking around. I guess giving me a bodyguard was his way of saying goodbye.
“Now, if there’s nothing else, there are urgent matters to attend.”
“Sure, yeah. You’ll let me know when you hear from Jax?”
“Of course. Although something tells me you’ll hear from him first.”
He shakes my hand and then a guard takes me back to Tanner.
“Well?” Tanner says.
“Nothing. He gave me nothing. Except for the fact my father’s gone.”
“I could have told you that.”
“Then why didn’t you?” I say, slapping his shoulder hard which hurts me, not him.
“You never asked. Let’s get out of here.”
“Are you sure we wouldn’t be better off staying at HQ?” I ask as he practically drags me to the exit.
“No,” he says. “There’s something I don’t like here. In my job you develop an instinct that you trust. This place is not harmonious. I can’t put my finger on it.”
“What do you mean, besides the obvious?”
He doesn’t answer most of my questions. This one is no different. He puts me into the car police style, hand on top of my head.
“Tanner, what’s going on?” I say as soon as he gets in the car next to me.
“I spotted someone who shouldn’t be here,” he says, starting the engine.
“Who?”
“Someone working for the other team. A contract man.”
“The other team? You mean the Bronson family?”
“Affirmative.”
“You must be mistaken.”
“Let’s not stick around to find out.”
He drives away like a maniac. When we get to the freeway he’s constantly changing lanes as if he’s being chased. My stomach gets stuck in my throat and I’m begging him to slow down even though I know it’s pointless.
“Where are you taking me?” I yell when he gets on a surface street I’ve never even heard of before.
“My place,” he says casually.
Should I be okay with that? I take a deep breath in, trying to convince myself that my father would not put me in Tanner’s care if he didn’t trust him.
He drives down a gravel road and pulls over in front of a lonely, older ranch-style home with a dead lawn in front. He walks around the car to open my door, smile on his face.
He takes my hand as I step out. Then his smile is gone, replaced by a pale face as the windshield explodes with a thundering noise that pierces my ears.
Tanner pushes me to the ground and covers me with his body as another bullet whizzes above us.
My chest gets crushed under his weight. I open my mouth to gasp. He senses my struggle and arches his back to give me room to breathe.
“You okay?” he whispers to my ear.
“I think so.” The words come out all muffled like my tongue has swollen or something.
“There’s only one shooter,” Tanner says. “And he just ran off to the hill.” How does he know all that? “I’m going to go after him now, okay? Just to see where he’s heading. You get in the house.”