The Freedom Broker (Thea Paris #1)(100)

Gabrielle shook her head. “I don’t know. Look how I misjudged Maximillian Heros.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t easy to fire that shot,” Thea empathized. “And thank you for saving us.”

“I spent days with him and had no idea he was the kidnapper. I . . . I cared about him. It scares me that we can’t see what’s right in front of us.”

“We all have our blind spots.”

“Max was twisted enough to think he was doing me a favor, handing me Ares on a silver platter. And he manipulated Henri into helping kidnap Christos.” She sighed. “Still, shooting him was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”

“I’m so sorry.”

The pilot’s voice came over the intercom. “We’ll be arriving in Johannesburg in fifteen minutes. Prepare for landing.”

“I’d better get back to my seat. I have a car waiting to take you to the hospital.”

“Thanks, Gabrielle—for everything. You’re not half bad for a Fed.”

She nodded, a sad smile on her face. “You’re not half bad for a contractor, either.”





Chapter Eighty-Two



Battered and bruised, Thea stood outside her father’s room, grateful for the pain meds flowing through her bloodstream. Gabrielle had snuck her in via the rear entrance to avoid the hordes of press out front.

Machines beeped, nurses hovered, and endless bouquets dominated the room. Standing in the doorway, she could see Rif and Hakan at Papa’s bedside, the three of them absorbed in quiet conversation.

Her father’s body had taken an extraordinary beating—from the beatings from Max and Nikos to his fall off the bridge to his near drowning in the Zambezi. But the worst injury was the gunshot wound, which had become septic from the river water. All his systems were crashing when they first brought him in, and he’d nearly died. They were able to save him, but they’d had to amputate his leg below the knee. For such an active and dynamic man, the loss wouldn’t be easy, and the road to recovery would be slow.

She hobbled into his hospital room. Rif stood, offering her the chair closest to her father.

She sat down and reached for her father’s hand. “How are you feeling, Papa?” While part of her wanted to hug him, part of her wanted to strangle him. What the hell had he been thinking?

“I’m alive, and that’s thanks to you, my child.” His voice was thready, weak.

Christos’s PR team had whitewashed the Paris family name. Every international broadcast, newspaper, and Internet site had carried the headlines with photos of Christos in his hospital bed. Quan Chi had been exposed as the arms dealer Ares, while Max had absorbed the full blame for the kidnapping. Her disturbed brother came out a hero, having died “trying to save his father from Max Heros.” Lies. And more lies.

Other than Rif, Hakan, and a few key government officials, including Gabrielle and her boss back in the US, no one knew what had actually happened. Out of loyalty, Hakan and Rif would comply with whatever Christos wanted, and the US government would remain strategically silent to ensure that the United States would have a regular supply of oil. In the face of all that, the truth about her brother and his death didn’t seem to matter to them.

Rif touched Hakan’s shoulder. “Let’s grab a cup of coffee, give Christos a break.”

“We’ll bring you dinner, something fabulous from the cafeteria. I’m sure they have caviar and champagne,” Hakan said with a smile.

They all forced a laugh.

After the two men left, Christos beckoned Thea closer. “Don’t think I’m unaware of what you sacrificed for this selfish old man. But please know that the Nikos we knew and loved died when he was twelve. The boy who came back was someone else.”

“I know what happened, Papa. I read the journal.”

He winced. “He was transformed by his time in that camp into a killing machine who used drugs and shot innocents. And he never lost his taste for it.” Christos grimaced. “He strangled Allison with his bare hands. That was when I knew what he’d become.”

All those years, she’d never understood why their British nanny had left so abruptly without saying good-bye. Allison had been strict and demanding, but Thea had never doubted she cared. She had been a decent and loving woman who set boundaries and standards for her charges. “That’s why you sent him away?”

“Military school in Utah, highly structured. It was the only place I could think of that might help him. But he got into trouble there as well. Started selling drugs, beating up other boys, threatening teachers. He was a manipulator. And smart as hell—they could never prove anything.”

“You should have told me about his past. I deserved to know the truth. And you let Nikos get away with murdering our nanny along with countless others by covering up for him.”

“You’re right.”

“And when you found out he was planning to kidnap you, you decided to beat him to it? What were you thinking? Why didn’t you ask for my help? Or Rif and Hakan’s? Why Max?”

“Remember the day of my party, when I said I wanted to talk about Nikos? I was going to tell you. I’d planned on sharing everything after you finished running the stairs, but Max had a different plan. You know the rest.”