The Last Protector(Clayton White #1)(46)

“I know,” he said, thinking about all the major social development projects they would be in a position to financially support once they received the funds from Le Groupe Avanti.

Adaliya had already recruited local innovative millennial entrepreneurs to lead hard-impacts programs in underserved settlements in and around Cape Town. Despite the relatively small amount of money Oxley had poured into the projects thus far, the equivalent of US$5 million, Adaliya had seen some meaningful changes. It didn’t take much to empower the families living in the settlements. They just needed a fair shot and the tools to succeed.

He and Adaliya were the future of South Africa. Their five children needed them to succeed. The South African people needed them to succeed.

“This is bigger than us, my love,” Adaliya said.

Oxley nodded, and they clinked their glasses.

Adaliya sipped the wine and cringed. “Oh God, I was really hoping this would be much better.”

Oxley chuckled and took her glass and threw its contents into the sink. He did the same with his. He grabbed two beers from the fridge.

She smiled at him. “What’s our next move?”

“I’m gonna call Krantz and ask him to do one more thing for me while he’s in the States. And . . .” He took a deep breath.

“What is it?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I want you and the kids to move back to London,” he said.

Adaliya made a face. Clearly she wasn’t thrilled with the idea.

“Please, do it for the kids,” Oxley pleaded. “Out of an abundance of caution, of course.”

“You think Hammond will strike back? At us?”

Oxley took a swig from his beer. “Unlikely,” he said, deciding not to share his true feelings with her.

“But you still want us to leave our home,” she said, a certain sadness creeping into her voice. “I know you, Roy Oxley,” she continued. “You wouldn’t ask if you didn’t feel threatened.”

She was right, of course. Hammond had successfully run countless black operations at JSOC. He had mastered the art of operating in the shadows. CONQUEST was the perfect example. Oxley couldn’t predict exactly how Hammond would come for him.

“It will be much easier to protect you and the kids in London, Adaliya. And, more importantly, Hammond wouldn’t dare run an op against us on British soil. That would be madness.”

That seemed to convince her. Her legal mind was now at work, probably calculating the odds of an American covert operation in London and coming to the conclusion that they were nil.

Oxley gently grabbed his wife’s forearm. She seemed to hesitate for a moment but walked into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and held her in silence.

“Okay, I’ll go to London,” she said after a while. “For the kids.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. He looked into her eyes reassuringly and said, “Thank you. I’ll join you guys as soon as I can.”

She shook her head. “Finish what you’ve started, Roy,” she said, her voice hard and cold. “Do whatever you must. Then, come back to us.”

He buried his face in her hair, knowing it might be a while before he had the chance to watch her cook again. “Okay,” he said. “I will.”





CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO


San Francisco, California

White signed the papers Hammond had pushed his way.

Never before in his career had White been asked to sign such legal documents. As a combat rescue officer assigned to JSOC and then as a Secret Service special agent, he was expected to keep confidential and delicate information to himself. He would never willingly compromise himself or expose his protectees, his colleagues, or his country to danger. White had proven himself capable of keeping his mouth shut, and Hammond knew that. Which made the need to sign this nondisclosure agreement quite unusual. But if signing these documents allowed him to hunt down whoever had tried to kill Veronica, White was all for it.

“I know this is somewhat peculiar, but you’ll understand why this was needed,” Hammond said, putting the papers back into his briefcase.

White looked at Hammond with a Now what? expression. Hammond sat back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. Even seated, the man had a commanding stature. A few months ago, at the vice presidential debate during the campaign, Hammond had destroyed his adversary. But he had done so with finesse, using strong policy points instead of attacking his rival personally. In White’s opinion, it was during this debate that the American people learned what he had himself known for years. Hammond was an intransigent but charismatic man with an imposing physique and an even more imposing reputation. When he spoke, people listened. White wasn’t immune to that.

“Years ago, at the height of the war on terror, the United States government, in collaboration with its British and Australian allies, commissioned a special unit tasked with investigating corruption within the upper echelons of the coalition forces. The operation, known only to a select few within the three governments involved, was code-named CONQUEST. Your dad was in charge of the US component of the operation.”

That was news to White. His dad had never mentioned this to him. But from what he knew about Maxwell, this was exactly the kind of thing his father would have been involved with.

“On the British side, the man responsible was a former SAS operator turned MI6 agent named Roy Oxley,” Hammond continued.