The Last Protector(Clayton White #1)(63)

A miscalculation? White felt his face turn bright red. “Your miscalculation cost the lives of five Secret Service special agents under my command.”

Oxley nodded. “As I said, a slipup.”

White’s blood was beginning to boil. He was close to his breaking point with this asshole. He wished he could free himself from his restraints, but whoever had tied him up had done a hell of a job.

“What am I doing here?” White asked.

“I knew Hammond was going to retaliate. He’s not the kind of guy who can’t let something like this go unpunished. I get that. So, I asked around. And here you are.”

White’s gut hadn’t lied to him. He’d been betrayed. He was sure of it now. Hammond had lied to him when he said only two people knew about this operation.

What else had he lied about?

Oxley gave White an encouraging smile. “I see your wheels are turning,” he said. “I’ll tell you what I think. Hammond sent you here knowing I’d catch you. Make no mistake about it, Clayton. He thinks he’ll use your capture to lobby for a covert hostage rescue operation whose primary goal wouldn’t be your rescue, my friend. No, its primary objective would be to kill me.”

A chill ran through White’s body. It couldn’t be. Hammond wouldn’t throw him to the wolves like that. Never.

“You’re lying. Again,” White said. “I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish with your bullshit stories, but I don’t believe you. You murdered my father.”

Oxley sighed, his disappointment apparent. “I guess this was to be expected.”

His hand moved to his hip, and for a moment, White thought he was about to get shot. But instead of a weapon, Oxley pulled out his cell phone.

“Let me tell you something about Alexander Hammond,” Oxley said. “It’s gonna blow your mind.”





CHAPTER FORTY-TWO


Naval Air Station Fort Worth, Texas

When her father’s call ended, Veronica remained immobile, shell shocked at the bits and pieces of the conversation she had overheard.

“Clay’s missing, isn’t he?” she asked. “And don’t you dare lie to my face.”

Her dad propped his elbows on the table and rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers. “Yes,” he said. “Clay’s missing.”

“What the hell have you done to him?” she asked, suddenly feeling short of breath.

“I’m gonna fix this. I’ll bring him home,” he said. “Trust me.”

Veronica chuckled despite the gravity of the situation. “Trust you? You have to be kidding me.”

He stared at her. “What’s wrong with you? You think I wanted this to happen?”

“I don’t know, Dad. You tell me. You’re the one who sent him to South Africa by himself.”

Her father didn’t reply. He kept his mouth shut. Which scared her even more. Tears were threatening to fall, burning her eyes, but she refused to let her father see them.

“You wanted this to happen? Help me understand,” she whispered, feeling feverish.

“Not like this, no,” he said, reaching for her hand.

She looked at her father’s outstretched hand in disgust and slapped it away forcefully. He retreated deep into his chair.

“I don’t understand. I just don’t.”

Her father sighed. “The person responsible for the murder of your protective detail, and the cyberattack on SkyCU, for that matter, is a man named Roy Oxley. I sent Clayton after him.”

Did her father just admit he knew who had orchestrated the attacks? Veronica was dumbfounded. She had so many questions, but she decided to keep quiet. For now. She wanted her father to keep talking.

“Oxley is a former MI6 agent and a man I’ve done business with in the past,” he explained. “Going through all the proper channels was never an option.”

“So you sent Clay? Why him?”

“Clayton is one of the most capable men I know, Veronica. When he realized that Roy Oxley was a suspect, he decided to take the job. To avenge you.”

“Don’t you pin this on me,” she warned him, pointing her fingers squarely at her father.

“I’m not,” her father replied. “Oxley is also the man who ordered Maxwell’s death.”

She heard her own sharp intake of breath. “My God. I thought his chopper was shot down by the Taliban. Are you sure about this?”

“One hundred percent.”

“And you told Clay about this?” she asked.

“He knows the whole story. I didn’t keep anything from him.”

She felt terrible for Clay. Of course he’d go after Oxley. Clay had always blamed his father’s death for his mother’s passing. Carolyn had stopped living when her husband died.

“What now?” she asked.

“One of my assets is looking for Clay. As soon as we find him, we’ll launch a rescue operation.”

Veronica watched her father carefully. She’d been grateful to grow up with a father who was quite different from Clay’s. Yes, there were times when whatever crisis was going on in the world kept her father away for extended periods. But when he was there, he was fully there. He kept up with everything going on in her life and expressed his pride in her often.