Chapters (124)
- Cover
- About the Author
- Acclaim for Frank Gardner’s Luke Carlton thrillers
- Also by Frank Gardner
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
- 71
- 72
- 73
- 74
- 75
- 76
- 77
- 78
- 79
- 80
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- 85
- 86
- 87
- 88
- 89
- 90
- 91
- 92
- 93
- 94
- 95
- 96
- 97
- 98
- 99
- 100
- 101
- 102
- 103
- 104
- 105
- 106
- 107
- 108
- 109
- 110
- 111
- 112
- 113
- 114
- 115
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgements
- THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
‘No one,’ Squires replied, his monobrow crinkling in a frown, ‘is going to notice our trades because we’ve concealed them far and wide in multiple offshore accounts. Brass-plate addresses in hot countries that most people in the FCA have never even heard of.’ He looked at Luke with mock concern. ‘Oh, and if you’re worried about the virus on our account that’s really very sweet of you, but we’ve got enough provisions stocked up to last us until it burns itself out. Anyway,’ he said, standing up, ‘when they bring in the blowtorch and the pliers – oops, I wasn’t supposed to tell you what’s coming – you can console yourself that someone you knew – me – is going to be very, very rich from all of this.’
Luke felt his anger boiling over in abject fury. Every sinew in his body wanted to leap up from where he lay, bound, and tear into this man. Instead, he kept his cool. It was time to play that last card.
‘All right, Squires, you win,’ he said, trying to sound calm and collected when all he really wanted to do, more than anything in the world, was to rip Squires’s head off and stamp it into the ground. ‘But what if I were to tell you that your son will grow up knowing his father had murdered countless people in cold blood?’
‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Squires was standing over him now, frowning down at his captive. ‘I haven’t got a son. Jesus, Carlton, you’re getting more desperate with every minute. Just accept it. You’ll be dead soon and it will all be over.’
I knew it! This was exactly what Luke had suspected. Elise hadn’t told Hugo Squires about the baby. ‘You still don’t know, do you?’ Luke said evenly. ‘Well, maybe it’s time you did. You’re going to be a father, Squires. Elise is carrying your baby.’
For a second Squires stood stock-still and speechless. Then he gave a short, derisive snort of laughter. ‘Pathetic, Carlton. That is truly pathetic. Is that really your best shot?’ He began walking towards the door. ‘Oh, wait, I nearly forgot. I’ve always wanted to do this.’
He strolled back, deliberately slowly, and launched a kick at Luke’s trapped body. It struck him in the ribs, painfully, but at least it was on his right side, not the one still recovering from the knuckle-duster in Vilnius.
‘I’ve had enough of this pantomime now,’ Squires said, walking briskly towards the door of the cabin. ‘It’s time I told them you’re ready for your appointment.’