Big Ben (See No Evil Trilogy #1) - Nana Malone Page 0,50
Van Linsted said to you, but if you’re like me and several other members of the Elite, the idea of another Van Linsted having control of our future for years to come is, at best, concerning.”
He sniffed and drained his glass. “You’re barking up the wrong tree, lad. I can’t help you.”
I nodded. “I understand. And honestly, I get it. You have a life to protect. But we are at an impasse. We simply cannot allow the Van Linsteds to gain more power, so we need to do what we can to remove them.”
He frowned at me. “You don’t seem to understand, Covington. Why did you never learn the lesson that your father did? You can’t just be unhappy about the scenario. You have to provide an alternative solution. One everyone would support.”
“And get the Five to endorse him?”
“Exactly. No one can back a horse they don’t know.”
I took out the envelope that was in my pocket and handed it over. “What I want is your support against Bram Van Linsted regardless of the candidate.” I could see now that we’d have to offer up an alternative.
He laughed. “Again, I hear you saying things that you want. But what do I get?” He looked inside the envelope. There was one photo… of his son. He sputtered. “Where the hell did you find this?”
“Doesn’t matter where I found it. The point is that you have a child. A child with a woman who supposedly is your wife. Funny thing is this wife is young… so young.”
Even in the dim light of the club, I could tell he’d gone ashen. “Why are you doing this?”
I blinked at him. “None of this information needs to come to light. Your wife, the one with the money, need not know about your other wife in Spain who has a child. She doesn’t need all that pain.”
He sighed. “You don’t know what you’re playing at, boy.”
“I think I have an idea.”
He frowned. “I can’t give you blanket approval on a candidate.”
“Yes, you can. You just know that it’s not going to be Van Linsted. Adam, this is what we need. Either you’re with us or you’re not. And if you’re not, well, I’m sure you can guess what will happen.”
He stared at me and then back at the envelope.
“It’s not what it looks like.”
I placed my hand on my chest. “I swear I’m not judging. I’m sure there’s a very good reason you shagged a sixteen-year-old girl and knocked her up. I’m sure there’s a reason her family doesn’t seem to know that you’re already married. I’m sure there are reasons for all of this, but I don’t care about any them. I just want your support. Do I have it?”
He swallowed, glowering at me. “Fine.”
I nodded. “One more question. When Van Linsted came asking for your support, what did you tell him?”
“He hasn’t asked yet. He called for an appointment.”
“Excellent. So what will you tell him?”
“I’ll tell him that I can’t be bribed. I’ll tell him what I’ve already told him, and you, that I’m not one of the Five.”
“Excellent. It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Hilton.”
“And I have your word? The word of a gentleman, that you won’t expose me?”
The man made me ill. Those poor women, both his wives… I didn’t know them personally, but they didn’t deserve his deception.
“On my honor as a gentleman, I will not be the one to share these details. But if my team found it, it’s entirely possible someone else will.”
He drained his glass. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
I didn’t bother looking at him as I left. I was pretty sure I would never wash the taste out of my mouth. But at least we had won his support, and that was all that mattered.
Ben
Knowing what had to happen and actually making it happen were two very different things. Bridge had finally managed to secure a Van Linsted meeting. I didn’t particularly think he was one for an Academy Award, but we were all counting on him to sell it.
East was in my office as we listened. Bridge’s comm device was loud and clear.
He’d greeted Van Linsted in the lobby, buttered him up, and said it was great that they were really talking after all these years.
Van Linsted wasted no time with a personal jibe at me. “Well, I figure we would have forged a stronger relationship a lot sooner if you had chosen your friends more wisely.”