Viper's Nest of Lies by Daniella Bernett

Author:Daniella Bernett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Opal Books

*****

Villiers, his blood like ice water, staggered out of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields church in a daze. He blinked as his eyes became accustomed to the sunshine. He was disturbed to see that his hands were trembling. He thrust them deep into his coat pockets. His mind was a jumbled morass of errant thoughts.

He couldn’t see a way out. Everything he had worked for all his life. Gone. And Toby would be dragged down with him. A voice in the back of his mind—his conscience? did he even have one?—questioned whether Toby hadn’t been condemned from the day he was born, simply because he was the son of a man whose career at MI5 meant more to him than a family. Villiers shook his head. This was not the time for regrets and self-recrimination. The past couldn’t be undone. It was the past. And yet, it made the present a living nightmare for all concerned.

In the midst of this churning mental turmoil, Villiers was cognizant of the fact that he was not overly upset about Emmeline, although she faced the same threats. He told himself dispassionately that he was not totally devoid of feeling. It’s not like he wanted to see the woman dead. He simply wished she was out of the picture—forever. Her intrusive inquisitiveness had only served to fan the flames and bring things out into the open. She, and the rest of the Fourth Estate for that matter, failed to grasp that it was far better to keep the public in the dark. The truth was best left to the professionals like himself, who understood all the nuances and could handle the consequences. Where did her expertise lie? She lobbed hand grenades without giving a damn about where they landed or the collateral damage they inflicted.

“Sir,” a familiar male voice tore him from his vexing reverie.

Villiers whirled round when he felt a hand on his arm. He curled one hand into a fist, prepared to strike a blow if necessary.

His eyes widened in surprise and his body relaxed, when he saw Philip standing before him, a flat cap pulled low over his brow to hide his face.

“Acheson,” he whispered, as he clutched his sleeve in relief. “Where the devil have you been the past two days?”

Philip cast a furtive glance around him. “Sir, we’re rather exposed here on the stairs.” He took Villiers by the elbow. “I suggest we go back inside the church or start moving.”

Villiers stared at him transfixed. He tried to shake off Philip’s hand. “Swanbeck knows.”

Philip’s blond brows knit together. “Knows what?”

Villiers ignored the question. “You’re the only one who knew the truth. The only one.” He gathered fistfuls of Philip’s jacket. “You promised to keep your mouth shut. You scheming liar. I never should have believed you.” He shook Philip so violently that his teeth rattled. “You’re nothing but an opportunist. All you cared about was saving your own skin.”

Philip clamped his fingers around Villiers’s wrists and finally managed to loosen his grip. “Steady on, sir.

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