The men discussed a few other business details, most of which bored Sinclair. When they were finally finished, he dismissed the group before descending the steps outside. He strode across the patio leading to his infinity pool. After a deep breath, a smile washed over his face as he kicked off his shoes and then sat down next to a bikini-clad woman.
“It’s a little bit cold for that, isn’t it?” Sinclair asked with a wry grin.
Madeline Young shrugged without looking up from her copy of Vogue magazine. “Live through a handful of winters in Washington and then tell me if you still think this weather should be considered mild.”
“Makes no difference to me,” Sinclair said. “I just hope you’re not trying to impress me.”
“I wouldn’t dare think of doing such a thing.”
“Good,” Sinclair said before leaning over and planting a kiss on her cheek. “I was smitten from the first time I saw you.”
She looked up and cast him a sideways glance before patting him on the hand. “You keep working on your charm, babe. All those other women fawned over you for your money. After being married to the most powerful man in the world, you’ll have to do more than just throw money at me to keep me here and win me over.”
“You were married to the most powerful man in the world, and you left him for me,” Sinclair said. “That ought to tell you something. Besides, I am about to become the most powerful man in the world, supplanting your former husband.”
“Power and money aren’t everything. You’ll have to make a sincere effort if you want me. I’m not keen on playing games with anyone.”
Sinclair chuckled. “You are certainly spry, dear. But don’t you worry. I’m not in short supply of my manly magic.”
Madeline rolled her eyes. “Can a storm just sweep me off this island and out to sea? You’re so bad at this.”
Sinclair hopped to his feet and spread his arms out wide, spinning around as he continued. “How can you appreciate all of this and not fall in love with the man who made it all happen?”
Madeline mindlessly flipped a few pages in her magazine. “You’ll have to do better to woo me. You’ll either figure it out or you won’t. But all the riches or power or fame or exotic locations in the world won’t sway me.”
“What about all of them together on top of a sensitive man with dashing good looks and a witty personality?”
She looked up at him with a faint smile. “When you find someone like that, please introduce me.”
Sinclair huffed as he eased into his flip-flops and started toward the house. “Just be ready when the time comes. I have a feeling we’re going to need you.”
CHAPTER 5
Tangier, Morocco
BLUNT CROSSED HIS ARMS as he scanned the choppy water in the Strait of Gibraltar. He removed his sunglasses and then rubbed the lenses against his shirt, clearing off a few smudges.
“All better now?” asked Mia, the Phoenix Foundation’s latest addition to the team.
Blunt bit down hard on his cigar and shook his head slowly. “You can never be prepared for a screwup of this magnitude. To be honest, I might be all better if I just took a flying leap off this balcony onto the rocks below.”
Mia cautiously leaned forward and looked down at the shore. Blunt had studied the landscape often while he’d spent time trying to sort out a challenging dilemma: jagged stones haphazardly piled on top of one another absorbed the lashing of one wave right after another. From a hundred feet, the view from the veranda appeared serene. But underneath them, a battle was being waged on the rocks, the exact opposite of peaceful.
She turned to face him. “You’d be lucky to survive a fall like that.”
Blunt grunted. “And I’ll be lucky to survive this situation once the president is done with me. This could lead to a sustained conflict in the Middle East, possibly even war, if things escalate.”
“Not to mention, it’s an election year,” Mia said.
“Yeah, thanks for reminding me. That all but assures Noah Young will have my head.”
Mia cocked her head to one side. “I thought you two got along famously.”
Blunt shrugged. “It’s politics. You can be useful allies, but the moment you become a liability for someone with more power than you, they cut you loose.”
“But don’t you know where all the bodies are buried?”
“That doesn’t do you much good when you’re the one who dug the graves and put the bodies in them,” Blunt said. “And President Young knows it. We’ll just have to see how he plays this, but this is undeniably a major snafu that won’t be fixed through diplomacy or financial reparations. Someone will lose their job over this.”
“And you’re that convinced it’s going to be you?”
“Unless you can help me prove otherwise. Our team was just doing its job out there, but this is a colossal mistake, the kind Hawk would never make.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” came another woman’s voice.
Blunt turned to see Alex striding toward them on the veranda with Hawk not far behind.
“Wouldn't be sure about what?” Mia asked.
Alex chuckled. “That Hawk couldn’t make a mistake. I’ve been trying to get him for two years to get the toilet paper to roll over the top, yet he insists on having it roll off the backside.”
Mia shook her head and clucked her tongue. “You’re a better woman than I am. I think I would’ve divorced a man who committed such an offense.”
Hawk placed his hands on the ledge, his face stoic as he stared out across the water.
“What’s wrong?” Blunt asked.
“I wish I could join in the fun here,” Hawk began, “but I can’t help but think that I ruined a man’s life today. Not only that, I devastated an entire family. Omar Ebadi was one of the good guys. And I mean that in the sincerest of ways. He was trying
