Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
I felt a new spark of hope.
I sent the photo to the Brotherhood. “This is Jamie Winthrop. His father, Jim, is the CEO and co-founder of Winthrop & Meyers, a large investment firm. They’re American expats in London with plenty of money. Winthrop’s a pretty powerful businessman. I’m guessing he’ll do whatever it takes to get his son back. He’s probably already working on it.”
Foster sat back in his chair. “Is he influential enough in London or the States to pull some strings? If so, maybe we could get Kenji out with the Winthrop kid.”
Silas’s eyes flicked to mine. “Landry, do you think this Jim guy will take a call from us?”
I hesitated. “I don’t know.”
Jim had spent a lot of time and money trying to establish himself in London’s financial market over the years, including several attempts at influencing my father’s votes in Parliament. This had led to a very open rivalry between the two men—Jim had dismissed my father as an old-school traditionalist while my father referred to Winthrop as nouveau riche and implied Jim’s thirty-year-old company was too new to take seriously—which was one of the reasons Jim’s son and I hadn’t run with the same crowd at Eton. I’d come up with the boys from old families while he’d stuck with the other expats and new-money kids.
Between not knowing Jim personally and his contentious history with my father, contacting him would have to be a last resort.
I opened my mouth to try to explain some part of this but remembered at the last minute that I couldn’t. As far as the Brotherhood was concerned, I was a poor kid from the wrong side of the council estate.
The lie was a familiar bitter lump in the back of my throat, but it felt larger than ever now. Hard to swallow around. Hard to breathe through.
I clenched my back teeth. There was someone other than Jim Winthrop I could call for help. My father had been friends with the current prime minister for as long as I could remember. “Guys, I have an idea. Let me see what I can do.”
After a quick shower, I threw on clean clothes and went searching for Nan. As soon as she saw the look on my face, she dropped her affectionate smile.
“What’s going on?” she asked, closing her laptop on the desk in her office.
“I need to get in touch with Teddy Baines.”
“We should get our PR team on hand before you announce anything,” she said hesitantly. I realized she thought I’d meant to call the prime minister to start the process of taking a spot in Parliament.
“Not about that. It’s about Kenji. He’s in San Cordova, caught up in a violent protest.”
She opened the laptop again and went searching for the information I needed. “Oh, Landry. I’m so sorry. I’ve got Teddy’s mobile number right here.”
“Thanks, Nan.”
“Of course. Let me know what else I can do.”
After retreating to my bedroom again, I took a shaky breath and called the prime minister. It immediately went to voicemail, which didn’t surprise me since I was calling from an unknown number.
I texted.
It’s Everett Davencourt, Viscount Hawling. Need help re: San Cordova. Please.
“Everett?” Teddy asked gruffly as soon as I accepted his call.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’d ask where you’ve been, but I have bigger concerns right now. Who do you know in San Cordova?”
I swallowed. Calling Kenji a friend would sound stupid and unimportant and was patently untrue, so I avoided calling him anything.
“His name is Kenji Toma. I want to know if you have a plan to get anyone out of there.”
“I’ve already heard from several other British families affected by this situation. Send the info on your friend. UK passport number would be ideal, but if you—”
“He’s American.”
There was a pause. “Everett, I’m sorry, but I can’t—”
“He’s my fiancé,” I blurted, shocking myself as much as Teddy. “We’re getting married. He’s my partner. I need to get him out. Money’s no object—”
“It’s not that. This is a delicate situation because of our history with San Cordova,” he said. “In addition, the political ramifications of expending our resources on an American—”
“I’ll do anything,” I said in a low voice. “Pay any amount of money. Make any calls. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
I knew it was unwise to give someone carte blanche like that, but I meant it. I would burn the world to bring Kenji home.
Teddy paused. “I need your father to retire—”
“That’s already in progress,” I assured him. “His health is… precarious.”
“—and I need you to take his place.”
Fuck. How had I not seen this coming?
I closed my eyes and covered them with my hand. “I-I’m not ready, sir. It’s one of the reasons I haven’t stepped forward as the head of the family—”
“I understand. And I’m sorry about Ed. He’s a good friend and a good man. But I need some energy in the Lords. Allies to outweigh the antagonists. I’ve been following your career, and you’re quite popular with young people. You acquitted yourself well at Yale, and I know you’ve been working diligently on the Davencourt holdings behind the scenes since then. I think you could do a lot for the party… and for the country.”