The woman might look like someone’s sweet and doting aunt, but there was a cool calculation to her brown eyes that left Daniel unsettled. He didn’t doubt that she could probably gut him like a fish and serve him up with a side of chips and a smile.
“The winner of my secret auction gets all my copies of my collection. There is no prize for second place.”
Mrs. Han’s smile became a bit brittle, and Daniel was sure she wasn’t pleased with that answer, but she continued without changing her tone. “And exactly how many bidders are there in your auction?”
“Not many. I kept the number down to a select few.”
“How many?” she repeated, leaning forward.
The server chose that exact moment to return, bringing them both drinks. The woman sat back but didn’t relax. Neither of them reached for their wine. Daniel didn’t need Edward to warn him to not drink anything he didn’t personally see uncorked and poured himself. If he wasn’t alone in the restaurant, then he had to believe that Mrs. Han probably wasn’t alone either.
“I think we’re not focusing on the important issue here,” Daniel started again, trying to keep his voice smooth and placating. “It’s not a matter of how many people are bidding on my collection, but who has the best bid for what I’m selling. We’ve got to set a fair price for this.”
Mrs. Han’s expression soured at last, her lips pursing like she’d just sucked on a lemon. Her fine black eyebrows dove for the bridge of her nose and Daniel nearly gulped. He’d gotten too comfortable and overplayed his hand.
“I think you forget yourself, Mr. Jones. It is not just your interested buyers who hold your life in their hands, but also your own country. I’m sure they have people hunting you even as we speak. I would be remiss if I did not point out that if one of your buyers was not pleased with losing your auction, they could very well sell you to your country.”
Daniel nearly snickered at her threat. The rogue agent had already paid for the betrayal of his country, and now he was helping to get information on the countries trying to undermine his own. “I truly do appreciate your candor, Mrs. Han, but the arrangement stands. I’m sure when you speak to your employer about your bid, they will make sure it’s a fair one and you will come out victorious.”
Her glare suddenly turned to a smile as she pulled her purse into her lap. Reaching inside, she pulled out a gun and set it boldly on the table next to her untouched wineglass. “And I appreciate your kindness, Mr. Jones,” she said, her voice oozing sarcasm. “But there is another option for acquiring what I want without having to go through this silly auction you’ve devised.”
Daniel sat up straight, his eyes locked on the gun as he lifted his hands slightly up. A stray thought drifted through his head about how it seemed to be a trained response to raise his hands at the sight of a gun, but the thought skipped away almost as quickly as it formed. His mouth opened and bobbed for a second. He couldn’t think of what to say. There weren’t any words left in his brain. How did he escape? Where the fuck was Edward? The spy had been confident that the person he was meeting wouldn’t draw a gun in public. This was supposed to be a civil meeting, nothing more.
“You’re not Kevin Jones,” Mrs. Han announced in a dry voice.
Daniel’s head snapped up and he took in her confused expression. “Of course I am.”
“No…” she said slowly and then shook her head. A smile formed on her thin lips, sending a chill of dread curling in the pit of his stomach. “You’re close in appearance. Very close. We’ve met once before, but you don’t remember. He was an arrogant bastard. Tonight, you’re being…kind.”
“It’s called being civilized.” Daniel practically ground the final word between his teeth. “I thought we were going to have a civilized meeting.”
“We are.”
“Guns don’t belong on tables in civilized meetings.”
Mrs. Han moved her white cloth napkin over the gun, hiding it from view as a server approached, and smiled at Daniel. “I’m still being very civilized. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Give me what I want, and I won’t pull the trigger.”
Daniel licked his lips and wracked his brain to come up with something to tell her that would allow him to stall a little bit longer. He had no idea how to escape the table. Edward had hoped that maybe they would chat for a few minutes, and then she would leave. Or, if things went to utter shit, Edward would create a distraction, giving Daniel a chance to escape. Where the fuck was his distraction?