A hard ball filled Hadley’s chest. “You’re sure?”
“Very. He had cancer, and so few people he trusted. I flew to Portugal a year ago to be with him. I was there when he died.”
There was true grief on the professor’s face.
The man’s words echoed in her head.L’Orage was dead.
“He respected you a lot, Ms. Lockwood. Not just because he appreciated beautiful things. You were dogged, relentless. You almost caught him several times.”
“I know. He killed a colleague of mine to escape us.”
Sympathy flashed in the older man’s eyes.
“He’s really dead?” she asked.
The man nodded.
“So who is stealing goods from Secura?” Bennett said icily.
“That is a compelling question,” the professor said. “There are many people who are unhappy with us providing military assistance to other countries, and interfering where they feel we shouldn’t. Whoever this is, they are clearly using L’Orage’s name for a reason.”
Pieces started shifting in Hadley’s head. “We’d assumed it was L’Orage, so that influenced everything. They wanted his contacts.”
“That is likely,” Dummat agreed.
She nodded. “He could literally pick up where L’Orage left off, with buyers all over the world.”
“Buyers willing to purchase stolen goods,” Bennett said.
“There are avenues and leads we haven’t looked at because we assumed it was L’Orage.” She met Bennett’s gaze. “This helps, Bennett.”
He raised a hand scraped it through his hair. “It feels like another dead end.”
God, he looked frustrated. She wanted to hug him again.
She stirred. “Thank you, Professor Dummat.”
The older man nodded. “I wish you luck tracking down your foe.” He glanced at Bennett. “Your company does good work, Mr. Knightley. I hope this is sorted out soon.”
Bennett stood too and gave the man a nod.
As they headed out of the library, Hadley kept glancing at Bennett. “Are you all right?”
“No.”
She took his hand.
His fingers gripped hers, tangling them together. He didn’t seem inclined to let her go.
“You look like you need to hit the gym, or spar with Henry.” Release some of the dangerous buildup.
“I’m not going to lose it.”
But there was a muscle ticking relentlessly in his jaw. She reached up and touched it. His gaze sliced to hers.
“What do you need?” she asked quietly.
“I suppose a hot quickie in the Bentley isn’t an option.”