Lara and hadn’t thought a single thing about passing Freddy’s missive to her in front of Connor.
Lara herself was another story. She usually bucked authority in her own peaceful way. He wondered if Lara would have surrendered Freddy’s letter so easily if they hadn’t slept together the night before. Sex seemed to put her in a deeply cooperative mood.
Or not. If he hadn’t exited the bedroom at the right moment, Lara would have opened the door herself, and this letter would now be in her hands. His game would probably be over.
Connor tore open the envelope. Yep, there it was. Somehow the fucker had found a picture of him from the Yale newspaper taken during his senior year. Those photos were supposed to be history. All pictures of him had been removed from the Yale database. Of course the Agency couldn’t stop people from scanning their hard copies in. This photo showed him standing next to Zack as they walked out of the student union. They were both younger, but their faces were clearly depicted, their identities obvious.
Your bodyguard is one of them. There were six. Crawford, Bond, Spencer, Sparks, Calder, and Hayes. I think your guy is actually named Connor Sparks. He’s here for our data. He will protect the president at all costs, including killing us both. He works for the shadow government. He’s the one Hayes would hire. There’s almost certainly blood on his hands. I have to leave. I can’t stay with so many of them around. They were in your apartment last night. I watched them go in. I’ll pray for you, Lara. Fight the good fight.
Freddy.
Fuck a duck. He was going to have Roman’s ass. The asshole had sworn they would be quiet as silence and as undetectable as air. They weren’t supposed to leave any fucking witnesses.
What was he going to tell Lara? He couldn’t show her the note, but he also couldn’t destroy the entire contents of the envelope. He needed to use Freddy’s paranoia against him.
Connor very carefully tore the picture, deleting himself entirely. He folded his half of the photo and the note, then tore both into tiny pieces before flushing them down the toilet.
It was all he could do for now. Connor couldn’t deny that Freddy had figured out who he was quickly and couldn’t forget that the man would be back.
This missive also told him that Freddy was investigating Zack for some reason. That meant Lara was helping him, and he couldn’t have that. She needed to stay as far away from Zack as possible.
Things were getting complicated, especially his feelings for her. She was a weakness and he’d never had one before. Sure, he had his friends, but they were all savvy and played things safe. Lara was reckless. She seemed convinced that she could save the world.
Connor knew the world would eat her alive and he couldn’t let that happen.
He opened the door and walked back out, wishing like hell that Kiki and Tom hadn’t shown up.
“Is everything all right?” Lara was standing in the living room as he walked out. “Kiki left. I locked up and warmed breakfast.”
He’d been looking forward to it. Now he was going to have to force himself to eat. “Good. I’m starving.” He handed her the envelope. “Nothing scary. Just an old picture of the president. Why would he send you that?”
She opened it and looked down at the picture. “I’m not sure. He printed this. It looks like the source might have been a newspaper, but this came from his printer.”
“Maybe he found it on the Internet. Hayes looks young in that picture.” It had been snapped before Joy died, back when the hair at his temples hadn’t been threaded with silver. Zack joked that his bit of gray made him look older and more competent to voters, but Connor remembered the day he’d first seen those signs of aging in his friend. It had been at Joy’s funeral, as though his grief needed a physical outlet.
“I wonder where it was taken. I’ll have to research it. If he left it for me, it must be a clue. Hey, you know the president, right?”
He hated lying to her. He tried to work his way around blatantly lying. “I’ve worked with him a bit.”
It was true. He’d worked with Zack since they were lab partners in chemistry.
“Do you know Roman Calder as well?”
Shit. He took a sip of coffee. She’d refreshed it like the good hostess she was. He reached out and pulled her close. He knew how to distract her. “I know who he is. Kiss me good morning.”
Her whole body softened against his. She responded as if she’d been made specifically for him. “I already kissed you good morning. If I remember correctly, I did more than kiss you.”
“Kiss me again.”
She rose up to her toes and pressed her lips to his. Every single time she kissed him he felt it in his gut, in his dick, in his flipping chest. He was in deep with her, but he couldn’t make himself get out. He gave her a moment and then sank his hands into her hair and took over, delving deep inside her mouth. Arousal warmed his body. God, he couldn’t seem to get enough of this woman.
After a moment he pulled away, briefly kissing her nose before he took his seat and grabbed his fork. “So what was Freddy working on? Why did he bug out?”
Connor hoped Freddy had actually left the area. It would make his job so much easier. He needed to separate the guy from Lara, and he didn’t like the idea of having to silence a disturbed vet.
Eggs. Real, from-a-chicken eggs. Sure they were scrambled with god only knew what kind of vegetables, but compared to her tofu, it was like heaven. His appetite resurged.
“He thought he saw a big group of men in black. You know, the kind who silence people with too much knowledge.”
“I’m well aware of the term.” Hell, half the time he was the boogeyman and he did, indeed, wear black. The color not only blended in with the night, it hid bloodstains well. “So he saw a couple of dudes in black suits and decided they were here for him?”
The eggs were cooked perfectly. He didn’t even mind all the veggies.
“That’s how his mind works. But Kiki thinks he might have seen Roman Calder in the building because she saw the guy in the lobby on a trip back from the drugstore really early this morning.”
He was going to kill Roman. Had his old pal forgotten the whole op was supposed to be secret? Had he just run around chatting up people in the hallways? “Why would he be here? Although if he was, he would likely come with a security detail. That would explain the men in black.”
She settled in across from him. He loved how pretty she was with no makeup on and her hair in a messy bun. “That’s what I thought. I don’t know why he was here. There are a couple of congressmen who keep apartments in the building. There’s also a former model on the fifth floor. Do you think he’s having a fling?”
“Could be.” At least she wasn’t buying Freddy’s theory.
“I might look into it. It’s a juicy story. Of course, Freddy also told Kiki you were one of them. In fact, he thinks you not only let them into the building, you allowed them into my condo last night.”
And just like that his appetite was gone. What else had Freddy told Kiki? “Really? I’m working with the president’s chief of staff? I need to figure out where that paycheck is going.”
“I happen to know you weren’t running around with a big group of men in black last night. You were busy.” She smiled. “Freddy is suspicious of any new person in his life. I still don’t think he’s the one stalking me.”
Connor shrugged, unwilling to give her an answer. “Why would he think men in black are dangerous? Is it the alien stuff?”
“Actually, I was going to talk to you about that.” Her cajoling voice put him on edge. She wanted something from him. He was starting to learn her tells. She only used that sexy voice on him and that was very likely why it would work. If he could give something to her, he would. “I told you we’d been investigating a possible story.”
“About the president.” Somehow he couldn’t see Freddy working with her on an innocuous article about the president’s lovemaking prowess.
“Yes. We were investigating a th
eory last week before you arrived. This was something Freddy has been working on for months. He found some supporting footage and actually traveled to three different states to get copies of the original, unedited tape. I have no idea what he paid for it, but he kept it off the Internet. He had it on a hard drive and I’m sure he took that with him, but I finally convinced him that if I was going to be able to write a convincing story about this theory, I would need a copy of whatever he’d acquired. He was making me a thumb drive so I could study it, too. I left it on his coffee table along with my notes. I need to go get that.”
Connor had to admit, he was interested in whatever this “story” was, but he couldn’t let her into Freddy’s place until he was sure there wasn’t some massive poster with his real name and job title on it. “You want to break into a paranoid ex-military man’s apartment to get a flash drive?”
“Yes, but you should know I think he might have the place booby-trapped.”
He sighed. “Well, it’s not like I had anything better to do today.”
“Good, because I have a plan.” She hopped up, then chose the chair beside him, sitting so close her knees were touching his. “But we can talk about that later. First you can yell at me because I might have invited someone over without talking to you first.”
“Who?” He was well aware his tone could have iced over the room. Jealousy sprang up in his chest. Was it another man? He’d explained how he felt about that.
If she felt the chill, she didn’t show it. Her leg rubbed against his. “Her name is Everly Parker. I don’t know if you follow the tabloids, but she’s kind of a celebrity right now. She’s Maddox Crawford’s secret half sister.”
“The guy who died in the plane crash?” Mad. He still couldn’t believe Mad was gone. He still expected to open the door and find Mad standing there with a ridiculously expensive bottle of Scotch in hand, telling him that the death gig had been one big joke.
“Yes, that Maddox Crawford. He ran Crawford Industries, which was caught in this big scam with the Russian mob. As far as I can tell, Crawford didn’t know his business was being used as a front for human trafficking.”
Wow. She’d twisted that around more than a little. “I remember reading about that. I don’t think the Russian mob was embedded in the business, just using a charity Crawford Industries supported as a front.”
“Right.” She nodded. “I forgot. I don’t have my notes in front of me. Anyway, Everly Parker is coming here at noon and I think she’s bringing her fiancé with her.”
“Why is she coming to see you?” Roman had worked fast. Connor hadn’t expected to see Ev for another day or two. And he hadn’t been sure Gabe would come. What the hell could he say to the man who’d once thought of him like a brother? God knew he’d been silent since Connor had unleashed the massacre at the Crawford building, since Gabe had looked at him like he was a monster.
“Okay, here’s the other part you’re going to be mad about, but I want you to put yourself in my shoes. I didn’t really know you so it didn’t make sense to tell you everything.”
“So it makes sense to put your life in my hands, but not to tell me about everything that could harm you?”
She sighed at his sarcasm. “Fine. I should have told you, but this could be the biggest story I’ve ever broken and it ties in to the work I’m doing with Freddy. I was in Manhattan a few months ago. I was visiting a friend and working on a story about businesses paying EPA inspectors to look the other way. That story got picked up by the Times. Oh, they won’t ever admit it, but they used my source and everything.”
If he didn’t corral her, she would go off on a tangent about the Times and big business destroying the little guy. “You were in Manhattan and . . . ?”
She refocused. “I got a call from a man. I still have no idea where he got my cell number. Or who the heck he was. Anyway, he tells me he knows all about Capitol Scandals.”
Now that was new information. He’d been running on the theory that she knew Deep Throat. But another person—a total stranger—was aware of her secret identity? That list was starting to get awfully crowded. “And you didn’t think that information was relevant to me?”
Every time he got cold, she seemed to warm up another degree. She curled her fingers over his arm, rubbing as if she petted him. Like she meant to soothe him? “I’ve had other things on my mind since then, but I can see now where it’s relevant. Anyway, when he called, he said he had information I needed to hear.”
“Tell me you didn’t meet with him.” He knew she had, but accepting that was different now. Lara had put herself in danger by secretly meeting a man she didn’t know, one who had valuable information about her.
She had the good sense to wince. “I would love to be able to tell you that, but I did. That’s where I found out about Natalia Kuilikov and her ties to Crawford Industries. My informant thinks Maddox Crawford was killed because he knew too much about her and a man named Sergei.”
A chill went up Connor’s spine. That Russian name came up a lot. He still didn’t know who the fucker was. And he sure as hell didn’t like it. “Who’s Sergei?”
“I don’t know. I was told to find him. He’s the smoking gun, I guess. To do that, I need to find Natalia Kuilikov first.”
“Does Everly Parker know Natalia? Is that why you’re meeting with her?” Everly would do just about anything to track down the Russian immigrant. She was sure Natalia would bring her closer to truly understanding why Mad had been killed by the Russian mob after he’d discovered the human trafficking ring. But Everly thought it went deeper, and every word out of Lara’s mouth made Connor believe that, too.
“Apparently she was contacted by the same man. He told her to get in touch with me, that we have different pieces of the same puzzle.”
“Why should we care about this, Lara?” Because it would be the kind of story that would garner her international exposure and credibility?
She frowned and took her time replying. He sat in stilted silence as she squirmed in her seat. He didn’t do a damn thing to break the tension. She should feel it, understand that he was serious.
“It goes back to the story I’m working on with Freddy.”
He stared, waiting for her to continue.
Lara frowned. “You know you can be very intimidating.”
“I can also be very nasty when I don’t get the answers I want. Tell me what you’re working on.”
“Joy Hayes’s death.”
She managed to surprise him. “Joy Hayes was killed by a whack job who was trying to get the president.”
Connor should know. He had chased the man down. He had shot and executed the assassin that day. All the press reports simply stated that one of the candidate’s bodyguards had killed the man. Roman had managed to keep Connor’s name out of the press.
“I don’t think so. I believe the president hired someone to assassinate his wife three days before Election Day because he was several points down in key battleground states and he was going to lose. I think the event was carefully orchestrated, right down to the way Hayes held his dying wife onstage, for maximum press exposure and sympathy. Rumors are that their marriage was one of political convenience and that she intended to leave him if he didn’t win the White House. Americans poured their hearts out to him and swept him into office.” She shrugged. “I also believe that Sergei is the real assassin.”
Rage threatened to pour from Connor. He’d been there that day. He’d seen the devastation. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I do,” she said quietly, almost sympathetically. “I have proof and you can get it for me tonight. I know you like the man, but I believe he’s all kinds of dirty. I think he might even have ties to the Russian mob, and this Sergei person can prove it. I’m going to track down Natalia Kuilikov and then I’m going to find this mysterious guy. Once I dig up the truth, I’m going to make sure Zack Hayes can never hold political office again.”
She was embroiled in eve
rything Roman had sworn she was. Lara was actively plotting against his president, his friend.
Connor knew he was going to have to choose. There was no choice, right? Zack had stood by him. He knew the guy, had known him since they were just children trying to make it in a world they didn’t understand. He’d seen Zack’s grief. No, their marriage hadn’t been perfect, but Zack and Joy had been friends and partners. He still mourned her to this day.
“Over my dead body.”
“What?” She sat straight up, blinking owlishly as if she couldn’t quite believe what she’d heard.
“You’re not going to make up shit and call it news, Lara.”
A flush stole across her skin. “I knew you wouldn’t like it, but you have to give me a chance to show you what I’ve found. Once you see the evidence, you’ll understand.”
“No, I won’t. I’ll just know that you’re good at crafting fiction. It’s one thing to write an exposé on the president’s dick, but you’re not going to drag a good man down because you think you can.” He pushed back from the table. “You’re going to drop this story.”
Her hands balled into fists, but she managed to keep her voice steady. “No, I’m not. And I don’t make stuff up. I’ve never run a story I wasn’t absolutely one hundred percent sure of.”