“Oh, I’m fine. Please come in.” Lara threw the door wide open and the mass shuffled inside.
Tom slapped him on the back. “Welcome to her world. No one’s a stranger. Good luck keeping her alive.”
Yeah, he could see that he was going to need it.
FOUR
Lara shut the door on the last of her visitors and hoped they’d bought the act. She’d had to smile and pretend to adore Connor. She’d explained that they’d met through mutual friends, but he was based in California and this was his first trip to D.C.
Her friend Barb, a divorced mom of two who lived on the fourth floor, had asked if Connor had a brother. The elderly sisters from the eighth asked if he had a record. Freddy, a fellow truth seeker from the second floor, had told her bluntly that Connor was obviously a CIA agent here on a mission to silence them all.
Sometimes Freddy had a vivid imagination.
“You have an interesting group of friends.” Connor sat on her couch like he owned the place. His left ankle crossed his right knee and he sat back, a glass of Scotch in his hand. The lord of the manor. She could see him as a medieval duke, staring out over his peasants before he chose a pretty servant girl to share his bed.
That was so not a politically correct fantasy. She crossed over to her bar and poured herself a glass of rather potent blueberry wine. It was organic and local and sometimes she wondered if the FDA shouldn’t step in because more than one glass really got her going.
She poured half a glass. She needed her faculties against him.
Lara turned and joined him in her small living room. She sat across from him on the love seat.
“There’s plenty of room here.” He gestured next to him.
No way. She’d spent the last three hours practically on his lap because there had been no place else to sit. In fact, she could still feel his arms around her. “I’m fine over here. You and Lincoln seem to get along now. I’ve actually never seen him so calm.”
He was sitting on Connor’s feet, his tiny body curled up as he slept. “I figured out what his issue was.”
“What? Do you have some veterinary experience? Because he has a ton of issues. He doesn’t sleep well. He never sleeps for more than an hour or two at a time. I think he has PTSD. Dogs can get that, you know.”
“He was hungry.” Connor’s lips pulled up in a grin and he tipped his Scotch toward her. “Just a hungry mongrel, like the rest of us.”
“He can’t be.” She stared down at him. About halfway through the impromptu gathering, he’d stopped growling. Usually she had to put him in her bedroom, but tonight she’d actually forgotten he was there. Not so great for a pet mother, but Connor had kind of taken over. “I keep his bowl full all the time.”
“Yes, I saw that. What’s vegan dog food besides torturous for the poor animal?”
“It’s a compassionate way for an animal to eat. I try to live my life with as much kindness and compassion as I can, so I put Lincoln on a vegan diet, too.”
“Let me tell you something, princess. Your dog likes burgers.”
Anger flashed through her system. “You fed him meat?”
“The little fucker wouldn’t leave me alone. I gave him a taste just to shut him up but then he whined so I gave him more. Your friend Tom was a little like the dog. He wouldn’t shut up until I gave him a burger, too. I only got two. I’m actually still hungry.”
She couldn’t believe he’d done that. “He’s my dog. I make the choices for him. You just ruined his diet. He won’t go back.”
He regarded her with all the seriousness of a lazy but hungry lion, as though he was deciding if tearing her up was worth the effort. “He never was there, Lara. He’s a dog. He was born a carnivore. He’ll die one. It’s his nature.”
“He was fine.”
“He was hungry and that made him angry. You say you’re all about compassion, but your dog was hungry.”
She knew some vets who said it could be done. Plenty of animals lived on a vegan diet, though once meat was introduced it was very hard to get them to go back. “You have all the answers, don’t you?”
His face softened, but only slightly. “Not at all, but I do know that trying to change a creature’s nature will only bring heartbreak for you and him. The world isn’t a pretty place, and you can’t change it by feeding your dog a bunch of vegetables.”
“So I shouldn’t try. Yeah, I’ve heard this one before.” There was no point in talking to her bodyguard. They wouldn’t be friends. She knew his type. He probably thought she was stupid and naive, that she caused more problems than she solved. Whatever. He wouldn’t fit in her world and she didn’t want to fit into his. “I’m going to work for a while.”
She headed for her office. Until this guy was caught, she would spend as little time around Connor as possible. The last thing she needed in her life was another man who thought she was an idiot. Even though her dad loved her, he didn’t understand, either. No one seemed to.
Connor caught her hand as she started past the couch. He fixed his stare on her. “They all liked you. That whole group of people. They were each different, but they got together because they like you. What do you do for them?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I share meals with some of them. I watch Barb’s kids from time to time. I help some of the college kids with their essays. I’m really good at that.”
He let go of her hand and nodded as though satisfied. “So they use you. That’s why they were here. They wanted to make sure you didn’t get hurt so they could continue to use you.”
What the hell had happened to him? “No, I’m a part of their community. Our friendships aren’t one-sided. Those same old women whose prescriptions I pick up taught me how to knit. And Barb always checks in on me. She sometimes does my laundry when I’m too busy. The college kids helped me get my furniture in this unit. We help each other.”
“Sure. You go on believing that.” He turned back to his Scotch.
“I might be naive, but you’re cynical.”
“Like I said, you can’t change a creature’s nature. I’m going to need all their names. I have to run checks on everyone who was here.”
“Why?”
“To see if any of them might have a reason to kill you.”
“Yes, because my eighty-year-old neighbors own a motorcycle and a revolver.”
“It was a semiautomatic,” he corrected. “I didn’t get a good enough look to know the model. And just because they can’t physically do the deed themselves doesn’t mean they didn’t pay someone else to do it. People always have their secrets. So get me a list of names.”
And he would start trying to dig up dirt on them. “I won’t do it.”
“Lara, we can’t have an adversarial relationship between us. I’m not the bad guy here.” He reached down and picked up Lincoln, settling him on the couch so he could turn more fully toward her. In the evening shadows, the planes of his face looked even harsher, starker. It did nothing but enhance his attractiveness. “I am sorry about Lincoln, but I think you’re wrong. All dogs are different. Some might be able to handle a vegan diet. I don’t think he could. If what you’re telling me is correct and he’s had all these issues since he’s been here, they’re probably dietary. Meat is easier to digest than grains, which gives him issues. So how far does your compassion go? Will you try it again and put him through this? Or will you feed him what he needs? Or does he no longer meet your requirements as a pet because he can’t follow your cruelty-free lifestyle?”
“So now I’m a vicious radical?” She hated the fact that she was tearing up in front of him. “I only care about the people who meet my exacting standards? Make up your mind about me, Connor. In the course of a single day I’ve been a one-percenter who didn’t care about poor ex-military men, an idiot who isn’t smart enough to stay off Facebook, and now I’m the vegan police, shutting out anyone who doesn’t follow my code. I should really pick a persona.”
She broke away from him.
>
“I need that list.”
She was sure he couldn’t see her, but she flipped him off anyway.
Her office was blissfully quiet. She went over to her desk and sank into her chair. Her Mac and the massive screen she used were a welcome distraction to the fact that the most interesting and infuriating man she’d ever met was still sitting in her living room, and he wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
Deep breath. Let out all the bad energy. This was her space. This was where she felt powerful, and she wasn’t going to let Connor’s disdain taint her sanctuary, where she really could help change things.
And damn it, she was going to have to buy Lincoln more dog food. She certainly wasn’t going to let him starve and she wouldn’t give him up. She had plenty of friends who weren’t vegans. Hell, she had gun-toting friends who thought the world was coming to an end. She wasn’t isolated. She got along with everyone.
Everyone except Connor.
She touched the keyboard, bringing the big screen to life. Forty-five e-mails to the Capitol Scandals account. She flipped through them quickly. Some were indictments of her as a human being. Several thanked her for what she did to call for accountability. There were the requisite advertisements. Somehow the Internet thought she was a married woman looking for a hookup to cheat on her husband, and a man in need of little blue pills to cure sexual dysfunction.
And then there was the ad that popped up in her e-mail.
Farmers’ Market this Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial. Great deals at noon. Don’t miss out! Bring your friends for all the best produce American farmers can offer.
Her breath caught. It was a code. There was no farmer’s market at the Lincoln Memorial; a product would be offered. Information.
Two months earlier, a man who claimed to have information concerning the death of Maddox Crawford had contacted her. He’d given her a name: Natalia Kuilikov. She was still looking for the mystery woman, but she felt as if she was getting closer.
How did all the pieces of the puzzle fit together? Something was going on but she just couldn’t see the big picture yet. She was intrigued because this Kuilikov woman had something to do with Crawford’s death, and Crawford had been friends with the president. The president had a group of friends he’d known since prep school. The Perfect Gentlemen. A few of them were very high profile. Gabe Bond, Maddox Crawford, and Roman Calder were media darlings. She’d heard there were two more but they were in positions that didn’t garner exposure. One, Daxton Spencer, was an active-duty military man. The sixth guy apparently had no name, at least not one she could find. But he was a rumor anyway. Either way, all of the Perfect Gentlemen were ruthlessly protected by both the White House and the nation’s intelligence agencies.
She had to keep digging for information, maybe find out who else had ties to the president.
Find out who he might have hired to murder his wife.
She focused on the words in front of her. They were a code she and the informant had worked out once he’d told her he couldn’t contact her in conventional ways.
The meet site was the Lincoln Memorial. Easy enough to get to. Saturday was five days from now. How was she going to get away from Connor so late at night? Lara shook her head. She had time to solve that problem. From there everything else in the message was opposite. Noon really meant midnight. Bring your friends meant come alone.
As she pondered ways to ditch Connor for her meet, her Skype pinged. She felt a goofy smile cross her face. Niall. She clicked the icon and his sweet face popped up.
Hey, pretty girl.
Hey! I was just thinking about you.
Did Connor make it okay?
Yes. He seems very competent.
She wasn’t going to go into the whole “she’d almost gotten shot” thing. She had other plans. It was past time to figure out where their relationship was going. Lara started tapping on the keyboard again.
But I was actually thinking about coming out to California for a couple of weeks. How about we get on the phone and talk? Or we could turn on our cameras and see each other for once!
Seeing Niall, getting to feel like he was here, would be a balm after the crappy day she’d had.
A long moment went by and then another one. She stared at the computer, getting more and more anxious. He must have stepped away for a minute.
I don’t think that’s a good idea, Lara.
A nasty feeling began brewing in her gut. He wouldn’t even turn on his camera? Is it a bad time?
Look, I talked to Connor and he thinks I need to be straight with you. Actually, the fucker told me if I wasn’t he would beat the shit out of me. I guess I didn’t think he would sell me out like that, but there’s Connor for you. I should have known.
Yep. She was a little nauseous. Not in all the weeks they’d been talking had he used a single curse word with her. Not once. Now he sounded like all the other guys.
She sighed. Just tell me.
It’s nothing and it doesn’t have to change what we have. I want to meet you. I want to be with you, Lara. We’re in synch, you and I. When I get some time off, I’ll come out to D.C. and we can hook up.
But she couldn’t come to California? What’s nothing? Tell me.
I’m married, but it doesn’t mean anything. I don’t love her. I’m just kind of stuck. But I think about you all the time. You make everything else worthwhile. I’m going to leave her. Meeting you has really given me the courage to walk away. I just need a little time. But that doesn’t mean we need to wait.
Tears blurred the screen. Married. He was a liar. He’d seemed perfect, and like all perfect things, he was a mirage.
Really, Niall had a brilliant shtick. Treat a girl like a lady and pretend to care about her causes. It sounded so simple but he’d elevated it to something like an art form. He’d sure tricked her. Likely it was something he did to a lot of women.
Don’t contact me again.
Before he could ping her once more, she blocked him from her system.
She’d been ready to sleep with him, ready to move the relationship forward. And Connor knew. That suddenly seemed like the worst part. He was probably laughing at how stupid she was. If he’d contacted Niall today, then he’d known she would learn the truth soon.
She took a deep breath, then exhaled. She had to reach her bedroom without him finding out. She needed to shut the door between them and have some time to process alone.
“Hey, you all right?” And of course he was standing in her doorway.
She stared straight forward. Her Skype screen was still up. She closed it and opened her browser. “Sure. Just getting some work done. If you’re tired, you can take the bed. I’ll probably just stay in here.”
She had a teeny tiny chaise lounge that was mostly for show and a place for Lincoln to sit while she worked. It would do. There was no way she was getting a ton of sleep anyway.
Married. He’d wanted to use her to cheat on his wife.
“You’re not okay, Lara. Did you talk to him?”
“Yes. I’m fine. I broke off our little flirtation and blocked him from contacting me again. So I’m no longer involved with your friend. If you want to leave, feel free.”
“Hey.” Her chair turned and he stared down at her, his gorgeous eyes searching. “I’m not leaving and I didn’t agree with what he was doing. Male friendships are different. I’ve known him for a while. I don’t agree with him and that’s why I told him he had to tell you or I would.”
Why wouldn’t Connor leave? She supposed he’d meant well, in his way. But right now, she really needed to be alone. She wouldn’t be able to hold her tears back much longer. “It was good to know before I got invested. Thank you.”
“You were invested. A woman like you is always invested, and that’s why he can do what he does.”
She turned and went right back to staring, but not before she felt a tear slip down her cheek. God, why couldn’t she be stronger? Why couldn’t she be cold and stoic?
“Fuck.”
She hoped he would go away, but he did the opposite. He turned her chair around again and before she could protest, she found herself being hauled into his arms, her whole world suddenly filled with Connor. It was as if the minute he touched her he