Assassination Authorized

by Erin Wade

  “I know.” Faith slipped into the coat Kady held for her. “That’s what makes it so wonderful. You loved me when I was an ugly duckling.”

  “I sure did,” Kady whispered.

  ##

  Over lunch, Faith told Kady about the letter from Willard Fram. “I can’t believe Tom would make such a demand,” she concluded. “He’s not like that.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I think I’ll go see him,” Faith said. “See if I can talk him out of taking money from the Devon trust fund. I need to talk to Father. Tom deserves something. He is the father of my children.”

  Kady grimaced slightly.

  “What’s wrong, baby? Why the frown?” Faith touched Kady’s cheek with the tips of her fingers.

  “I know it’s crazy,” Kady said with a shrug. “It always makes my stomach queasy when I think about you being with someone else . . . having their children.”

  “That was another woman. Mariam Reynolds. I’m nothing like her.”

  “I think Mariam Reynolds, Faith Doe, and Faith Pride are the bravest women I’ve ever met.” Kady pulled Faith’s hand to her lips and kissed it.

  “I’m certainly the luckiest,” she said, blushing at Kady’s praise. “I did manage to land New York’s most eligible bachelorette.”

  Kady laughed out loud. “You certainly did that.

  “Isn’t it almost impossible to get an audience with the president? I mean, he doesn’t know Faith Pride from Adam.” A serious look crossed Kady’s face. “We should get together with Mecca and Jericho and brainstorm this. They’ve been in Washington for weeks. Are they back yet?”

  “One way to find out.” Faith pulled her cell phone from her purse and tapped the screen, dialing Mecca’s personal phone.

  “Faith, it’s so good to hear from you,” Mecca said when she picked up the call.

  “Kady and I are checking to see if you’re back in town.”

  “Yes, we got in late last night,” Mecca chirped. “It’s so good to be home.”

  “We need a brainstorming session with you and Jericho. I think I’ll invite Teagan and Nikki too. How does dinner at our place tonight at six sound?”

  “Sounds great,” Mecca declared. “We’ll bring wine.”

  “Six it is. I’ll call Teagan and Nikki.” Faith ended the conversation and called Teagan.

  “All set,” she informed Kady. “Now I must go to court.”

  Kady walked her wife back to her office. “I’m a little excited about tonight. The six of us haven’t gotten together in ages.”

  “Baby, could you pick up a half dozen steaks and baking potatoes?” Faith squeezed Kady’s hand. “I’m not certain how long I’ll be in court.”

  “Of course. I’ll put the potatoes in around 4:30, marinate the steaks, and make a salad,” Kady volunteered. “Everything should be ready by the time you get home. Call me when you leave court, and I’ll put the steaks on the grill.”

  Chapter 51

  Jericho was in her usual surveillance spot across the street when the limousine stopped in front of Mecca’s office. She recognized Clarissa Turner when the bleached blonde stepped from the vehicle.

  All her husband’s money couldn’t hold back time. Even Botox, plastic surgery, and bleached hair hadn’t been able to sustain the beauty she once was. She had reluctantly settled into the role of matriarch to the Turner clan and a much-applauded hostess to the Washington political crowd.

  Jericho wondered why she was seeing Mecca. The limo pulled to the corner and parked, waiting for Clarissa to return. Jericho turned her attention back to the three individuals she had been observing all morning. Two men and a woman had arrived at the end of the block soon after Mecca entered her office.

  Although the men were dressed nicely in slacks, turtleneck sweaters, and leather jackets, they still looked like bouncers for a strip club. The woman—who looked familiar—wore jeans, a hoodie, and a jacket. Jericho knew all three were packing guns. She also knew they were surveilling Mecca. What she wasn’t certain of was whether they were there to protect Mecca or kill her.

  She watched as one of the men walked toward the coffee shop. She quickly unbuttoned another button on her shirt and tousled her hair. The man walked inside and ordered coffee. He looked her up and down and smiled. Jericho smiled back, hoping to engage him in conversation. She tilted her head and gave him her best “come hither” look as she gauged the force it would take to render him helpless with a throat punch. She switched on the camera in her wristwatch.

  The barista shoved the man’s order toward him, accepted his payment, and returned his change. Jericho nodded to the chair across from her and the man swaggered to her table. “May I?” he asked.

  “Of course,” Jericho said. Will you walk into my parlor, said the spider to the fly?

  “Do you live around here?” The man stirred sugar into his coffee.

  “Yes, I’m meeting a friend for lunch, but I think I’ve been stood up.” Jericho sipped her coffee and ran her tongue along her upper lip. “I’ve never seen you around here before.”

  “Just checking out the area,” he replied. “I’m thinking about moving in this direction.”

  Jericho nodded. “It’s a nice area. Very expensive, though.”

  “Look, honey, I’m busy right now,”—the man’s eyes gleamed—“but maybe we could have dinner tonight, and you could show me around.”

  “I’d like that.” Jericho’s smile was warm and inviting. “There’s a nice Italian place a couple blocks over, Rosa’s. Seven okay?”

  “Seven it is,” the brute said as he got to his feet. “See you then.”

  Jericho watched him strut to the door. A few minutes later, the other man entered and ordered coffee. Jericho caught his eye and he turned away, but not before she was able to capture footage of him with her watch.

  Now if the woman will come in, I’ll have everyone’s photo to run against our databanks, Jericho thought as the man left the coffee shop.

  Jericho’s gaydar clanged in her head as she checked out the woman entering the coffee shop. They both scanned each other, and their gazes met at the same time. The woman smiled and winked. She ordered her coffee, paid for it, and walked to Jericho’s table.

  “What’s a looker like you doing here all by herself?” she quipped.

  Jericho laughed. “Is that your A-game, Dade?”

  The woman pulled back her hoodie and shook her head, revealing blonde hair that rivaled Jericho’s own. “Is this better?” she purred.

  Jericho licked her lips. “Much better.”

  Dade Dayton, Jericho thought as she got a good look at the woman. Deadly and ruthless. Dade never failed to complete an assignment.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Dade insisted.

  Jericho shrugged. “Stood up. My lunch date never materialized, so I’m just sitting here wondering what to do with the rest of my day.”

  “Hmm. I’m working right now, but I’d love to take you to dinner later,” Dade murmured.

  “I’m busy tonight,” Jericho said. “Tomorrow at seven? There’s a nice Italian place a couple blocks over. Rosa’s Place.”

  “Yeah, I’ll be there,” Dade confirmed before whirling around and heading out the door.

  Jericho watched Dade cross the street and speak to the two men. Like Jericho, she was a lethal weapon for General Carson.

  ##

  Jericho observed the three as they continued to spy on Mecca. They paid little attention when Clarissa came out of Mecca’s office and got into her limo. Must not be working with her, Jericho thought.

  Mecca’s usual Uber driver pulled to the curb in front of her office as the brunette came out the door. Jericho watched the three who had surveilled Mecca all day. She couldn’t wait to get home and run background checks on the two men. They’re not very good, she thought as she watched them meet on the street in front of Mecca’s building. She was surprised they hadn’t followed Mecca’s car. She wondered if they wer
e going to break into Mecca’s office when Julie left.

  Julie walked out about five minutes later, and Jericho called the police. Three patrol cars were on the scene before the thieves could get out of Mecca’s office. Jericho watched as the three were led from the building in handcuffs.

  “Well, there goes my date for tonight,” Jericho chuckled as she headed for her vehicle.

  Chapter 52

  Mecca met Jericho at the door of their apartment. “What took you so long?” She kissed her wife as she handed her a glass of wine.

  “Your office was burglarized,” Jericho blurted. “Since I was on the scene, I thought I’d stop it.”

  “Are you okay?” Mecca said, leading Jericho to sit on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

  “Yes, I just called the police and had the burglars arrested. Why would someone break into your office?”

  Mecca scowled. “I don’t know. Tom Reynolds’s future mother-in-law paid me a visit today.”

  “What did she want?’

  “She said if I didn’t give Tom and Evelyn’s marriage my stamp of approval, there’d be consequences.”

  “What did you say?” Jericho placed her wine glass on the coffee table.

  “I told her that if she had evidence of her husband’s crooked dealings, she should turn it over to the US Attorney General, along with a signed statement detailing all her family’s illegal activities.”

  Jericho fell sideways onto the sofa, laughing. “Seriously? She threatened you, and by tomorrow she and her husband will be in jail.”

  Mecca’s phone rang, and Teagan’s face filled the screen. “We’re starting without you,” Teagan chided her. “I’m on my second glass of wine. Put your clothes back on and come join us.”

  “I’m not . . . we’re not . . .”

  “Just teasing, sis, but do get your butt up here.”

  Jericho thought about running the three faces she had on her phone through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) but decided it could wait.

  ##

  “How do you want your steaks cooked?” Kadence asked her guests. The meat sizzled when it touched the grill grids.

  Jericho and Nikki joined Kady on the terrace as Faith put the finishing touches on the salad. Mecca and Teagan set the table.

  As they dined, they discussed the events of the past two weeks. “We have had an inordinate number of suicides,” Nikki declared. “It’s as if every crooked politician in New York is taking their own life.”

  “All law offices are being inundated with requests for criminal representation. Litigators are swamped,” Faith noted. “The problem is that the criminals gave the prosecution detailed signed confessions of their crimes.”

  “You two were in DC,” Kady exclaimed. “What went on in the House? There was a ninety-second period when the stations lost the signal. We didn’t get to hear any of Mecca’s invocation. And all those senators and representatives signing confessions of illegal activity. The corruption in both parties is disgusting, and both the past and present house speakers have committed suicide.”

  “Our president is a persuasive speaker,” Jericho said. “He did an excellent job.”

  “He did make the nation feel safe and more at ease,” Nikki added.

  “Faith has a bit of a problem,” Kady interjected. “The attorney for Tom Reynolds is demanding a settlement of the Devon trust fund.”

  “It’s not like Tom to make such a demand,” Faith added. “If I could just talk to him, let him know the girls are alive and happy. He wouldn’t interfere with their lives or expose them to the world. We both know how dangerous that would be for them as long as he’s president.”

  Kady bowed her head. “How would you let him know about the girls without exposing yourself?”

  “I’m the attorney representing them.” Faith took Kady’s hand in hers. “We’ll discuss this later, okay?

  “My biggest roadblock will be getting an appointment with Tom.”

  “I may be able to help you with that,” Mecca volunteered. “When do you want to meet with him?”

  “The sooner, the better,” Faith answered.

  The friends planned, laughed, and talked as they shared their experiences of the past weeks. “It’s almost midnight,” Jericho informed the group. “If I know surgeons, you all have early morning operations scheduled.”

  “I know I do,” Kady agreed.

  “As do we.” Teagan stood. “Thank you both for a wonderful dinner and stimulating conversation.”

  Faith laced her fingers through Kady’s as they walked their friends to the door. “I’ll contact the White House first thing in the morning,” Mecca promised Faith as she hugged her good night.

  ##

  Jericho locked the door to their apartment and turned to Mecca. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and thumbed to the pictures of the three burglars. “Do you recognize them?” she said, holding the phone so Mecca could see.

  “I’ve never seen the two men, but isn’t the blonde your undercover girlfriend?” Mecca teased.

  “They’re the three who broke into your office. I’m going to run them through the database while you get ready for bed. They don’t work for General Carson, so I don’t know why they’re working with Dade. I’m going to run a search on Dade just to see what her current cover is.”

  Jericho started the NCIC search and then walked to their bedroom. Sounds from the apartment above her made her chuckle. “I hope we don’t have to listen to that all night.”

  Mecca slipped her arms around her wife’s neck and kissed her slowly, fanning the flame that had been flickering all evening. “We could drown them out,” she whispered.

  Jericho moaned. “Mm-hmm.”

  Chapter 53

  Jericho slipped from their bed and padded into her office. She wanted to see if the database search had turned up anything. She knew she should have checked sooner but had fallen asleep in Mecca’s arms instead.

  The two men had rap sheets that went on forever. They had been arrested many times but were released without charges being filed. They were local thugs.

  Just as Jericho suspected, Dade was a ghost. There was no record of her in any database in the world. Just like Jericho, she did not exist. Jericho wondered if she and Mecca had become expendable.

  Jericho pulled her Glock and gun cleaning kit from her desk drawer. “Time for your weekly checkup,” she mumbled to the firearm that was an extension of her.

  She cleaned the gun, slid the loaded magazine into place, and racked the pistol before returning it to the desk drawer. She washed the gun oil from her hands and tapped her computer screen to bring it back to life.

  Soft hands massaged her shoulders and moved up her neck. “What are you doing, honey?” Mecca asked.

  Jericho swiveled her chair around to face her wife. “I’m pretty certain someone has a hit out on you,” she said, gazing up at Mecca. “God, you’re beautiful!”

  “I’m glad you think so.” Mecca straddled her and settled onto her lap. “Why don’t you take care of this little problem I have, and then we can talk about hit men or whatever makes you happy.”

  They made love, and Mecca collapsed against Jericho’s chest. “Is the room spinning, or is it just me?” Mecca murmured.

  Jericho kissed her. “Must be the room. I’m having the same sensation as you.”

  They sat still for a long time, Mecca listening to the beat of Jericho’s heart and Jericho inhaling the fragrance of Mecca’s hair.

  A rhythmic thumping sound from overhead drew a comment from Jericho. “Geez, do they ever stop? What are they doing now?”

  “The same thing we just did,” Mecca said, kissing her lips gently. “Come into the kitchen, Grumpy. You can tell me about your hit man while I make coffee.”

  “Hit woman, actually.” Jericho followed her wife, relating the events of the day before.

  “Who would want me dead?”

  “Anyone who knows how powerful you are,” Jericho said. “Do
n’t you know how dangerous you could be in the wrong hands? Your little prayer might have alerted someone to your abilities.”

  Mecca sighed. “I don’t see how it could. I was very careful. Everyone should have been under my spell.”

  “There may be others like me,” Jericho pointed out. “People who don’t succumb to your prowess. People who fear you.”

  “I don’t know. But I believe you’ve succumbed to my prowess.” Mecca grinned impishly.

  Jericho chuckled. “No doubt about it.”

  Faith’s picture popped onto the screen as Mecca’s phone rang. “Good to see Kady got off her,” Jericho mumbled.

  Mecca silenced a giggle as she answered her cell. She began answering Faith’s questions immediately. “Tomorrow afternoon? . . . Yes, we can do that . . . I’ll set it up. We can leave early in the morning and reach DC by noon. I’ll let you know as soon as I have something definite.”

  “Faith cleared her calendar and wants to see Tom Reynolds tomorrow afternoon,” she informed Jericho.

  “Work your magic,” Jericho said.

  Mecca called General Carson. “I need to see the president tomorrow afternoon,” she informed her.

  “What time?” Abby asked.

  “Any time after one.”

  “Hold on.” The general left the line and returned after a few minutes. “Three tomorrow afternoon,” she said. “It’s shown on his calendar as a meeting with me.”

  “That’s perfect,” Mecca affirmed.

  “After you finish your business with the president, Roland and I would like to have dinner with you and Jericho.” Carson added, “He worries about you two worse than a grandfather.”

  “We’d love that,” Mecca said.

  “We’d love what?” Jericho asked after Mecca hung up the phone.

  “Abby and Roland want to have dinner with us.”

  “What about Faith? I don’t think we should take her around Carson. Just to be safe, she needs to fly under the radar,” Jericho declared.

  “Maybe Kady can go with us,” Mecca said. “They can dine together while we’re with the Carsons.”