by Zoe Dawson
Behind the desk sat Robert Webb, his features weathered and his eyes shuttered. Webb was now in his late fifties, but still looked fit and healthy. “Special Agent Austin Beck. My, you’ve come up in the world, haven’t you, boy?”
Austin tried not to let the condescending tone of Webb’s voice taunt him into responding. He was a professional, and it was clear he didn’t like being questioned, especially by someone who had once been under his command.
“With all due respect, Mr. Webb, I didn’t come here for small talk.”
He extended his hand toward one of the leather wing chairs in a cherry red. “Right down to business, eh? Let’s get on with it then.”
Austin settled in the chair as the woman who had let him in backed toward the door and closed it behind her.
“What can I do for you, Agent Beck?”
“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Lieutenant Sarah Taylor was murdered a few days ago in her apartment in El Centro, California. She was part of the Blue Angels team and a Navy pilot, which makes that NCIS’s responsibility.”
He didn’t say anything or react in any way, did not seem surprised, puzzled or sympathetic. He just stared at Austin as if he hadn’t spoken.
“She was Jenna’s cousin. The only family she had left.”
He blinked a couple of times and sat forward, setting his hands on the meticulous blotter. “What exactly does that have to do with me?”
“It seems that Sarah’s killer made a blunder and murdered the wrong woman. Jenna was the target.”
This time his brows rose, and concern filled his eyes. “Jenna is in danger? Surely you’re doing something to keep her safe.”
“She’s in good hands,” Austin said.
“I’m sure she is. You were adept at handling her at the embassy, if I’m not mistaken.” This time his eyes narrowed and something potent slipped through before it was immediately squelched. Had Webb suspected that he and Jenna had a thing for each other? Did he realize that embassy assignment had been the first step in Jenna leaving him? Webb had always struck him as an austere cold fish. One who did what was necessary and expected of him but didn’t go out of his way to do more. He had been a good ambassador, as evidenced by his many posts. But Austin had never liked him or respected him, which was colored by his attraction to Jenna, no doubt. Still, his dislike of Webb was more than his jealous feelings for the man who’d had the woman he’d wanted.
“I did my duty and followed your orders to the letter. It’s a pity that when we left the embassy that day, you didn’t even spare a glance backward for your beautiful wife.”
Webb’s face tightened, his eyes finally showing some emotion—anger. “It was a distracting time, and I put her in your hands. You even got a medal for your duty, if I recall correctly. Risked your life to save wounded employees. You even got to meet the president.”
Not about to go off on a tangent and get distracted, Austin stuck to the point. “Now you and Jenna are divorced. How do you feel about that?”
Webb reclined back into his chair. “It was amicable, and I gave her what she wanted. I’ve always striven to give Jenna what she wanted, except a few things that didn’t fit with my lifestyle.”
Like children, Austin thought, but didn’t say out loud. “Not exactly answering the question. I want to know how you feel about the divorce. That would be an emotion, Mr. Webb. Mad? Glad? Sad? Any of those would be an appropriate response.”
His eyes flashed and narrowed. “I was surprised and disappointed that she’d made such a rash decision, but I couldn’t change her mind. Sometimes you just have to know when to let go,” he said flatly.
Austin wasn’t sure he had let go at all. He had to wonder if Webb had kept tabs on Jenna—whether he was so consumed with his bruised ego that he wanted Jenna dead.
Austin picked up the framed photograph on the desk. He studied it, got lost in the beauty of Jenna’s smile. Webb reached forward and snatched the photo, then set it precisely back in its spot. He hadn’t let go, not in a pig’s eye. The portrait and these photos said he was still hung up on his ex-wife.
“So, it stands to reason that if Jenna was the target as you have deduced,” the man said disdainfully, making it clear he didn’t think Austin could investigate himself out of a brown paper bag, “you’d head for the most obvious suspect.”
“You,” Austin said, leaning forward, his voice ringing with accusation.
“Me. Exactly. I’m sure you’ll want to know where I was when poor Sarah died.” He said it without a speck of remorse or empathy.
“That would be a good start,” Austin said.
“When was she murdered?” he asked as if he was completely bored by the conversation.
He named the time and date.
Webb sat there for a moment, then leaned forward and tapped the spacebar of his computer. He consulted the screen for a moment, then said, “I was at a fundraiser that evening, here in DC. So, you see, I couldn’t have killed her.”
Maybe not with his bare hands, but Webb had resources and the motive to kill Jenna. Spurned ex-husband with a bad case of narcissism. The perfect setup for murder. Narcissists usually talked mostly about themselves, believed they were superior to everyone and tended to view women as playthings. They had an inflated sense of self-importance and a noted lack of empathy.
“Can you think of anyone who would want to harm Jenna?”
“Not of my acquaintance. I have no idea who she’s been consorting with since she left me. But Jenna is a lamb, gentle and caring. She needs someone to help her navigate life, a guiding hand. I regret I can’t help you any further than that.”
“She is quite capable, Mr. Webb. At least from what I could see.”
“I’m sure you’ve seen…a lot of her,” he bit out, then smoothed his hand down his shirt as if he was upset he’d shown any kind of jealousy.
Male narcissists directed their anger mostly toward women because they held the rejection keys. For Webb, that rejection must have hit so hard, he’d been completely enraged. But his sense of decorum helped him to effectively hide it from Jenna and the people around him. Austin was convinced that Webb might not have put his hands around Sarah’s neck and squeezed the life out of her, but he would have hired someone and given them strict orders.
Webb didn’t have a problem with everyone. He had a problem with people who rejected him. Jenna's husband was a patriarch. There was no surprise he took an innocent, pampered, and sheltered woman as his wife, a beauty that would make him look good.
Even now, with the divorce final, he still had pictures of Jenna to remind him that he’d once had her under his thumb.
Webb rose. “I’m sorry that you wasted your time coming all the way here to talk to me. Marta will show you out.” On cue, the door opened, and the stern-faced woman stood there.
“I’m not quite finished. I’ll need names of people who saw you at the fundraiser.” Austin reached into his back pocket, pulled out a pad and threw it down on Webb’s desk.
Webb looked toward the door and with a wave of his hand sent Marta away. He settled back into his chair and started writing on the pad.
Finally, Webb shoved it back at him. “I’m going to follow every lead, talk to every person, pull your phone and financial records. If you had anything to do with this, there won’t be a rock you can hide under.”
“This sounds like intimidation to me. Perhaps I need to contact the Secretary of the Navy.”
Austin smiled at the threat, snatched up the pad and rose, tucking his card into the corner of Jenna’s picture frame. “If you think of anyone who would want to harm Jenna, you give me a call. Have a good day, Ambassador. I’ll show myself out.”
Webb didn’t even look down, his stony gaze telling Austin that he was jealous of him. He was aware Austin had a thing for Jenna back in Ja'arbah. He deliberately threw them together. Had he been spying on them? Had he seen the kiss?
At this point it didn't matter. Jenna's safety was all he cared about
now.
Austin paused at the door. “Give SECNAV my regards.”
Austin got back to the town house and entered using his key, but he suspected Beau and Jenna were doing errands since Beau’s car was gone from the driveway. He settled down at her kitchen table and opened his laptop and got to work.
“Let’s see if you’re hiding anything, Ambassador.”
Jenna chose a purple cocktail dress with black-and-purple lace at the shoulders, a chiffon bodice and skirt with a sumptuous charmeuse belt. The back had a plunging lace V and a silky bow. She paired them with black patent leather heels. She wanted to look good, mostly because she wanted to garner Elise’s help. She’d be going with Austin and Beau in tow, and she felt nervous to have her bodyguards subjected to the DC high society party. But she couldn’t go without them; that would make her much too nervous. Austin wouldn’t have agreed anyway.
As she pinned up her hair, she was determined not to allow her current predicament to stop her from living her life. She wasn’t going to hide anymore. She grabbed her black velvet swing coat and her purse. Exiting her bedroom, she went to Austin’s door and knocked. It opened quickly, and she caught her breath.
She expected some variation of his surfer chic look, but instead he was wearing a suit jacket over a black T-shirt and black pants, black dress boots on his feet. He looked…devastating, the chocolate stubble on his face just showing and only accentuating his strong jaw. She just stared at him like she’d never seen him before.
“What? Did you think I was going to embarrass you?”
She jerked out of her sensuous haze. “No. Not at all. You just look so…good.”
With a twinkle in those sultry gray eyes, he smiled, his gaze going over her in slow motion. “Wow. You look stunning.” The hint of amusement instantly faded, replaced by a glint that was more heated, far more potent, far more intent. Far more male.
“Thank you,” she said.
Austin looked away, the muscles in his jaw clenching, annoyance flaring in his eyes, his mouth compressing into a hard line as he took the coat off her arm and helped her into it, his warm hands lingering on her shoulders while the fabric settled against her body. She stood there for a moment, so conscious of him as a man. Experiencing a head rush from his hot touch, Jenna closed her eyes, her pulse going wild. And she remembered that first instant when he’d entered her, when she’d felt the full thrust of him, and she tightened her grip on her small, glittering purse, her breath jamming up in her chest.
Without consciously thinking, she leaned back into him, and he buried his face into her hair with a soft sound. She closed her eyes as he breathed deep, as if this were the last breath of a drowning man and he was going under.
“Jenna,” he whispered into her curls, and she wanted to turn in his arms and kiss that tantalizing mouth, feel the burn of that stubble against her cheeks, her lips, her neck, breasts, anywhere and everywhere.
His hands squeezed her shoulders, and he let her go. She found her footing and took a breath as she headed toward the stairs. Grabbing the handrail to support her trembling body, she started down. Beau was waiting and he had already shown up this morning in a very nice suit with a gray tie.
He stared at her as she came down but didn’t say a thing. His admiring gaze said what he was thinking. She set the alarm and he held the door for her as she and Austin went through.
She gave him directions to Elise’s Bethesda home, where they pulled up and parked at the curb across the street. The white-and-gray showpiece of a house was lit from within, the lower level a gray, tan, and white fieldstone, surrounded by wrought iron railing up to the porch with peaked gables. Austin slipped his arm under her elbow as they climbed to the wide, nine-pane-windowed mahogany door.
It opened before they could knock, and as they entered the foyer, she heard, “Jenna!” Her dark-haired friend, wearing a smile that was crinkling the corners of her handsome face, rushed forward out of a crowd of three women, who had all turned to look at them as they arrived. Elise’s eyes were on her, but the three women were more interested in her escorts.
Elise threw her arms around Jenna and hugged her tight, her winsome body feeling solid and warm.
“It’s so good to see you.” Then she whispered in a rush against Jenna’s ear, “I’m so, so sorry. Robert’s here. He came with some people we invited without my knowledge. I would have warned you.”
Jenna froze inside at the thought of seeing Robert after all this time and with the threat of death hanging over her head. Austin was convinced her ex-husband was behind Sarah’s murder.
She turned to Austin, and he didn’t miss the paleness of her face. He gave her a quizzical look, and she shook her head slightly. “This is Austin Beck and his friend Beau Jerrott.” They had already agreed there was no need to alarm Elise and her guests by introducing them as her bodyguards.
When they parted, Elise gave her an apologetic look, and her husband, Tom, looked agitated as he hugged her tight. He was tall and fit with a bald pate. What hair he had was shaved close to his head. He looked more like a hard-charging general than a politician. “Sorry, kitten,” he whispered. Tom and Elise were her father’s oldest friends and she’d spent more time here with them and their rambunctious and totally cool sons than with anyone else. Their sons were grown now; one was an attorney and the other was pursuing a military career. Tom was one of the high muckety-mucks on the Hill.
As Jenna mingled with the people at the party, some she knew and others who were strangers, she noticed Robert talking to a man near the hors d’oeuvres table.
He glanced in her direction, his cold look only making her palms sweat. She didn’t want to be intimidated by him, so she squared her chin and turned away. She ignored him all through dinner and conversed with Elise and Tom mostly. Once dinner was done, Jenna said, “Could I have a private word with you, Elise?”
“Of course,” she said. “Let’s go into Tom’s study.” Austin followed at a safe distance, watching Jenna as she deliberately left the door open. She sat down in one of the stylish wing chairs, and Elise took the sofa. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Fundraising.”
Elise’s brows rose, and she smiled. “A subject near and dear to my heart. What did you have in mind?”
“I wanted to raise money for libraries and literacy. I'm just figuring this all out, and it's new and intriguing. I know I have a lot to learn and consider. I was wondering if you could help me get started.”
“I sure can. I know the director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. She’s a valuable resource. Also, you should contact the National Library Association.”
“That’s a good start. Would you be willing to call her or give me her number?”
“Sure. This is exciting. You’re going to get involved with raising money for very worthy causes. I’m proud of you.”
“It’s time I find something I enjoy, and since I don’t have to make a living, I can put my efforts into something that I’m passionate about.”
Elise nodded, sipping at her tea.
“Do you know Piper Kaczewski? She’s married now to a Navy SEAL, Dexter Kaczewski.”
“Yes, I know Piper well—she used to be married to Senator Brad Jones.”
“The one who was murdered? I read about that in the news.”
“Yes, she took over his seat to serve out his term. I’ve met that hunky new husband of hers. Yowza. You know he saved her life?” She explained briefly and Jenna was wowed by the story. “She’s opened a non-profit office in San Diego as a fundraiser. You should definitely look her up. She would be a great asset to help you get started or maybe even take you on board. She’s always looking for good people.”
“That sounds pretty perfect. I’ll definitely contact her. Thank you so much. I knew you would have good contacts and advice.”
“Anytime. Now spill about your two hunky escorts. Which one is yours?”
Jenna laughed and said, “Neither.”
&
nbsp; “Now I know you’re fibbing. The way that young man with the beautiful gray eyes looks at you, it’s clear something is going on.”
“It’s complicated right now, so, yes, I’m interested in Austin and he’s interested in me.”
“Well, I wouldn’t wait too long to sail that boat, if you get my drift.”
Jenna flushed, her face hot.
“Oh.” Elise leaned forward and patted her arm. “You already have. Good for you, and I say full steam ahead.” She winked.
When Elise rose, she gave Jenna a soft smile. “I’ll call Piper for you tomorrow and tell her your plans, pave the way for you,” she said as she left the room.
Jenna remained preoccupied with her thoughts about how to go about fundraising, the calls she needed to make and her determination to see it through, and after a few minutes, Austin walked in and said, “How did it go?”
Jenna stood and turned toward him, getting hit again by how amazing he looked tonight. “She was the right person to talk to. Thanks for bringing me here and being so supportive, Austin.”
The instant he moved, Jenna’s senses went wild, and she closed her eyes and drew a shaky breath, trying to curb the feelings inside her. Opening her eyes, she looked at him, almost afraid to move for fear of doing something to break the spell. His expression compressed into hard lines, he stared at her, his eyes giving nothing away. Then he held out his hand, and Jenna let out a tremulous sigh and took it, her grip urgent and tense, almost desperate. He held her gaze for an instant, his hair shining in the soft glow of the desk lamp, lending a hushed, romantic aura to the room.
He looked dark, foreboding, and unapproachable, but the look in his eyes made her heart pound and her knees go weak, and she swallowed hard. There was a flare of emotion in his eyes, and he tightened his grip on her hand and slowly, so slowly, stroked her palm with his thumb. It was too much. That one slow, sensual touch put her in such sensory overload that the glow from the light made her skin feel too tight. Lacing his fingers through hers, he drew her toward him.
