The woman’s lips compressed into a purple line, but Leah didn’t listen to her tart retort. She knew the cameras in the elevator were monitored, so she slipped her hand into her purse and twisted the bottom off the lipstick. The gold bottom broke free of the tube and she dug the listening device from its foam dock.
“A chicken-fried steak isn’t going to change me into a democrat, Shonda.”
“No, but a few martinis last night sure changed you into a blabbermouth.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Is that a threat?”
As discretely as she could, Leah slid the disc into her jeans pocket. Then, in case her purse was checked again for whatever reason, she reassembled the lipstick tube.
The doors opened and Shonda exited on a huff. When they closed again Al turned to Leah with a self-deprecating smile and shake of his head. “Politics.”
Leah forced a smile that had more teeth than it should have, and when Al stepped off the elevator she exhaled in relief. Could Ian and the others hear that exhale? She hoped so. It comforted her to know they were listening. Thirty seconds later the elevator opened onto the eighth floor.
Leah followed the signs for Suite 802, the offices of Senator Michael Roth of Maryland. She opened the door and stepped into a reception area that reeked of class. The lobby was chic, discretely expensive, and the atmosphere hummed with self-importance.
A brunette with cat-like green eyes and cheekbones straight from a plastic surgeon’s brochure sat behind a polished desk. The receptionist looked Leah over, lingering on her jeans with disapproval, and then said in a clipped tone, “How may I help you?”
“I’m here to see Senator Roth.”
The smile turned saccharine. “I’m sorry, but you’ll need an appointment. The senator is a very busy man.” She dismissed Leah by turning her shoulder and answering the phone.
Leah waited patiently until the woman ended the call and swung back around. When she saw her, the receptionist’s smile faltered and her eyes narrowed. Before the woman could say anything else that would piss her off, Leah said, “I have an appointment with the senator for nine. My name is Leah Parker.”
The woman’s bad attitude vanished in an instant, and for a moment she almost looked afraid. She shot to her feet and stammered, “I’m so sorry Ms. Parker. Please excuse my mistake. The senator is quite eager to meet with you, and he instructed that I bring you in right away. If you’ll please follow me.”
The receptionist power-walked down a white marble hallway, the clip of her five-inch heels echoing with every step. Leah practically had to run to keep up with her. At the end of the hallway a glass door led into a smaller, more intimate reception area that was, if possible, even more expensively furnished. Leah wasn’t sure, but she thought the hand-woven rug she was standing on cost in the thousands.
“Ms. Parker is Senator Roth’s nine o’clock meeting,” the receptionist said.
The woman manning the interior reception desk was as stunning as the first, and Leah was beginning to see a hiring pattern. The new receptionist pressed a red manicured nail to a button on her headpiece and said in a smoky voice, “Ms. Parker is here to see you, senator.”
Her earpiece squawked and she stood. The receptionist, this one a tinted blonde, led Leah to a tall oak door. She rapped her knuckles across it as a courtesy, and then she pushed it open and stepped back so that Leah could walk through.
The senator’s office was as imposing as the suite it occupied. A white plaster art deco medallion adorned the sixteen-foot ceiling and the floors were a continuation of the suite’s white marble. Tastefully expensive art decorated the walls, and a designer with a keen eye had strategically placed green ferns and antique urns to give visitors a sense of welcome in face of all the grandeur.
The office was divided into an “intimate meeting” area with a couch, dry bar, and round table; and an “all business” area with a royal blue carpet stamped with the seal of the United States that stretched across the floor and ended at a massive mahogany desk. The senator sat stiffly behind the desk, glowering at her as she stood by the door.
The senator, much like his office, appeared both expensive and intimidating. He was in his late sixties, but inherited wealth from the family tobacco business along with a sizeable senator’s salary had afforded him the resources to look much younger. He was exactly the sort of man who belonged on a ritzy golf course—fit, tanned, and sporting a full head of gray hair. The senator’s navy suit was crisp, his red and blue striped tie pressed. It didn’t escape her notice that he was wearing his gold wedding band. Leah knew there were women who thought his blue eyes and unnaturally white smile were handsome, but they tended to be the women who didn’t know him in person. The women who moved in his circles whispered about a sharp temper and distasteful sexual habits, although she hadn’t yet found anyone willing to testify to it.
Senator Roth’s eyes were on her, sizing her up much as she had him. She peeled herself away from the door, and without waiting for him to offer her a seat, sat down in one of the black leather visitor chairs facing the desk. His brow creased in obvious annoyance. Senator Roth was a man who liked to take every opportunity to display his power over others, and she’d just robbed him of a host’s most basic expression of domain: whether or not to offer his guest a seat.
“I take it you’re Leah Parker,” he said dryly. His voice was smooth and cultured with a hint of the good ole boy southern twang his constituents loved. Even across the excessive expanse of desk she could smell his cologne and the coffee that steamed in an American flag mug at his elbow. The central AC kicked on, whirring softly in the background as she fought her instinct to respond politely as she’d been raised to do. Instead she drew on her inner Amanda.
“Yeah,” she said. “I am. And I take it you’re Senator Roth.”
His eyes narrowed; he didn’t find her sarcasm amusing. “I’m a busy man, Ms. Parker. Say what you’ve come to say.”
She glanced at her nails and then rubbed them on her shirt like she’d seen someone do in a movie once. Then she leaned forward and stared directly at him. “I just wanted to look you in the eyes, Senator Roth. I wanted to meet face-to-face with the man who betrayed his country.”
He flashed his dentist-whitened teeth. “Did Peter send you? Is this some kind of joke? He better wait, when I get him back for this it’s going to be good.”
Of course he would deny it. What had she expected, an admission of guilt? The man was worse than slime. He was selling state secrets and God knew what else to the Russians in exchange for . . . what? That was the part that still nagged at her. As far as anyone knew Roth lived off his father’s investments and his salary. There was no secret money laundering business or Cayman’s account, at least that the FBI had been able to find. So why did he do it? What did he get from betraying the people he’d sworn to protect and represent?
She decided to lay it all out so he knew she wasn’t there to play games. “As I’m sure you know, Senator Roth, I’m with the DA’s office investigating the assault on your wife Christmas morning.”
The smile grew brittle. “Alleged assault.”
“She was most certainly assaulted, as the bruises in the photographs prove.”
He shook his head mournfully, and seeming to forget the assault was alleged said, “I’ll never forgive myself for not being there to stop the intruder who did that to her.”
It was thin, but he’d said it with such sincerity that she instantly grasped how he’d been able to maintain his senate seat for so long.
“Are you here in an official capacity, Ms. Parker?”
“No.”
He lifted a brow. “Then let me guess: You’ve discovered information you think incriminates me, and instead of alerting your superior at the DA’s office and letting the allegations go through the court system, you thought you’d run on over here and see if the information has blackmail value . . . hmm?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “More or less.”
&
nbsp; He shook his head in disgust. “Young people have no values these days. There used to be a time when men and women had integrity. Let me warn you Ms. Parker, I am a man of integrity and you’re making a big mistake by taking this route. Instead of an early retirement, you’re going to earn yourself a promotion to jail.”
She ignored his blustering. “In the course of my investigation I came across some fascinating phone calls that you made to a brothel in Balkhash, Kazakhstan. Interestingly enough, each call was made a week before you were scheduled to take a trip to China, which borders Kazakhstan. Did you know, Senator Roth, that several high-level Russian military operations can be found in Balkhash. Care to explain any of that?”
The patronizing smile dissipated and a cold, canny gleam entered his eyes. It was a chilling expression, and for a moment she understood the fear his wife must have felt the night he’d come home and beaten her. In one look she’d glimpsed the monster that lurked beneath Roth’s affable persona.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Ms. Parker. If a call was made to a brothel than you can be most assured it was not me who placed it. Someone must have used my phone. Perhaps my secretary? She has extended family all over eastern Europe and could have been contacting an impoverished relative.”
Leah laughed, knowing it would dig under his skin. “Admirable attempt, but no.”
“I don’t have time for this. I’m an incredibly busy man. If you have official allegations to make, the DA’s office can contact my lawyer. And as for you, you gutless coward, consider your career in this town over. By the time I’m done with you your own mother won’t even look you in the eye.”
She shrugged. “Okay. I’ll be on my way then. I have an appointment with the FBI anyway.” She stood to go.
“Wait.” The command was sharp.
She stopped but didn’t sit again. The senator stood and turned his back to her. He paced to the window that overlooked the street and stuck his hands in his pockets, no doubt going for the misunderstood-billionaire look. The effect was lost on Leah, as she was busy digging in her pocket for the bug. She slipped it into a memorabilia mug holding an assortment of flag pins and paperclips just as he turned back around, a tortured expression on his face. “You will never know what I’ve done for my country. You don’t have the clearance for it.”
She bit back a long-suffering sigh. She’d heard that line before.
“Balkhash is not what you think it is.”
“Oh yeah? Then what is it?”
“I wish I could tell you, but I haven’t been authorized to share that information with a civilian. All I can say is that the FBI is fully aware of my involvement in the Balkhash operation and what I’ve been doing on my trips. It’s a national security issue and I’m warning you to stay out of it.”
He was good, she thought. And if Agent Ashill weren’t in a van eight stories down rolling his eyes so hard he was giving himself a headache, she would have been tempted to believe him.
It was time to wrap the meeting up. She’d planted the bug and there was no reason to draw it out. Her job wasn’t to get a confession, only to sow a seed. She was eager to escape his office and let the situation play out so that the FBI could put Senator Rat away for life.
“Listen, I’m tired,” she said with very real weariness, “and I’m not playing with you. We both know the FBI isn’t aware of your little Russian partnership—yet. No one knows but me. No one ever has to know. Are you getting my drift?”
His eyes dropped to the floor, and when they lifted again they slid over her body with an interest that made her skin crawl. It repulsed her to know her amateurish attempt at blackmail turned him on.
“Leah,” he murmured. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. I’ve always found ambition to be such an aphrodisiac. How about you?”
“Not really,” she said crisply. “I have enough of my own. I don’t need to fuck someone and hope it transfers by osmosis.”
She was stunned when he threw his head back and laughed. When he met her eyes again the glint of desire had deepened. “I haven’t had a woman speak to me like that in a long, long time. Most people are intimated by me.”
Leah lifted a shoulder. “Why would I be? I have you by your balls.”
His smile was slow and rife with contempt. “Not yet, but if you keep this up we just might have to try that.”
She nearly gagged. “Here’s the deal, Michael. May I call you Michael?”
“It’s Senator Roth. Even my wife calls me senator.”
“Here’s the deal, Mike. You have twenty-four hours.” She caught the warring flares of anger and lust as she purposely disobeyed his request. “I want twenty million dollars, cash, delivered to me by this time tomorrow. Your secretary has my number. If you come through, I forget I ever heard of Balkhash. If you don’t . . . well, being branded a wife-beater will be the least of your worries.”
He snarled. “Twenty million? Are you insane? I don’t have that kind of money.”
She planted her hands on his desk and leaned forward. “I know you don’t, Mike,” she said softly. “But you certainly know someone who does.”
Understanding flashed across his face. “The Russians? You’re out of your goddamned mind. They’d string you up and gut you first.”
It was his first admission of guilt, no matter how indirect. Satisfied, she straightened and said airily, “I’m not worried about the Russians; they already tried to silence me. As you can see, it didn’t turn out so well for them. Oh by the way, when you call, tell them to blow Sokolov a kiss for me.”
Recognition of the name lit briefly in his eyes and he jerked a little as if he’d been electrocuted. She could tell he no longer thought their sparring was amusing.
“Bye Mikey,” she said over her shoulder as she sashayed to the door. “Don’t disappoint me.”
Chapter 45
Senator Roth was on the phone with his handler before Leah even exited the building. Ian listened to the bug’s transmission through an earpiece while simultaneously keeping tabs on the communications from the FBI cab driver as he pulled in front of the building and waited for Leah.
She had been absolutely brilliant with the senator. She’d pulled off a perfect mix of brazen cockiness and naiveté and it had enthralled Roth. It was no wonder to Ian Roth had found himself lusting after her by the time she left. He could sympathize with the feeling. Leah was unlike any woman he’d ever met, and her stellar acting performance was just one more facet to her already complex personality. He thought it was too bad she didn’t want to be a courtroom lawyer after all; she played the shark role very well.
The senator’s handler had put him on hold and it sounded as if Roth were furiously pacing the office floor. The cabbie radioed that he had Leah in the vehicle and their ETA was three minutes. Ian was anxious to have her in his sight again, even if he wasn’t sure how to act around her any longer. What kind of idiot fell for a woman who lived halfway around the world? It wasn’t like he could up and move Northern Wolf Services to Washington D.C., and Leah had made it clear the first night they slept together that she intended to go back to law school. What they’d had was a temporary, albeit lightening hot affair—probably born of the stressful environment they’d been thrust in to. After some time apart he would realize it was truly warm affection he felt for her, not love.
That didn’t change the fact that he wanted to strangle Roth with his bare hands. His heart had been in his throat when he’d heard the obvious desire in the other man’s voice, and he’d known that even if he ran flat out he might not reach her in time if Roth turned nasty. It had been a terrifying realization. He’d been stupid to let her go in by herself. He should have put his foot down whether she liked it or not.
Yeah, right. That would have flown as well as a penguin.
Fortunately Leah had handled herself perfectly, just as she’d assured them all she would. He knew she was a capable woman, but that didn’t change his primal, instinctive need to protect her
and keep her safe. She was his after all, no matter how briefly.
He shoved his thoughts aside and focused on the tail end of Roth’s panicked call to his Russian contact.
“You listen to me!” Senator Roth was shouting. “I am the one giving orders here. I’ve spent a decade giving you everything you want, and all I’ve asked for in return are a few small favors.” There was silence as Roth listened to his handler. “Oh don’t give me that bullshit. You got to keep Shazada, didn’t you? What I wanted was a hardly a pittance in comparison.”
The conversation in Ian’s ear suddenly had his undivided attention. Senator Roth had been involved in the incident in Afghanistan?
“We both profited from that. And that’s not what I’m talking about right now. I’m telling you that you need to take care of the girl. Oh wait, you already tried that with that shithead Sokolov, didn’t you?” There was a period of silence. “Then give her the fucking money. I don’t care what you do, but you shut her down and you shut her down today. This little bitch is not going to ruin my career, you hear me? Think you can manage to do it right this time?” The senator choked on a sound of disbelief. “Are you crazy? This is your problem. No. No. I don’t have time to meet right now I—” Roth fell silent. Finally he said sullenly, “Fine. In fifteen minutes, by the fountain.”
There was an audible slam as he slapped his phone on the desk and then he shouted at his secretary to cancel his morning appointments.
Agent Ashill was practically dancing in place. The tap had already given them enough to nail Roth to the wall, but the FBI wanted the whole kit and caboodle, and that started with the senator’s Russian handler.
Leah’s cab pulled even with the van. As soon as she stepped onto the tarmac Ian rolled open the van door and yanked her inside. He didn’t care that they had an audience when he gave her a fast, hard kiss on the mouth. He’d start distancing himself later. “You did great.”
She flushed under his praise and he liked that his approval meant so much to her. “Did he call his handler?” she asked Agent Ashill. Ian tried not to let his masculine pride preen at her slight breathlessness.
Finding Lies Page 23
