by Zoe Dawson
“I can’t see him doing anything illegal to get ahead. I’ve thought about it since last night, and I swear I’m being as objective as I can be. He wouldn’t, Dex. Not this. Not to me, not to his constituents, his backers. He just…it’s not who he was any more than it’s who I am. For any price.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but what if he wanted the White House? You said he was ambitious. What if he was willing to do anything to get there?”
“He would have told me he was going to run for president. I would be affected by that.”
“Would he, Piper?”
“You didn’t know him.”
“No, but you did. You told me you did everything for him. Maybe he just expected you would be on board for the presidency. Political royalty, politician’s wife, just a couple of steps to first lady. I’m not saying he’s dirty, but we have to keep all options open.”
She looked into his eyes for the longest time, then gathered herself and said, “I know. I understand. But you’ve talked a lot about gut instincts. That’s why I told you about Brad. It’s why I’ve kept nothing back, ever. I knew I trusted you instinctively. I won’t believe it’s true until I see some proof.” Her eyes looked bruised. “I can’t believe you did this.” She turned and left the room.
Austin and Derrick looked at him. “Let’s get this stuff into the dining room,” Dex said, watching Piper walk away. He’d give her some time. He was sympathetic to her feelings, but he cared more about getting to the bottom of this and making sure the threat to her was neutralized. He wanted her safe, no matter what it cost him. Even if it cost him her. “There’s a big table in there we can use.”
They started hauling. After about ten minutes, Derrick sat up straighter.
“What is it?” Dex asked.
“Maybe nothing, but there are several articles from the net that Jones printed out.”
“Investment?”
“Maybe. Worth noting.” Derrick picked up his cell and punched in a number. “Hey, Amber, I need you to do a search for me. Omni Corp, Sundown, LeesonGroup and JackTrades. All you can find. Also, do me a profile of Senator Robert Mullins.” He listened for a minute. “Yup, that would be the guy.” He smiled a rare smile. “Yeah, yesterday.”
“Amber? Amber Dalton? You work with her?”
“Yeah, we know she’s marrying your brother’s best friend. We’re keeping her in the dark. Personal connection and all.”
Dex nodded. “She’s good people.” He relaxed a bit. If these guys worked with Amber, they had to be on the up-and-up. She was a really good judge of character, as evidenced by her falling for Rock’s best friend.
Dex went to the bedroom to try to talk to Piper one more time. He felt like hell that he had to force this issue, but she would have pushed back on this. As he approached, he stopped dead. Muffled sobs drifted to him as he stood outside the door. His gut clenched and he put his hand on the jamb to steady himself.
And he knew there was no protecting himself from this. Or from her.
Hours passed and midnight came and went, with disheartening results. The computer was wiped, completely and unrecoverably wiped. Austin couldn’t restore anything. Of course, they weren’t sure who had wiped the system, but it couldn’t have been Brad because it had occurred after he was dead. On the night of the break-in. Not a coincidence.
Derrick’s cell rang and he tapped the speaker. Amber’s voice said, “Hey, guys. I got that information you needed on Omni Corps, Sundown, LeesonGroup and JackTrades, which are all Fortune 500 companies, trading on the stock exchange. They are also heavy supporters of Robert Mullins, according to what I could find. No red flags there, but I did find that Mullins was connected to a CEO of―” she ruffled some papers “―Markset Limited, who was found dead in his penthouse apartment in New York just before Brad Jones died. It might not be anything.”
“How did he die?”
“Alcohol poisoning. Ruled an accident.”
“Did he drink?”
“It seemed moderately. I couldn’t find much about him drinking in excess, but people in the limelight don’t broadcast that. Also, there was a PI killed in New York that same week. Sam George. I thought it was interesting because he worked out of Brad Jones’s office.”
“It seems a lot of people surrounding Mullins end up dead.”
“Seems so.”
“You got a profile on him?”
“Yes. Robert Michael Mullins. He’s fifty-seven years old, a former New York governor who is well known for revitalizing the FDNY. He also served as New York’s attorney general, intelligence briefer for President Sharons, CIA station chief in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and before that he was an analyst for the CIA. Education, BA Princeton University, JD Harvard Law School. Married to Crickett Ames, of the Texas oil baron Ameses, with two college-age daughters. He’s pugnacious and unapologetic, and he brings a brash style to everything he does. He was known for being a hard-charger when he was attorney general. He’s often accused of embracing an ego-driven and needlessly abrasive style. Otherwise, guys, Mullins’s profile reads like he deserves to be the next president of the United States. The guy’s Mr. Clean.”
“Thanks, Amber.”
“Anything else you need researched, let me know. Bye, Dex.”
“Bye, Amber.”
An hour later, at the halfway point with five boxes down, Austin jerked in his seat. He rubbed his eyes.
Dex was losing steam, too. “Good job, Hang Ten.”
Austin grinned and held up his fist for a bump. “You gave me a call name, so maybe you’re warming up to me?”
Dex sighed and fist bumped him. “We’ll see.”
Austin looked at Dex and nudged him. “What call name would you give Derrick?”
Dex never hesitated. “Assassin.”
“Yeah, I see that. He’s got that dark and deadly thing going on there.”
Derrick just rolled his eyes and set down the file he had been riffling through.
“Let’s call it a night, guys. There are three other bedrooms in this place. Choose whichever ones you want. I will see you in the morning and we’ll go through the rest of this stuff.”
Austin groaned when he stood and stretched. “Don’t worry, man. She’ll come around. It is better to know.”
Dex nodded. He took a step forward and his foot kicked a box, tumbling it to the side. He bent down to scoop the spilled contents inside and saw a manila envelope. He picked it up.
“What’s that?” Austin asked, looking over his shoulder.
The corner was stamped with the name of Washington Hospital Center MedStar Unit. He broke the seal and dumped the contents out. There was a wallet, keys, tickets to a cancer fundraiser, small pink booties, some change and a cell phone.
“Jones’s effects,” Austin said, picking up the phone. “It’s dead, but we can charge it overnight and see if there’s anything useful on it.”
Dex nodded, his eyes riveted to the booties, wondering why Brad had them on him when he’d died. Had he been planning to give them to Piper? His heart twisted for her. He walked toward the master bedroom. He slipped inside and stripped down, sliding into the warm bed. Piper was sleeping as far away from the middle as she could get without falling off the edge of the bed, telling him that she was still mad at him.
He closed his eyes, drifting, aching to pull her into his arms. They felt empty without her snuggled up against him, but maybe this was for the better. He clenched his jaw. Better for whom? Certainly not him.
When this was finally over, what kind of future did the two of them have? She lived in DC. He was based out of Coronado. He was a SEAL. She was a politician.
He squeezed his eyes closed and his heart beat painfully.
Dex was in love with her.
She was still in love with her husband.
And he was jealous of a dead man.
“Oh, Brad, the baby is kicking.”
They were leaving the very long, very boring fundraiser, and Piper was ready
to get into something more comfortable, although Brad had said she was a glowing stunner in her little black dress.
She’d snorted then because there was nothing little about her dress or her. Her stomach was full of their baby daughter—Sophie. Brad, looking good in his tux, slipped his hand over her stomach as they stopped walking to the car. For a moment, they waited.
“There it is,” he murmured, and sure enough the fluttery kick turned into several really strong ones. “I can feel her foot,” he said as Piper’s stomach bulged.
“She is an active one,” Piper agreed, and Brad slipped his arm around her, pulling her to him.
“I have an appointment tomorrow.”
“What kind of an appointment?”
“It’s nothing. Just some financial matters with our lawyers. I shouldn’t be more than two hours.”
She nodded. “Sounds good. I can hold down the fort.”
“You really should start staying home and resting.”
“I can work, and I love to support you. I’ll be home after Sophie’s born.”
He held the door for her and closed it after she was inside. Walking around, he got in and loosened his tie.
“You okay to drive?” she asked. Brad looked preoccupied. In fact, he’d been subdued for the last three weeks. Maybe he was getting nervous about the baby’s birth.
She covered his hand and smiled. “Everything is going to be fine,” she said.
He started and his head whipped around to hers. He looked surprised and spooked. “What?”
“With the birth. You’ll make a great dad.”
She squeezed his hand and he laced his fingers with hers for a moment. “I know. I love you, Piper.”
“I love you, too.”
He started the car and they pulled out of the parking spot as he navigated to the GW Parkway.
Piper leaned her head back as Brad accelerated, and lights reflected in her rearview side mirror. She squinted as they got closer and closer until they moved to pass. It was a dark car with tinted windows. Suddenly, the driver swerved, and Brad swore.
Piper sat up, gripping the side of the door. The vehicle threatened them again and, in response, Brad swerved. As they approached the exit for Route 123, the pursuing car crowded them to the shoulder. Brad wrestled with the wheel, but the shoulder was soft, and he lost control. Their car broke through the stone retaining wall. Piper screamed as the car tilted, then went into a dizzy whirl as it rolled over and over, glass breaking, the sound of wood splintering and metal grinding until it came to an abrupt stop and everything went black.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Brad, his body draped over the deflated airbag, his eyes open and staring, blood running from his nose and ears.
“Brad?” she screamed. But he didn’t stir, didn’t look at her. She closed her eyes tight. He wasn’t breathing. “Brad! No!”
Then she felt it―the slide of blood and fluid―and her throat closed up. Sophie. Oh, God. Her baby.
“Brad!”
She sat up in bed and Dex was there, slipping his arm around her, and she turned to him, seeking his warmth. The nightmare had been so vivid, as if it wasn’t something she’d conjured in her own mind, but actual events. She remembered the first part vividly, but the details of the accident had been fuzzy. She’d been told at the hospital that she might not even remember it at all. Was her mind trying to fill in the blanks? Had the danger and adrenaline skewed her thinking? But then it all felt right, and in a flash, she knew that she had relived the accident.
Tears streaming down her face, she cried, “I remember. I remember everything. We were driven off the road. Oh, God.” She clutched at Dex. “Brad was murdered. They killed my baby.” She cried harder. All the pain came rushing back at her. “They took everything.”
He rocked her, murmuring to her, his jaw tightening. But she was lost in her grief.
She felt so cold and physically disconnected. Feeling raw and exposed, she looked up at Dex, every nerve in her body stretched to the limit.
He brushed her cheek with his thumb. “It’s going to be okay, babe,” he murmured, looping a strand of hair over her ear.
His words warmed her, his encouragement and support wrapping around her like a cozy blanket. The throbbing thickness in her throat eased, the tears slowed. Murmuring her name, he tightened his embrace.
It was a long time before she stirred, she was so rattled by the feelings swamping her.
She became aware of him stroking her back and her face was buried in his neck. Inhaling unevenly, Dex pulled them back, braced himself against the headboard, drawing her deeper into his embrace; his touch was meant to comfort as he massaged the base of her spine.
“If you’re right, Dex, about Brad, his actions could have caused the death of our child.”
Dex raised his head and looked at her, his gaze solemn. “I know, but you’re strong enough for that truth, Piper.”
Was she? She had gone through so much.
“I can get through this. I have to, and you’re right. I do need to know the truth. I need desperately to know the truth now.”
“Then we’ll get the truth for you, Piper. Somewhere, somehow, we’ll find the answers.” He loosened his hold so he could look into her face.
“I have to go to the police and get the accident reopened now that I remember. A car drove us off the road. There had to have been evidence of that.”
“We can’t go to the police yet.”
“Why not?”
“Piper, you’re still in danger. We can’t trust anyone at this point. We’re going to dig some more tomorrow. Hopefully we find something.”
She nodded, understanding, but her heart ached that she couldn’t go right away. Get them working on who had done this.
She couldn’t help remembering Robert Mullins’s change of heart about the bill. He had at first supported Brad, then changed his mind and gone in a different direction after Brad had been killed.
He was more interested, he said, in getting a proper bill written and put through the process. The way the bill was now, he worried that it might not pass. Then when she’d refused to drop the legislation, he’d gotten more agitated, then he started to threaten her.
“Dex. We should check Brad’s congressional email. Maybe Mullins sent messages to Brad through that channel.
“That’s a good idea, since his computer was wiped and everything was lost. Can you access the email?”
“Yes, I have his password. I have just avoided everything to do with Brad. I was the one who handled most of his correspondence, and he trusted me with all his codes. But he really handled that email account himself. I usually didn’t go in there.”
“All right. We’ll check it out. Do you have his cell phone password?”
“Yes,” she said, and rattled it off.
“I think Robert Mullins murdered your husband to keep that bill from passing. I think he hired someone to do it. Maybe even the same someone who attacked us at Coffee Now in Pentagon City.”
“It makes sense,” she said, snuggling up against him as he pulled her down into the bed and his embrace.
He kissed her temple. “Now that you’ve remembered what happened, hopefully you won’t have any more nightmares.”
Her voice was unsteady when she answered. “I hope so. I’ve relived that particular one more than enough.”
“You have. Try to relax now and go back to sleep. I’m here, Piper.”
“I’m sorry about how I acted. You were only trying to help.”
“I get it. It’s your life and you’re still trying to make sense out of it. But you do what you have to do. I admire that.”
She cuddled closer to him and kissed his chest and breathed him in, and after a moment she confessed, “I want answers. I want the truth. Really, whatever that is. Do what you have to do, and I’ll help as much as I can. Whoever did this stole my future and needs to answer for it. Brad and Sophie need justice.”
“Aww, Piper… Sophie?”
She smoothed her palm over the broad curve of his shoulder and continued upward, tunneling her fingers into his hair. And she kissed him, one long moment after another, luxuriating in the sensuality of having him naked and close, and in the comfort she felt—even the way he smelled made her feel safe.
Chapter Sixteen
When Dex came out of the bedroom, Austin was already up and on the phone, his hair more tousled than normal. Was that just the way he wore it? He heard the shower going in the bathroom down the hall, evidence the dark assassin was up, too.
Piper was still sleeping, but she had given him the password for Brad’s email account. He made coffee. Ripping a piece of paper off the tablet in the kitchen, Dex wrote the cell phone code down. He set it on the charging device and headed to the pool. This inactivity was grating on him. He was used to action and plenty of conflict to keep his mind sharp.
Diving in, he started to swim laps, slow and steady to warm up, letting his body take over, releasing his mind and his thoughts and feelings for Piper.
He’d done what he hadn’t intended to do. Got so entangled with her, a woman who was emotionally unavailable to him.
She was his match, the kind of woman who would be able to stand by him every day in what he wanted to do with his life. The kind of woman who could handle two hundred and twenty days out of three hundred and sixty-five without him. To be a SEAL’s wife—oh, yeah, right, he was going there. He wanted her…in his life. That was certain. She was the very definition of strength and grace. Piper had already proven that she could embrace her husband’s goals and take that stand along with him.
But in her case, she never held any resentment about it toward him. She was a woman to stand alone when he was deployed and stand with him when he was home and needed her. What had destroyed his other relationships was that he’d chosen the wrong women to stand by him. In the end, they resented him. He’d just realized that this minute because of Piper.
