Untouchable: Kohl Family: Johannah & Jaxon

by C R Riley

  Johannah joyfully snickers. "Are you sure that wouldn't be too unpleasant for you? It would require you to give me your best, and often. Perhaps we should give you a few months of practice first. Get a few issues settled before we go changing our lives forever."

  Leaning down, so he can steal a kiss, Jaxon stops millimeters from his goal. "Say the word, and I am willing to take one for the team. Until then, we will just have to master it so we can be successful when the time comes." Then he finishes with a kiss, sealing the deal they just made.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Jaxon has never liked being patted down. After all the events that have occurred over the past several weeks. If he wants access to the White House, he is going to have to suck it up.

  So, to get through this, he slips into his mask and tries not to focus on it. The thought of someone putting his/her hands on him has Jaxon already sweating.

  "Mr. Cristiano, please empty your pockets and place everything inside the box." The guard at the first checkpoint instructs him.

  "Hello, Ben." Johannah smiles at the older man. "How is the family?"

  "They are doing just peachy, ma'am." Ben smiles back at her and then sorts through the container. "I've been instructed to allow you to perform the pat-down."

  Jaxon's body relaxes.

  Johannah clears her throat. "Assume the position. Let's see if you are trying to sneak anything inside this time. I see you left your pocket knife at home today."

  "I remembered that last time I wasn't allowed to take it with me." Jaxon glances down as his wife's hands move over his body. "So far, so good?"

  The older man chuckles when her hands pause at the inseam of Jaxon's khakis. "Find something you want a closer inspection of Agent?"

  Cheeks flushed, Johannah rotates her head towards the older gentleman. "You are terrible."

  Then she glances up at Jaxon and smiles. "I believe I've thoroughly inspected this area a few times already. I positively approve of what you are packing."

  "Hannah." Jaxon grunts. "Careful, or my package will decide it’s time to play."

  "Can't have that now, can we." She moves on and then stands. "He's good."

  The other man motions for Jaxon to step through the metal detector. "You enjoyed that too much. Maybe I should allow him to frisk you."

  Johannah lifts her arms as she shakes her head. "And deny you the privilege."

  Ben quickly does his job and then nods for her to join her husband. "Here is your weapon back, Agent Kohl."

  "Cristiano." She corrects Ben and shows him her new badge Director Greene presented her last night. "Official even."

  "Mr. Cristiano, you sir, are a very lucky man. Jo here is one of a kind." Then he moves on to the next person waiting in line.

  They take a different route than before. Entering through a side door that leads to a hall with offices and buzzing with activity. It doesn't take long to realize where she is leading him, and Jaxon's heart nearly stops.

  "The Oval Office?" Jaxon's voice cracks.

  "That will be our first stop, yes." Johannah nods to a few people as they pass by.

  "Hannah, how do you remain so cool and calm about all this?" He waves his hand around the corridor.

  "I walk these halls daily, Jaxon. I've been in almost every room at least three or four times. Been in the Oval Office more times than I can count. After a while, it just feels like any other office, with a few exceptions I suppose." She walks through a set of doors and is greeted by a woman who seems to know her well.

  "Jo, did you realize you have a rather handsome man following you?" The woman extends her hand. "Hello, Mr. Cristiano. Welcome to the White House."

  Hannah intervenes, discreetly grabbing the other woman's hand. Before Jaxon even has time to contemplate about what he should do, she has stepped in. "Mary, I'd like you to meet my husband, Jaxon. Are they ready for us?" She gestures toward the door.

  "Yes. I'll let him know you are here." The woman never takes her eyes off Jaxon as she scurries off to her desk and picks up the phone. He gets the impression that she is straining to figure out why Johannah didn't allow them to shake hands. "Agent Cristiano and Mr. Cristiano have arrived, Mr. President. Yes, sir. I'll send them right in."

  Mary presses a button and the door clicks. "The President is ready for you all now."

  Johannah takes Jaxon's hand as she grabs the door handle. And just like that, the two of them walk into the most famous office out there. Jaxon swallows hard as he takes a slow appraisal. Never in his life did he imagine he would be standing here.

  "Please come in and join us." President Andrews motions to the seated area. "This is Special Agent Malcolm Brown with Homeland. You remember Director Greene and AD McDaniel."

  Jaxon nods, hoping no one offers him a hand to shake. "Thank you all, for allowing me to attend this meeting."

  "Please have a seat, Mr. Cristiano." Director Greene waves at one of the empty chairs.

  Jaxon waits for Johannah to take a seat before he does. Once they are all seated, it doesn't take long for the meeting to start.

  "Malcolm was giving us a rundown on a few details," Andrews informs them. "He was just getting to the good stuff."

  "The good stuff?" Johannah leans forward. "Do share."

  "How much did you know about your father's business, Mr. Cristiano?" Malcolm asks.

  "Jaxon, please, if you don't mind. And I knew enough to know he was involved in some risky stuff. He liked to get his hands dirty."

  Malcolm smiles. "Extremely dirty. Do you know who Julian Torrez is?"

  "I've heard of him," Jaxon admits. "But I've never personally met him or got involved with him."

  "Monica Vazquez?" Malcolm throws out another name.

  "She was a friend of my father's I believe." Jaxon gets a bitter taste in his mouth. "I met her once."

  "You mean she propositioned you once, right?" The room gets a little warm. "Broke into your room and was waiting for you."

  "Yes." Jaxon closes his eyes, wishing he could forget that. "She gained access to one of my hotels and was waiting for me in my suite when I returned."

  "Seriously?" Johannah blurts out. "When was this?"

  "A few months before we met." He turns toward his wife. "She had a business proposition for me."

  His wife motions for him to continue.

  "Wanted me to sell her the resort I just bought. The same one I met you at. I turned her down."

  President Andrews snorts. "Turned her down, or her business proposal down?"

  "Both." Jaxon doesn't elaborate.

  "Why?" AD McDaniel asks. "I mean, why did you turn her business proposal down?"

  "Because that piece of property is not for sale. I acquired it for several reasons. The potential profit a resort of that caliber should bring in, being one. I knew once I got the right staff in place, and put one of my best managers on the job, I could turn that place around easily. I was right. After a few months, we were back in the black. I never really understood why it was struggling. Assumed my father had taken on more than he could chew, so I figured I'd relieve him of a few more.

  "The other reason I acquired that particular property, was personal. My father had a house there that he was no longer interested in owning. So, I made him an offer he couldn't refuse."

  "And the other proposal?" Director Greene probes.

  Jaxon clears his throat, refusing to glance over at his wife. "First of all, I don't do sloppy seconds."

  That has all three men chuckling, while Johannah and Noel roll their eyes.

  "Not to mention the woman did nothing for me."

  Malcolm decides to make a point. "She's a very attractive woman, Jaxon. A willing, attractive woman. One who was in your hotel room, offering you to partake of her goods. Not very many men could refuse her."

  "I, however did." Jaxon shivers. "Nothing about her was attractive to me. The fact that she had been with my father only made her that much less appealing, honestly.

  "How is it you see
m to know so much about all that, anyway? The only people who were privy to that information, are on my security team. I know my men didn't willingly offer that account to you. I also know there was no paperwork leaving a trail disclosing it."

  A door behind them opens, and a tall, thin woman steps through. "I might have shared all that with them."

  "Monica?" Johannah glances at her husband. "Not attractive, you say?"

  Jaxon swallows and shrugs. "I believe I said, nothing about her was attractive to me. I didn't say she was unattractive."

  Johannah studies the red-headed bombshell closely. "Jaxon, even I'm a little turned on by her."

  Monica seems flattered by that statement.

  Jaxon reaches out and takes his wife's hand in his. "Beauty is within the eyes of the beholder, love."

  "Are you..." Johannah is hindered from continuing because her husband leans over and kisses her. "Why did you do that?"

  "To shut you up."

  "Bold move." President Andrews' sounds amused. "Not very many men out there can say they've made out in the Oval Office, in front of the President and his advisors."

  "My apologies, Mr. President. Hannah rattles me, and sometimes I forget where I am." Jaxon glances around the room. "Does someone plan on explaining all this exactly?"

  "Special Agent Vazquez, please join us." Director Greene motions to the one empty spot next to AD McDaniel.

  The woman strolls over to her seat. "First of all, I'd like to clarify that I wasn't sleeping with Lucas Jackson. I'm not saying that he didn't try to get me to, because he most certainly did, but I make it a policy not to sleep with my targets. That includes you, Mr. Cristiano."

  "You have a funny way of showing that, Miss Vazquez." Jaxon addresses the other woman. "Waiting on a man in his hotel room. Spread across his bed very seductively, sure seems to give a man a certain impression. Not to mention, some of the things you suggested."

  "Touché. You surprised me, so I had to improvise."

  "What did you suggest?" Johannah slants forward not at all liking what she is hearing.

  "That's not really important. I knew that Jaxon wouldn't be interested. I'd done my homework well enough to know he didn't like aggressive women."

  "He likes Jo." President Andrews points out. "Liked her enough to marry her."

  "Shut up." Johannah glares at the man most people would be intimidated by. "It's a good thing the people of this great nation, don't know the real you."

  "Case in point. Tell me one other person in this building who would dare talk to me the way she does." Andrews laughs at the woman he loves like a sister. "Please continue, Agent Vazquez."

  "I thought I'd be in and out before you returned. Plant my bugs. Download your laptop onto one of my little devices. Even browse through your belongings. Who knew a man could get his haircut in less than ten minutes? I thought I had at least thirty."

  "What were you hoping to find exactly?" Jaxon sounds perturbed.

  "Anything that tied you to Julian."

  "You could have just asked me."

  That has everyone in the room chucking, even his wife.

  "What?" Jaxon crosses his arms. "I pride myself on honesty."

  "Did you realize that Julian had offered to buy that resort, a few months prior to your offer?" Malcolm gives it a try.

  "I did. That is actually what drew my attention. It made me aware that it might be something Lucas was considering unloading. Nothing like a little competition to get the price higher. Something Lucas was skillful at. I paid a pretty penny for that resort. It was my way of distracting the man from a purchase I planned on making several months later."

  AD McDaniel speaks next. "The three hotels you purchased almost two months ago? I believe they once belonged to Aaron Boyd."

  "Yes. My friend and business partner, Austin Boyd, helped me purchase all four properties. The last three were personal to him."

  "Did you know that Julian and your father were in negotiations with those properties as well?" Malcolm raises the next question.

  "No. I knew the properties were worse off than the one I initially purchased. I didn't actually go directly to Lucas to make those purchases. I went behind his back and made an offer to the banks that held the notes to each one. Seems he was several months behind in payments, and they were threatening foreclosure. My offer was accepted, and I took possession of them immediately. I only met with my father as a courtesy so he could save face with his employees of those hotels."

  "Julian wasn't pleased with Lucas for letting that happen. He lost a lot of money because of you, Jaxon." Malcolm flips through a few pages. "I'd say you cost him millions."

  "Not only that, but you took away some of his best businesses. Those that allowed him to launder his less respectable business through. Did you know that Lucas signed over five of his properties to him before he was killed? Five profitable properties that Julian heard you were also interested in." Monica is the one to share that particular information with him. "I tried to talk him out of it, but he had already made up his mind. Said it was the best way to keep you out of trouble."

  Jaxon reaches over and accepts a folder from Malcolm; together Johannah and him study it. None of this makes any sense to Jaxon. Why would his father just sign over these properties?

  "That doesn't make any sense. My father was a businessman first, always. It has always been about the mighty dollar. Why give away five profitable businesses to a man like Julian Torrez?" Jaxon asks the question he imagines they have all been asking.

  "That's the question of the day, now isn't it?" Director Greene grumbles. "We were hoping you could shed some light on that. We are reaching for straws here, Mr. Cristiano, trying to figure out how this all ties together. How the shooting of your father, the attempt at the school, the hit-and-run, and the break-in, all fit into this puzzle."

  "Maybe they don't." Jaxon dares to admit it. "Maybe that's the problem here. We are trying to make them all fit together. When in reality they are two completely different puzzles."

  Johannah squeezes her husband's leg. "He's right. Lucas is the one piece that doesn't fit. We know he was taken down by a hired gun. Do you think Torrez had him killed?"

  "It's a possibility," Malcolm admits. "He has used that contact in the past to take out an adversary. But why do it after he got the properties signed over to him?"

  "Because those properties are the key to taking over Lucas Inc." Jaxon slaps the folder against his leg. "Without them, the company folds. It was Julian's way to ensure that Lucas didn't back out on him again. Papers in hand and a dead Lucas Jackson meant he finally got exactly what he wanted, and would be able to keep it without a fight."

  "And when we take Lucas out of the puzzle, all we have left..."

  All eyes focus on Johannah, and she flops back in her seat. "Is me."

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Johannah wasn't happy with what the meeting this afternoon suggested. But she couldn't deny the facts once they started laying them all out. For some reason, someone was targeting her.

  They sent Jaxon on his way before digging down deep into the matter. Her husband hadn't wanted to leave. He was no longer a major piece to the mystery behind everything. Even came to realize he was no longer privileged to any information moving forward. Johannah wished she could have promised to share everything with him when she got home. But they knew that just wasn't possible. Her job was full of secrets, and there would always be details about it that were above his paygrade.

  They moved the meeting down the hall to one of the many conference rooms. The only people invited to this meeting were those deemed necessary. That included all the Chief USSS Special Agents in Charge of the Andrews. Those people were Brett Stanton, Nathan Kohl, and Johannah. The only other person allowed to join them was Director Greene. Since they weren't sure what was exactly going on, they wanted to keep as few people as necessary involved.

  The four of them tried to figure out what the purpose would be to take Johannah out of the
picture. They had already decided the shooter at Colton's school intention was to take out his agents. At first, they weren't sure if the perp was targeting a specific agent or just any agent. The hit-and-run warned them it might be Johannah specifically. And after this weekend, the agency was even more certain about that. Although they got the impression, the person responsible didn't intend on killing her.

  They hadn't yet decided if the person wanted to put her out of commission, or was trying to force her to step down until matters cooled down. And the reason for doing either of those two had all four of them completely stumped.

  Out of commission didn't necessarily mean Johannah didn't show up for work. It just meant she stayed in house while she sent her team out to do the job they were trained to do. Meaning that how certain daily points ran would most likely be handled differently. Possibly meant they would keep the children home until the USSS felt everything was normal again. And then the question became why did this person want that exactly.

  Stepping down meant something entirely different. It could be a forced step-down. Forced meant they would require her to stay away until the USSS felt it safe for her to return. Or it could be her doing so voluntarily. Voluntarily meant she felt her being there was bringing unwarranted attention to the office. Putting those she was paid to protect in danger. Her role was to be the background noise, not bring attention to herself or those around her. So, then they asked themselves if her being away from it all was the goal.

  There were so many scenarios it felt like there were endless possibilities. One point they all seemed to agree on, was that removing Johannah was out of the question. They all felt her presence was essential when it came to keeping Colton calm. Anytime she was gone, it was harder on everyone. She was the person he trusted most when he wasn't around one of his parents. Even though he had put his trust in a few other agents, she was the only one who could calm him down when he went into full meltdown mode.

  Accordingly, they had come up with a few new guidelines. There were going to be a lot of unhappy agents, but until the problem was cleared up, this was how it was going to be. The first change was to Colton's direct detail. The only agents allowed to have any contact with Colton would be Agents Sharon Wells, Gina Barker, Kendra Holmes, and Johanna Cristiano. That meant the four of them would divide and conquer his schedule, and taking on some long shifts. One of them would be by his side twenty-four hours until further notice. The second change would be to Camille's detail. They were a little more flexible where she was concerned. Johannah made sure that she also had an agent assigned specifically to her at all times. Agents Holmes and Cristiano would take at least one shift a week with her so they could evaluate how things were going. The other three agents assigned to Camille were also female. Agent Rhonda Crain, one of the agents who typically worked with Mrs. Andrews, had a good rapport with both children. Along with Agents Molly Hands and Irene Swanson, both favorites of Camille's, because they were on the younger hip side.