“Why? Because I’m a woman and I’m hardwired to care about kids?” Scarlett mocked, then leaned in closer to whisper in his ear, “I’m not that kind of woman. Right now, you better listen and cooperate.”
But Platt wasn’t so easily intimidated. They were in broad daylight and he knew they were limited in their power unless they wanted to go balls-out and shoot him in plain sight of everyone. “You’re not very bright, are you?” Platt said to Scarlett. “Throwing your lot in with this criminal... You could’ve had a bright future. Griggs always thought highly of you.”
“You don’t have the right to say his name,” Scarlett hissed, fighting the rush of tears. No crying, not now! She’d cry for Conrad later. “We know why you killed him.”
Platt stilled and Xander took up the conversation.
“Sucks when our dirty laundry is out for everyone to see. I mean, you probably think you did a decent enough job hiding yours but the thing about dirty laundry, it always seems to surface no matter how well you think you’ve stuffed it away in dark corners.”
“You’re not only a criminal, you’re insane.”
“If only I were. Would’ve made framing me so much easier.”
Scarlett jumped in. “Seems you’ve got a thing for young boys and girls and someone found out. That someone was Carl Sheffton and he’s been blackmailing you. Now before you go and try to deny it, don’t waste your time. We have the transcripts from the bug Conrad planted in your office.”
Scarlett could feel Platt begin to tremble, his body jiggling with tiny rumbles that were impossible to hide. A slow cruel smile formed as she said, “You killed my friend to keep your secret but now you have to deal with me and I’m a goddamn avenging angel, you hear me, Platt? You’re not only going to pay for what you did to Conrad, you’re going to prison for a very long time for being a friggin’ pervert.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” Platt said, dropping his bravado, his tone flat. “Griggs overheard my conversation with Sheffton. I had to take care of the problem or Sheffton was going to leak my indiscretion to the press and then have me killed so I couldn’t talk.”
“Well, lucky for you we found you first. What makes you think that Sheffton isn’t already planning to get rid of you?” Xander said. “You’re a loose end he can’t afford.”
Platt licked his dry lips. “I’ve done everything he told me to,” he said. “Everything.”
“But you’re sloppy and that’s something Sheffton discovered too late,” Scarlett supplied. “But cheer up, you’re going to help us put Sheffton away and in return, we won’t put a bullet in your brain like you did Griggs. You don’t deserve a quick death. You deserve something slow and painful, you pile of shit, for killing a man better than you’ll ever be.”
Xander jerked Platt up. “Enough talk. We have statements to give, don’t we, Senior Director?”
“If I do that, he’ll kill me,” Platt said.
“You should have some measure of protection in prison,” Scarlett said with a shrug. “But not my problem.”
“Make me a deal or I don’t talk.”
They ignored Platt and stuffed him in the back seat of the car, while Scarlett slid in beside him so he didn’t get any crazy ideas like trying to make a run for it. Even though he was big, she’d seen bigger guys run faster than people gave them credit. Scarlett wasn’t going to underestimate Platt’s desire to get away.
“Why me?” Xander asked as he navigated traffic. “How’d you single me out for this frame job?”
“You fit the profile,” Platt answered dully. “Have you read your psych eval? You read like the poster child for disenfranchised military. Highly skilled with a few screws loose and a loner without family to care if you went AWOL.”
Scarlett wanted to smash the butt of her gun into Platt’s nose. That could’ve described any one of Red Wolf’s team. “How’d you get Xander’s DNA?”
Platt sighed as if she were stupid. “Who said I did?”
Sudden understanding dawned and Scarlett said, “You doctored the evidence.”
Platt shrugged. “Easy enough to do if you know what you’re doing. I never figured he’d have the balls to try and figure this shit out. That was my mistake.”
“That wasn’t your only mistake,” Scarlett growled, hating him more with every breath. “You’re a disgrace.”
“We all got demons, bitch. Even you. Even your lover-boy.”
Xander scowled. “Stay on topic. No one is interested in your bait-and-switch tactics.”
“Oh, so you know about your lover-boy’s addiction to pills?”
Scarlett swallowed, narrowing her gaze. “I do. Now shut up.”
Platt said, “A bit of good luck we stumbled on when lover-boy was caught passed out on the surveillance footage from the south side of the amphitheater. Made it ten times easier to pin the job on Scott. We knew he wouldn’t come clean about being drugged up and once he made his statement, he couldn’t take it back. Doctoring the forensics report was the final nail in the coffin.”
Both Scarlett and Xander asked, “What surveillance footage?”
“Don’t get excited, it’s long gone. Erased. Blamed it on the blast.”
“But—” A sharp pop interrupted her next question and Platt slumped over her, falling like dead weight against her, and another pop followed as the entire back window shattered.
Xander yelled, “Get down!” and swerved to lose the tail that was shooting at them.
Scarlett shoved Platt’s dead body off her with a grunt to return fire, ignoring Xander’s instruction to take cover.
“Damn it, Scarlett!” Xander shouted, accelerating through traffic, fishtailing around sharp corners as he tried to ditch whoever was shooting at them.
But Xander should’ve known better. She wasn’t going to cower while they were under fire. She wasn’t capable of hiding when bullets were flying.
Scarlett rose up, fired at the car behind them, killing the driver and sending them swerving into a brick building where the car exploded on impact. She slid down in the seat, reloaded in case there was another car behind that one, but they were in the clear. Whoever had sent that car had figured one was enough.
Their saving grace seemed to be everyone’s penchant for underestimating them.
Scarlett looked at Platt, bloody drool dribbling down his slack chin, and swore under her breath. Platt had gotten off way too easily. She’d really been looking forward to sending him to prison, knowing how well pedophiles were treated on the inside.
He wouldn’t have lasted a week.
“Asshole,” she muttered, shoving Platt’s inert body until he slumped like a lumpy sack of potatoes against the opposite window.
* * *
With Platt dead, they’d lost their ability to easily pin the conspiracy on Sheffton. But now that they had proof with the transcripts, Xander had a bold idea.
An idea that meant asking for help from a politician.
“Senator Williams,” Xander said from the burner phone so it couldn’t be traced. “This is Xander Scott.”
“How did you get this number?” Williams asked, a slight catch in his tone that made Xander feel bad for tying him up and interrogating him in his puppy pajamas, but they hadn’t known he wasn’t a bad guy until after the fact. Maybe after all this was said and done, he’d send Williams an edible arrangement or something. “What do you want?”
“Look, I’m real sorry for the last time we met but I need a favor.”
“A favor? That’s bold.”
Xander knew it was but hard times called for desperate actions. “You have no idea. I’m about to lay some shocking news on you, but I can promise you that the information is legit. You might even be in danger so it’s imperative that you do what I ask.”
“You’re a fugitive. You broke into my house and terrorized me. Why would I do anyt
hing for you?” Then he caught the second half of what Xander had said. “What do you mean danger? Are you threatening me?”
“No, not me. You’ve got nothing to fear from me. I only go after the bad guys and I’m sorry I thought you were one of them. I actually really liked your pajamas.”
“Get to the point,” Williams said. “What kind of danger are you talking about?”
“I’ll just cut to the chase—Sheffton killed McQuarry and he’s a raging psychopath in a designer suit. I think he also just had Senior Director Paul Platt killed so he wouldn’t talk.”
“Hold on, what are you talking about?”
“I know this is a lot but trust me, there’s more. Platt framed me for McQuarry’s death. He said there was footage on the south side of the amphitheater that proves I couldn’t have set the bomb. I was passed out from a drug overdose.”
“And why would I believe you? You just admitted that you were high on drugs when the bomb happened.”
“Because it’s my alibi and it’s what Platt didn’t want anyone to see. He said the footage was damaged due to the blast but I think you have the resources to see if anything can be salvaged from the footage.”
“Even if I did, that footage is long gone,” Williams said.
“No, it would’ve been collected as evidence. Trust me, that camera is in an evidence locker. You just need to get it.”
Williams sounded flustered. “I don’t understand. What would Sheffton have to gain from McQuarry’s death?”
“Everything. Look, you’re going to have to trust me like I’m trusting you to do the right thing—and be careful. Only trust this information with people you know for sure you can rely on. Sheffton has spies everywhere.”
Xander could feel that Williams was questioning if Xander was insane and he totally understood his hesitation but before he could try another tactic, Scarlett took the phone.
“Senator Williams, this is Scarlett Rhodes. Xander is telling the truth. Platt was just killed right in front of me. We were being chased and shot at in downtown DC. I returned fire and killed their driver. The vehicle crashed into a brick building on Hapsberg Avenue. The incident should be all over the news by now. If you don’t believe me, just check the newsfeed. We need your help. Sheffton is dangerous. Please tell us you’ll help us. We can’t do this alone.” She handed the phone back to Xander and they climbed from the car, leaving Platt behind.
“We can’t do this without your help.” Xander put all his cards on the table.
“Why is Scarlett Rhodes with you?”
“Because I’m innocent,” Xander answered bluntly.
Williams sighed, as if reluctant to help Xander but Scarlett had tipped the scales. “I’ll see what I can do but I’m not saying I believe you,” Williams said.
“I’ll take it,” Xander said.
“What are you going to do now?”
“Now we’re going to try and stay alive long enough to catch Sheffton and his accomplice before they manage to push through a spending bill that will make the Patriot Act look like a walk in the park.”
“H.R. 720,” Williams guessed correctly, concern in his tone. “But Sheffton is going to oppose the bill. We talked about it before he left for DC.”
“Whatever he told you was a line of bullshit. Sheffton is going to support the bill. He’s in tight with the Secretary of Defense and my guess is Sheffton is going to use whatever leverage he can to get what he wants in the future from Bettis.”
“This is a nightmare,” Williams said, and Xander couldn’t disagree.
“Try living it for the past few weeks.”
“If what you’re saying is true, I’m sorry you’ve gone through all of this.” After a heavy sigh, Williams said, “I’ll see what I can do.”
Relief followed as Xander said, “Thank you, Senator. And I really mean it about those pajamas. Pretty swag if you ask me.”
“Stop talking about my pajamas,” Williams growled and said, “I’ll be in touch,” before clicking off.
Scarlett looked to Xander. “Is he in?”
“Yeah, he’s in but very touchy about his sleeping attire.”
“I told you to stop mentioning them. It’s just weird.”
Xander shrugged. “What? I truly liked them.”
“You don’t even sleep in pajamas.”
“Maybe if I had those sweet silky ones, I’d start.”
Scarlett shook her head, looking ready to pistol-whip him. “Get focused. We need to ditch this car and him,” she said, gesturing to Platt’s cooling body, “and then we have a Senate hearing to crash.”
“Is now an inappropriate time to tell you how turned on I am?”
“Very.”
“Okay, I’ll table that for now but just know, you are hot as shit when you’re in badass mode.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes but he caught the hint of a smile. Inappropriate or not, oh, yeah, she liked it.
Chapter 25
Scarlett and Xander paused after they parked in the Capitol Building parking lot in a different car they’d boosted. Scarlett looked to Xander with an arched brow. “Any idea how we’re going to break into the Capitol Building without getting our asses shot?”
“Not a clue. Still working on that minor detail.”
“Work faster.”
Instead, Xander wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and hauled her in for a kiss. Their tongues danced and twined against one another and even though there wasn’t time for messing around, he wanted to drag her into the back seat and screw her senseless.
He pulled away slowly, both breathing hard. “It must be that whole impending-death thing that gets the blood moving,” he said with a crooked smile. “Or you’re incredibly hot and I’m ridiculously horny.”
She laughed and kissed him again. “You’re impossible.”
Just then her burner phone rang and it was Zak.
“Hey, still alive?” he said, joking.
“Barely,” Scarlett replied, quickly recounting what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. At the news of Conrad’s death, Zak quieted and it revived all the feelings she was trying to stuff down. She swallowed and shared a quick look with Xander. “Where are you?” she asked.
“At the Capitol. Where are you?”
“Same.” She twisted around in her seat, looking for Zak and CJ. Of course, the odds of finding them were slim. “What are you doing here?”
“Following up like you asked me to. But I’ve done you a solid that you’re totally going to owe me for. I got you some credentials. Fake name for Xander, of course, because he’s still on the run but your name hasn’t been flagged yet so we’re good to go.”
“I could kiss you,” she said, smiling. “Good job. Meet us at the service entrance. No sense in drawing unnecessary attention,” and then she hung up. To Xander, she said, “Zak has solved our problem on how to get in. He has credentials for us. We’re going to meet him at the service entrance.”
“By the time this is over, I’m going to owe Zak and CJ my firstborn.”
Scarlett chuckled. “Let’s go.”
They met Zak and CJ, and she was momentarily struck by how emotional the guys’ meeting was. They’d all been close but it took a screwed-up frame job to realize that they were truly bonded at the hip.
Zak handed out their credentials, but then CJ pointed out that she had some blood spatter on her shirt.
“Crap,” she said, knowing she couldn’t walk into a Senate hearing with blood as an accessory. Or could she? If they were going to crash the party, maybe the blood was appropriate. “Screw it,” she muttered, pushing forward. “Let’s do this.”
They made their way past security and headed toward the hearing. They received some curious stares but otherwise they were left alone—so much for the security of our nation—and after flashing their credenti
als, made it onto the floor.
“Ready for nothing?” Scarlett asked, a bit apprehensive that everything was going to blow up in their faces.
“It’s now or never.”
“Here we go.” She looked to CJ and nodded. Do your thing, tech wiz. Suddenly, the large screen used for projections began flashing, catching everyone’s attention. Members of Congress began to shift, confused by the interruption and Xander took the opportunity to jump to center stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if I can have your attention...we are going to take a small break from your regularly scheduled programming of passing laws and shit to bring you a conspiracy worth paying attention to. If you please, direct your attention to the screen.”
CJ had put together a tidy little show, starting with big pictures of Senator Carl Sheffton and the Secretary of Defense, Mark Bettis, in a tight embrace. Granted the pictures were a little grainy, but it was clearly the senator and the secretary. The ripple of gasps through the crowd echoed through the room. “I know, right? Naughty, naughty,” Xander commented. “But that’s only a tiny part of this story and you might ask why I’m coming to you instead of the authorities and that’s an interesting story, too. I’m here because here is the safest place for me right now.”
Sheffton, florid in the face, tried to edge his way out of the room but Zak barred his exit and forcefully redirected the man to his seat, saying, “You don’t want to leave yet, Senator. Things are just getting juicy.”
“Get this man out of here!” the secretary roared but everyone seemed frozen in place. Everyone loved a good conspiracy and it was probably the most excitement they’d had in years.
“Hold on, Mr. Secretary, this is important stuff,” Xander called out, holding sway with the crowd like a charismatic master of ceremonies. More pictures of Bettis and Sheffton clearly being more than colleagues flashed on the screen and both the secretary and Sheffton looked ready to vomit. But then the transcripts popped on the screen, showing the conversations between Platt and Sheffton and the crowd gasped again; nervous shuffling followed as people whispered.
Scarlett joined Xander. “Senator Sheffton was blackmailing Senior Director Paul Platt into framing Xander Scott, a decorated military war hero for the Tulsa City bombing, which took the life of Senator Ken McQuarry. Platt changed the forensics saying Xander’s DNA was found on the explosives, which wasn’t true.” She drew a deep breath before saying, “We have recovered video surveillance footage from the south side of the amphitheater that previously was believed lost that proves Xander couldn’t have set that bomb.”
Soldier for Hire Page 21