Love & Compromise (Agents in Love Book 3)

by Chantel Rhondeau

  “Serves Carter right.”

  Six months ago, Jenessa had been mortified after the debacle with Dan Worth, thinking he loved her when all he had wanted was to steal the diamonds she guarded. What Kole had been through was so much worse. No wonder he avoided Washington D.C. and stayed out of the spotlight.

  Kole heaved a heavy sigh. “So, now you know what a loser I am. I tucked my tail between my legs and hightailed it back to Wisconsin, started my PI business, and tried to keep my distance from everyone the last five years.”

  He’d locked himself away to keep from getting hurt again. It was the same place Jenessa could see herself going if she wasn’t careful.

  Kole shifted around in his chair, still clearly uncomfortable talking about things. “It didn’t help when Carter told me the whole story later. Clarissa didn’t sleep with only him. Pretty much everyone in our circle knew except me, but she constantly bed hopped. Anytime I went out of town, she found someone to warm her sheets. That happened often because, at the time, I was working on Dad’s first campaign for president and we were crazy busy.”

  Kole set his empty coffee cup on the table. He looked so lost and lonely that Jenessa couldn’t help but reach out to him.

  She grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently. “It’s not your fault that you trusted the wrong person.”

  “I should have seen it. It’s so obvious with you acting that way now. Why couldn’t I see it with her?”

  “She played on your emotions, made you believe in her.” Jenessa was more pleased than she should be by the fact Kole didn’t pull his hand away from hers. “Did your dad or Nick tell you about my last big case before you agreed to work with me?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Does it have anything to do with Carter being a dog?”

  “No. It has everything to do with knowing we aren’t responsible for other people’s deceptions.”

  “But I’m an investigator,” Kole protested. “I should have seen it.”

  Jenessa snorted. “I’m an FBI agent, a master hacker, and have been good at covering my tracks since I was fifteen years old. That didn’t stop me from getting duped.”

  “A man?” he guessed.

  “I thought he loved me,” Jenessa admitted. “I thought I loved him. Turns out, he was using me and very nearly ruined the last big S.A.T.O. case we had going on.”

  “The one with the missing kid?”

  She nodded. “That was only part of the case. We also stopped a diamond sale, but Dan had other plans. Made me a laughing stock of Nick’s entire organization. That’s to say nothing of what it made me feel like personally.”

  Kole’s eyes softened and his thumb traced against the inside of Jenessa’s palm. “He hurt you bad, didn’t he, Nessa?”

  His touch and his concern were almost too much to handle. Was this the real Kole? The man who’d fallen in love with a social-climbing hussy and had his heart trampled?

  She shrugged, trying to force a smile. “We never know what’s in other people’s hearts. I hope you don’t keep shutting out the world because of what she did to you. You have no reason to feel humiliated. She and Carter should be the ones who are ashamed.”

  “It feels good to have someone on my side,” he said. “When Carter swooped in to help a broken and sad Clarissa, the news media ate it up, reporting how I was an unfeeling monster who’d kicked her to the curb while she was the innocent victim who thought we were in love.”

  “Why didn’t you set the record straight?”

  “I didn’t want Mom hearing the truth. She gets upset about the rivalry Carter and I have. If she learned he slept with Clarissa before I kicked her out, it would have broken her heart. Also, I already knew Carter would be president one day. Something like that could ruin him.”

  “Maybe it should.” Jenessa pulled her hand away from his, uncertain how far she should press her luck. After all, Carter was a creep, but he was still Kole’s brother. “What kind of president could he make if he isn’t above cheating with his own brother’s girlfriend?”

  “He’s been a member on city council boards, specializes in constitutional law, and shares my dad’s ideals as far as the direction the country should go. He’s a shitty brother, but he’ll make an excellent commander in chief.”

  Jenessa had a hard time believing that, but didn’t want to argue when they were finally getting along. “Well, at least I know where things stand now. He doesn’t really want me, he wants to hurt you.”

  To her surprise, Kole shook his head. “Not true. He would date you, maybe even more than that. He needs to start running in the primaries when they start again. Carter isn’t stupid. A married man will do better than a single guy. Voters want a family man. He doesn’t believe Tanya is first lady material, so is looking for someone better.”

  Jenessa rolled her eyes. “If he only knew how much I’m not the lady for the job.”

  Kole grinned, humor flashing in his light brown eyes. “You’re selling yourself short. Now that I’ve helped beautify the outer package, and we both know how intelligent and talented you are, I think you’d make an excellent first lady.”

  It came back to her looks. That was where Jenessa needed to keep things between them. He wasn’t attracted to her, not the person she really was. She was happy to understand a bit more about him, but she needed to remember this was all fake. They were forced to work together, but that didn’t mean Kole was attracted to her. He could pretend and be every bit as good at it as Dan was, but she was a bit wiser now than that inexperienced girl devastated by a handsome man using her for his own purposes.

  Some of the friendliness seemed to drain from Jenessa, and Kole could have kicked himself. Why did he say anything about how she looked? It was as though he couldn’t stop himself from taking small jabs, even if he was mostly joking. She was obviously sensitive to it.

  “I didn’t mean that, Nessa.”

  A smile stretched across her face, but it looked forced. “No worries. I know what we’re doing here. You don’t have to apologize for being honest. I’m no beauty queen.”

  “Maybe you aren’t a true socialite, but you’re so much better than Clarissa that there isn’t a comparison. Besides being able to pull off the look, you’re more genuine and a hell of a lot more sensible.” He didn’t know why it had suddenly become important for Jenessa to like him, but he very much wanted to earn her respect. The fact that she already disapproved of Carter and saw right through him only made Kole even more impressed by her.

  To his disappointment, Jenessa shook her head and leaned further away from him. There would be no more hand holding. “Why don’t we discuss the case?”

  He couldn’t very well say no. It was the entire reason they were here. “You’ve met over half the board now,” he said. “What did you honestly think of Charles Tessier, Caleb Harrington, and Kevin Meyer?”

  “Well, I didn’t exactly get bad vibes from any of them,” she said. “What I really need to do is investigate them. I can work on that tomorrow, see what information I can obtain on-line.”

  “Can you get into their bank records?”

  She shrugged. “More than likely. Sometimes off-shore accounts are hard to track down, but with a little time I should be able to find those too. Anything in particular you’re looking for?”

  Kole nodded. “Concentrate on Charles. Last I heard, the man barely had two pennies to rub together.”

  “And yet he was at the charity dinner tonight.” She raised one thin eyebrow. “You think Paul could have paid him for murdering Ross Jenkins?”

  Kole considered that. He’d known Charles for several years now. Was the man capable of murder? “He wouldn’t have to kill anyone. Paul just needed to know who to take out, right? If someone told him who the board members were, maybe passed along information about people’s family and how to best scare the board into giving up and leaving him alone...”

  “Good point. Paul has plenty of assassins on his payroll.” She gave a soft snort. “Hell, Terrance Couch
still works for him. He’s the one who invented MG-37. Considering the chemical was used on Ross’s wife, I wouldn’t be surprised if Terrance did the job himself. He rather likes killing.”

  “Terrance is the second-in-command of S.A.T.O., right?” The men at the board meeting today had mentioned him while discussing business.

  Jenessa nodded. “And a sadistic prick. He’s as dangerous as Paul, focused on the mission. Last year, he found a way to aerosolize MG-37 and killed a couple kids.”

  “I just don’t understand.” Even through the meeting today, no one had answered this question. “What is it that S.A.T.O. wants? Why did Paul go from protecting the country to hurting it?”

  Jenessa sighed and gave a shrug. “From what he told my friend, Shelley, we think he had his heart broken right before going rogue. It seems some of the rules he was forced to live under, rules imposed by the board, were to blame.”

  “What rules?” Kole asked, surprised. Nick was leading the anti-terror group now and seemed to have a great life.

  “Paul wasn’t allowed to pursue the woman he loved. The government owned him, controlled everything he was allowed to do, and I think he got resentful.”

  “But Nick married Carlie.”

  Jenessa nodded. “Your dad changed the rules to get Nick to agree to take the job. They also have constant body guards around Carlie and top of the line security at their house. She’s constantly in danger because Paul, or someone else, could hurt her to get to Nick. It’s a delicate balance.”

  “So, Paul became dissatisfied with the board’s rules and took matters into his own hands. Why do so many people work for him?”

  “Paul’s good at tricking them. Most of them thought, maybe even still think, that they worked for the government and orders came direct from your dad.”

  If Ross Jenkin’s assassin worked for S.A.T.O., not a board member or secret service agent, had the killer believed they followed the president’s orders? Kole could see how that might happen. Paul could tell his agents that the board members were blackmailing the president, putting him in danger, and needed to be stopped. There were plenty of stories he could tell his assassins to make them believe they were doing the right thing and helping the country.

  “It makes sense,” he told her. “But what is Paul’s end game? Why kill off board members? If it was revenge over them controlling his life so long, why kill Ross Jenkins, who wasn’t even on the board back when Paul worked for them?”

  Jenessa’s lips pursed together and she stared off at the opposite side of the room, as though thinking things through. “I had a thought about that tonight while talking to Caleb Harrington.”

  “The new guy? What’s that?”

  “Caleb plans to run for president after your brother.”

  Kole shrugged. “That’s not surprising. Lots of people aspire to the White House.”

  “But what if he has help getting in office?”

  “S.A.T.O.?” The idea had merit, and Kole was surprised no one else had considered that angle. “And then Paul would control the highest office in the country and could do whatever he wanted.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Looks like you have your work cut out for you tomorrow, investigating Charles and Caleb.” He stood, holding his hand out to help Jenessa from her chair. “I think we should go to bed.”

  Her eyes narrowed momentarily before she reached for his outstretched hand, then her cheeks turned a pale pink. He certainly had her blushing tonight. Did she think he meant together? Not that he was completely opposed to the idea of sleeping with her, but it might be bad to mix business with pleasure.

  “I hope Clarissa’s old room is working out for you. You need good sleep,” he continued, deciding not to make her wonder what he’d meant. “I told Dad we’d travel to Camp David this weekend. We need to get as much done as we can in the meantime. We won’t be able to get much work accomplished there.”

  “Camp David?” Jenessa’s eyes widened and she accepted his hand. “That’s somewhere I never expected to be.”

  “My parents go often. The security from the Navy stationed there is excellent, and they don’t have to worry so much and have secret service hanging around all the time. Dad’s talking about inviting the board members there for Christmas.”

  “Why? Would your dad want one of them reporting back security details to his retreat to Paul?” She shook her head. “I’m not sure that’s a great idea.”

  Kole led Jenessa from the room toward the staircase, not releasing her hand even though he knew he shouldn’t continue touching her. They’d finally gotten off the uncomfortable subjects of their past love lives and work conversations were easier, but he still couldn’t stop wondering how it would be to share even more with her. Like perhaps a kiss they both knew was real.

  “Dad wants this taken care of sooner rather than later. We have a little under a month before he tries something different.” Kole released Jenessa’s hand, indicating she should go up the stairs first. As much as he longed to test if she experienced any of the same attraction he felt, Kole forced himself not to follow too closely or touch her back as they ascended. “He hopes at Camp David, protected from Paul and S.A.T.O., the culprit might be willing to come forward and confess.”

  “Only if the person is being blackmailed and not paid off.” She stepped onto the top landing and took a few steps toward her room, turning back to him. “I guess it’s a good idea. I should be able to figure out if anyone is accepting a pay off in the next few weeks. If we can’t find any evidence of that, Paul could be threatening someone’s family to get the information he’s received.”

  Kole nodded, not allowing himself to make any move toward Jenessa’s bedroom. “That’s what Dad thinks. We’ll get to work in the morning. I’m at your disposal all day. Tomorrow night, we have a party to attend at Victor Strauss’s house.”

  Jenessa sighed. “You all attend a lot of parties.”

  “Charity events and networking.” He nodded. “I hate it, but that’s what you do in politics. If you aren’t working, you’re either meeting with the people you represent or raising funds to run for office. It’s pretty much the cycle around here. It works out well for us. I don’t have to force any meetings with the board members and you. Victor’s on the board.”

  “And the party’s at his house?”

  Kole nodded.

  “Guess it is good, then,” she said. “If I can get access to the board members’ computers directly, I could learn a lot more information. You and I might have to sneak into this man’s office during the party. Start thinking up a good cover story if we’re caught.”

  “Sure thing. Goodnight, Nessa.” He knew he shouldn’t press his luck, but he had to be honest with her. “It was nice talking to you. I’m glad you believe me. I’m even happier you’re staying away from Carter.”

  A small grin lit her features, making her look even more beautiful. “You’re not honestly jealous that I danced with him, are you?”

  Kole forced a laugh. He couldn’t tell her that he was, but he was also unwilling to lie. “Get some rest, partner. Sweet dreams.”

  Chapter 10

  Jenessa slammed the lid closed on her laptop, totally at the end of her patience and feeling a headache coming on. “This is such bullshit!”

  Kole glanced up from the files she’d printed for him earlier on Charles Tessier. “Nothing?”

  She closed her eyes, noticing the tell-tale vision changes that heralded a migraine. “How am I supposed to know what money transfers are legitimate and which ones are from S.A.T.O.? I swear, any of the men with a political job have a constant stream of funds going into their accounts.”

  “Fund raisers, mostly,” Kole said. “However, that’s also a way to make bribes disappear on Capitol Hill. The money transfers are made legal by being a campaign fund raiser, but the lobbyists are the ones pulling it all together and making it happen, thus, furthering their agenda with congressmen and women.”

  Jenessa knew
that was how things worked. It wasn’t the first time she’d investigated a politician’s funds to make sure the money contributions were legit and legal. However, she hadn’t anticipated that causing so many issues now. “Are any of your dad’s friends not involved in politics?”

  She opened her eyes to see Kole shrug. The black spot in her vision from the forming migraine made his face appear blotchy.

  “Charles isn’t,” he said. “His family owns a local hotel chain, but until a few months ago, it was struggling. However, it’s still hard to see where his money comes from, considering he has so many payments from people booking charity events. Our only recourse is to follow the trail of every booking and make sure they’re truly happening. If not, it could be money from S.A.T.O.”

  “In other words, even though I hacked into a lot of information, we have nothing useful for right now.” Jenessa rubbed at her temples and then pressed her palms against her eyeballs, trying to relieve the pressure.

  Before she knew it, Kole loomed over her. “Are you okay?” He rubbed her shoulder in a comforting manner. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m getting a migraine,” she admitted. “If I’m going to make this party tonight, I’m afraid I need to lay down pronto and hope for the best.”

  “Do you have medicine?”

  She nodded, standing up carefully as the room spun with the characteristic dizziness that afflicted her during an attack. She reached out blindly, finding Kole’s arms to steady her. “I get a couple a year. I have pills upstairs in my bag. They don’t always work, but the sooner I take the medicine the better.”

  “What can I do to help?” His concern was touching. All day long, Kole had been the perfect gentleman. He’d even kept her water glass full while she’d been wrapped up in her computer. It was amazing how things had changed between them in just a few days.

  Good thing, too, because she didn’t feel like stumbling around his kitchen while half blinded and dizzy, trying to find what she needed.