The stark truth blurted from his brother’s mouth weighed heavy on Kole’s heart. He really had done it. There was no way to get around the fact that his brother was a murderer.
“I had to,” Carter said. “This poison or acid or whatever it is, Victor knew about it. The dirt he had on me, something that would have gotten me thrown out of politics, wasn’t enough to make me kill Ross. When that didn’t work, he threatened with the poison.”
“He knew about it?” Kole wrinkled his brows, wondering how Victor could have ended up ingesting his own poison. “Why would he eat the chocolates?”
“It doesn’t have to go in those. The poison had nothing to do with chocolates when he threatened with it. He showed me a video of the substance in action.” Carter shuddered. “People were chatting and sipping wine. Dinner was delivered, and the plates looked normal. A few moments later, one of the men clutched his face, screaming for a second before lapsing into choking sounds. After a few more minutes, his face...” Carter broke off, emotion choking off his words.
“I know what happened to his face. I saw Victor. The same very nearly happened to Jen when she decided to administer mouth to mouth. I knocked her away with only minimal contact, but her lips still got burned.”
Carter leaned across the table, grabbing Kole’s forearm in a firm grasp. “I promise you, Kole, I had no clue there was anything wrong with the chocolates. I left right after he ate it, pissed off he still tried to manipulate me into stealing the diamond necklace Tanya had inherited from her father.”
“I believe you,” Kole assured him, surprised that he meant the words as more than cold comfort to keep Carter talking. “So, you didn’t want your face burned off and agreed to shoot Ross.”
Carter shook his head, releasing Kole’s arm. “It’s not that simple. First off, Victor didn’t threaten me. He was going to target Mom if I didn’t do what he demanded.”
“Mom?” A nasty snake of fear coiled in his stomach. Victor threatened his mother? She was the sweetest, kindest person around. She’d done plenty to help Victor when he first started party planning.
“I knew he could get the opportunity,” Carter continued. “Mom loves to give her security detail the slip so she can check out art galleries alone, eating the samples they provide and drinking wine. And trust me, slipping away from secret service agents who trust you isn’t that hard. I’ve been doing it for a few weeks now.”
Kole nodded, knowing Carter must be telling the truth. His secret service agents would have followed him to Ross’s house and stopped the murder if they’d tailed him there. Carter must have learned how to evade his security detail from their mom. Lynn was a wonderful wife and mother, but she’d be beyond happy once her husband was no longer president and she had a bit more freedom. She didn’t especially love living under a microscope. It was a life sentence, but at least it would be a bit better once someone else took the position and she no longer had the world in her business twenty-four/seven.
“Victor said they’d take Mom out without warning.” Carter’s voice reflected the same anguish Kole felt. “I couldn’t let that happen.”
Kole’s breathing felt labored for a moment as he contemplated that. Saving his mother’s life could make Kole consider murder as an option. However, the wording Carter used caught his attention. “They’d take her out?”
“They,” he confirmed. “I don’t know who they are, but one of them came with me to kill Ross. He drugged the wife, but made me pull the trigger.”
That was interesting. Victor had first claimed to have a video of Carter but then said he lied about it. If someone from S.A.T.O. accompanied Carter to kill Ross, why was it so important Carter pulled the trigger? Obviously, they had the means and the opportunity to get at Ross themselves. What was the long-term plan for Carter now that they had him doing their bidding?
Kole pulled out his phone. “I’m going to call Dad and tell him we’ll be a few minutes late. Then, I want you to tell me every detail of the last couple weeks.”
Jenessa surprised herself by honestly feeling relaxed. The afternoon had been pleasant—not what she expected. She and Lynn sat together inside a room made entirely of windows. The snowy forest beyond the windows led to a grand view of mountains. The bright blue sky was unmarred by clouds. The setting was wonderfully serene.
The women Lynn had hired to pamper them kept silent, but certainly knew how to spoil the rich and famous. After a deep-tissue massage, Jenessa and Lynn sipped cucumber water while getting facials, manicures, and pedicures.
“Jen, I don’t want to seem like a hovering mother...”
Jenessa’s relaxed mood evaporated. Here came the inquiry she’d been expecting. Lynn took so long to get around to it, Jenessa had started to hope she wouldn’t. Forcing herself to stay in role, she looked at Lynn and smiled brightly, her face stiff under the mud mask. “You aren’t hovering. You love Kole. What do you want to know?”
Lynn gave a small nod, as though approving Jen’s response. “You and Kole haven’t know each other very long. I’ve been worried about him since...” She broke off and shrugged. “Well, never mind that. Let’s just say, I’ve been worried about him. I don’t know if you understand just how fragile his heart is.”
Maybe Jenessa wouldn’t have to lie quite that much after all. Lynn could give her some insight on Kole, perhaps helping her understand what the man wanted. “I know about Clarissa,” she told Lynn. “Trust me, I’d never do something like that to him.”
The spa employee gently removed Lynn’s facial mask, stopping conversation for a few moments.
Once finished, Lynn returned her attention to Jenessa. “Did he tell you everything about Clarissa? Specifically, Clarissa and Carter?”
Kole was under the impression his family felt he was in the wrong with Clarissa, and he’d let that perception stand. It didn’t sound like Lynn believed Carter to be innocent if her narrowed eyes and wrinkling of the nose were any indication.
“I know that Clarissa cheated on Kole.” Jenessa sighed. “Repeatedly. I’m not sure he ever told you that. He didn’t want you to think him a fool.”
“Everyone knew she was sleeping around.” Lynn blinked rapidly, distressed at thinking about her son’s heartache, Jenessa assumed.
It was the spa workers turn to remove Jenessa’s mask, giving her time to formulate an appropriate response that would not only comfort Lynn, but was true.
“I’m nothing like Clarissa,” Jenessa said when she was able. “I think that’s despicable. I believe whole-heartedly in monogamy.”
Lynn smiled. “That’s a plus. I worried when you danced with all those men at the charity ball, and I didn’t miss the way Carter came onto you.”
Jenessa sighed. “I’ve been trying to fill a role I’m not well suited for, to tell you the truth. I’m not a socialite, I’m just a techno geek who likes to hide behind my computer. I’m trying to be a woman worthy of your family’s status.”
“So, you’re playing the game, but your heart’s not in it?”
“Exactly. When Kole agreed to bring me here, he told me there were certain rules I had to follow to fit in. I’m working on that, but it’s causing tension between us. Also, I’m not sure if he really wants to be with me anymore. We’re actually fighting right now. I’m sure he didn’t want you to know, but I have to talk to someone about it.”
“Fighting?” Lynn nodded. “I thought I sensed some tension when you stepped off the helicopter. What’s the fight about?”
Would this mother understand that her son wasn’t perfect? All Jenessa could do was dive in and find out.
“Kole can be a jerk at times.” She paused, and added for fairness’ sake, “And I’m not the easiest person to deal with when I get something set in my head. I had this idea that the girl I really am isn’t good enough for him and this was just a fling while I played the socialite.”
Lynn chuckled. “Which caused the fight because the very last thing Kole wants is another socialite.”
She confirmed what Kole had tried to say before leaving her room the other night. Didn’t mothers know their sons best?
Jenessa stared at her hand as the spa worker massaged a scented lotion into it. “He said some horrible things about my regular clothes and lack of makeup before we came here. I haven’t been able to drop it.”
“There’s something you have to understand, Jen.” Lynn reached across, gently grasping Jenessa’s chin and forcing her to make eye contact. “Kole thought he really loved Clarissa. He was shattered by what she and Carter did to him, further dragged down by the things the media said, and I feared he’d never come out of his shell and let himself trust another person again.”
Jenessa’s heart pounded and her hands trembled. “Surely he trusts you and his father?”
“Sadly, we stood behind Carter and what the media reported to keep Carter’s image intact.” Tears glittered in Lynn’s eyes and she sniffled. “It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made, and Kole can’t forgive me, not entirely. He guards himself against everyone now. If he’s let you in, you’re the only one in five years.”
Kole had said he trusted her right before kissing her in Victor’s office. He wouldn’t lie about that. She just had a sense that he wouldn’t. The man wanted to turn his own brother in, which spoke pretty highly of his general honesty. If his mother was right and Jenessa was the first person he’d trusted since Clarissa and Carter betrayed him, she couldn’t continue shutting him out.
“I’ll work things out with him,” Jenessa promised. “But I don’t want you to worry. If things don’t work between us, it won’t be because of another man.”
“That’s good to know, Jen.” Lynn quirked an eyebrow. “Just so you know, everyone is discrete here at the camp. Feel free to be yourself. Don’t feel like you need to pretend. I’m not much of a socialite myself, and the pretense gets exhausting.”
“But you’ve been in politics for years!” Jenessa widened her eyes. “You gave up designing and pretended to be a socialite all this time? Why?”
Lynn shrugged, but a smile graced her lips. “I’ll do anything for William. Love is all about compromise, dear. Remember that when you speak to Kole again.”
Chapter 14
Kole paced the meeting room inside Laurel Lodge where they’d eaten dinner as a family. He was inpatient to get Jenessa back to their private cabin and discuss what Carter had told him. He wasn’t thinking clearly because of the family relation. Jenessa would know what their next step should be and whether Kole should trust the information from his brother. While he doubted that Carter had lied, it was still possible. His brother could have spun a fairytale to cover his own ass. Kole wanted his version to be the truth—Carter did what he did to protect their mom. Jenessa could help him determine if it was believable.
Carter, Tanya, his parents, and Jenessa chatted away, but Kole could no longer take it. Clearing his throat to draw their attention, he crossed the room to Jenessa’s side. “I’m sorry to bring this party to an end, but Jen needs her rest.”
Her brow wrinkled as she looked at him. “I’m fine.”
“Doctor’s orders,” he insisted. “Besides, I want to take you sledding tomorrow and show you all the best places here. I can’t do that if you wear yourself out.”
“You do?”
She seemed dubious, not that he could blame her. They’d barely spoken over the past two days, and now he had planned a date and sprung it on her without warning.
He clasped her hand in both of his, staring deep into her brown eyes and hoping she sensed his sincerity. “I really, really do. We haven’t been on a proper date since coming to D.C., only social outings that don’t qualify. Let’s do something special together. Please.”
The pulse in her wrist quickened beneath his fingers, and she nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Then it’s settled.” He looked back at his family. “We’ll meet you tomorrow for dinner. Don’t look for us before then.”
His parents both smiled widely, obviously pleased, while Carter looked less happy with the plans.
Screw Carter! His brother still wanted Jenessa for himself even while Kole held the man’s future in his hands? He’d tried hard to forgive his brother in the past for the transgressions he’d committed with Clarissa, but not only was Carter a fool and a jerk, he was a major douchebag. Kole would help Carter as best he could, but that didn’t extend to letting him have Jenessa.
Kole helped Jenessa rise from her chair, offering his arm and feeling inordinately pleased when she looped hers through it. Too bad the happy bubble couldn’t last. Tomorrow, he would romance her. Tonight, they had to discuss their options going forward regarding S.A.T.O. and Carter.
The nighttime air had turned blustery and cold, causing Kole to shiver as he led Jenessa down the lodge’s path to their waiting golf cart. Luckily, the golf carts had side panels attached and heaters installed to make them comfortable in the wintertime.
He helped Jenessa climb into the passenger seat and quickly rounded to join her, starting the engine and blasting the heater to high.
“Are we done fighting?” she asked as he drove the cart toward their cabin.
“I certainly hope so.” He flashed a grin.
“It’s a truce then,” she decided. “I had a lovely time with your mother today. She’s rather worried about you, though.”
“About me?” That was interesting. Why would his mother worry about him?
Jenessa cleared her throat and fidgeted on the bench next to him.
“Out with it,” he said. “What’s got Mom worried?”
“She knows about Clarissa and Carter,” Jenessa blurted.
He gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to control the betrayal those two names used together brought forth. “Everyone knows about that. The media covered it well. I’m a bastard who treated her poorly and Carter swooped in and saved the day.”
“No, Kole. She knows.” Jenessa patted his leg as though she wanted to comfort him. “She feels horrible for not sticking up for you and fears you’ll never forgive her.”
Kole tried to shrug that away. “She’s my mom. I’ll always love her.”
“But you don’t trust her,” Jenessa persisted. “She says you don’t trust anyone since that happened.”
The light shining from the front porch of their cabin was a welcomed sight. He could switch to the subject they really needed to discuss once they were comfortable. Kole had already checked the room for any electronic spying, but he didn’t know if the golf cart was safe. It was true the Navy did a great job providing security, but at this point Kole wasn’t doubting Paul Billing’s ability to get what he wanted.
Jenessa fidgeted some more, seeming uncomfortable with his silence. “Is your mom right?”
“About trusting people?” He nodded. “If your own family will shit all over your happiness, what’s to stop others from doing it?”
Her sharp inhale of breath didn’t sound happy.
Kole pulled the cart to a stop and turned to face her. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, I just think it’s smart to guard myself against something like that again.”
Her lips pouted slightly, looking almost normal except in the very center where the skin still appeared burned. “But you said you trusted me before we kissed. Did you mean that or was it a line to get the kiss?”
That was what had her worried?
Kole took Jenessa’s hand inside his, stroking his thumb against her palm. “I also have a rule about not lying,” he told her. “At least, not in real life. My job requires deceptions sometimes, but I’ll always be one-hundred percent honest and real when we’re in private.”
Her eyes grew wide, shining in the early moonlight. “So, you truly trust me and you aren’t looking for a fling?”
He nodded. “Everything has happened pretty quickly, but I know one thing for sure.”
She arched an eyebrow. “What?”
“There’s nothing I want more than to date you. If that me
ans I stay in D.C. where I can be close to you, I’ll move my agency and do it. Whatever it takes. I do trust you, and I think we might have been brought together for a reason.”
Perhaps that reason was his dad making amends for taking Carter’s side in the Clarissa situation. Kole had suspected his dad of trying to set him up with Jenessa during that first dinner meeting. It was odd to think that just a few short days ago he wouldn’t contemplate dating her for real and thought his dad had wasted his time. Now, Kole could think of nothing else.
“You’re smart, pretty, driven, and trustworthy,” he said. “I don’t know that a man could ask for more than that in a woman.” He ducked his head, suddenly realizing how cocky and confident he sounded about her returning his feelings. He knew his cockiness was a turn-off for her. “I’ll stay to date you if you feel the same, is what I meant to say. I really hope you do.”
“My friend kept telling me to have a fling with you,” she said softly. “She wanted me to use you to get over my ex. That’s not usually the thing I go for, but I thought it could be fun.”
Kole held his breath, wondering if the only person he’d allowed himself to trust in five years was about to blow him off and admit she’d only wanted a fling.
She brought his hand to her face, cupping it between her cheek and hand. “Now, I think going for something real would be even better.”
He exhaled heavily, unable to stop the grin that threatened to split his face wide open.
She giggled. “You look surprised.”
“And relieved,” he said. “I wasn’t sure we could get past what I did to you the first few days.”
“I understand why you acted that way now.” She moved his hand to her mouth and kissed his palm lightly, although she winced when doing so as though the pressure still hurt her lips a little. “You built walls to shut everyone out and protect your heart. I think you got so used to pretending to be a complete jerk that it took over. You had a good reason for it, but I’m incredibly happy you decided to let me in.”
Kole leaned into the space between them, drawing her in an embrace and kissing her cheek. He wished they could do more than that, but not only did her lips still give her pain, they also had work to do. It was probably time he told her that part.
Love & Compromise (Agents in Love Book 3) Page 14