Josh let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Okay, that’s probably not our business.”
“I just meant that it must stink for her to see the news without having you there for her.” Deana’s face turned pink as she explained.
“Hadn’t thought of it that way,” Eric mumbled under his breath. Now he had another reason to see Katie. To make sure she wasn’t ticked off at him…again.
“Men are so clueless.” And Deana’s tone let Eric know she thought he fit squarely in that description.
“You probably can’t tell, but I’m not in the best of moods today.”
Deana didn’t back down. “That, Eric, is why you need your girlfriend.”
“Which gives me the perfect excuse to kick you out.” Eric stood up. This time his guests joined him.
Josh stretched before guiding Deana toward the door. “Sure does.”
Eric hated having people try to frame his life for him, but he appreciated the sentiment behind the interference. Deana could have pulled her support and caused more trouble for the election. Josh could have wallowed in jealousy. Instead, and in spite of all the gossip and whispering around town, they wanted to help. Even through the suffocating haze, Eric felt lucky.
“Guys?” He waited until he had their attention. “Thanks.”
Josh nodded with a you’re-in-huge-trouble smile. “Good luck.”
Chapter 21
Jimmy climbed into Kevin’s car. This time they met in the parking lot at Ala Moana Beach. The park ran along the south shore of Oahu, close to Waikiki, facing the wide-open blue of the ocean.
This was a place for locals but travel guides listed it as a place to try instead of the lousy thin strips of sand that passed for beaches outside Waikiki hotels. That meant it was only a matter of time before every T-shirt-wearing jerk from Oregon to New Jersey showed up with a beach towel.
Damn tourists.
Today was cool and windy. A few swimmers took advantage of the weaker undertow of the semi-enclosed lagoon. In a few hours all would be treated to the orange and pink tones of the fading sun as it tipped to the horizon. Until then, clouds raced overhead, warning of possible rain.
Jimmy knew he was missing out on big waves on the North Shore. The conversation had better be worth it. Not like he had a choice, since he was summoned. “I thought you cut me lose.”
Kevin didn’t waste time with chitchat. “Where did the video come from? Who made it and why?”
Jimmy couldn’t help smiling at that one. He pulled it off without a second of trouble. Almost made him forgive Katie for leaving him out of her job. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You are not smart enough to play this game.” Kevin rubbed his palm over the leather covering the gear shift. His foot tapped against the floor. The twitching never stopped.
“Tough talk from the guy who hides in his car and stalks his friends.”
“Who hired you?” Kevin asked.
The guy was losing it. “You did.”
“I am not fucking around here. Who paid you to make that tape?”
The guy was on the edge. Jimmy could see that. “If I did have a tape, and I’m not saying I do, it might be something I thought the press would want. A way to open the market now that we’re through, so to speak.”
Kevin reached for Jimmy but ended up with a fist full of air. “Look, you little shit—”
“Let’s keep it real here.” Shifting away, Jimmy kept his back as close to the door as possible. Also did a quick glance outside the car to see if he could find a witness if Kevin went nuts.
But the guy was good. He had driven the car to the far end of the lot where it jutted out on a peninsula to the ocean. Most people were on the beach behind them. The boats docked off to the left didn’t offer much assistance, either.
“This isn’t a game,” Kevin said with restrained fury.
“Does our boy know you were following him? That you led me right to his door?”
Kevin’s steel cold scowl didn’t change. “I want the tape.”
“I’m happy to make you a copy.”
“The tape, the copies, and all photos. You’re done on this job.”
“I have other jobs.”
“You and Katie Long.” Kevin spit when he said her name. “You’re both out.”
“She did turn out to be more enterprising than I realized.”
“The two of you are working this job for Gunnery.”
Jimmy had made the tape to sell, and he’d held onto it as insurance. He’d provided the reporter with a few photo stills only. Then he’d gotten a call through the reporter from the Gunnery camp. His people pled their case for access to the tape, information on Katie’s identity, and the possibility of making more tapes in the future.
Not that they were persuasive. The money offer hardly made it worth Jimmy’s time to skulk after Katie. He had better things to do with his evenings. “No idea what you’re talking about.”
“Then maybe you’ll understand this.” Kevin slipped a thick envelope out of the side pocket of his door. “You want to be paid for your time.”
“I feel pretty unappreciated by you.”
“We had a misunderstanding.”
Jimmy nodded his head, liking the way this conversation was headed. “That’s right.”
“We can fix that and get back on track.”
“I’m a businessman.”
“And that’s a lot of money.”
Jimmy opened it. It was a stack of bills that got a man’s attention. “That’s very impressive. You must be really sorry.”
A tic pulsed in Kevin’s cheek. “In exchange, you leave Eric alone and call Katie off. And I’ll need the tape and all copies of it. No more leakage on that story.”
Jimmy could do half of that. He doubted he could get Katie to give up her gig. “You’re still not getting this.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You need a reputation to do what you do.”
“You’re not sounding very apologetic.”
“I found you, Jimmy. I can ruin you.” Kevin glanced in his side mirror.
The tickle started at the back of Jimmy’s neck. He wanted to turn around. Last thing he needed was to get jumped from behind by Kevin’s secret partner. “That’s funny coming from you.”
“Try to find other work after I’m done with you.” Kevin did threats well. The menacing voice and big wallet made them quite convincing. “You don’t want to play this game.”
It didn’t pay to have an angry client. Having a pissed-off asshole try to cut his balls off wouldn’t be good for business. “I like you, Kev.”
“Don’t use my name.”
“Tell you what I’m going to do.” Jimmy paged through the hundred-dollar bills. “I’ll give you the information you want.”
“And you’ll tell Katie to stay away from Eric.”
Jimmy shook his head. “Now, that’s going to be harder.”
“Why?”
“Katie’s working a con of her own.” And it still pissed Jimmy off. He’d got her the work. The least she could do was kick something back.
“Convince her to let Eric go.”
Jimmy hated to cut Katie short but maybe it would teach her a lesson. In the future, they’d work these things out in advance. She could get some. He was fine with that, but if she worked an angle off a job he got her, then he wanted a cut.
“You want to end it between them, I can help you with that, but you’ll have to do the hard work.”
“You want more money.”
Always. “We’ll have to set her up.”
“I thought she was a friend of yours.”
“She is but I didn’t appreciate her going off on her own on this.”
“Tell me what you have on her.”
Chapter 22
As welcoming kisses went, this one was a winner. Their mouths crashed together as blinding energy whipped through Katie. Eric’s hands pressed against her lower back. Muscles bunched across his shoulder
s. From his lips to his fingers, everywhere he touched her flashed into flames.
She knew he’d had a terrible day. Special reports had flashed on the news and Gunnery had given a smug interview. She wanted to be beside Eric, to take away some of the pain, as he waded through the mess. He never called.
In her head, she knew that was the right strategy. Her heart saw it differently. And that was the problem. Her heart had engaged. She thought about him, worried about him, and got frustrated with him. During all of that, she’d started to love him. Seeing him now, feeling his arms around her and the waves of desperation pound through him, she wanted every part of him. Not just the fun man who enjoyed sex and confused her with his dry delivery. She craved the other part, the darker, imperfect side he hid.
“I missed you.” He pressed a final kiss against her lips. “I should have come over earlier.”
“You had other stuff on your mind.” There, she forced the words out. She could be mature when she had to be.
“You were on my mind.”
She wound her arms around his neck. Anything to keep him close and prevent him from doing his usual run to the door. “Sweet talker.”
“You see the paper?”
Her forehead fell against his shoulder. “Ugh.”
“You look good.”
She tugged on his hair and shot him her best men-are-so-transparent look. “Not funny.”
His hand covered hers as he rubbed the attack area. “No need to get violent.”
“There is nothing pretty about sex. It’s all arms and legs and extra rolls hanging where they shouldn’t.” She shuddered at the thought. Looming over a guy, looking down at him, was just asking for trouble. Chin and stomach…not good.
“You don’t even have extra skin.” He looked so serious.
“That’s your lower half talking. You know if you agree with me the sex ends.”
“I’m not stupid.”
“Which reminds me, no sex videos or photos of us—ever.”
He pretended to think about it. “If you say so.”
“I do.” She fingered his tie, remembering the last time she’d stripped it off him. “Tell me the truth. On a scale of one to ten, how bad has the day been?”
“Fifty-four.” No hesitation.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s tough to be a hard-ass boss when everyone has seen you naked.”
She bit her lip to keep from laughing. “That was me, not you.”
“Doesn’t seem to matter to the crowd at work. I went from the guy who only thought of work, someone to be feared, to the guy who likes to get some on his desk.”
“Chair.”
“Combine that with reporters, ticked-off family members, my campaign manager—who has lost his damn mind—and Deana and Josh bugging me, and you have a long day.”
And like that Katie’s budding good mood vanished. “Deana?”
Eric pulled back far enough to stare her down. “Interesting how out of that entire list you latched onto only one name.”
“Gee, I wonder why.”
For some reason he decided that was a good time to kiss her. Probably the same reason Katie let him. She added a press of her thighs against his as an extra incentive to keep the heated moment going.
When they broke apart, he touched his forehead against hers. “Deana and Josh—both of them—showed up on my doorstep this morning.”
Katie didn’t know Josh but she was liking his style. No reason to let the wifey go wandering around with the ex. Some might find it controlling but Katie viewed the characteristic as very helpful. “Since I bet Josh doesn’t let Deana have sex with other men while he’s standing there, I’ll assume it was innocent.”
“Hardly. It was a shakedown.”
Katie pulled back to get a good look at Eric. “What does that mean?”
“They came to offer help and pledge money for the campaign.”
“How awful of them,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Eric exhaled. “I know it was very decent. More than that, but I didn’t ask for help.”
“Do you ever?”
“What does that mean?” He acted like he really didn’t know.
“I’ve never met anyone more competent than you.” She wanted to agree with Cara that all that calm reassurance was a good thing. It definitely meant inner strength, but Katie feared it stood for something else as well.
He threaded a hand through her hair. “Not to be particular or sound ungrateful, but those aren’t exactly the words a guy wants to hear from his girlfriend.”
The word made her heart jump. “Is that what I am?”
He glanced around. “Did I miss something?”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed. “Katie?”
She had no idea how to explain it. In reality, she didn’t want to. She thought he should “get” it without being guided. “I’m not really used to my role as the dirty secret.”
“Because you aren’t one.” Anger moved into his voice as his shoulders tensed.
“Of course not.” She smoothed her hands over his chest. “Can’t imagine why I’d think that.”
“You’re upset because the paper didn’t name you?”
“No.” Yes. No. Hell, she didn’t know. “Cara’s brain would burst.”
“But?”
“Nothing.”
“I think it’s something.” The easy banter disappeared. He was paying attention now.
“I’m just rambling.”
He stared at her.
“Really. It’s okay.” She didn’t know why she rushed to make the conversation better for him. If he didn’t have a press conference in an hour and half and the Honolulu professional community on his ass, she would have pushed the issue. At least she hoped that was true.
Whatever she said worked because that fast he switched to business mode. The scrunch of his forehead went away and his grip against her skin eased. “I’m going to treat this entire video situation as not a big deal. The more fuel I add, the more out of control the fire will burn. If the response is calm, people will stay calm.”
He didn’t even have an impassioned response to this. “Huh.”
“You disagree?”
“This is so far outside my range of normal activities.”
“You’re not the only one.”
Who was he kidding? The man was born for politics. Those steady nerves that served him so well in a courtroom would be perfect during an election.
“Get used to it. This is the life you’re walking into,” she said.
“Does that scare you?”
He spoke as if he was including her in his future. They’d never talked that far ahead but she’d been dreaming, building a future she feared would never work. “Me?
“Does the idea of being dragged into this stuff make you nuts?”
“I can’t imagine anyone would like having a photo of their naked butt in the paper, but it doesn’t matter. It’s your life. Your choice. You get to figure it out. I’ll just watch.” His head fell to the side. She couldn’t figure out if he was listening to her or studying her. “What?”
“Speaking of watching, you should come to the press conference.”
There wasn’t a scale invented that could weigh how much she hated that idea. “Should I wear a sign saying ‘naked girl right here’ and walk in front of you?”
“That seems like overkill.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “You think?”
“My idea was for you to wait behind the scenes with Seth.”
Like that wouldn’t be embarrassing. Seth knew all about what had happened in Eric’s office the other night. “Why?”
“Because I want you there.”
Her heart did that flip-flopping thing again. Just when she wanted to bonk him in the head for being clueless, he said something sweet enough to melt her bones. “Why didn’t you just say that?”
“I thought I did.”
“I guess it got lost in
all that lawyer speak of yours.”
He rolled his eyes. “Is that a yes?”
“You need me there, I’ll be there.”
An hour later Katie wore a simple black dress, one cut high enough to hide her breasts. If she owned a muumuu she would have thrown that on. Anything to cover skin.
Seth stood next to the flat-screen television in the business office of the hotel. Eric was down the hall somewhere. Seth got stuck babysitting her.
The quiet gave her a chance to study him. He wore a conservative suit but his manner suggested a wild man underneath. Since the image on the screen was an empty stage in a room full of reporters, she knew the rapt attention was fake.
“Didn’t think you’d be here,” he finally said.
“You know how to make a woman feel welcome.”
He threw her a flirty smile over his shoulder. “Part of my charm.”
“But to answer your question, I didn’t think I’d ever be at a political press conference.”
He turned around. “Why did you come?”
“Because Eric asked me.” She leaned against the conference table. If he could pretend to be relaxed, so could she. “But I’m thinking that’s not really your question.”
He pressed his lips together. “Just making conversation.”
“For a lawyer, you don’t lie very well.”
He put a hand to his heart. “That hurts.”
They could dance around it all day but she wasn’t in the mood. Every time she saw Eric, her love and worry increased. He kept holding her away no matter how many times she tried to drag him close. The last thing she needed was a verbal battle with his best friend.
“I didn’t set him up.”
Seth didn’t pretend to be confused. “He believes you.”
“Do you?”
“Does that matter?”
“Normally I would say no, but I’m thinking it does. You’re his friend, probably his closest one, and I’m not looking for a turf war.”
“He trusts you. With most people, he keeps the relationship shallow. With you, he dug in right away. I’m wondering what that means.”
So was she. “You make him sound like a robot.”
“Not at all.”
She wondered how long he’d known Eric. Maybe Seth had been around for the Deana heartache. “Ah, I get it. You’re in the Team Deana camp.”
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