When he was better healed, they’d get it all. Every last detail.
“How does it work? Now I mean?”
“The lobbyists. They’re the go-between. I mean, anyone can register as a lobbyist. I don’t know how it works exactly. I try to stay out of it and those meetings. I know John got sideways with the Skilton fellow a few months back in a bad way. I was hoping parting with him would end it all, but... It didn’t.”
“So, you don’t know any more than John meets with the lobbyists?” That was perplexing.
“That deal. The one you mentioned?” Robert closed his eyes. He seemed even more tired now. “There’s a prison reform lobbyist who doesn’t do any prison reform. He’s John’s go-between for the groups down south. Then there’s two others. One’s with the FAA. He’s how they coordinate the flights. Shoot. What’s that squirrely guy’s name?”
“I’ve got a list here. Let me read it and you tell me?” Kelsey scrambled over to her tote and pulled out her master list of everyone the senator had an appointment with that she knew of. She read the list out loud and Robert shook his head after every name.
“That one,” he said suddenly.
Santiago Fernández.
Her gut had been right.
Kelsey tapped out a message to Evan and Felecia, asking them to start locating their target.
Robert’s voice was softer now. “That Fernández? He’ll sing. Apply a little pressure and he’ll tell you everything. He’s a piece of shit.”
“This has been a huge help, Robert. How about I let you rest now, and we talk later? I’ll have something for you to sign by then. This is really going to help us. Thank you.” She reached over and took his hand, giving it a squeeze.
Kelsey might not have liked Robert much when they met, but she understood him. He’d had his own goals and ambitions. But he’d hooked his cart to the wrong horse. She hoped he pulled through this. She didn’t know what his political options would be after John’s fall-out, but at least Robert might live to make better choices. There had to be someone else out there who liked clean desks as much as he did.
One thing was certain.
John Dixon was rotten as sin. And Kelsey was going to figure out how to make him talk.
15.
Sunday. Task Force Headquarters. Washington, DC.
Logan covertly glanced at his phone.
Again.
Evan had promised to keep Logan up to date on their movements. There hadn’t been a single thing since Evan said they were done at Walter Reed.
Where were they?
“Senator, sir?” Zora leaned forward, speaking in her sweet as honey voice.
That was not a good sign.
Anytime Logan heard that tone trotted out, the person receiving it got hammered shortly thereafter.
“I told you.” John smiled and lifted his shoulders. “I don’t know anything.”
“Then why did you leave your residence?” she countered.
This was getting old.
“I was afraid for my life,” John replied.
“Bullshit,” Logan barked.
Both John and Zora started and looked at him.
Logan sat back, arms crossed over his chest, and glared at John.
Screw it.
“You were attacked because of what you’ve done and who you are connected to. You ran because you knew once we got the full story, you’d be in deep shit. Now, do you want to keep digging that hole, or do you want to help us?”
Zora glanced from him back to the senator. “The choice is yours.”
“Will you give us a moment?” Bernstein interjected before John could open his mouth.
“Sure thing.” Logan stood and pulled Zora’s chair out for her to stand as well.
He waited for Zora to lead the way out of the room.
She didn’t look at him, which probably wasn’t a good sign. He followed her out into the hall where the others waited.
“Really, Logan?” Zora sighed and massaged her temples.
“Sorry, but it’s been two hours of nothing.” And to add to that, Logan had no idea why he was even present for these discussions. “Why aren’t we asking him about Skilton?”
Zora pursed her lips. “It’s not right yet.”
“What else do we have to come at him, though? This is pointless.” Logan’s phone buzzed.
He pulled it out, surprised to see Evan calling him.
Logan held up his hand for silence. Not that the guys were making a lot of noise. “Evan?”
“Hey, TL. Where are you guys right now?”
“Headquarters.”
“Where in the building?”
“Interrogation. Why? What’s going on? Is Kelsey still with you?”
“Yeah. Yeah, she is.”
The line clicked, ending the call.
Logan pulled the phone away from his face and frowned at it.
Zora had turned away and now had her phone out.
“Yes, yes. I understand. There’s a room down here we can talk in. See you shortly,” she said.
Logan held his breath.
Zora turned to face them. “Kelsey has news.”
What kind of news?
And why hadn’t Kelsey called him?
Logan knew. It made sense for Evan to call him. Still Logan wanted to hear her voice.
“Harper, Tucker, stay out here and keep an eye on the hall,” Logan ordered. That order was about as selfish as he could get. Both Harper and Tucker were the ones most likely to notice anything between Logan and Kelsey.
Besides the senator, Samuel, Baruti, Quentin and Nadine were also being kept on this level. If there were additional moles like Logan feared, all their eggs were in one basket. He wasn’t content with trusting their combined safety to one layer of defense.
The elevator dinged and out stepped Kelsey.
The tight fist that had been strangling Logan’s insides eased its hold.
Evan followed close on her heels. Felecia wasn’t there, but Logan assumed she’d gone off to handle whatever legwork needed doing.
Kelsey glanced at Logan. Her eyes were bright, like she knew something that was trying to spill out of her.
What had she discovered?
Her gaze jumped from him to Zora. He realized that he wouldn’t get a moment with her.
Logan hung back, hoping his face didn’t betray his disappointment.
Tucker and Harper moved down toward the elevators and the stairwell. Those were the only two access points for the subbasement level of the building.
Jamie followed both Zora and Kelsey toward the meeting room while Evan stood patiently waiting for Logan.
“Everything go okay?” he asked.
Evan didn’t make a move to follow the others. “Yeah. Sir?”
“Hm?”
He studied Logan a moment. “Sir, I might be speaking out of line here, but...”
“Just say it, Evan. I’ve never known you to say anything without careful consideration.”
“Kelsey.”
Logan’s gut tightened into knots.
Fuck. And here he’d been worried about Harper and Tucker.
Evan nodded, as though he’d decided something. “She doesn’t have anyone to say this, and I hope you understand where I’m coming from. However this goes? Treat her well, okay?”
Evan’s stare was hard. Logan could practically hear the implied or else in Evan’s tone.
In that moment, Logan was so damn grateful that these were the men he worked with. He had no doubt that if he screwed up, his own team would kick his ass.
Logan wouldn’t have it any other way.
Kelsey deserved to have people in her life that would look out for her. He got the feeling she wasn’t used to that. She’d been forced to be self-sufficient and alone for so long that having people there for her was unusual.
Logan shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He glanced over his shoulder, looking through the meeting room door to Kelsey. She was something.
/>
He loved her.
The sensation in his chest whenever he saw her was almost overpowering. How the others couldn’t see it was beyond him.
How had that happened so fast?
He looked back at Evan and nodded.
“Yeah. That’s my plan.” Logan swallowed. “Evan?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you mind not saying anything to the others? For now, I mean. Kelsey and I, we want time to figure things out without...”
“I get it. And if I hear anything, I’ll let you know. If you keep looking at her like that though, it’s not going to be a secret long.”
Busted.
Logan scrubbed his hand over his face.
Great.
Now he had to think about how he looked at her.
This was just fucking wonderful.
Logan and Evan headed into the meeting room without another word spoken between them.
It stood to reason that if Evan was willing to keep this quiet, his wife hadn’t picked up on it yet. Felecia couldn’t keep a secret. Not anymore. It was kind of funny how the girl who’d grown up as a secret had no grasp of them now. At least not when it came to things outside of work.
Logan filed all of that away for later. He pulled out a chair and sat, choosing to stare at his thumbs instead of Kelsey.
“What did Robert have to say?” Zora asked before Evan had closed the door.
Logan glanced up, unable to keep from looking at Kelsey.
“The senator isn’t just dirty, he’s filthy.” She braced her hands on the end of the six person meeting table and leaned forward, her whole attention on Zora. “Robert’s willing to tell us everything for a deal. His story is that Dixon tried to pull him into it, Robert said no way, and they came to an agreement over it. He says he told Dixon all along that if he got caught, Robert would sell him out.”
Zora frowned. “What proof do you have?”
“Glad you asked.” Kelsey grinned and set a tote bag on the table. “This morning I spent looking at the lobbyists and doing research. That’s how I landed on an article written by a Layla Silva Perez. It was an expose that fell flat about how there are several South American countries who are working with cartels to sell citizens into human trafficking. These are people who were deported from America back to their country of origin. Layla and I talked for a while about how it works, but I couldn’t figure out how to connect John Dixon to it.”
Logan’s stomach felt like it was rising. Was that hope? “But Robert does?”
She glanced at him with a triumphant grin. “Yup. Robert and I talked through the entire process and he told me the three people who would be John’s contacts.”
He leaned forward, hanging on her every word. “The lobbyists?”
“Yes!” Kelsey pumped her fist. “I’ve got Felecia and Diha upstairs getting me what they can. They’re also going to reach out and line up meetings with the three lobbyists.”
“Forget meetings. Arrest them,” Zora said.
Kelsey paused. “Do we have enough to do that?”
Logan glanced between the two women. “Even if it’s not enough to hold them, we’ll have them in our custody. It keeps them out of Skilton’s grasp. And maybe we can squeeze something out of them.”
An idea sparked in the back of Logan’s mind.
“What if...” He held up his hands. “What if we approach these people saying, Skilton is after them and we want to protect them?”
“Hm.” Zora pursed her lips.
Kelsey nodded. “I like that. Zora?”
“If we go that route, we won’t be able to pressure them. Besides, if they’re really involved, I want to nail their asses to the wall.” Zora shook her head. “No, get everyone we can trust to research these connections so we have something. Then we go after them. But, Dixon doesn’t have to know they aren’t in custody yet.”
Logan braced his elbows on the table. “Is it just me, or is Bernstein obviously uncomfortable in there with Dixon?”
“It’s not just you,” Zora replied. “Let’s see if we can make this canary sing. Logan? I want you to come at him hard. Ask him about everything Kelsey just said. I’ll follow up with a softer approach. Offer him a deal if he helps us with Skilton.”
Logan glanced at Kelsey. “Any notes?”
“Of course. I had Felecia start scribbling as we drove back. Here.” He handed him a piece of paper with one side almost completely covered.
“Take a moment and review that,” Zora said. “I’m going to call legal.”
She was up and out of the door in moments.
“Jamie?” Evan smacked the other man on the shoulder. “Let’s go update the other two.”
Jamie barely glanced up from his phone. “Hm? Okay, man.”
Evan caught Logan’s eye and winked.
Damn.
That was a neat little set-up if he’d ever seen one.
Logan swallowed and glanced at Kelsey.
Within a few moments, he was alone with her.
She looked from the door back to him and her lips quirked into a smile.
“Care to give me any insight on what points might hit hardest?” he asked, trying to focus on work.
“Sure.” She leaned forward. “I think he’s going to react most of all to the break between him and Robert. Robert’s really been there for him, and I get the feeling that John takes Robert’s blinders for granted.”
“His blinders?”
“Yeah. Robert explained it that way. He was so focused on working for someone he saw as presidential material that he ignored all of the Skilton stuff. I’d lead with the cutting ties there, then follow it up with what we could prove, which is how he uses the lobbyists. I wouldn’t lean on him much over the human trafficking. I think to him, because it’s happening way off in another country, it’s not as bad to him. Remember, John’s used to everyone falling all over themselves for him. The more we pick apart his reality, the more desperate he’s going to get.”
Logan grimaced. “You should be doing this.”
Kelsey shrugged and met his gaze. “Zora wants you. To John, I’m another woman. He’s not going to react the same way to me that he will to you. You’re the right decision here.”
He knew he should remain focused on the work at hand. But it was hard with her standing there, looking at him.
“Evan, say anything to you?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Yeah.”
Logan chuckled. “He didn’t come out and say it, but he implied he’d kick my ass if I screwed up.”
“Did he now?” Her grin widened.
He glanced over his shoulder, but the door was closed and there wasn’t a window.
Satisfied they were alone, he reached over and took her hand, giving it a tug. She walked around the table and allowed him to pull her to him until she stood between his knees.
“You’re amazing,” he said.
“Please, shower me with more compliments?”
He laughed and placed his hands on her hips. This exchange was far better and more enjoyable than dozens of others they’d had.
“I like working with you far more than fighting with you,” he said.
She slid her arms around his shoulders. “I’ll admit it’s better this way.”
He studied her lips, committing them to memory.
Kelsey placed a finger over his mouth. “I think we shouldn’t do this at work.”
“Damn.” He sighed and let his hands drop to his knees. “No, you’re right.”
She chuckled and ran her fingers through his hair before taking a step back. “I know. I just feel like...if I let you kiss me now, I’m not going to want it to stop.”
“So, you like kissing me then?” he asked.
She leaned against the wall. “Yes.”
“Then, let me go nail this bastard to the wall.” He pushed up to his feet. “Any dinner plans?”
“None yet.” She wrinkled her nose. “You aren’t going to suggest I
cook, are you?”
Logan barked an unexpected laugh. “If you make that face about your own cooking? No. No way.”
“Oh. Whew.” She wiped her hand across her brow. “I can order takeout.”
“After how long this day’s going to be? I think that sounds fantastic.”
“Great.” She grinned. “It’s a date. Or, not date? It’s dinner.”
Logan grabbed the piece of paper and stood. It was a date, but he going to let Kelsey call it—or not call it—whatever she wanted.
“Let’s get this going,” he said as he stepped into the hall.
Zora was waiting for him at the entrance to the room where they’d been holding Dixon since yesterday.
“Ready?” she asked.
Logan glanced at Kelsey, who gave him a double thumbs up, then he nodded at Zora.
No pressure or anything.
Zora opened the door and stepped in first. Logan glanced back at Kelsey one last time. She had already moved to stand by the monitor and speaker that would allow those in the hall to listen.
He hoped he pulled this off.
Logan ensured the door behind them was secured properly. He smoothed a hand down the front of his dress shirt. Zora was already seated, hands folded, looking at him expectantly. Bernstein and Dixon sat on the other side. Logan noted that Bernstein sat as far away from Dixon as possible.
Was the lawyer thinking about jumping ship?
“Senator Dixon, I’ve got some things I’d like to ask you.” Logan turned the paper writing side down as he lowered himself into the seat. Printed on the other side was the name Santiago Fernández, along with a list of other details.
Dixon’s gaze followed Logan’s hand. Only Dixon’s eyes widened once he read the paper.
Was it Logan’s imagination, or was Dixon noticeably paler now?
“You recognize this name?” Logan gestured to the paper. He probably should have looked at both sides.
Dixon jerked his head up and stared over Logan’s shoulder at the wall. “Of course. You were there when Mr. Fernández and I had an appointment.”
“Well, Mr. Brown had some interesting things to tell us this morning about your relationship with Mr. Fernández. Would you care to hear some of the things said?” Logan leaned forward, planted his elbows on the table just over the paper, and clasped his hands.
Intercepted Risk (Aegis Group Task Force Book 5) Page 21