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His blatant admiration flustered her. She focused on her navy pumps and fingered one of her diamond teardrop earrings—a graduation gift from her parents to make up for the fact they hadn’t attended the actual ceremony. “Sorry I’m late. The Beltway was a mess.”
He nodded in commiseration. “You should have let me pick you up. Road construction is a nightmare. Take Georgetown Pike home. It’ll be faster.”
To her relief, he switched into business mode. “I’ll head across the hall, see who’s there. You start here.” He gave her a salute with his highball glass. “Let’s do our thing.”
She returned the gesture with her wine and drifted further into the parlor.Time to get to work. She scanned the partygoers for the legislators who sat on the congressional subcommittee responsible for funding LAI’s projects. An electric buzz hummed in her veins as she worked the room, slipping LAI’s successes into the natural flow of conversation when the opportunity arose.
Two hours later, she had canvassed all the principal players in attendance. A series of jaw-cracking yawns snuck up on her. The stress of the last few days had drained her energy reserves to zero.
It had felt good to focus on something other than Lachlan, the mess he was in, and her feelings for him.
She located Jared trying to escape a K Street lobbyist. “I’m sorry to interrupt.” Her hand curled around Jared’s sleeve as she flashed a bright smile at the lobbyist. “I need to borrow my boss for a moment.”
Jared slanted a subtle look of gratitude at her before shaking the other man’s hand. “Give me a call at the office, Ted. We’ll get together for dinner soon.”
He followed her lead into the foyer. “Thanks for saving me.”
His exaggerated stage whisper made her smile. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to head home. I’m tired, and I think we’ve spoken with everyone we needed to reach tonight.” Some of the other guests were already gathering their coats from the wait staff.
“I agree. As usual, you were a hit.” Jared drained the rest of the amber liquid in his glass, his gray gaze heating as it came to rest on her face. “It’s not hard to see why. You know how to work a room. We make a great team.”
A sudden tension gripped her shoulders. Jared’s attention seemed more personal tonight. The foyer suddenly felt claustrophobic.
“Thank you for your confidence in me.” She glanced longingly at the front door and sidestepped a congressman who’d had one too many bourbons as he was ushered outside by his visibly annoyed wife and a diligent staffer.
Jared cleared his throat. “Go on. It’s been a long day. And take Georgetown Pike if you want to avoid all that messy construction.”
With a murmured goodbye, she collected her wrap and clutch and stepped out into the crisp, black night.
The lack of streetlights and patches of dense forest formed a heavy curtain of obsidian over the two-lane section of Georgetown Pike between Great Falls and McLean. Sophia carefully navigated the winding curves with her high beams, scanning for any creatures that might choose the wrong moment to cross the road.
She turned on the radio for company.
The Beltway may have taken longer, but at least it was well-lit. All she wanted was to get home, take off her heels and sit down with a glass of wine. Between the situation with Lachlan and Jared’s strange behavior this evening, she was on her last nerve.
The sudden glare of headlights in her rear-view mirror blinded her. The car narrowed the distance quickly, riding her back bumper.
“Jerk.”
Where did he think he was going in such a hurry on a road like this? She signaled and moved as far to the right as the narrow shoulder permitted.
The car shot around in a flash of silver and disappeared around the bend.
Silver.
She shook off the dread trying to claw a foothold. Lachlan told her Roshan Haider was gone.
Around the curve, her beams landed on the tail end of the speed demon’s car with its distinctive blue and white checkered logo. Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel.
Lots of people drove silver BMWs.
The car’s brake lights flared bright red, its tires screeching on the asphalt. She jerked left on instinct into the oncoming lane to avoid a collision.
Her heart in her throat, she slammed the accelerator to the floor. The BMW kept pace, blocking her return to the right lane.
Alarm bells jangled in her head. She white-knuckled the wheel with sweaty palms. If she didn’t get back over, she risked driving head-on into an oncoming car.
Thunk.