Page 33 of Junior Has a Secret
I feed him the cover story.
“Political discretion at its finest,” he approves.
“You mean deception?”I ask.“And for the record, I don’t approve, but any other story disrupts rather than supports the investigation.The last thing I need is to navigate my father and the present governor blaming each other in the press and for all we know that’s what the killer is hoping for.”
“Distraction,” he says.“Yes.I can see that.”
He studies me several beats.“Our current governor needs to be informed and questioned and protocol dictates my presence.Are you going with me?”
“I need to question him, but in an educated way, which requires time with the victim.If you go without me, you give him time to dodge and weave, and potentially even arm him to do so.”
He gives an incline of agreement.“Very well.I’ll lock him down, let you do your thing, and then we’ll go together.And now, I need to go greet our team.”
He walks toward the vehicles now halting in the driveway.I need to talk to Kane, but right now, I need to find out if Special Agent Damian Leonard is going to be a special pain in my ass or is that job reserved strictly for Jack.I head toward the tall, fit man with dark wavy hair Adams is now talking with, and I already don’t like Leonard.I guess him to be mid-thirties, and extremely proud of his good looks.Arrogance literally oozes from the man, which in my experience means he can’t see beyond himself in the mirror.
I near the two men and Adams angles my direction.“Special Agent Damian Leonard,” Adams says.“Meet Special Agent Lilah Love-Mendez.She’ll be your lead on this case.”
When his eyes meet mine, there’s contempt in their depth.“If it isn’t the FBI agent married to a drug lord.”
I laugh.“Ah.Is that what they call him?”
“That’s what he is,” he replies.
“And in what I can only call priceless timing,” I say, I lift a finger a motion to the man who just exited the SUV at the rear of the caravan.“Kane just arrived.Why don’t you say that to his face?Director Adams can protect you, I’m sure.”
The scowl on Leonard’s face is so deep he has tunnels, but there’s a hint of fear in his eyes, as he’s presently worried about how deep the hole will be when he’s buried.“Don’t worry,” I say softly.“He’s nicer than I am.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kane strides toward us, controlled menace even dressed in all black casual wear–jeans, sweater, boots—there’s an air of dominance and danger about this man that has Leonard squirming, but interestingly enough, not Adams.
“Why is he here?”Leonard demands, a rasp to his tone I read as fear.“This is an active crime scene.”
“He runs the security detail for Lilah’s father,” Adams replies, amusement in his tone, “and since the safety of the governor-elect is critical, we’ll let him stay.”
In that short statement I don’t miss the way he’s managed to point out to Leonard that the governor-elect is my father, which to most would be a warning and demand for respect.Leonard doesn’t blink.He’s scared of Kane, of that I do not doubt, but not enough to smash his ambition and inside that ambition is his desire to take down the great Kane Mendez, who he believes to be the kingpin himself.He reminds me of one of the many people who’ve come after Kane, and saw nothing but the big takedown ahead of them they’d highlight on their resume.
They all failed.
And so will Leonard.
Kane could not be more ready for him and it’s in that moment that Kane steps into our circle, and I can almost feel the exhaustion beating at him, but still, he’s here, which would not be without good reason, most likely a lethal one at that.He doesn’t even look at the other two men, his attention fixed on me.“Can we talk?”He’s close, more than is socially accepted in this circumstance, which tells me something has him feeling as possessive as he does protective, not that this is all that new with us.We started playing the tug of war over his desired dominance years before I ever said I do.
And as much as I assume Kane is here to do damage control over pulling his men last night, and I need those details, there’s another pressing issue.Why did Adams pair me with an agent who’s placed a target on my husband’s back?Now is the time for both Adams and Leonard to understand the mistake they are making.They want dirty.They need to understand we are the dictionary definition of vengeance.“Of course,” I reply to Kane, “but have you met Director Adams?”
“No,” he says, his gaze fixing on my new pretend boss, but he says nothing else.Not a word.I love it.There is nothing more intimidating than silence.
Adams shifts uncomfortably.“A man of few words is a smart man.”
“And this is Special Agent Damion Leonard,” I say, but Kane is still watching Adams, sizing him up, I suspect, but I’m about to get his attention.“Leonard objects to pretty much everything about you because he says you’re a drug lord,” I announce.
Kane’s brutal stare lands heavily on Leonard.“And you base this on what?”
“It’s known,” Leonard states, defiance in the lift of his chin.
Kane’s brow arches.It’s a wicked brow, too.“Byyou?”
“It’sknown,” Leonard insists.