6. Kavanaugh

6

KAVANAUGH

I sat up at the sound of buzzing. Moonlight shined brightly through the window, cascading over Isla’s naked body. Goosebumps peppered her skin and I slid the covers over her, tucking her in as I pressed a kiss to her lips.

The incessant buzzing that woke me up had started again. I got out of bed and pulled on my pants, then grabbed my phone and headed through the dark house, careful not to wake anyone. Riley had her door shut and all was quiet, which didn’t surprise me. Bowie had stopped taking pain medication a week ago and was exhausted by the end of the night.

I crept downstairs, sliding my finger across the screen as it buzzed again. I entered the code on the alarm and stepped outside before answering the senator.

“You know, it’s rude to call someone past nine o’clock.”

“Did I interrupt something?”

“Yes, I was sleeping.”

“Beside that woman, no doubt,” he huffed.

My body tensed at the way he spoke of Isla. The fact that he still cared who I was with didn’t bode well for either of us. I had no doubt the senator wasn’t through with his manipulations.

“If you have something to say, get it over with.”

“I need you tomorrow for an interview.”

“No, that wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Too bad. You were the one who set this in motion. You want awareness raised about veterans? This is how it happens. Olivia has already agreed to be there and?—”

“Wait, Olivia? Why the hell would you bring her into this?”

“Because she’s supposed to be your fiancée. This is the best way to bring attention to the bill you’re suggesting we pass.”

I shoved my fingers through my hair and cursed myself for getting into this position. “So, kill the bill. People do it all the time.”

“Unfortunately, this is gaining more support than I ever imagined. I need to go through with it, and everyone is requesting your presence.”

“Well, that’s too fucking bad. I didn’t sign up for anything further.”

He sighed heavily. “I was afraid you were going to do this.”

“You’re damn?—”

“I think you’ll find that the man you captured on your last job won’t be as useful as you hoped for.”

I gritted my teeth in anger. “You sent us to him.”

“I did, but unfortunately, while he was well aware of what was going on with The Syndicate, he won’t get you what you need to end this. There are bigger things at stake—walls that you won’t easily be able to break down. If you thought The Syndicate was your enemy, you have no idea what you’re really up against.”

“You’re telling me there’s someone else out there bigger than The Syndicate?”

“Someone? I don’t know if I would use that terminology.”

“Then why haven’t you done anything to stop it? I thought you were in this to make the country a better place,” I said sarcastically.

His low chuckle told me all I needed to know. “Even if I could stop them, why would I want to? Son?—”

“I’m not your son,” I spat, ready to reach through the phone and strangle him.

“Be that as it may, I will tell you right now that even if I wanted to stop them, I couldn’t. There is not a force big enough on this earth to take them down. Everything you thought you knew is a lie, and if you continue down this path, you will put everyone you love at risk,” he said, his voice turning deadly. “Including me, though you may not love me anymore. If you want to know, there’s a price to pay.”

“For information or for names? What exactly are you bargaining?”

“My protection. Once I tell you who is behind all this, the only thing that will give me an ounce of security is to win the election.”

“That’s over a year away!” I spat. “You really expect me to wait that long?”

“I’m not asking you to wait. You’ll have to provide me with security. As soon as I tell you, our fate is tied. It’s your decision, but think it over. Decide if you’re willing to risk the lives of the men you work with. And whether you can put Isla through this.”

I didn’t think for one minute he was lying about this. I knew when the senator was screwing me over, and this wasn’t one of those times. “I can’t be there tomorrow.”

“I can put tomorrow’s interview off until you decide. But don’t wait too long. I’m sure even now there are people listening.”

He hung up, leaving me stunned. I looked out into the night, moisture building in my eyes from the cold. My body was shivering despite the heat rolling off me. I was pissed, not only because he withheld the truth, but because this meant I needed to see Cash, and fast.

But after everything that happened with the senator and Cash, I wasn’t sure I could rely on either of them or put myself through this again. And what about Isla? Ensuring the senator would win not only the nomination, but would also be elected to the presidency, was something that required my help. As he said, people were interested in this bill I suggested, and while I knew his campaign didn’t solely rely on my support, it would help.

Of course, I could get what I wanted and walk away. I really didn’t think the senator would make a good president, other than the fact that he was perfectly capable of lying to the people’s faces while smiling and spoon-feeding them lies. Wasn’t that all that was required nowadays? But I wasn’t him. I wouldn’t hang him out to dry. If he was right and this was as dangerous as he said, I would have to ensure his safety. Even if I did disown the piece of shit, I never went back on my word.

The door opened and Bowie stepped out behind me, shutting the door as he shivered in the cold. “Is there a reason we’re standing out here in the fucking cold at three in the goddamn morning?”

I sighed heavily. “I got a call from the senator.”

“What the fuck does he want?”

“Something I’m not sure I can give,” I muttered. “But it might be something Cash needs.”

I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye. “The last time you did something both of them needed, you nearly lost Isla.”

“Yeah,” I sighed.

“Are you going to tell her?”

Fuck, it was the middle of the night, I was exhausted, and now I had to make decisions that could potentially alter the course of my life. Was I going to tell her?

“I need to talk to Cash first.”

I could hear the frustration in his sigh. He didn’t like that I could fuck things up with Isla. Because fucking things up with Isla would be problematic for Riley.

“Don’t worry, I’m not doing anything without working it all out first.”

“Make sure you do that. The last thing this house needs is more pissed-off women.”

I laughed at that. “Tell me about it.” I glanced at him. “What are you doing up?”

“Can’t sleep,” he said, wincing slightly.

“Your leg bothering you?”

He was in a cast still, but moving around much better than he had been. “That and the rest of my fucking body.” He jerked his gaze at me. “Don’t you dare say a word to Riley. The last fucking thing I need is her yelling at me.”

A smile split my lips. “This is serious, isn’t it?”

“I wish I knew,” he scoffed. “Already been married twice, and didn’t want it either time.”

“I thought you liked that old lady?”

He shot me a glare. “She wasn’t an old lady. She was mature. And yes, I liked her, but I didn’t want to fucking marry her.”

“Then why did you?”

He shrugged helplessly. “Believe it or not, this shit just happens to me.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I can see that. You stumble down the aisle, completely at a loss for how to control your own limbs—or your mouth, for that matter. And then, before you know it, you’re saying I do and walking down the aisle, holding your new wife’s hand.”

He blew out a harsh breath. “Something like that.”

I rolled my eyes and headed back inside. “Don’t let that happen with Riley. I get the feeling she wouldn’t let you off the hook without a thorough ass-kicking.”

“Tell me about it. You should have heard her yelling at me after the accident. She made it sound like I did this to myself. I was trying to save her fucking life!”

I winced, slapping him on the shoulder. “Maybe don’t get hit by a car next time.”

“Oh, sure. I’ll just try to fling us both out of the way. Then we’ll both end up in the fucking hospital, and she can yell at me for not being good enough at my job.”

“Well, you can’t win them all.”

It was only five in the morning when I walked through the doors of OPS. I didn’t want to be here at all. I was supposed to have a day off, but this was too fucking important to wait. And frankly, there was no way I could sit at home with Isla, knowing this was all lingering in the background.

The new building looked fantastic, but it was all lost on me. At one time, I would have teased Cash, asking where my office was going to be or when the new kitchen was being installed. But the faint smile that touched my lips as I thought of that disappeared just as quickly. All of it seemed tainted now with his lies. Fuck, I could have lost everything in my life, and I knew I had a part to play in that. I hadn’t been honest with Isla, and that was on me.

Truthfully, I was being a bit hypocritical, blaming him when I did the same fucking thing to Isla, but that was a moral dilemma for another time. I wasn’t at all surprised to see the light on in Cash’s office. It was like he lived here now. I doubted he even saw Eva very often, if the rumor mill was correct.

Which it usually was.

His gaze met mine as I stepped into the doorway. I saw his hand twitch below his desk as he went for his gun. Thankfully, he didn’t pull it out and shoot me where I stood, though I was beginning to question his ability to differentiate between friend and foe.

He relaxed back in his chair, quirking an eyebrow at me. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here this early. Don’t you have today off?”

“It seems someone didn’t want me to get any sleep tonight.”

“Yeah? Who’s that?”

“The senator,” I answered, walking further into the office. It was different than before. His last office had touches of his life—Sally 2 in a cabinet on display. She was nowhere to be seen now. Although, I was pretty sure he was on Sally 3 by now. However, there was one thing that was the same. Betty was still here. The strange part was that she was on the box. She was never out unless shit was about to go down. But as far as I knew, there were no ops right now. Unless this was Cash’s way of saying that the war would never end until he brought justice to Rafe.

His eyes followed mine and he shifted uneasily in his chair. “Did you come to tell me you’re quitting?”

I finally met his eyes and moved behind the leather chair across from him, resting my hand on the back of one. “That depends.”

“On what?”

I had a list a mile long, but that was a discussion for another time. “Did you get anything out of that asshole?”

His jaw tensed. “No.”

Fuck, then the senator was right. “Did you put Fox on it?”

“Like I don’t know how to take care of shit?” he retorted.

I really didn’t want to be here doing this, but the senator’s words rang in my ears. There was a large part of me that wanted to walk away, but my loyalty to Cash was unwavering, it seemed.

“The senator called me this morning with some information pertaining to you and the man you have in the basement.”

“The senator’s information is all bullshit,” he sighed. “It looks like I went to great lengths for nothing.”

“ I went to great lengths,” I reminded him. “But that’s beside the point at the moment. The senator seems to think that the reason we didn’t get anything out of him is because the real players behind The Syndicate’s success are much larger and more difficult to take down than we know.”

“And who would these mysterious people be?” I didn’t miss the way his eyes lit up at my words. I could already see the wheels turning in his mind, all the different ways he could use the information if only he had the missing key.

“He didn’t tell me. He has a few stipulations.”

“Of course.”

“Don’t worry. I doubt any of this will affect you very much,” I said snidely. “All he wants is a protection team as he continues his race for president. And, of course, my further cooperation to ensure he gets the nomination and the presidency.”

He shook his head. “He doesn’t ask for much. Why does he need you? And the protection team, for that matter. He’ll have the Secret Service on his side.”

“Because he says whoever this is behind The Syndicate is too large for anyone to deal with. Apparently, the only way to keep him relatively safe is to become president. Don’t ask me what the fuck any of that means aside from the fact that if we pursue this, some really bad fucking people will come after us and everyone we love.”

He smirked slightly. “That bad, huh?”

My nostrils flared in anger. “You have to tell me right fucking now, Cash. Is this information really worth that much to you? Are you willing to risk everyone’s lives? Eva’s? Your kids? Do you need it that badly?”

He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing at my words. Then he turned away from me, and for just a moment, I thought I saw a glimmer of something like sadness instead of anger.

“It’s a simple fucking question, Cash. Tell me what the fuck you need right now, or I walk out of here. I’m not playing these games anymore.”

When he didn’t answer, I shoved out of the chair and headed for the door, but I didn’t make it out of the office when I heard him finally speak.

“You want to know what I need?”

I stopped and glanced over my shoulder at him.

“I need someone to fucking work the job and get me the answers I’m looking for.” He pushed out of his chair and stalked over to me. “You have these connections, and yet you’re bargaining with me instead of doing what you’re supposed to fucking do. This is the job. We follow the truth and finish the job. What fucking part of that don’t you understand?”

I stayed quiet, trying to find a speck of the man I respected so much, but all I found in his eyes was a yawning darkness that held no life at all. I had nothing to say. There wasn’t a single thing that I could think of to respond to his rant. So, I turned and walked out the door without another word.

“Fucking useless,” he muttered as I left.