Chapter 36

“Okay,”Ash said, “let’s go through what we know.”

The tension quivering through Kayla’s body like a low-grade earthquake eased a little at his acquiescence.

Facts, brainstorming, and action plans, she could handle. They were the foundation on which her business thrived. Familiar, comfortable, solid. But delving into what she’d witnessed at Seb Grimball’s place could open up a sea of emotions that might drown her.

“We’re searching for one, maybe two, assailants,” Ash continued.

“Two?”

“Forensics discovered droplets of blood where we believe the shooter set up, waiting for Governor Stokes to appear.”

“Why does the presence of blood suggest a second person?”

“They also found signs of an altercation at the site. It’s possible the shooter had a disagreement with his partner.”

“Or a guest caught the shooter and tried to stop them.” Kayla immediately shook her head, dismissing the idea. “No one from the party came forward and no one is missing.”

“Correct.”

Kayla recalled Seb Grimball’s battered face before someone blew off the top of his head. Swallowing, she twisted around to face Ash, propping her feet on the cushion between them. “Seb looked as though he’d been in a recent fight.”

Ash closed a hand over her right ankle, as if sensing her distress. “Further confirming our hypothesis of a second assailant.”

“I could understand having a backup assassin, but why would they have fought?”

“Good question.” He anchored his forearms on his knees and clasped his hands together. “Now that you’ve had time to consider it, can you think of anyone who would want the governor dead?”

“A lot of people are settling differences of opinion with extreme violence, these days. Her killer could be anyone who didn’t agree with a bill she signed into law or didn’t share her ideology or?—”

“Yes,” he interrupted her, “but who could’ve guessed she’d visit the gazebo?”

“Maybe they got lucky—” Kayla’s heart dumped into her stomach. “That came out wrong. I d-didn’t mean?—”

“Easy.” He brushed a thumb over the top of her foot. “I got your meaning.”

Kayla drew in a breath and released it slowly. “You visited the spot where the shooter set up?”

He nodded.

“Could you see the veranda?”

His eyes unfocused for a moment. “Yes.”

“No matter what time of the year, guests always step outside to escape the noise from the masses. I’m sure it’s the same for any large gathering.” She stared into her tea. “The shooter simply waited for her to appear. Vicky’s visit to the gazebo was like hitting the lottery, I’m sure.”

Releasing her ankle, Ash scrubbed a hand over his face and settled his back into the V of the sofa. “What can you tell me about her security detail that night?”

“I don’t know what else I can tell you.”

“Why’d they leave the garden?”

“I’m sure they were following orders. If she said scoot, they scooted.”

“They could’ve given her some privacy and still kept her in sight.”

“ I can’t see Glenn and Ford being a party to her murder. They were devoted to her. ”

“You know better than anyone that money and power are the Great Motivators. All someone had to do was find a weak link in the governor’s circle. A guard with a gambling problem or drug habit. Or maybe an assistant with medical bills stacking up, a chief of staff with an eye on a federal appointment, a lieutenant governor with more ambition than patience?—”

Kayla held up her hand. “I see your point.” Every sinew in her chest tightened as another possibility rose in her mind.

Eerily attuned to the slightest shift in her mood, Ash asked, “You’ve thought of someone else?”

“Maybe,” she hedged.

“Someone you care about?”

She nodded. “Though I doubt she could kill a spider.”

“But could she get someone else to step on it?”

“What are you going to do if I give you a name?”

“Have a chat.”

“A civil chat? Or a bad cop interrogation?”

“Bad cop is always the most fun.”

“A-ash.”

“I’ll ask some questions.”

“I want to be there when you do.”

“Or?”

Kayla folded her arms. “I’ll have to do some sleuthing without you.”

“Don’t you have a job of your own to do?”

“I have an amazing team who can pick up any slack I might leave behind. Thanks for your concern.”

On a long, aggrieved sigh, he draped an elbow over the sofa’s arm and snaked a hand across the low back. The relaxed position stretched his white dress shirt taut over his broad chest and flat stomach. His right foot rested on the floor, while his left leg lay at an angle on the cushion separating them. Dark stubble covered the lower part of his face and finger tunnels rumpled his thick, black hair.

She’d never seen him look so at ease, so comfortable, so delicious. A tingling sensation stirred between her legs, and she squeezed her knees together to keep her arousal at a low simmer. But she could do nothing about her thundering heart.

As if sensing her biological shift, his eyes hyper-focused, and she got the distinct impression he was trying to visually drill into her brain and pick out her erotic thoughts.

The one moment she needed it most, her lobbyist mask failed her, disintegrating beneath his intense scrutiny, exposing the rawness of her need.

“It occurs to me,” he said as his gaze lowered to her mouth, “that I owe you a kiss.”

Kayla pressed her knees together so hard her bones stabbed each other. “Oh?”

She recalled his quick kiss of reassurance before they’d been forced to sprint across an open area, exposing them to the shooter’s sights and her ridiculous comeback of getting another kiss if they survived. Even though he’d displayed confidence and an odd combination of calm urgency, she’d sensed the terror lurking beneath. Terror for her.

The realization had made her want to soothe his fear, let him know she trusted him with her life. She’d spoken spontaneously, honestly, and received the smile she’d been hoping for.

It was then her attraction to him shifted, deepened, transformed into something her heart recognized but her stubborn mind refused to acknowledge.

Until now.

She’d fallen for a man who reviled her profession, a calling that had fed her soul for most of her adult life. An insurmountable obstacle for any relationship.

Like a tiger rising from an afternoon nap, Ash pushed away from his den and leaned toward her, his eyes never leaving hers. The tip of his index finger traced an invisible line down the center of the cushion separating them.

“Meet me, Kayla.”

Halfway.

The unspoken word tugged at her, as if he’d attached a string to her chest and pulled it taut.

Before she knew it, they were nose to nose, forehead to forehead. She drew strength from his warmth, the hard breaths he tried to control.

“I won’t give up lobbying,” she warned.

“I won’t ask you to.”

His promise whispered against her lips a moment before he fulfilled his promise.