Campaign of Desire (CSA Case Files 4) (27 page)

Phoebe didn’t reply right away, but Lach could clearly see that she was digesting what he’d said. He reminded himself that she was raised differently and that opinions mattered to her, although only up to a point. It was the end result that was vital and she would only know the outcome of this meet and greet if she were to go with him. He didn’t doubt that Lauren, Emily, Elle, Jessie and Taryn would make her feel like part of the group.

“Yes, I would be honored to go with you.” Phoebe stood on her tiptoes and wrapped one hand around Lach’s neck, pulling him toward her. He felt her fingers slip into his hair at the same time her tongue traced his bottom lip. Her need for some control was evident but his inner dominance warred against it and won when he grabbed both of her wrists and held them behind her. He was rewarded with a gasp and the shift in color of her eyes. “Sir?”

“Very good,” Lach murmured against her lips, taking pleasure that Phoebe took his cue of when he placed her in the submissive role. “After your meeting today, I want a list of soft and hard limits. Things that you would like to experience, things that you are on the fence of, and of course…those things that you would absolutely not consider, come hell or high water.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Phoebe had the audacity to actually bite his lower lip, and although it had been done gently, Lach had no doubt she’d done it to elicit a reaction. Needing to see how she responded to his feedback to her baiting, he used her wrists to pull her closer to him and gave a quick but firm tap on her ass. Her quick inhalation and the whip of her head to connect their gazes was all the answer he needed.

“Until tonight.”

Chapter Twenty

A
s Phoebe had spent the last hour and a half talking to Ms. Adler, she was reminded why she hated this part of her job with the Crescent Foundation. There was nothing satisfying in negotiating over money when her time could be spent helping others in the ways that mattered. She had to remind herself almost every five minutes that this contribution to her father’s campaign would give her dad the bump he needed. It didn’t help that every other second she was thinking of what to put on the list Lach had requested. After last night, there were numerous things she’d like to put on her wish list.

“Would you like to go to lunch, dear?”

“Yes, of course,” Phoebe answered, knowing all along how this meeting would end. “Please let me use the ladies’ room to powder my nose and then I’ll be ready.”

Ms. Adler gave a smile of delight as she sat in front of Phoebe’s father’s desk. She’d used his office for privacy and although the meeting had gone longer than she expected, lunch was always a requirement with Ms. Adler. Not really needing to use the restroom, Phoebe rose from her dad’s chair and excused herself from the office. Closing the door behind her, she sighed in relief and started to walk down the short hallway when Stewart called out to her.

“Ms. Dunaway?”

“Yes, Stewart?” Phoebe asked, turning around and not all that unhappy with the intrusion. It would delay Ms. Adler by a few more minutes, but that was perfectly fine by Phoebe. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, the phone calls are particularly productive today.” Stewart adjusted his tie, which was never on quite straight anyway, but Phoebe was coming to like the young man. She’d thought in the beginning that he was just here to please his father, and honestly, be a slacker. He had proved his dedication and work ethic. “I wanted you to know I spoke with Hannah.”

“How is she?”

“She’d gone out of town to visit one of her aunts, but she’s doing fine.” The way Stewart shifted his body gave away his need to ask a question. Phoebe waited silently, mentally smiling when he continued. She could see why Lach used that technique and was thinking of adopting it herself. “Hannah understands why she can’t work the campaign and is taking your advice about concentrating on her studies. She’s still hoping to be in politics, regardless of her father’s behavior, and was wondering if you would write a letter of recommendation for her.”

“Hannah knows that she needs to stay away from the larger campaigns, right? If she volunteers for a smaller run, for say mayor, she can eventually work her way up. It will be a tough haul and she’ll undoubtedly be questioned time and again, but if she’s willing to put in the effort…then yes, I will write her a recommendation.”

“Thank you,” Stewart said in relief. “I’ll let her know and it will definitely make her day.”

Phoebe watched as he walked back into the bullpen, knowing full well that Stewart had a thing for Hannah. The boy’s father was certainly not going to be happy with that turn of events, especially considering that he was a U.S. Senator himself. Having grown up in this life, she knew full well what happened when either she or her sister brought home someone that had the potential of damaging the Dunaway name. She hoped for Stewart’s sake that he was prepared for the same reaction.

Glancing at the office door, Phoebe smothered another sigh, this one in resignation. Lunch would probably go on for two hours and then she had five hours of work that she’d love to get done in three. Lach was bringing her home a gift in the form of a corset and she couldn’t wait to see what style, fabric, and color that he chose. As she closed the restroom door behind her, she wondered if Ms. Alder would notice her lack of attention. She had no doubt that her mind would be on the lists that she was supposed to be creating.

*   *   *   *

Lach rubbed his eyes, absolutely hating this part of the job. At least Taryn and Ethan were out of the office, allowing someone else to make the coffee. Kevin, Jax, and Connor had joined him at the conference table about an hour prior. The intelligence they were going over had been written by innocuous analysts in one government agency or another, although he wasn’t able to determine based on its contents if the reports were favors owed to Crest or if the government was actually trying to locate Ryland on their own. The man did escape from federal prison, but according to the names at the bottom of these documents, the search went higher up than even Lach would have considered applicable.

Instead of focusing on the official reports, Lach had decided to go back through Yvette Capre’s past. Everyone knew that she was an integral part of the investigation, but with the woman only existing on paper for ten years, it was difficult to uncover her real identity. The only one true aspect that they were aware of was that Yvette Capre was related to Taryn. The questions of how, why, and to what end this actually meant for Ryland were abundant.

“Pizza’s here,” Jessie announced, carrying in three boxes from Pizza Luce, the local favorite pizza place. It didn’t take long for them to relieve her of the cardboard cartons. “Use paper plates. I don’t want to have to clean up the damn mess.”

“You heard her,” Crest said, walking into the room and right over to the counter where Jessie always kept the paper items well stocked. “We’re not heathens, gentlemen.”

“So you say,” Jessie muttered as she turned on her heel and walked back to her desk.

Jax either coughed or laughed, it was impossible to say, while the rest of them opened the lids and dug in, catching plates thrown by Crest. Lach needed to stretch his legs, so he took his dish with a couple of slices of pizza on it and walked over to his cubicle. Taking out his phone, he checked on the text he’d sent earlier. Sure enough, Lauren had sent him a picture of the corset he’d ordered yesterday. She was a sweetheart and put his request to the front of the line. The corset she’d adorned with gems looked stunning and the sapphires would match the color of Phoebe’s eyes. He couldn’t wait until he saw the look on her face when he presented it to her.

Lach shoved his phone back inside his front denim pocket and then took a bite of his lunch. The zesty Italian flavor was exactly the way he liked it, but his break didn’t last long. Crest was calling for Lach to return to the table. He really couldn’t wait for the new case to start tomorrow morning.

“What do you have?” Lach asked, coming around the corner of his cubicle.

“Ethan called this morning.” Crest was sitting at the table, the papers having been pushed aside to make room for his lunch. He’d tucked his tie inside his shirt and was wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Taryn’s trip up north was a bust, so they’re heading back tomorrow after she visits an elderly aunt who resides in a local nursing home.”

“Any chance the older woman would know something?” Kevin asked around a large bite of food. Lach finished off his two slices before reaching in between Jax and Connor to where the pizza loaded with meat sat with only two pieces left. Lach grabbed both before walking back around the table and reluctantly taking a seat. He wondered if Phoebe had written her list yet or if she was still at Manny’s Steakhouse. “Coming from a large family, the older generation is a wealth of information.”

“Taryn was told that her aunt’s health had declined rapidly and that she was bedridden—sleeping most of the time and when she is awake, not so coherent.” Crest polished off his serving and then turned another box his way. “If Taryn’s mother’s side of the family knows who Yvette Capre is they aren’t letting on.”

“Her father’s family lives where?” Connor asked, getting up from the table and grabbing a soda from the small fridge. When Jax whistled and held up his hands, Connor threw the can. He made additional tosses and then he finally snatched one for himself. “Wisconsin, right?”

“Some are located down in Texas,” Crest replied, finally leaning back in his chair. “Taryn and Ethan will take a trip down there next.”

Lach threw his unfinished slice of pizza back onto his plate. Texas rang a bell and he scanned through a few papers until coming upon the one that might just be lead they were all looking for. Sure enough, Texas was the state he’d seen on a credit card.

“Taryn’s family wouldn’t happen to be from Houston, would they?” Lach looked at the paperwork that Taryn had printed out for them regarding Capre’s timeline while she’d been alive. “We know according to the few documents that have surfaced Yvette came into existence ten years ago, and who we figure was molded by Ryland to enter the life as a hired assassin. Right?”

“This is the most confusing bullshit,” Jax muttered, pushing his plate away and throwing his napkin down with disgust. “Ryland has got his fingers in practically all of our lives.”

“There is no doubt that Taryn is at the heart of it.” Crest held out his hand for the paper that Lach was holding. “Are you telling me that we overlooked something as simple as a logistics connection?”

“No,” Lach replied, shaking his head. He dispensed the document to Crest before looking for another. “Not necessarily. Taryn supplied us with all the bank and credit card statements of Capre. I mapped out the path she took from California, which is where the name Yvette Capre originated in, to New York. She must have taken a scenic route with a goal in mind, but there’s a reason why the trail never connected to Texas.”

“There is no reason good enough.” Crest rose from his seat and with the credit card statement in hand.

“Yvette had a habit of using specific credit cards on specific assignments,” Lach said, carrying on the conversation anyway. He understood where Crest was coming from, yet it didn’t change the fact that the information wasn’t uncovered until now. “I was looking over the charges today and it wasn’t until you mentioned Texas that something clicked. Look at this statement.”

Lach stood as well, handing over a piece of paper that was most likely a solid lead in a mass of flops. He hoped like hell it was, because this cat and mouse game between the team and Ryland had overrun its time limit. Lach missed the days of mundane assignments and being able to attend Masters on a regular basis. Having Phoebe in his life just fortified his need to see this investigation closed so that he could enjoy his personal life without an overhanging threat. Fortunately, he had something for his woman that the rest of them didn’t have—a twenty-four hour Secret Service agent.

“Capre used a separate credit card for one charge only on her way to New York…that happened to be on a stop near Houston, Texas. It appears she purposefully used a different card than the one she was utilized for the trip. The dates match up. The question is why would Capre do that.”