Do You Trust Me? (20 page)

“You still think she
knows something?” Noel asked.

Sully dipped his
head. “Yes, but that’s no reason to play fast and loose with her life. She’s
not, after all, one of my agents.”

“With all due
respect, Sully, we’re running out of options. If you have to turn the screws,
that’s what you have to do. We can’t find a fingerprint record of the two men
who were killed, which in itself is suspicious. We know who’s involved in this
plot, and we can plant bugs to track them. I also understand the bill that’s
got everyone so jittery is coming out of committee a week early. That means
they may have to make their move before they find John’s evidence and hope they
come out clean.”

Sully sighed heavily.
“Risky for them.”

“Yes, it is. But
letting the president sign the bill is even riskier. Brechtel’s entire empire
is built on the illegal arms he smuggles along with the machinery and goods he
supplies legally overseas. His sole source provider contract gives him a lot of
freedom.”

“And there’s no way
he’s about to let his gravy train come to an end. Never mind that the arms Brechtel
sells are used most of the time to kill our own people.”

It was an endless
argument and they both knew it.

“Well.” Sully sat
forward in his chair. “We need to figure out how to up the ante a little. Get
me the president’s schedule for the next two weeks and every detail of this big
hoorah in Texas. And get McCall on the phone. We can’t sit on our hands while
the country self-destructs.”

****

“The best opportunity
we have is his appearance at the Alamo event,” Brechtel reiterated. “I’ve
studied his schedule and although the security will be upped, there are more
opportunities for my shooter to get close.”

He, Patterson, and Hanes
were seated in his limousine on a side road in the Virginia forest. It had been
a long drive for a short meeting but secrecy was crucial. He’d also insisted
the two politicians drive separately to two different pickup points. And
finally, he’d had his driver take evasive action to be sure they didn’t have a
tail.

“Because it’s
outside,” Patterson concurred.

“Yes. Security is a
lot easier to breech when you’re not in a building. Lucky for us he decided to
accept the governor’s invitation to appear.”

“Your shooter will
have to be there long before the Secret Service does its recon,” Hanes reminded
him.

“Not necessary. We’ve
made other arrangements to circumvent the guards. Besides, the person I have in
mind is used to this type of thing. The price will be high, but not as much as
if that jackass signs the bill Congress is voting on.”

“Well,” Patterson
said, looking at the printout they were sharing. “The event begins at one in
the afternoon. I have the whole program here. He’s scheduled to speak about one
thirty. They’ll bring him in by helicopter and walk him directly to the stage.
Your shooter is going to have to be ready for the one moment he’s standing
there alone.”

“Don’t you worry
about that part. You just make sure the schedule doesn’t change. And keep
Heller from wetting his pants. All we need is for him to fall apart.”

Hanes looked at
Brechtel. “Andrew, I know what’s at stake here, but have we really stopped to
consider what we’re doing? We’re planning to kill the president of the United States.”

“And replace him with
someone more pliable.” He massaged his jaw, working to control his temper. “He’s
just a man, Everett, like any other man. He puts his pants on one leg at a
time. But right now, he’s a man who could destroy us all.”

“But-”

“But nothing.”
Brechtel gave a short, humorless laugh. “Just remember, if you and Bryce
Patterson didn’t love the good life so much, you wouldn’t even be involved
here. So shut up and let’s get this done.”

“And Rina Devargas?”
he asked.

“That’s all set, too,”
Brechtel told them. “She’ll be out of there before anyone knows she’s gone. All
right.” He folded his copy of the printout and stuffed it in his pocket. “We
won’t meet again. Anywhere. Too risky. At this point, I doubt if we’ll talk
again until after Heller’s swearing in.”

“And what do we do in
the meantime?” Hanes asked.

“Keep your mouth shut
and your nose clean. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want to read about on the
front page of
The Washington Post.”

****

There were some
things Andrew Brechtel didn’t know about, however. Like the GPS locators fixed
to the underside of the congressmen’s cars. The one piece of information they
had gotten from John before they lost his call was that the two members of
congress were somehow involved. Both cars were parked in assigned spaces when
at their offices, and Sully’s men were good at being undetected.

There was also one
under Brechtel’s car. That had been a little trickier to handle. Fortunately,
at a gas stop that week, the driver had decided to step into the men’s room for
a minute. One quick slide under the car and it was done.

Now, in Sully’s
office, he and Noel watched the computer screen, tracking the three vehicles.

“They all drove to Virginia,” Noel commented. “But separately.”

“Yes. And Patterson
and Hanes left their cars in different spots where Brechtel picked them up.
They all went somewhere in his car, then reversed the process.”

“There’s no doubt that
our two esteemed politicians are in Brechtel’s pocket. Whoever hatched this
plot, they’re all in it together, and time’s getting short. I’m afraid they’ve
decided to go ahead and try to take out the president without knowing for sure
about the chip.”

“If we could get our
hands on whatever proof John had, things would go a lot easier. This way we
look like crazed idiots.”

“They’ve tried twice
to get Rina,” Noel pointed out. “You think they’ll just forget about her?”

Sully shook his head.
“No, and that’s what worries me. They’ll figure if she had something, she’d
already have handed it over. But just in case, they’ll get rid of her, too.”

“But how? We’ve got
her covered like white on rice.”

“That’s what I want
to talk to McCall about. And quickly.” He looked at the sheet of paper in front
of him. “I’m convinced they’ll try to make the hit at the Alamo, where security
will be tougher to maintain.”

“Do you think it’s
time to let the Secret Service in on this?”

“Probably have to.
But first I want to talk to McCall. Did you call him?”

Noel paused a moment.
“Do you think there’s something going on with him and Miss Devargas?”

Sully’s eyebrows
lifted. “Why would you ask that? I’d think with his history he’d avoid that
like the plague.”

“Just a hunch. He won’t
leave the house. Or her. Gage could take over for an hour, you know. Or Les.”

“Yes, well, that’s
very nice. But this will take more than just him. She won’t do him any good if
she’s dead.” He stood up, gathering his stack of papers together. “Call him
back and set up a meeting. I want to see him tonight.”

Chapter Thirteen

When the doorbell
rang, McCall was closest to it and yelled, “I’ve got it.”

He yanked open the
door to find the oldest pizza deliveryman in the world juggling four large
pizza boxes. He gawked, then burst out laughing. “High marks for ingenuity,
Sully.”

Sully grumbled as he
handed over the food to McCall and stamped inside. “It was the best I could do
on short notice. If our friends are watching the house, I didn’t want them to
see me au natural, and I understand you are shackled to Miss Devargas?”

McCall shoved his
hands in his pockets, tightening them into fists to maintain control.

I’m not going to let
Sully or anyone separate me from Rina.
“I think it’s unwise for me to be away from
her at all right now.”

Sully looked at him
hard. “Just remember to do your job.”

McCall’s face
tightened. “You don’t have to worry about that, sir.”

“All right, all right.
This whole damn situation has got me jumpy. Well, let’s take the food in the
kitchen. I’m hungry. I should make you pay me for these.”

Rina had just been
brewing a fresh cup of coffee. When she saw Sully, she went over and shook
hands with him. “Nice to see you, Sully. I think.”

“Just here to do a
little tightening up, Rina. I’ll be out of your hair as quick as I can.” He
looked at McCall, then back at her. “We all agree the event at Alamo Plaza will be the optimum time for these people to act. And you’ll be sitting out
there, too, like a peach ripe for the plucking. If they can kill the president
and get their hands on the evidence at the same time, they’ll be home free. The
event’s only two days away so I wanted to make sure we have everything nailed
down tight.”

“I still think it’s a
bad idea to let her do this,” McCall put in.

Sully gave him a long
look. “I think we’d all rather figure out something else. But they’re still
convinced—as am I
—
that John managed to get evidence that incriminated
them and handed it off to you, Rina.”

He paused, waiting
for her to comment. She simply sat in her chair with her lips pressed together.
Finally, she slapped her palms on the table. “Stop it. I’m a big girl. I can
make decisions for myself. I’m not canceling out on the biggest signing of my
career, and if it helps draw out the bad guys, so much the better. I’ll just
have to trust you all to take very good care of me.”

“Rina,” McCall began.

“Don’t you ‘Rina’ me.”
She lifted her chin defiantly. “I’ve been nearly kidnapped, shot at, my house
has been broken into and ravaged. My brother is probably dead, and you’re using
me as bait on your very bare hook. I think I deserve more than being shuffled
off to Buffalo here.”

The silence was thick
while everyone waited to see what Sully would do. Finally, he nodded his head.
Once. “All right. But we better make sure everyone knows their roles and there’s
no margin for error. Remember. They’ll be trying to get at you to retrieve
whatever they think John gave you as well as accomplish their assassination
plot. You’ll have to follow our orders exactly.”

“Fine.” She turned
away and began pulling out plates and napkins.

When they were all
seated at the table and the pizza had been served around, Sully related
everything they’d managed to find out so far—Brechtel, Patterson, Hanes, the
bill, the plot against the president.

As he talked, Rina
tamped down her feelings of guilt. The proof they needed to arrest everyone was
hanging around her neck, but still she hesitated. What if she pulled it out now
and gave it to the wrong person? Every time she was ready to tell McCall, something
he did made her suspicious.

Yet I take him into
my bed every night.

“We’re sure he’ll use
the same assassin he always has,” Sully said.

“He’s been too
efficient and harder to find than Houdini. And for something like this, Brechtel
will want the best.”

“Can’t we get a line
on the guy somewhere?” Gage asked. “In all this time, you’d think you could get
a smell of him.”

McCall shook his
head. “Slick. That’s the only word to describe him. It isn’t just that no one
will talk. I don’t think anyone actually knows who it is.”

“Which is why I’m
sure that’s who’ll be after the president.”

Rina listened without
saying a word, but the more she heard, the sicker she felt. She realized now,
as Sully described the kind of person Andrew Brechtel was, how easy it had been
to trap John. If, indeed, that’s what they had done. And how nonchalantly they
would dispose of her. Anyone who would plot against the president wouldn’t
waste a tear on Rina Devargas. McCall was right to take precautions with her.

Time was running out
for her to make a decision. Once again she wished desperately for some sign as
to what she should do.

Trust no one, Dusty.
You’ll know when the time is right.

Exactly how was she
supposed to know? She hoped she wouldn’t wake up in two days and find out the
president was dead. The whole thing was making her crazy!

“Are you letting the
Secret Service know what’s up?” McCall asked.

“Yes. I can’t wait
any longer, even though we don’t have the proof we need in our hands. We have
to hope they’ll just trust us on this one.”

“So where does that
leave Rina?”

“Yes,” she chimed in.
“Where does that leave me?”

“In a very precarious
position, I’m afraid.” Obviously, Sully was trying to choose his words with
care. “They may have decided, whatever you have, you aren’t sharing with
anyone, for whatever reason. Or maybe they don’t even think you still have it.
But just in case, I’d guess they’ll try to neutralize you. Whether they succeed
or fail in this attempt, they can’t worry about leaving loose ends around.”

“Neutralize?” she
shrilled. “You mean kill me?”

Sully nodded. “I want
to go over every bit of your security with McCall. And I’m leaving the whole
team in place. We can’t take any chances. But it also means you cannot leave
this house until we say so. Agreed?”

“But I thought the
idea was to use me to draw them out? That was the whole plan. How will they get
at me?”

Sully cleared his
throat. “We’re hoping they’ll make another try here, where we can control the
situation. Outside events leave too much to chance. Rina, I’ll ask you for the
last time, did John give you something to hide for him? Or tell you where you
could find it?”

Rina looked down at
her hands. “I don’t have anything to tell you.”

“Don’t you think,
with the stakes as high as they are, he’d want you to turn over anything you
might have to me?” Sully’s tone had softened.

What if you’re the
traitor, Sully? How long am I supposed to wait for some kind of sign? Oh, God,
I don’t know any more.

But her promise to
John was her last link to him. She wasn’t about to chance making a wrong move
no matter what.

She curled her hands
into fists in her lap and forced herself to remain calm. “We’ve been over this
so many times I can recite it by heart, but isn’t it more likely John would
turn something over to you than to me? You’re his boss.”

“He gave his life to
protect this evidence. He tried to get it to his team. If these people succeed
in killing President Brandon and we have no proof of their conspiracy, think
what else they might feel free to do.”

She looked at the
faces watching her. If the traitor was sitting here at the table, it would be
so easy for him just to dispose of them all and make off with the chip. Why
hadn’t Sully been able to ferret him out by now? Somehow she had to figure out
who was safe—and who wasn’t—on her own.

“All I know is John is
probably dead and my life isn’t my own any more. I’m going upstairs. Plot
whatever you want to.”

She cleared the
table, her hands slightly unsteady, while Sully and the men discussed how to
tighten up the security around her. She had just put the last of the dishes in
the dishwasher when her phone rang.

“I’ll get it.” Gage
reached for it at once. He spoke briefly, more of an argument actually, then
handed the receiver to Rina. “You friend, Laurel. I’ve been stalling her again,
but it seems she won’t go away.”

“I heard that,” Laurel fumed when Rina came to the phone. “I’m your best friend and you don’t want to talk
to me? And who was that answering the phone? How many people are staying with
you, anyway?”

“It’s a little
complicated,” Rina told her. “And I’m not trying to get rid of you, Laurel.
Honest.” She pulled an excuse out of her head. “I’m just on an accelerated
deadline with this book. They want the first five chapters by Friday instead of
in two weeks. And I have another set of galleys to proof. I’m locked up in my
house until I get it all done.” She paused, then lowered her voice in what she
hoped was a sexy whisper. “And of course, McCall demands a lot of my time.”

“I’d think you could
spare a minute or two for me,” Laurel huffed. “I’ve hardly talked to you all
week. And all this stuff that’s happening to you. Something’s going on and you
won’t tell me.”

“Nothing’s going on, Laurel,” Rina said, her voice tired. “I’ve had some unpleasantness with a fan, and I got
caught in a drive-by in a parking lot. That’s all.”

She had to bite back
the overwhelming urge to dump all her fears and uncertainties on Laurel and get her wisecracking point of view. Laurel was the only sane person in this
whole nightmare. She’d get a good read on everyone. Especially McCall. Of
course, her answer would probably be, “If you don’t trust him, look at what you’re
doing as a physical exercise to let off steam. I never yet kicked a good man
out of bed. But if you do trust him, what the fuck are you waiting for?”

And that was the sixty-four
dollar question. Was she waiting for some mysterious signal that might never
come? Would disaster arrive while she was playing some game?

She sighed. “I’m just
tired. Honest. And trying to meet my deadlines.”

“Let me bring over a
bottle of wine,” Laurel cajoled. “We’ll get a little tipsy like we usually do.
Surely McCall can spare you for a couple of hours.”

Rina bit her lip. She
knew everyone would pitch a fit, but she really wanted to see her friend. And maybe
this was just what she needed. If it didn’t help her get her head on straight,
at least maybe enough wine would make her not care.

“I’d love it. How
about in an hour? Is that good?”

“Perfect. See you
then.”

She gathered her
courage and headed for the kitchen to break her news.

“What?” McCall
exploded. “That’s impossible. No one comes in or out right now except us. You
know that. Call her back right away.”

“No.” Rina set her
jaw. “I’m about ready to fall apart. I need a couple of hours of silly female chatter.
It’ll be good medicine for me.”

“I can’t permit it.”
Sully was just as obstinate as she was.

“Permit it?” Rina jammed
her fists on her hips. “Unless you want to arrest me, I’m still free to come
and go from my own home and invite my own guests. Laurel will be here in an
hour. She’s no threat to anyone. You can all disappear except McCall.”

“And exactly what am
I, your hot lover, supposed to be doing while you and Laurel indulge in
whatever?”

“Working on your
laptop upstairs. You
are
supposedly in this neck of the woods on
business, right?”

The silence in the
room was charged with electricity. The men glared at her, but Rina refused to
back down.

Finally, Gage said, “I
think we can back off on this, Sully. Nothing’s going to happen in the next
couple of hours, and Laurel’s an old friend of Rina’s. What harm can there be?”

“All right.” Sully
rose from the table. “But don’t push me, Rina. Remember, I’m only interested in
saving your life.”

“I’m going to the den,”
she said. “When Laurel gets here, would you please tell her that’s where I am?
Nice to see you again, Mr. Raines.” She turned to walk down the hall.

McCall caught up with
her at the door to the den. He stared at her as if he could see right into her
head, then unexpectedly pressed his lips hard against hers. Before she even
realized what was happening, it was over and he was headed back to the kitchen.

Rina rubbed her mouth
where his had touched her. All evening he’d seemed angry with her for some
reason. Now he kissed her senseless. What the hell was that all about?

She wanted to bury
her head on her arms and let herself have a good cry.

****

“I thought I was
banished for the duration.” Laurel breezed through the door to the den, closing
it after her with a little more force than necessary. She waved two bottles of Rina’s
favorite blush wine. “I brought sustenance for a good gabfest.”