Forever Driven: Forever Bluegrass #4 (9 page)

“Baby,” DeAndre sighed.

“What, sugarbear? It’s the truth. From my lips to God’s ears,” Aniyah said as she pressed her hand to her cross and then offered it up to God above.

Riley set her sandwich down and turned in her chair to face Aniyah. “I just so happen to need a person who can tell the difference between caviar and shit. Someone who can stand her ground against preening peacocks who think they are entitled to anything they want at any time. Can you do that?”

“Sugar, if I can stay polite while a customer is telling me they’ll track me down and shoot me for their cable going out during a University of Kentucky basketball game, then I can handle some old pushy politician.”

“Then you’ve got yourself a job, and I have a spying secretary to fire.” Riley grinned and shook Aniyah’s hand.

D
eAndre
and the head of human resources watched as Karen packed up her belongings. Karen had kept her mouth closed and denied all that Matt had overheard. Instead of confessing, she had fought it. She’d even pulled up her bank records and had shown the head of HR there were no deposits from any suspicious sources; however, Riley wasn’t buying it. She’d already sent a message to her cousin Ryan and asked that the FBI look into it. He texted back that he’d have Karen interviewed by one of his agents but warned it would be a hard case to prosecute unless there was physical evidence of money changing hands.

Karen paled as DeAndre gave her a nudge through the door now surrounded by as many staff members as could fit. It probably didn’t seem real to her until Karen saw all the people whispering about her and knowing she was going to be scrutinized by every person on the Hill.

Riley saw Marge Stanley’s assistant among them, texting everything that was going on. “Jean,” Riley called out as the woman stopped midtext. “Tell Marge I want to see her immediately.”

Jean looked like a deer caught in the headlights as all the staffers turned to look at her. “Um, she’s in a meeting right now.”

Riley smiled grimly. “If she can read your texts, then she isn’t really paying attention anyway. Tell her to get her ass in my office, or I’ll send the FBI in to get her.”

The only sound was Jean swallowing hard and the sound of thirty staffers frantically texting their bosses.

“Excuse me. Please step to the side. I know this is all very exciting, but back to work, people!” Angela Cobb entered the office, clapping her hands and sending the staffers scurrying back to report all the juicy details to their bosses. She shut the office door and let out a sigh. “Oh my gosh, Riley. Is it true?”

Riley nodded. “I can’t believe it. I know I’m a newbie, but spying? Peel and Stanley have gone too far. I’m filing ethics charges against them, and the FBI is now involved.”

Angela shot a look to Matt and lowered her voice. “Who’s he?”

“Matt, he’s . . .” Riley started but Matt stepped closer and interrupted.

“A journalist with
The Keeneston Journal
here to shadow Ms. Davies until resolution has been made on the highway,” Matt cut in and held out his hand.

Angela gave her fake smile and shook Matt’s hand. “A reporter, great,” she said in a way that made it clear she didn’t mean it.

“It’s okay,” Riley soothed. “Matt has assured me I would have first look and veto rights to the final piece. We can speak freely in front of him.”

“Honey, nothing is ever off the record when a reporter is involved. Excuse us, Mr. . . .?

“Walsh,” Matt provided even as Riley shot a confused glance at him for using a different last name.

“I need a private, off-the-record, free-from-reporters talk with Ms. Davies.” Angela smiled prettily before whisking Riley into her office and shutting the door. “Now what in the hell is going on? The FBI, really? It’s going to turn this session into even more of a circus than it already is!”

Riley blinked in surprise. “You don’t think I should take full recourse for spying and potential bribery, or the possible blackmailing of my secretary?”

Angela waved her question aside. “Of course I do, but it could have waited until after the session. Damn, we’re so close to the end, and now we’ll never get anything done. Haven’t you learned that in politics it’s all about timing?”

Riley stood straighter and crossed her arms over her chest. “If this puts their votes in contention, then I’d say the timing in pretty damn perfect. And no, I didn’t run to be a politician. I ran to fix a flawed system that believes in waiting for a
better
time
to punish those who break the law. Sorry, Angela, but I will not back down. First I’m attacked, then my secretary is spying for the opposition; I won’t stand for it and I shouldn’t be scolded for it either.”

Angela’s face fell. “Oh, no! That’s not what I meant. I just thought you could have handled this better. If you had come to me first, I could have helped you get everything organized so it would happen at the end of the day after most of the people left the building. As your mentor, I just have to warn you that it will have the opposite effect from what you wanted.”

“I don’t understand,” Riley said in confusion.

“Instead of being asked about how devastating the highway will be, the media will only care about your secretary being used as a spy. The highway is as good as forgotten now. I’m sorry.”

Riley collapsed onto the chair. “You’re right. I didn’t think about that. What do I do?”

Angela took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “We have until the end of the week to pass the budget so the Senate can look at it. I’m sorry, but without the media’s focus on this, I don’t know if we’ll have the votes to send it to the Senate without the highway proposal in it. We need those three votes and right now this topic has just become a hot potato no one is going to want to get caught with. Nothing like the words
corruption, bribery,
and
spying
to turn chatty politicians silent.”

“Well, that’s not going to stop me,” Riley said, sitting up straight. “I’ll lobby for the rest of the week nonstop. I’ll make every interview focus on the highway, and in two days when we vote on the budget, that highway won’t be funded.”

Angela stood up. “I hope so. Good luck, Riley.”

Riley hugged her mentor and walked over to her desk. Friday was the vote on the House budget, and she wasn’t going to rest until that provision was stricken from the bill.

M
att watched as Angela Cobb
, the head of the House Appropriations Committee, walked gracefully from the room without bothering to acknowledge him. Matt wrote her name down and turned the lock on the door. Aniyah was with Human Resources having her application fast-tracked, but she wouldn’t be cleared to work until Friday, and he wanted a moment to talk to Riley before anyone burst in.

When Matt walked into Riley’s private office, he found her already on the phone with a House member. Matt took a seat to wait. They had many things, business and personal, to talk about. When there was a knock at the door, he knew it wasn’t going to happen then.

Matt got back up and opened the door to find an irate Marge Stanley, the head of the Senate Budget Committee. “Where is
her highness
?” she snapped.

“Wait here, please,” Matt told her. He tried to hide his smile as he went to Riley’s office. He shouldn’t find humor in this. Any of these people could be the ones behind her attack, but he was surprised to find Aniyah had the right idea. C-SPAN should start a reality show based on this stuff. “Real Congressmen of Kentucky” . . . it would be ratings gold with the backstabbing and doublespeak. He could see the confessionals now.
Marge said she’d vote for my bill and then she voted for Greg’s instead.

Marge didn’t bother to wait. She shoved passed Matt as he opened the door. “Thanks to you and your little stunt that is playing all over the media, I just got a call from the governor. She wants her budget passed now.”

“I’ll have to call you back,” Riley said into the phone without taking her eyes off Marge. Matt slipped in behind Marge and watched quietly. “Am I supposed to be sorry that you were caught spying on me?”

“Spying? I wasn’t spying. All I did was ask
your
secretary where you stood on the budget. Is that spying? You freshmen always come in guns blazing and thinking everyone is out to get you. As if you haven’t tried to ascertain who is in favor of the Keeneston Highway. Grow up, Riley, and learn how to play the game before you’re taken out of it altogether.”

Matt straightened up. “Is that a threat?”

Marge wheeled on him. “Who are you?”

“Matt Walsh, reporter for
The Keeneston Journal
.” Matt saw Riley look confused again. She didn’t understand why he was giving a different name.

“Ah, and all reporters have drug track marks on their arm. I don’t think so. Get out.”

Matt saw Riley’s eyes dart to his forearm where his sleeve was rolled up, but Matt didn’t back down. He dug into his pocket and tossed the press pass at her. “I’m not going anywhere. And for your information, I’m diabetic. I bruise easily and have to move my sites around. Now, I asked you a question. Was that a threat?”

Marge’s face transformed. “Of course it wasn’t a threat,” she said condescendingly. “I was simply educating the freshman representative how things work. How else is she to learn? Now, if you excuse me.” Marge spun on her heel, slamming the door hard as she left.

“Walsh? Drug marks? What’s going on Matt?” Riley asked softly.

“I can’t have people looking me up and finding out I’m a state trooper, or they will know you’re being protected. Your uncle Cade put together a fake identity for me,” Matt explained, hoping Riley wouldn’t ask about the needle marks.

“And the drug tracks? You’re not diabetic, Matt,” Riley said softly.

“And I’m not a saint either,” Matt said more harshly than intended. “I tried to get close to you, and you pushed me away, and now you expect me to tell you everything all at once? I know we’re giving us a shot, but give me a break, Riley. I’m not the same person I was when I had a crush on you last year.”

He saw her suck in a breath as her eyes narrowed.

“Look,” Matt said more softly this time. “All I’m saying is you have no idea what I went through while I was undercover. I had to do a lot of bad things in order to gain the trust of some even worse people, and I don’t need you judging me for it when the whole reason we couldn’t talk about this before was because of your daddy issues.”

“Get out,” Riley whispered, but Matt could hear the command.

Dammit. He hadn’t wanted to start this, but he couldn’t stop himself. “No. I won’t. You’ve been so focused on your little world and protecting your feelings that you haven’t thought of me.”

“Then tell me!” Riley yelled as she slammed her hand on her desk.

“You tell me the real reason you won’t stand up to your father. Tell me why you were so scared to admit you have feelings for me even when you knew I did,” Matt countered.

“I told you,” Riley said as her throat worked hard to keep her voice level. Matt saw it but pressed on.

“I don’t believe you. Why are you hiding? Why is the girl who climbed to the top of the water tower naked on a dare, or who rides horses with no fear, scared to let me get close to her?”

Riley swallowed repeatedly and Matt backed down his harshness. “What is it, Riley? What happened?”

“I had to know who I was first,” she said softly. “I’m always the wild twin, the one who is only good for getting into trouble or doing something outrageous. As you know, Reagan and I went to the University of Kentucky and roomed together. I love my sister. I do. But I needed to be my own person. Reagan was dating a guy, and it was getting serious our freshman year. He wanted me to meet his cousin for a double date. He had heard I liked to party and had said his cousin had quite a wild streak. Reagan pulled me aside and told me she didn’t trust my blind date. I didn’t listen. I was too concerned about being different from my twin to care. I got into a fight with Reagan and she left.

“My date said he understood and listened as I ranted about my sister. Then we were on the dance floor, and he started pushing me too much. He tried to feel me up right there in front of everyone and then he tried to do more. I pushed him away and told him no. He apologized and everything was fine for the next hour as I downed a couple more shots. I know I was underage, but I didn’t care. We were dancing, and I was hot, so he offered to get me a drink. The next thing I know the world is spinning. I pushed past him saying I was going to get sick. I made it to the bathroom and managed to send a text to my dad.”

“What did it say?” Matt asked softly as he slowly stepped closer to her. He didn’t think Riley saw. She was lost in the past.

“SOS. I knew he had a GPS tracker on my phone. I knew he’d come. I just wasn’t able to hold out until he did.” Riley swallowed hard once again. “I remember being picked up off the bathroom tile by my date, and I remember a car. It’s kind of hazy, but I remember trying to push him off me and the car slamming to a stop before my door was thrown open. Uncle Miles reached in and pulled me out. I remember seeing my dad and the rest of his brothers, but that’s it. I woke up later at my parents’ house with my mom beside my bed.”

“What happened to the guy?”

“I don’t want to know. My dad tried to tell me, but I didn’t want to hear it. I never wanted to think of him again,” Riley sobbed. “My father told me to move home after that, and I was happy to do so. I lived in fear for months until Aunt Annie forced me to come over for self-defense lessons with Bridget. I told her I knew all of it. I mean, as if my father didn’t teach me! But she dragged me to Bridget and Ahmed’s gym every day. It took three weeks, but I finally found my confidence again. The trouble was, I had lost myself in the meantime. I wasn’t the risk taker I had been. I faked it. I faked the happiness. I went on dates and was happy to let my father scare them off. It prevented me from having to examine why I didn’t care that they left. It didn’t bother me until you. Okay, that’s not exactly true. It started getting on my nerves as soon as I moved back to Keeneston after college, but you changed all that.”

“Me?” Matt moved to pull her against him, and she rested her head in the crook of his shoulder as one hand encircled his waist and the other rested on his chest.

“Yes, you. I finally cared about someone again. I wanted to take a chance. The trouble was I didn’t know how. I blamed my father, but it was really me. I was just using my father as an excuse because I didn’t know how to open up anymore. Plus, after seeing man after man run from my father’s inquisitions, I found myself thinking if I opened up, it wouldn’t matter since they were all leaving anyway. It’s why I threw myself into this highway project. I wanted to find myself again. To stick up for those who couldn’t stand up for themselves—to regain my power. Then I thought I would have the courage to tell you that I liked you. However, what I told you earlier was also the truth. I was scared you wouldn’t fight for me.”