Kansas Nights [Kansas Heat 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (44 page)

He spoke to her like one would an errant or wayward child, but even that bit of warmth wouldn’t last long. Marion had no doubt that the whole town would turn their backs on her once they found out about everything. George would cut her free and probably curse her name, anything that would save his political career.

No, she’d be alone except for her children. They would stand by her side. That only meant she’d have to look them in the eye knowing they knew the truth about her. Marion couldn’t bear that.

* * * *

The sheriff paused to give Marion a chance to respond to that. Jack followed his gaze, peering around the counter to scan the rows of bookcases for any kind of movement. Nothing but grim silence greeted them as they waited. While Jack didn’t expect for Marion to make any kind of effort, Tony clearly held higher hopes of avoiding a shootout.

“Now, Marion, you know we got this place surrounded.” Keeping his tone calm and rational, the sheriff still managed to project his words deep into the library. “So there is no escape and only two ways for you to get out of this library—”

Bang!

The deafening blast of a gun going off had Jack’s head snapping in the direction of the shot. It had come from somewhere way back in the stacks of bookcases, but no bullet had sailed from that direction. In that second, Jack knew Marion hadn’t been shooting at them, but had decided to make the only escape she could. Her statement couldn’t have been clearer, given she’d obviously removed the silencer from her gun. Marion Myers had killed herself.

While Jack felt some amount of satisfaction in her decision, mostly he saw the complication. Now, all they had were two more dead bodies and Kathy left alone in the middle. There would be no way to convince Tagger that Kathy was innocent in all of this. Maybe legally a good lawyer could prove it, but that wouldn’t make a difference to the direction Jack knew the investigation was about to turn in.

The weight of the future had Jack slumping to his ass even as chaos erupted all around him. The front windows shattered a second before deputies started pouring into the library. They moved in tight formations with guns up as they swept through the lobby and into the rows of bookcases. A small trickle of federal agents followed behind them, moving at a slower pace as they scanned the library, not simply for the shooter but for something more.

The question of what had Jack’s gaze narrowing on them as he wondered how they’d gotten here so fast. No doubt Tagger was monitoring the local police transmissions, but that didn’t explain why there were so many. This wasn’t a last-minute, slapped-together team. Tagger was up to something. Spying the man lurking outside, half hidden in the shadows, Jack decided to go and ask him. Lifting up onto his feet, Jack shook the dust from his pants as Tony stepped up beside him.

“I’m going to take care of everything here, but later I expect an answer for why your boys didn’t call earlier.” The smile Tony offered Jack was twisted full of the same violent promises gleaming in his eyes. “Then I’ll give you my response.”

“You can take that attitude elsewhere. Collin called you the second we knew where Kathy was,” Jack shot back, not about to take heat for this mess. He hadn’t been the one to point out to Marion Myers that her resistance was futile.

“Is that a fact?” Tony lifted a brow as several of the federal agents started to shout for aid as they began digging madly through the pile of books mounded over the toppled bookcases. “I think they found your boy. Like I said—
later
.”

Jack ignored Tony’s threat as he scowled at the men yelling for an ambulance. They were digging somebody out and it sure as hell wasn’t Marion. Jack really couldn’t see, but he could hear well enough to know in those seconds that an agent was down. An agent who had been in the library while Marion had been hunting Kathy. Jack’s stomach tightened in a nauseating rush as he looked back to find Tagger staring him right in the eye, not a foot away.

“We need to talk.”

* * * *

Everything happened so fast, Kathy felt like the world was spinning away from her. There were gunshots and shouting, glass breaking, and the shrill wail of sirens as light began to strobe over the street from all directions. Chaos broke out in every direction, and through it all, Collin held her tight, keeping her safe. Letting the warm comfort of his arms keep the craziness of the world at bay, Kathy ignored everything else until Collin finally forced her to let go.

“Come on, Kathy.” Collin settled her into a chair, forcing her to straighten up as he slipped her arms free from his neck. “Wake up now, sweetness.”

Kathy hadn’t figured she’d been asleep, but that didn’t make Collin wrong. Blinking as she looked around, she didn’t recognize the room he brought her to. That didn’t mean she couldn’t take a guess at where they were. The hard, linoleum floor, sterile white walls, utilitarian table and chairs spoke for themselves. Collin had brought her to an interrogation room.

“You better not turn out to be a federal agent,” Kathy grumped as she pinned Collin with a tired look. “If you’ve been deceiving to me—”

“Me?” Collin stumbled to a halt, choking on his own gasp. “
Me?!
Trust me, sweet meat, there is only
one person
in this relationship who finds it constantly necessary to lie, misdirect, manipulate, and deceive the rest of us, and
it ain’t me!
”

Kathy cringed under the heated blast of that roar. While she deserved every last one of his curses, it had been a long night and she was too tired to fight anymore. It didn’t matter that she knew there were a lot of important things she had to explain and questions to answer, she felt drained and it took nearly all her energy just to hold her head up.

Collin, clearly, had no such problem, but he managed to bite back whatever harsh words lingered behind his clenched jaw. The effort cost him, making his whole body tense as his nostrils flared with the kind of rage Kathy hadn’t thought Collin capable of. Right then he looked ready and willing to tear into her with the kind of vengeance that would certainly mark the end of their relationship.

“Damnit, Kathy, don’t look at me like that.” Collin growled, giving her a small squeeze to go with his softening scowl. “I have every reason to be pissed at you.”

“Yes, you do,” Kathy agreed softly. “But could you be mad later?”

“Fine,” Collin grunted, sounding less than pleased with his own agreement. “But don’t think that changes much. You are going to get yelled at…by the sheriff, by Jack, probably by his boss, and I imagine any number of other people will join in on the chorus.”

“Thanks, that makes me feel a whole lot better.” Kathy sighed deep, not resisting as he snuggled her into a bear hug. Collin nuzzled his chin through her hair to whisper softly in her ear.

“But just remember, I am going to forgive you.”

Like a warm ray of sunshine on a bitter winter day, that promise eased some of the tiredness weighing her down. Instinctively she rested her head against Collin’s shoulder, and gave herself over to the soothing stroke of his hand down her back.

“Tell me who to trust,” Kathy ordered in a soft whisper, uncertain of the future and questions she knew would be coming. “I don’t think I know anymore, Collin.”

Warm palms cupped her cheeks as his hands framed her face, lifting her chin until their gazes locked. “You trust me, don’t you?”

“Always.” That might not have been true before tonight, but Kathy would stand by that vow from that day forth.

“And Jack?”

“Despite my better judgment.” It took a lot for Kathy to admit that, mostly because she knew he couldn’t return the sentiment. As a federal agent, his job had to come before her. Kathy might not like being on uneven terms with Jack, but that didn’t change the fact that she did trust him.

“Then answer his questions and rest assured I won’t let the answers land you in jail.” Collin offered her a small smile with that assurance.

Before Kathy could tell him she would try, the door to the interrogation room banged open and a small, very pissed-off-looking man filled the entrance. Dressed in khakis and a wrinkled shirt, the man’s badge bent over his belt no doubt matched the “DEA” embroidered on his jacket. He had the appearance to match the outfit, with his Ken-doll haircut and his all-American good looks.

The only thing out of place was his asshole attitude. Clearly irritated beyond even thinking of being polite, his brown eyes narrowed instantly on Collin.

“Leave. Now.”

“I don’t—”

“It’s all right, Collin.” This man, Kathy could handle. She’d been groomed for this moment in a lot of ways. That confidence finally returned to her as she offered Collin a small smile. “After all, I’m sure you can watch everything on the other side of that mirror.”

Kathy nodded in the direction of her own reflection, feeling certain there was already a gaggle of men crowded in to catch the show. Collin, however, was reluctant to join them. Giving Kathy’s hand a squeeze, he trudged toward the door with reluctant steps that stalled out when he reached the agent.

“I
will
be watching.”

There was a threat buried in Collin’s words. One the agent ignored as he did Collin. He simply waited until Collin had made it far enough over the threshold that he could slam the door behind him.

“Miss Coben.” The agent didn’t even wait for the wall to finish shuddering before addressing her with a forced smile that showed way too many teeth.

“Agent…”

“Who I am is not really relevant at this moment,” the man assured her as he strutted forward to drop a rather thick file on the table. “After all, you are the more interesting person in this room.”

“Such flattery,” Kathy retorted, keeping her tone as emotionless as she could. “I think we’ll call you Agent Crankyass.”

“Call me whatever you want, Miss Coben, just as long as you understand that you are a person of interest in an ongoing federal investigation. I have a few questions I’d like to ask you. You are not, however, required to answer them and do have the right to leave whenever you want or to retain counsel if you so choose. Would you care to exercise either one of those options?”

Kathy knew a smart person would say “yes” and a cautious one would want a lawyer. She, however, didn’t tend to be either of those two things. Instead, she returned the agent’s tight smile and nodded to the chair across from her.

“We’re all on the same team here, aren’t we? Why wouldn’t I want to help you and your investigation any way I could?” Kathy asked so sweetly as to be completely insincere.

“How very patriotic,” Agent Crankyass retorted. His tone remained harsh, the words sneered with enough disgust that they sounded as honest as hers had. “Of course, I would expect nothing less of a Marine’s daughter. How do you think your father would feel about your current situation?”

“Call and ask him.” Knowing he wanted her to feel guilt or concern about her daddy’s response, Kathy could only be amused instead. “That should be an interesting conversation.”

“Yes, well—”

“Look.” Kathy cut the agent off, already tired of the diplomatic bullshit that came with these kinds of games. “I’ve had a long day, so why don’t I just tell you what I know along with what happened, and then you can stop pretending like you know or care anything about my family. Okay?”

The man sat there simply staring at her for so long Kathy began to think he did it as a way of punishing her for interrupting him. Eventually, though, he nodded. “Fine. We’ll start there.”

As agreeable as he appeared, the agent pestered her with so many questions that it took her nearly two hours to tell a story that should have only taken thirty minutes. The whole time, Kathy half expected Jack to show up and interfere. He didn’t, though, making her wonder just where he’d disappeared to. Her concern that the answer meant bad news grew as the agent before her started asking questions about Jack.

“I think now is when I ask for that lawyer.” Kathy settled back in her seat. “I’ve told you all you need to know. Go find whatever Eddie buried and that will give you the rest of your answers.”

“Don’t worry, we intend to,” Agent Crankyass assured her as the door shoved open and a scrawny-looking man who was way over tanned stepped in. “But don’t think this is the end of our conversation.”

“I believe it is,” the newcomer contradicted the agent. With an authority he must have been born with, the little man stepped up to take on that argument without any hesitation. “My client said she was done talking to you and I’ll ensure that wish is granted,
Agent Tagger
. Now if you will excuse us, I would like to have a private conversation with my client.”

“Certainly.” Retreating, he paused at the door to cast Kathy a smirk that only made her hate him more. “Just one thing. If the whole point of this was to help your friend Amanda…you didn’t change anything in that regard. Only proved that nobody else near Will could have been involved, except…maybe…you.”

“
Agent
—”

Before her lawyer could finish snapping out his name, Tagger slammed the door, leaving that threat to linger. Not that it appeared to faze the attorney. He didn’t even take a second to brush off the agent’s snide comment before he turned and offered her a hand along with a smile.

“I’m Thomas Townsend of Townsend and Lee, Attorneys at Law. Amos Calhan has retained our services to assist you with your current legal trouble.”

“Really?” Kathy took the card he handed her, not certain she trusted or believed him. “Why would he do that?”

“Are you not his employee?” Thomas answered her question with his own.

It took her a moment to consider that as the question forced her to face the inevitable reality that she was about to lose her job. Once the county council heard her name associated with a federal investigation involving murder, drugs, and missing millions, Kathy would be out a job.