Blind Faith (15 page)

The senator shook his head. “Only you.”

Darian nodded. “I have two men, hackers, who have discovered the information for me. Only we three

from Red Force are privy to the truth. Right now, anyway.”

Audrey wished she could trust Darian. Unfortunately, a woman who kept secrets didn’t trust anybody, a

lesson she’d learned at her mother’s knee. Trust was a luxury she couldn’t afford—especially right now.

If she told the truth to Nate, the smartest thing for him to do would be to take out both Darian and the

senator—maybe even Ernie. He’d do it, too. To protect his brothers, he’d do anything.

What a complete mess. “Our recommendation is due next week, and the Senate vote is a day later, so

we only have a few days for one of you to discover the commander’s alternate base, if there even is one.”

Oh, there definitely was one—she knew it. “Then we either have to give the money to the commander, or

we have to shut them down. Quietly.”

“Publicly,” Darian said.

The senator glanced from one to the other. “Now that I think about it, Audrey is correct. If possible, we

should do it privately. While the group hasn’t been sanctioned by our government, well, it has done a lot of

governmental work… with taxpayer funding. We can’t go public with all of the information. We want to

shut them down for good with the smallest of fanfare.”

Audrey turned toward Darian. She needed to at least look like she was playing ball. “If you guarantee

privacy and you won’t go public, we’ll guarantee your organization will receive the recommendation for the

funding this year.”

“The next five years,” Darian countered, his eyes darkening to black.

“Deal,” Audrey whispered, caring little that it was the senator’s place to make the promise. At this point,

he’d screwed up enough. She was two seconds from puking on his shoes to make her point. They’d rocked

her world, and she needed a moment to figure things out. How could she protect her mother and Nate?

Right or wrong, she needed to protect both.

Nate had been her one love, and she refused to let him be taken into captivity again. He’d die first, and

while they’d never be together, she needed him out in the world living. Hopefully finding happiness, or at

the very least, some peace.

And Audrey had been a disappointment to her mother for years, a fact she deeply regretted. Logically

she knew the fault lay with Isobel, but in her heart, a young girl still lived who wanted to do better. Who

only wanted her mother to be proud of her. Audrey wouldn’t fail her mother at this juncture—she refused

to do so.

What if to save her mother, she had to hurt Nate? Or vice versa?

She coughed and glanced at her watch. “I have a meeting with Senator Wilcox’s chief of staff about the

arms appropriation vote. Don’t do
anything
about the commander’s group without talking to me first.” That

quickly, that smoothly, power shifted, and she became the ringleader of the hodgepodge group dealing with

the commander.

A position she wanted less than she wanted to be shot in the head.

She hustled back to her office, her gut swirling. What in the world was she supposed to do now?

Calling her mother would be a mistake and would alert the commander to the senator’s duplicity.

With everything she was, she wished she trusted her mother.

What about Nate? She glanced at her phone but didn’t trust her phone enough to call Nate with. Not

even her cell phone was secure enough. She sat and grimaced. Even if she wanted to call him, not only did

she have nothing good to say… but she also didn’t have his phone number. A slightly hysterical laugh

bubbled up from her chest. She’d slept with a guy, the only guy she’d ever loved, and she didn’t even have

a way to get a hold of him.

Life was truly fucked.

Chapter 11

Nathan held out a chair for Lilith at the coffee shop located conveniently across from where Audrey

worked. He made sure to seat himself with his back to a post and an unfettered view through the window.

While he didn’t expect Audrey to be leaving work any time soon, he felt better watching the exit.

As well as the soldier pretending to read a newspaper on a bench near the entrance. So the commander

was still having Audrey followed. Why?

Lilith pushed her blond hair off her face, her eyes glimmering under a smoky shadow.

Audrey’s natural look appealed far more to Nate. He’d spent his life with people changing reality, and

while a bunch of eye shadow didn’t qualify as subterfuge, he liked the natural look. Or maybe he just liked

Audrey.

Yeah, that was probably it.

Good thing he was so self-aware, wasn’t it?

The waitress deposited their coffees in front of them, and Nate reached for his steaming cup.

“Why are you scowling?” Lilith straightened her posture, revealing breasts lifted by a bra working hard.

She pressed her arms in, pushing the mounds higher, just in case he hadn’t noticed.

“I’m not.” He forced a smile, keeping his gaze above her neck.

“Oh.” She pouted out full lips. “I thought we might relax over coffee. Didn’t you have a good time at

dinner last night?”

His mind counted back. Dinner? Sure. Watching Audrey on a date with another man had been

incredibly fun. “We were spying on Darian Hannah and Audrey Madison, remember? Our goal was to

investigate Audrey Madison before making the senator our next offer to create more manufacturing plants

in his state.”

Lilith’s eyes narrowed. “Was that it? For some reason, it seemed like your interest in Audrey went

beyond politics.”

His interest in Audrey went straight to the bedroom. Screw politics. Nate rolled his eyes. “Don’t be silly.

I was merely doing my job.”

Lilith sipped her drink. “If you say so. Though I invited you in that night, and you kindly refused. I

don’t get turned down very often, Jason. Is there somebody else?”

“No. I had more work to do. You know from my résumé that I’m a workaholic.” His fake résumé and

falsified background, that was. Heaven save him from forward women. He didn’t have the energy to deal

with Lilith.

“Maybe. What about another night?”

The woman wasn’t going to give up. “I’d love to make it another night—when are you thinking?”

Hopefully he will have skipped town by then.

“I’m thinking right now, if you’d like to get out of here.” Lilith licked coffee off her lip, making a slow

swipe of doing so.

He tried to pretend interest, but the image of Audrey’s stunning face, eyes glazed with passion, kept

filling his head. What in the hell had he been thinking? One touch, one night with her, and now he was

staking out her place of work. Just to make sure she remained safe.

Forcing himself back into the mission, he smiled at Lilith. “Work first, play later. Right now, I’d like to

know more about lobbyists in the area. What is Darian Hannah’s bio?”

Lilith tapped red nails on the table. “Lately he’s been lobbying for a security firm that hires ex-soldiers

and mainly provides bodyguard services. He goes where the money is.”

“Don’t we all?” Nate sat back, pleased that Sins Security, the company he and his brothers had created,

would never even remotely seek funding from any government. Way too sticky, that. “Who did Darian

work for before?”

“I think a teacher’s union, and before that, the beef industry. As a lobbyist, he is one of the best.” Lilith

gave up all subtlety and ran her bare foot up Nate’s pant leg. Her toes were long and without stockings, and

the big one dug into his sock and tugged down.

Thank goodness she’d ditched the three-inch high heel first. All Nate needed was a cut along his leg to

explain later. He shifted to the left, and she dropped her foot with a large pout.

“I thought you liked me,” she murmured.

“I do.” He lied his ass off. The woman could probably eat him for breakfast and then go hunting again.

“I like to be the one to make a move.” Which, frankly, was rather true.

“Oh.” She sipped her drink, looking thoughtful. “I see. You have to be in control.”

The woman had no idea. “I like to hold the reins.” It was the most truthful he’d been with her. Maybe

now she’d back off.

“Why?” She ran her tongue along the rim of her cup.

He shook his head. “I don’t think we have that much time right now, but doesn’t everything go back to

childhood?”

“I guess.” She studied him. “Did you have a good childhood?”

“Yes. I have two older sisters living in Alabama, where my parents still live and run a small restaurant.”

He recited his cover story.

Lilith smiled. “Two older sisters? No wonder you want to be in control. I bet they dressed you up to

play.”

What did that mean? His playtime with his brothers had included blade fighting and target shooting. He

laughed. “Funny.”

“Thanks. So why haven’t you taken the reins with me?” Her voice lowered to husky.

Because he’d rather mate a grizzly? “I like to know a woman before I make a move. All I know about

you is that you took a job with the PR department of TechnoZyn years ago. Before that?” He listened with

half an ear, keeping his focus on the myriad of people exiting the building across the street.

“Before that? I went to college, and George Fairbanks gave me a good offer to work for the tech firm

upon graduation. PR is my game.” Something clicked under the table. She must’ve slipped her foot into the

shoe that more than likely served as a weapon for fresh kill. “Now you know all about me.”

Somehow, he doubted that. “All right.”

She took another sip, nearly humming. “Do you believe in destiny?”

“No.”

“I don’t, either.” She set down her drink. “But I’m drawn to you. Do you know why?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “I have no idea.” Which was true. Everything he’d garnered about the woman

told him she went for the king of fish, the head dog, the big cheese. In his current cover, he played a

lobbyist. One who answered to her, actually.

She sighed. “I don’t know why, either.” The scent of expensive perfume clouded his nose when she

leaned forward. “But I have excellent instincts, which means there’s more to you than you’ve let on.”

He tuned in completely to her from heart rate to respiration rate. No stress, but definitely some arousal.

“What do you mean?”

“Why are you a lobbyist?” she asked, her lids dropping to half-mast.

He hardened his gaze. “I like money, and I make a lot of it as a lobbyist. Much more than you make.”

“So you care about money.” Respect filled her eyes.

Only for the freedom it provided and the weapons it allowed him to buy. “Of course.”

“I think we have a lot in common,” she said.

Somehow, he doubted that. “How so?”

“You’re determined and dedicated, and I think you’ll end up much wealthier than you are right now.”

Her focus dropped to his lips. “More importantly, I can help you become a powerhouse in DC. Power is so

much more important than money, and I can tell you want it.”

Wow, had she pegged him wrong. Power meant nothing to him unless it kept his family safe, just like

money. He’d like nothing better than to go live a quiet life in Montana away from power, people, and

prestige. “You read people so well.”

The outside door opened, and Fairbanks strode inside. He made his way to their table.

Lilith scooted over to make room. “I told George we’d be here, and he thought we should meet.”

The last thing Nate needed was actual work from his current cover. “Great.”

“We need to finish wrapping up the agreement with Senator Nash before he changes his mind.”

Fairbanks signaled the waitress and ordered a vanilla latte.

“Trouble?” Nate asked, finishing his drink.

“Yes. The senator is a crusader who needs funding for his state. If he finds a more above-board method

to accomplish his goals, he’ll drop any deals with us.” A thread of desperation wound through Fairbanks’s

words.

Nate concentrated on the man’s heartbeat. Too fast. “Why do you really want to build in Wyoming?

Besides providing a type of kickback to the senator?”

“We need the tax breaks and the subsidies,” Fairbanks said bluntly. “The economy hit us harder than

most, and we’re going under if we don’t get a home base that works.”

Odd that he said a home base. Nate nodded, wondering if he should dig deeper into his temporary

boss’s finances. Something was up, but since it didn’t deal with Nate or his family, did he really care? “Why

Wyoming?”

Fairbanks shrugged. “The senator is a good guy, and Wyoming is a long way from DC. We can work

autonomously out there, and we can pursue the scientific world we’ve earned.”

“Huh?” Nate asked.

Lilith laughed. “These days, George here likens modern technology to divination from God, and he

doesn’t like the safeguards put into place by the government.”

Fairbanks leaned forward after glancing around. “I’m working on nanobite technology that will

revolutionize medicine and disease treatments. It’s beyond anything natural, and it’ll make us billions.”

Computers as weapons. Who knew. Nate’s shoulders slowly relaxed. Nanobite technology was