Part 6 (2/2)
”Did Crest come back to the office after leaving the Dunaway's?” Lach didn't bother telling her that he'd purchased quite a few gifts for his nephew over the years and knew exactly what to get a one-year old boy. Jessie liked to think she was taking care of the team and he was inclined to let her. ”He mentioned a conference call.”
”Yes, Gavin arrived around twenty minutes ago. He's got another ten minutes before his video-conference meeting.”
”Thanks.” Lach headed into the core of the office, noticing that no one was around in the cubicles. Kevin and Jax must have headed home. Taryn's light was on, but he'd touch base with her after he spoke with Crest. Knocking lightly on the boss's door, he waited for the okay to enter and then walked in. ”You knew.”
”Yes,” Crest admitted, sitting back in his chair. His tie was loosened and he was holding a pencil in his fist. He pointed toward a chair. ”I knew a couple of weeks ago that Kimmie had written the letters. We had taken handwritten samples from everyone, although close family didn't need to supply one. Dunaway had automatically given us what we needed to rule the family members out. For a brief moment yesterday, I thought maybe Mooney had something to do with it as well with the way the current note was worded.”
”It wasn't the outcome that Dunaway had banked on.” Lach went over to the far wall and leaned his shoulder against it. ”Is there a reason that you didn't share this with the team?”
”Yes.” Crest didn't elaborate though, not that Lach expected him too. The man had his own way of running things and it certainly got the job done. He did expand on why Dunaway hadn't been informed. ”I was hoping that Kimmie would confess, thus leaving this situation for their own internal resolution. I'm just sorry that the trust that family had has now been destroyed.”
”Not destroyed,” Lach corrected, knowing full well that Phoebe would see to it that the family relations were mended. ”Just bruised.”
He saw Crest glance at his watch. Lach figured he had around five minutes to inquire about Ryland. SITREPS had been given, but more could be taken out of verbal responses.
”What's going on with Ryland?”
”Taryn is working to find out what her relations.h.i.+p is with Yvette Capre. Ryland, as usual, is nowhere to be found.”
”What do you think he's waiting on?”
”The right time.” Crest tossed his pencil down onto his desk and then rubbed the back of his neck. Lach didn't envy the pressure the man was under to keep his team safe. ”He'll wait until the federal authorities have their minds on other priorities and then sneak into the country. Taryn has worked almost day and night to make sure the facial recognition software she created is up and running at all ports of entry.”
”So you believe the nurse when she says Ryland didn't have plastic surgery to reconstruct his features?” Lach felt his phone vibrate and he reached into his jacket, pulling out the device. It was a text from Jax, relaying that he and Emily were headed to the club. Emily was slowly getting acclimated to the club and Jax was gradually increasing their scenes. ”That's a big gamble.”
”I don't believe he did, but there's nothing to gamble on. When Ryland comes for us, he's coming when and where he's tilted the odds in his favor. He's taken the initiative away from us. He won't forget that we put his a.s.s in a federal prison. We just need to be ready when he decides to move.”
A knock came at the door right before Jessie entered. Lach was surprised that she didn't wait for Crest's verbal response. Instead, she walked over with some files in hand and placed them in a wooden tray on the right side of his desk.
”I'm heading out for the evening.” Jessie turned on her heel with a smile on her red lips. It didn't quite meet her eyes. ”Don't forget your nine o'clock appointment tomorrow morning.”
Jessie took her leave, and it was only then that Lach noticed Crest observing the doorway as if she were coming back. It was obvious she wasn't by the sound of her light footsteps moving through the office toward the foyer. Everyone knew that Jessie had a thing for Crest and that the only outcome for her was a broken heart. It was like watching a slow train that everyone knew was going to crash and they were unable to look away.
”She's going to get herself in trouble,” Crest muttered, still not looking Lach's way.
”Why do you say that?” Lach knew he shouldn't have inquired, but it was the only logical question to ask. He felt uncomfortable, so he s.h.i.+fted his stance and moved to the middle of the office. He should go and Crest was taking a call anyway. ”Look, I just had this conversation with Phoebe. Jessie is in her mid-twenties and can make her own decisions, whatever it might be that's got you concerned.”
”It's nothing.” Crest looked at his watch once more as if he hadn't uttered a word. ”Is there anything else you need to discuss?”
”Catori Starr touched base about that one hostage rescue a.s.signment she needs more hands for. I told her that I was tied up on this case, but gave her a name of a buddy of mine interested in some contract work.”
”That's for the best. If Dunaway takes the primaries like is predicted, I think he'll opt for the Secret Service. The White House is already making overtures due to the Victor Ward case.”
”I had a feeling that might happen,” Lach replied, refusing to show any reaction to Crest's announcement. Once Lach was off this a.s.signment, whatever he and Phoebe did on their own time was their own d.a.m.ned business. ”I'll let you know if there are any new developments with Dunaway after his evening with his daughters.”
Crest's computer chimed that his video conference was starting and Lach took that as his cue to leave. He closed the door behind him and walked across the hallway to Taryn's office. She had her eyes glued to the computer screen in front of her, her gla.s.ses perched on the end of her nose and a pencil perfectly lodged behind her ear.
”You keep frowning like that your face will stay that way.”
”f.u.c.k you.” Taryn reached for her cup and held it over her monitor. ”Refill please?”
”Only because you asked so nicely.” Lach s.n.a.t.c.hed the mug out of Taryn's hand, walked out of the office and into the common area. He grimaced as he poured what looked like sludge into the ceramic and then put the pot back on the burner. At the rate they were killing each other, he might have to take responsibility and start making the coffee around here. He went back to Taryn's office and set the poison in front of her. ”Enjoy.”
”You're such a sn.o.b.” Taryn kept clicking away on her keyboard. ”She could be a cousin. DNA suggests a sister, but I'm sure it's not out of the realm of possibility.”
Lach knew instantly that Taryn was referring to Yvette Capre. He wasn't even going to mentally try to put together the pieces of Capre's life, knowing that somewhere along the way Capre had been born into Taryn's family and then given up for adoption. It was the only thing that made sense.
”Find a trace to follow?”
”Maybe. I'm thinking of driving up north. No better way to get answers than in person.”
”You run that by Crest? I'm not so sure he'd want you doing that on your own.” Lach studied Taryn, noticing that her fingers had stopped the clacking. She finally looked up at him and he saw the anguish in her eyes at the situation. ”Ryland has set his sights on you. I'm not telling you anything that you don't know and every time you separate yourself from us, that makes you vulnerable.”
”I can take care of myself.”
Those words reminded Lach of Phoebe and he sighed at the misconception. ”I'm not saying you can't. You would be the first to say we work better as a unit. This is no different.”
”I want him. Alive.” Taryn's declaration was said with vengeance. ”Ryland knows about Yvette. I guarantee he knows exactly how I'm related to her and yet I'm the one who has to investigate my family to find out why a woman who is connected to me was involved with an a.s.sa.s.sin.”
”Life's not fair.” Lach wasn't the type to sugarcoat anything and he wasn't going to now. Taryn was military and she knew exactly how this worked. ”You'll do what you have to do. It's who we are.”
”Well, this little chat made me feel better.” Taryn pushed up her gla.s.ses and scrunched her nose.
”If you'd wanted that, you'd have had Chinese for dinner and cracked open a fortune cookie.”
”Yada, yada.” Taryn finally picked up her mug. ”Thanks for the coffee.”
”If that's what you want to call it,” Lach said, making a facial expression so she knew that he didn't. She laughed, but he didn't correct her a.s.sumption that he was kidding around. He was dead serious. ”Have a good night.”
”Night.”
Lach made a quick detour to his cubicle, although why they'd even given him one he didn't know. He was rarely in the office and only then when his presence was required. His desk was still clear, just like he'd left it. He stood there for a minute, debating if he should meet up with Jax and Emily at Masters. It wasn't like he was going to play. He'd resigned himself to the fact that the only woman he wanted was Phoebe, and although there were complications to getting what he wanted, she was now within his reach-give or take a few weeks. He thought back to their conversations and her words echoed in his mind regarding what she really wanted to do with her life, which was travel to other countries and be in the thick of things instead of behind a desk doing administrative work. That left only one question. Did that make her a flight risk?
Chapter Fourteen.
Lach listened as voices rang out in his earpiece, the security detail checking in from their various posts. The Dunaways were in the middle of primaries and they were now holed up in a hotel in some G.o.dforsaken city. He'd lost count of how many munic.i.p.alities they'd traveled to in the last month, but the polls had finally started reporting in January and would continue into June. There was a good four months left, but at least they'd gotten some initial primary states out of the way. Senator Dunaway was leading by two percent with only fifty percent of the votes turned in for tonight's election. It was set to be a long evening.
”Lach,” Kimmie said hesitantly, as if she didn't want to disturb them. ”I wanted to thank you.”
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