Impulsive (17 page)

T
hree hours of behind-the-scenes phone calls yesterday afternoon and no success. The paper ran with the story. Rather than push people around and risk an even worse situation, Eric went with a public “no comment” and let Kevin do the dirty work. Not that any of it worked.

The paper sat outside his front door. Eric looked up from his seat at the breakfast bar and contemplated ending the pain right now by grabbing the thing and reading the article. Sure, he could deal with the allegations once he knew exactly what they were, but until then he could spend another five minutes pretending the problem didn't exist.

In another hour the television stations would start calling. The only thing worse than anticipating the avalanche ahead was recalling his parents' reactions the night before. His father's walk around the block had taken about an hour. That was about something more than clearing his head. The disappointment in his mother's tone hadn't been much better.

Getting away from it all today would be impossible. He thought taking a few minutes to be alone in the quiet of his house might help. He'd wanted to call Katie last night and beg her to come over, but he'd refrained. She had enough to worry about. She didn't need to take on his issues.

His only hope was that he'd be able to keep her identity secret for a few more days. Kevin had orders to make sure any talk of her being a prostitute was stopped. Eric threatened to sue over that one. It was the one step too far.

When the doorbell rang, his first thought was of her. She'd come. The idea made him smile.

Wearing a pair of lounge pants and a T-shirt, he went to the door. A look through the peephole sucked the life right out of him. “You've got to be fucking kidding.”

“Open up.” Josh spoke loud enough to be heard through the door.

Eric was grateful he'd bothered to put on pants before coming downstairs that morning. After unlocking, he stared at his unwanted guests. “Owning the building doesn't mean you can show up whenever you want.”

Josh laughed. “Sure it does.”

“I was talking to Deana.”

Josh's smile grew even bigger “I know.”

Eric gave up that battle because he knew he'd never win it. “What are you doing here?”

“I told Josh we should call first,” Deana said.

“You should listen to your wife.”

Josh scooped up the newspaper lying in front of the door and tapped it against his open hand. “Invite us in.”

“As if I could stop you.” Eric could think of a thousand things he'd rather do, but he stepped aside and motioned for them to come inside. The sooner they said whatever they wanted to say, the sooner they'd leave. That was his theory anyway.

“This is yours.” Josh smacked the paper against Eric's chest with a thwack.

“Thanks.”

Eric grabbed it before it fell to the floor. He fought the urge to look at the headline. He was pretty sure he could guess what it said.

And why read when he could watch Josh and Deana stare at him? Her gaze was one of concern. Josh looked like he could laugh his ass off at any second.

“Yes?” Eric asked even though he didn't want to.

“The good news is that no one thinks you're fooling around with Deana.” Josh draped his arm around her waist in a gesture that carried a hint of possessiveness.

She must have thought so because she rolled her eyes. “That was never an issue.”

Josh shrugged. “Some folks thought so.”

Eric watched the byplay and decided Josh and Deana were perfect for each other. They might bicker but the underlying beat of respect and love thumped loudly. Eric tried to remember whether he'd ever felt such an obvious level of comfort with Deana. He had loved her and wanted to build a life with her. Despite that, he'd never lost himself in her.

To be fair, the bit of reserve ran both ways. Deana had held a piece of her life back from him. He'd discovered some damaging incidents in her past but not from her. She never shared. He had to find them on his own.

They were wrong for each other. Too much alike. Too settled. He never saw it before. He recognized it now.

“This isn't about me,” Deana said. “It's about Eric.”

“And Katie.” Josh pretended to cough into his fist. “I'm assuming that's the mystery woman with the nice—”

“Josh,” Deana warned, emphasizing her feelings on the matter with an elbow to her husband's stomach.

He cleared his throat. “Hair.”

Deana performed an impressive eyeroll that topped the first one. “Oh, please.”

Eric thought about letting them go back and forth. They didn't seem to need him for this conversation. But since he wanted them to leave sometime this morning, he dove in. “Why are you here again?”

Deana smiled. “To help.”

“Nice of you to come over, but—” Eric turned toward the front door but he seemed to be the only one moving in that direction. “I'm fine. You can leave.”

“We're not going anywhere.” To prove his point, Josh walked into the family room and slumped down on the couch. With an arm over the top of the cushions, he looked at home.

Eric seriously considered walking out the door even if it meant going to work in his T-shirt. “And why is that?”

Deana shifted. She might not have meant to block Eric's path to the door, but she did. “Tell us what we can do.”

Josh raised his hand. “And making us leave is not one of the options.”

Eric gave up. He followed Josh's lead and sat on the edge of the coffee table. From this position he could watch both of them and stand up fast if he had to. “This is a private matter between me and Katie.”

“Don't be ridiculous.” Deana actually snorted. Since she was wearing probably a thousand dollars' worth of clothes, the sound seemed out of place.

Eric had never thought of her as animated. Then he watched her sit on the armrest of his couch and dangle her fingers just low enough to touch Josh's knee. Eric hadn't considered her overly affectionate either but that no longer seemed to be the case. “You think it's something else?”

“All of Oahu knows.”

She had him there. “Unfortunately, that's true.”

“Your immediate issue is going to be money.” And the one thing Deana knew was money. She was born into it and used it to support issues close to her. “Some donors might get jittery.”

“I'm not worried about the election,” Eric said.

“I am.” Josh shifted forward. “Look, I'm not comfortable throwing money at problems, but I can't work with that idiot Gunnery. I need you in the prosecutor position.”

“That's comforting in an odd sort of way.”

Deana frowned at her husband. “We aren't buying the election. We're making sure Eric has what he needs.”

Eric wasn't in the mood to get sucked into a debate about Deana's privileged background. He waved a hand. “I'm sitting right here.”

“Good, because we need to mobilize.” This was classic Deana. She decided something needed to be done and went speeding along the track to do it.

“I have no idea what's going on here,” Eric said.

Josh took over. “Kevin called us.”

The likelihood of his needing a new campaign manager was growing exponentially. Eric didn't know how much more covert bullshit he could take. “He's a pain in the ass.”

“Absolutely, but he's smart enough to know you need to get ahead of this,” Josh said.

Anger flooded through Eric. He now had a new target. Before he talked to the press, he needed to yell at Kevin. Bringing in other people and running for help before coming to him made Eric furious.

He hated to ask but he did anyway. “What is ‘this” exactly?”

Deana looked at Josh before answering. “The scandal.”

“I'm dating someone, not robbing banks.”

“You think dating is the problem here?” Josh blew out a long breath. Actually looked like he felt sorry for Eric. “You poor bastard.”

“Josh, stop.” She pushed her hand harder against her husband's leg. “Eric, this is about your judgment.”

The one thing no one ever questioned had become the main topic of discussion. Of all the things guaranteed to make Eric's temper spike that was the worst. “Excuse me?”

“The news story will stir things up and get people questioning everything you've done,” Josh said.

Eric didn't like the way that sounded. “You're overstating this a bit, aren't you?”

“There have been enough government scandals. My ex-boss went down fighting and pointing fingers.” Josh had been one of the targets of those claims. “He raised all sorts of questions in cases where we got legitimate drug convictions. I'll be sorting that shit out for months.”

“What does that have to do with me other than how it impacts my office and potential appeals?” Though that was bad enough, in Eric's view.

“Fair or not, the taint will spread to you,” Deana said.

The desire to see Katie revved up with a suddenness that stunned Eric. Maybe it was seeing Josh sit there, unable to keep his hands off his wife even if it meant just touching a finger to hers. Maybe it was all the turmoil spinning around him. Whatever the reason, Eric needed to talk this through with Katie.

“Are you two always this negative in the morning?” he asked.

Josh nodded. “Yes.”

Deana folded her hands together and sat up straighter, as if preparing for a fight. “We want to throw you a benefit.”

Eric couldn't think of a worse idea. “No.”

“We'll have donors there and let them see you and talk with you,” she said, warming up to her subject.

“No.”

“The rumors will stop, to the extent the video doesn't stop them, because no one will buy that Josh would be in the same room with us if we were having an affair.”

“True, but no.” Eric figured he could say anything at this point because Deana clearly wasn't listening.

“We'll send the message that we believe in you and plan to financially back your campaign.” She practically vibrated with excitement.

“Still no.”

“I agree it's all bullshit. Honey, it is.” Josh balanced the line between making his point and placating Deana. “People with money like to impress other people with money. Deana has it, so let's use it.”

Hell, no.
“Should I try using another word for no?”

Deana reached a hand out toward Eric. “Let us help you.”

“No offense, but I don't need you to rush in and rescue me.”

She let her hand drop. “You did it for me.”

“Is that what this is about?” Eric got up then. The restlessness inside him finally burst. He had to move. Had to set the record straight and get out of the saintly role Deana and Josh had made up for him. “Look, you deserved to know the truth about Ryan. That is part of why I agreed to the deal. The other reason had nothing to do with you.”

“Meaning?” Josh asked.

“People need to know how the criminal system works. I wanted to show them the final piece that proved a young, rich kid committed an awful crime.” Eric hesitated when he saw Deana flinch at his words. “Convincing people we'd convicted the right person stopped everyone but the craziest criminal fans out there from talking about conspiracies.”

The resulting silence was almost as painful as the strained look on Deana's face. “I get it.”

“I'm sorry.” Eric said it and meant it.

She waved the sympathy off. “We're still going to help.”

Eric realized with a punch of frustration that he wasn't one step closer to winning this fight. “Would you consider doing it from your own house and let me finish my breakfast?”

A sudden light came into Deana's eyes. “Is Katie here?”

“No.”

Just that fast Deana started frowning. “Why not?”

Josh let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Okay, that's probably not our business.”

“I just meant that it must stink for her to see the news without having you there for her.” Deana's face turned pink as she explained.

“Hadn't thought of it that way,” Eric mumbled under his breath. Now he had another reason to see Katie. To make sure she wasn't ticked off at him…again.

“Men are so clueless.” And Deana's tone let Eric know she thought he fit squarely in that description.

“You probably can't tell, but I'm not in the best of moods today.”

Deana didn't back down. “That, Eric, is why you need your girlfriend.”

“Which gives me the perfect excuse to kick you out.” Eric stood up. This time his guests joined him.

Josh stretched before guiding Deana toward the door. “Sure does.”

Eric hated having people try to frame his life for him, but he appreciated the sentiment behind the interference. Deana could have pulled her support and caused more trouble for the election. Josh could have wallowed in jealousy. Instead, and in spite of all the gossip and whispering around town, they wanted to help. Even through the suffocating haze, Eric felt lucky.

“Guys?” He waited until he had their attention. “Thanks.”

Josh nodded with a you're-in-huge-trouble smile. “Good luck.”

J
immy climbed into Kevin's car. This time they met in the parking lot at Ala Moana Beach. The park ran along the south shore of Oahu, close to Waikiki, facing the wide-open blue of the ocean.

This was a place for locals but travel guides listed it as a place to try instead of the lousy thin strips of sand that passed for beaches outside Waikiki hotels. That meant it was only a matter of time before every T-shirt-wearing jerk from Oregon to New Jersey showed up with a beach towel.

Damn tourists.

Today was cool and windy. A few swimmers took advantage of the weaker undertow of the semi-enclosed lagoon. In a few hours all would be treated to the orange and pink tones of the fading sun as it tipped to the horizon. Until then, clouds raced overhead, warning of possible rain.

Jimmy knew he was missing out on big waves on the North Shore. The conversation had better be worth it. Not like he had a choice, since he was summoned. “I thought you cut me lose.”

Kevin didn't waste time with chitchat. “Where did the video come from? Who made it and why?”

Jimmy couldn't help smiling at that one. He pulled it off without a second of trouble. Almost made him forgive Katie for leaving him out of her job. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“You are not smart enough to play this game.” Kevin rubbed his palm over the leather covering the gear shift. His foot tapped against the floor. The twitching never stopped.

“Tough talk from the guy who hides in his car and stalks his friends.”

“Who hired you?” Kevin asked.

The guy was losing it. “You did.”

“I am not fucking around here. Who paid you to make that tape?”

The guy was on the edge. Jimmy could see that. “If I did have a tape, and I'm not saying I do, it might be something I thought the press would want. A way to open the market now that we're through, so to speak.”

Kevin reached for Jimmy but ended up with a fist full of air. “Look, you little shit—”

“Let's keep it real here.” Shifting away, Jimmy kept his back as close to the door as possible. Also did a quick glance outside the car to see if he could find a witness if Kevin went nuts.

But the guy was good. He had driven the car to the far end of the lot where it jutted out on a peninsula to the ocean. Most people were on the beach behind them. The boats docked off to the left didn't offer much assistance, either.

“This isn't a game,” Kevin said with restrained fury.

“Does our boy know you were following him? That you led me right to his door?”

Kevin's steel cold scowl didn't change. “I want the tape.”

“I'm happy to make you a copy.”

“The tape, the copies, and all photos. You're done on this job.”

“I have other jobs.”

“You and Katie Long.” Kevin spit when he said her name. “You're both out.”

“She did turn out to be more enterprising than I realized.”

“The two of you are working this job for Gunnery.”

Jimmy had made the tape to sell, and he'd held onto it as insurance. He'd provided the reporter with a few photo stills only. Then he'd gotten a call through the reporter from the Gunnery camp. His people pled their case for access to the tape, information on Katie's identity, and the possibility of making more tapes in the future.

Not that they were persuasive. The money offer hardly made it worth Jimmy's time to skulk after Katie. He had better things to do with his evenings. “No idea what you're talking about.”

“Then maybe you'll understand this.” Kevin slipped a thick envelope out of the side pocket of his door. “You want to be paid for your time.”

“I feel pretty unappreciated by you.”

“We had a misunderstanding.”

Jimmy nodded his head, liking the way this conversation was headed. “That's right.”

“We can fix that and get back on track.”

“I'm a businessman.”

“And that's a lot of money.”

Jimmy opened it. It was a stack of bills that got a man's attention. “That's very impressive. You must be really sorry.”

A tic pulsed in Kevin's cheek. “In exchange, you leave Eric alone and call Katie off. And I'll need the tape and all copies of it. No more leakage on that story.”

Jimmy could do half of that. He doubted he could get Katie to give up her gig. “You're still not getting this.”

“That's where you're wrong. You need a reputation to do what you do.”

“You're not sounding very apologetic.”

“I found you, Jimmy. I can ruin you.” Kevin glanced in his side mirror.

The tickle started at the back of Jimmy's neck. He wanted to turn around. Last thing he needed was to get jumped from behind by Kevin's secret partner. “That's funny coming from you.”

“Try to find other work after I'm done with you.” Kevin did threats well. The menacing voice and big wallet made them quite convincing. “You don't want to play this game.”

It didn't pay to have an angry client. Having a pissed-off asshole try to cut his balls off wouldn't be good for business. “I like you, Kev.”

“Don't use my name.”

“Tell you what I'm going to do.” Jimmy paged through the hundred-dollar bills. “I'll give you the information you want.”

“And you'll tell Katie to stay away from Eric.”

Jimmy shook his head. “Now, that's going to be harder.”

“Why?”

“Katie's working a con of her own.” And it still pissed Jimmy off. He'd got her the work. The least she could do was kick something back.

“Convince her to let Eric go.”

Jimmy hated to cut Katie short but maybe it would teach her a lesson. In the future, they'd work these things out in advance. She could get some. He was fine with that, but if she worked an angle off a job he got her, then he wanted a cut.

“You want to end it between them, I can help you with that, but you'll have to do the hard work.”

“You want more money.”

Always
. “We'll have to set her up.”

“I thought she was a friend of yours.”

“She is but I didn't appreciate her going off on her own on this.”

“Tell me what you have on her.”