In Her Sights (31 page)

She checked her watch and had forty minutes. If she hurried,
she could swing through and pick up her dress for the mayor’s event. She sent
Clayton a text to meet her at Cliff’s and headed toward Claremont.

Thankfully in the middle of a business day afternoon, nobody
was in the dress shop. Admittedly, the seamstress usually came to her. Under
the circumstances, the less people in her house for now, the better. The dress
fit perfectly, as she expected, and it was bagged, laid flat in her trunk, and
she was off to Cliff’s.

Even with the stop, traffic was light, and she made it there
early. She left her car with the valet and tracked down the hostess. “I’m
meeting a friend. Clayton Addison.”

The woman nodded, her bouncy ponytail swinging side to side.
“Yes, ma’am. I haven’t seen Mr. Addison today. Will you be waiting at your
table?”

It was warm after the drive over, and she was in need of
something to drink. “I’ll wait at the bar. Will you send Clayton to me when he
gets here? We’ll eat on the patio today. In the shade with a little privacy,
please.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She eased onto a bar stool and ordered a glass of pineapple
juice. The bartender was quick and set the drink in front of her. And then she
took a breath, intending to relax, but she didn’t even get the air pushed all
the way out before a man slid onto the stool next to her.

“Mind if I join you?”

She swirled her drink. “You’re welcome to until my friend
gets here.”

He held his hand out. “William Canner.”

The handsome man who called himself William Canner sat a
little taller than she did on the stool. His hair was the shade of walnuts. He
had lovely green eyes that sparkled with his grin. His jawline was smooth and
rounded. The best she could tell, his body was long and lean. Mr. William Canner
wasn’t a pile of muscle, but he looked solid in what he had, not bulky. He was
also the mayor’s grandson, the one who was currently trying to win over Lexie’s
favor.

His light-gray business suit clung to his lean body, his
pale green tie set off his eyes against his wrinkle-free, white button-up
shirt.

She took his hand and gave a quick shake. “Lexie Olympia.”

His brows lifted. “Ms. Olympia. My grandmother has spoken a
lot about you.”

“Same for you.”

“Very sorry to read about the string of break-ins you’ve
been having in your home in the newspaper. Over some dagger?”

The break-ins were in the paper, but not the dagger. “Yes,
just a couple, but I’ve done some security upgrades, and that should be the end
of it all. I hope.”

She kept her eyes on him. While he did genuinely seem
surprised to find himself sitting next to her, she didn’t like how he knew
about the dagger. Though with his connection to the mayor, it could have easily
come from there.

He quickly ordered a drink. When it showed up, he lifted the
lemon off the rim of the glass and squeezed the fruit into the iced tea. He
dropped the lemon in and proceeded to suck the bitter juice from his thumb and
forefinger.

She shuddered and her jaw locked. “How can you eat the
lemon?”

He shrugged and gave a bright smile. “My grandmother says I’m
so sweet, I have to get some bitterness in me somehow.”

She shook her head and couldn’t resist the smile. The man
was charming. Yeah, well, she could be, too. “So, William Canner, I’ve been
doing my research on you.”

“Should I be afraid?”

“Maybe just a little.”

“Have you found any skeletons? Darned things are difficult
to keep in the closet.”

She laughed. She liked a politician with a sense of humor. “Nothing
so far.”

“You won’t, either. I’ve done my fair share of research on
you. When I mentioned to my grandmother my intentions to run, I asked if she
was familiar with you.”

“I’m flattered.”

“I think anyone would be a fool to not want you in their
corner after what I’ve read on you. I really admire what you do with your time,
Ms. Olympia. With the unfortunate events in your childhood, you could have
really turned out very differently.”

If he only knew. “Thank you. I was lucky I had help after a
tragedy. Made me realize how fortunate I was.”

“I hope to earn your support before the elections really
begin. I would like to see some changes in the state, changes I think you would
be interested in.”

She smoothed the corner of her napkin. “Well, as I
mentioned, I have been reading up on you, and right now, I’m undecided on my
political plans for this next election. I wanted a chance to speak with you
before the event, so this is fortunate we happened upon each other.”

“Ask anything you like.”

“I want to know what you’re passionate about.”

“I want to help the veterans. I think it’s an area that
could use counseling to begin with, and I want to see further support for
reintegrating them into everyday life after they leave the military. I like the
medical clinic you established and would like to look into that for other
poorer areas of the state. It could open up more jobs for nurses and staff. I
want to see more afterschool activities for younger kids to get them focused in
a sport or club before they reach junior high and are tempted into other things
that can land them in jail.”

She stopped him, because she knew all this already. “Mr.
Canner, if I may be perfectly frank, those are all very admirable goals and
things to consider. Realistically, you can’t accomplish those things in the
four years of the governor’s term. You’ll never make it through the red tape,
not in the hotbed of today’s politics centering around our budget. I want to
know what you hope to accomplish in your first term if you’re elected.”

“In just those four years?”

“In just those four years. If you’re not favored by the
general public, you’ll never make it into a second term, and all those plans
are useless. Focus on what you want the most. Let me know what that is. Let me
see that focus during the beginning stages of your campaign. The support and
the money you’ve donated to the variety of organizations is again, admirable,
but as governor, you won’t be able to have the state take care of them all. If
I like what I see, you’ll get my support.”

He rested an arm on the bar and smiled at her. “You are not
at all what I expected.”

What’s that, smart? She kept that comment to herself. “How
so?”

“To the point. Though my grandmother warned me you could be.”

“Your grandmother has taught me a few things about getting
to the point, too.”

William saluted her with his glass. “That, I don’t doubt for
a moment.”

She nodded and, out of the corner of her eyes, caught sight
of Clayton heading toward her. “My date is here. Thank you for keeping me
company.”

Clayton was already at her side before she was even off the
stool, his hand flattened against her back. “Sorry I’m late.”

She accepted his other hand to help stand. “That’s all right.”

Once outside and seated at their table, she leaned over. “I
got a few things on Janet.”

“Me, too. It’s why I’m late.”

Chapter Thirty-One

She sat to his side at the table, mostly blocking Clayton’s
view of the man she’d been talking with. He’d walked in the restaurant and
found Lexie before the waitress had a chance to point her out. She just had
that way about her. A look about her that made her stand out in a crowded room.
A voice that was easy to listen to. She’d been sitting at the bar, relaxed and
comfortable and smiling that beautiful smile at that other man. Clayton’s
entire body had turned rigid.

Not only did Lexie look to be enjoying herself, but that man
had been having a hell of a time. And why wouldn’t the guy? He had the full
attention of the prettiest and most interesting woman Clayton had come across
in years.

Clayton had been a step away from staking claim to Lexie
right there in the bar when he caught himself. They weren’t together. They were
something he couldn’t begin to define.

He’d laid awake nearly all night with her on his mind again.
He thought of her soft in his arms. In tears after a workout. Then he thought
of how he had said nothing to her the night before. How he’d laid there and
hoped she was thinking what he wanted her to think. Hoped she’d consider
looking into the man who’d set fire to his house and the men who ordered it
burned.

And it drove an axe right through the center of him.

On one hand, there was a chance Kate and Audrey would
finally have some justice. Clayton would have some peace because those bastards
wouldn’t be free after what they’d done. But then he thought of Lexie. Her
gentle nature with her friend, his glances at her vulnerability. No, she wasn’t
innocent, but in this, she would be.

He reached across the table and covered one of her hands. “I want to talk to you about last night.”

“About?”

“I don’t want you looking into my family’s death.” Her
eyebrows shot to her hairline for the briefest of seconds before she schooled
them back in place. He gave her hand a squeeze. “It occurred to me that
you might have gone there.”

“I won’t deny it and say I didn’t think about it.”

He nodded. “Stop thinking about it. That’s one thing I don’t
think I can handle you doing for me.”

Her head angled to the side. “I won’t get hurt.”

A humorous laugh escaped. “God. I wasn’t thinking of that. I
know you can take care of yourself, but—” he almost fucked it up there and said
those men were dangerous, but he caught it in time. Yes, she could take care of
herself, but chasing down criminals was one thing. Bringing down a handful of
Vice Detectives who were well integrated into the streets was something else.
And they would be taken down someday. Clayton knew the men behind it. He knew
what they were doing, he just had no proof. No way to get it. If he even showed
his face, that would be it.

He blinked it away and focused back on Lexie. “I don’t
think I can handle you…doing that for me. I don’t want that to be between us.”

“Okay.” She looked sad, but she smiled through it.

The waitress was there and took orders.

Lexie glanced over his shoulder, no doubt toward the bar and
the man she’d been talking with. He started to ask, but the waitress was back
with drinks.

He waited until they were alone again. “What’s so
interesting?”

“That man I was talking to is William Canner.”

“Mayor’s grandson?”

“Yes. He told me he read about the dagger and its ties to me
in the paper.”

Clayton frowned. “The dagger hasn’t been in the paper.”

She lifted her hand, palm up, and leaned back, giving him the,
well-there-you-go gesture.

“Did he say anything else?”

“No, but the man’s too charming for his own good—and he
knows it, too.”

“I want to know more about him.”

“He’s from Vicksburg. I’ve dug into him pretty deeply
because he’s looking for my political support. Nothing dirty there so far.”

“Did you look or did, you know, you have someone else look
for you.”

She laughed. “I looked. I know how to use the Internet.”

“You know what I mean.” Clayton pulled out his cell phone,
gave over a description and the name, and then put his phone away. His gaze slipped
over her shoulder for only a moment, but the stool was empty. “What are you
doing tomorrow night?”

She finished off her drink and set it to the side. “Didn’t
have enough fun on our last two dates?”

He laughed. They were going to have to make up lies to tell
people how they met. “Hardly.”

She smiled. “What did you have in mind?”

“They mayor sent me an invitation for tomorrow. I’m not just
doing security, she invited me as a guest. I’d really like having you with me.”

“You want me for eye candy? For who?” She clunked her tea
down and leaned on the table, her jaw resting in her palm.

He shook his head. There he was, asking her out, and she was
dismissing it as nothing but a favor. He was so rusty at dating, God only knew
what he could have said better. “I don’t know my way around these people yet.”

She pushed off the table and straightened her lap napkin. “This
has been Julia’s plan since the beginning.”

“Since when?”

“Since you ran into my house so heroically and tried to rob
us blind.” She ended the dramatic line with her hands clasped before her chest.

He grinned. “I knew she liked me.”

“She also thinks you have a cute ass.”

His mouth fell open. “She does not.”

“Does too. She likes the way you walk. Why do you think she
never shows you around the house but tells you to go ahead?” Lexie winked.

He leaned back and went with it. “I guess what matters the
most is what you think.”

The corner of her lips tipped up. “I think she’s right, but
don’t tell her I said that.”

“Is this a yes that I should pick you up tomorrow at seven?”

“Absolutely. And don’t be late. That fashionably late thing
is tacky.” She stirred her tea, then sipped. “So what about Carter this
morning?”

Right. On to business. “I think the
she
he spoke of
with Adam was you.”

She stuck her finger to her chest. “Me? I’m not a powerful
person, and he’s never kissed my behind.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. People, in particular the general
public, will follow your lead into anything, and that makes you powerful. I’ve
told you this already.”

She stirred her spoon in her glass again, shaking her head
as she did. “My power is knowing politicians will bend over backwards to do
what I want.”

There. Right. There. She knew it too. Of course she did. “That’s
huge.”

But she shook her head. “With limitations. Think in terms of
photos. If it would make a great photo op, make people smile by looking at it,
then that’s something I can work in. It’s a fine line I walk. I can be involved
on the outskirts of politics as a leader for people to follow. I can’t get in
the mud and sling my opinion or I become just another politician. We can keep
it in mind that he meant me, but to cover our bases, I think we should assume
there’s another woman out there.”