Hugh had an evil streak. She’d worked for him ever since she’d come to the city. First, she’d been a barely paid intern, but she’d climbed up the ladder. She’d proved herself.
And she was not going to get benched into doing entertainment pieces. “I’ll take out the EOD reference,” Gabrielle promised.
Relief slackened his features.
“But I am not giving this killer a name—”
Hugh waved that away. “You don’t have to. I already did.” He heaved down into his chair and started tapping away at his computer. “Didn’t you hear me? City Stalker. No, wait, maybe D.C. Stalker—that gets it more specific, don’t you think?” He snapped his fingers together. “I’ve got it now! The D.C. Striker!”
Her temples were pounding.
She turned away from him. There were other leads to follow. Actually, Hugh had just given her the best lead possible. She might not be able to print the story about the EOD—not yet, anyway—but now she knew where to start digging.
She just needed to get the right shovel and to dig in the right place.
There were plenty of skeletons buried in D.C. Skeletons and secrets. Time to unearth them.
* * *
“WE HAVE A PROBLEM,” Cooper said, voice low, as he held his phone in a too-tight grip. “Hugh Peters knows about the EOD. He’s in a closed-door meeting with Gabrielle right now, and he’s telling her about us.”
The line was quiet. Dead silent. “I’ll take care of Peters,” Mercer finally said. There was a lethal menace in the director’s voice.
“What about Gabrielle?”
“Find out how much he’s told her. Then we’ll see if containment is necessary.”
Containment? No. “She’s just trying to help,” Cooper heard himself saying. “She wants justice for the victims. She’s not trying to take down the organization.”
“Marshall...” Now curiosity had entered Mercer’s voice. Emotion of any kind in Mercer’s tone was unusual. “Just how close are you getting to the reporter?”
Not close enough.
Cooper glanced up then because he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. The curvy blonde, Penelope, was strolling toward him with a wide smile. He bit back a curse. Like he needed this now. “I’ll update you ASAP.” Then he ended the call. Mercer would make sure that Hugh didn’t spread any more stories, and as for Gabrielle—
Over Penelope’s shoulder, Cooper saw Hugh’s office door open. Gabrielle stood on the threshold.
“Hello, again,” Penelope said. Penelope Finn. He’d glanced down at the nameplate on her desk when he’d been trailing Gabrielle into Hugh’s office.
Penelope lifted her hand toward him. “I didn’t catch your name before.”
Because he hadn’t thrown it at her. He’d been too concentrated on Gabrielle. And I still am. “Cooper.” Quickly, he shook her hand. Then he tried to step around her so that he could catch Gabrielle’s attention.
Penelope sidestepped, keeping her body in front of his. “I was about to cut out for an early lunch. Want to join me?”
Just then, Gabrielle glanced his way. Gabrielle frowned when she saw just how close he was standing to Penelope. He was pretty sure that Gabrielle shook her head in disgust, right before she turned away and headed for the door that led to the stairwell.
“Wait!” Cooper called out.
“Oh, I’ll definitely wait for you,” Penelope promised him.
She couldn’t be serious.
“I’m with Gabrielle,” he said flatly, because that was all he needed say. “Enjoy your lunch.”
Her jaw dropped, but then she gave a little laugh. “Good, very good response.”
He didn’t have the time to try to figure out that woman. He just skirted right around her. He rushed across the room and caught the stairwell door just as it was swinging closed.