Tempting the Crown (The Crown 1)

“Oh God, Greer.”

“And Preston thinks we shouldn’t talk anymore. Not until after everything is cleared up.”

“What? What does this have to do with him? He should be here for you.”

She shook her head. “He’s right. He needs to stay away from any scandal. And he can’t risk his own senator being implicated in any way. I think a break is good.”

I closed my eyes. Holy shit. I hadn’t thought about Senator Mitcherson. It would only weaken Lana’s case if he was drawn into the spotlight for involvement with a security breach. She would be pushed out of the way. The web was getting thicker and more tangled.

I hadn’t been able to tell Greer about Lana’s case. I still couldn’t. But once she discovered the link, she’d be angrier with me than she was now. I had no idea how Preston would take it.

“I’m so sorry.”

I saw the strain on her face. I didn’t know if she was fighting back tears, or if it was anger.

“As long as we cooperate with the bureau and they catch Jeremy West this nightmare will be over soon.”

My eyes flashed to hers. I hated that she used his other name. I hadn’t accepted it.

“You did agree to help, didn’t you?” she pressed.

I turned my chin away from her.

“Emily, he has stolen government documents. And it’s not the first time. You have to tell them everything you know. He has to go to jail for this. For all his crimes. You have to stop him from working with more sources outside of the government.”

“I know.”

She sighed. “Thank God. I was worried for a second you were so far gone that you were considering helping him.”

I wondered if she knew she was his first target. That if there were no Preston, she’d be the one sitting here in broken pieces. Stunned. Destroyed.

Would Greer have fallen in love with him? Would she have given him everything she had? Trusted him with her body? With her life? Or was I so vulnerable I let him touch a piece of me that should have been safeguarded? Was I the sucker that let him go farther than he had ever gone with another one of his targets? I was the fool. His fool.

Did he wait until Garrett went off the radar? Did he know my first day at work was the worst way a first day could go? I didn’t know if I was angrier at him, or me for falling for it. For needing his reassure. His strength. His calm ability to mend wounded parts of me.

“They want me to tell them everything, Greer.” I looked at my friend. “Every single detail about our time together.”

“It will help them. It’s necessary.”

“But how does that help me? I don’t want anyone else to know. It’s too personal. It’s private. I don’t want our relationship to go down in a manila file.”

“He is a threat to national security. Nothing else matters.”

“It does to me.” I didn’t care how that sounded. “Can’t they get that information some other way?”

“Don’t you want him to pay for what he did? Don’t you think he deserves to be punished for stealing? For using you?”

I took my first sip of coffee. Some of the haze had cleared from my head.

“I can’t believe it’s all true. It’s not possible.”

Greer placed a hand on my leg. “It is true. It is what happened. Jeremy West pretended to be Vaughn Hunter to gain access to this apartment. To get his hands on the information I carried with me on the defense contract companies. He worked his charm and charisma on you Emily to get what he wanted. And he got it.” She paused. “And if we don’t help the authorities stop him, he’ll keep doing it. Who knows what the next job will be. Nuclear weapons? Information on our spies? Access to the president? It’s never-ending.”

“He isn’t that kind of man.”

“The man you thought you knew might not have been, but Jeremy West is. He’s a thief of the most dangerous calculated level. You have to accept it.”

I kicked my legs to the floor. “I don’t.” I stormed inside.