Choose Me (The Archer Brothers 2)
“We?” I question, hoping that she gives me the answer I seek. Is she truly a reporter now or is she undercover?
Cara smiles shyly and touches my arm. I’m thankful it’s for show. Cara’s an attractive woman, but she doesn’t flip my switch. “We… work. You know.”
“So that hasn’t changed. You’re still doing the bidding for the Navy? Gathering information for the big dogs? Pretending to hide in corners?”
She laughs, hopefully remembering that we used to joke about everything we thought the spooks did.
Cara sighs. “A lot changed when you died. I left for Virginia. I got my dream, but I recently switched to the sprawling city of DC,” she says.
I’m a bit shocked and give her a sideways glance. She cracks a small smile. Last I knew she wanted nothing to do with bringing people down, she just wanted to spy on them. “Feds?”
“Yeah.”
“Am I in trouble?”
Cara shakes her head. “No, but you took out a heavy hitter and lived to tell about it. That’s why I’m here.”
“I’m not sure you can call this living, Cara. I came home to a family that had moved on without me. I have a son who knows I’m his dad but doesn’t want to call me dad. My fiancée… I’m assuming you know what happened there.”
Cara shakes her head. “I left Nate. He didn’t leave me for Ryley if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I wasn’t, but thanks for clearing that up.”
She smiles, bringing her glass to her lips. I think I’ve struck a nerve because she lingers. She’s taking her time with the wine and her next question. Or maybe it’s my turn to ask something.
“What did you mean by ‘heavy hitter’?”
“Tacito Renato was a major player in the sex ring you guys busted up, only you were supposed to capture him. We wanted to interrogate him, get him to turn on the others, but you put a bullet between his eyes instead.”
“He was raping a little girl about six years old. He’s lucky that’s all I did,” I say, as I slam my mug down on the counter. Rick is there to clean up my mess, making me feel like shit for spilling my beer.
“He’s not the only one,” Cara says as nonchalantly as possible.
“What are you talking about?”
“My tail. We believe the Senator is into pedophilia, but I’m having a hard time proving it. One day we see it on his computer and the next it’s wiped clean. I’ve been following him for a year or so. He’ll go into strip clubs, watch the show and then go home or to his hotel. He disguises himself so he doesn’t get caught. I want to arrest him, but I’m not ready yet.”
To say I’m confused is an understatement. This senator is Ingram’s son that no one seems to know about and he’s a closet perv who may or may not be into some fucked up shit.
“What does this have to do with me or my Team?”
“Just you,” she says, turning to face me. “Renato and Lawson were friends and I have a feeling he’s here to find out from you what Renato confessed to before you shut his lights out.”
“He didn’t say jack shit, didn’t even plead for his life.” It’s not entirely true, but he never mentioned Lawson’s name. I know it’s been years, but I would’ve remembered that much. “Cara, why are you here?”
“I go where he goes until I have enough for an arrest warrant. When we started digging, I saw your name. I was there when you…when everything went down... so it was a bit of a shock.”
“What do you mean you saw my name?”
“I have every reason to believe Lawson knew you guys were alive. An email he wrote to someone that goes by the initials JI asked what would happen to him when the four come home.”
“And you think that’s about my Team?”
“I do, now I just have to figure out who JI is.”
“Admiral Jonah Ingram is my guess. He’s the Commander, Southwest Region and he showed up on base today.” I look over my shoulder at Lawson. His head is down and he’s typing away on his phone. “Ingram is his father according to Carole.”
If I didn’t believe that my life was screwed up already, I do now.