Dar kissed her head. “We’ll find a way.” She looked up as the room’s phone rang and then answered it. “Yes?”


354 Melissa Good

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but this is the hotel operator, and I have a Mr.

James Herkins who is very insistent on wanting to talk to Ms. Stuart.”

“It’s the prosecutor.” Dar held her hand over the receiver. “You want to talk to him?”

“Now he wants to talk to me?” Kerry answered with a touch of sarcasm. “Not really but I guess I’d better.” She took the phone. “Thank you.

Put him through. Sorry if this is being such a pain for you.”

“Oh.” The operator seemed surprised. “Well, thanks for saying that.

Most people don’t.” She clicked off and then a male voice came through.

“Ms. Stuart?”

“Yes,” Kerry answered.

“I’d like to set up a meeting. We need to talk.”

“Now that I have something to say that you want to hear?” Kerry shot back, getting a mildly raised eyebrow from her listening partner.

There was a pause. “Ms. Stuart, I had no reason to think you were the cornerstone of the situation. My information on you was that you were just another one of Roger’s kids.” Herkins hesitated. “It’s not like you came forward and said otherwise.”

Well, that was true. Kerry had to admit.

“And I don’t think you want to go through another day like today.

Am I wrong?”

Also true. “All right. But it can’t be today. I have something I have to take care of,” Kerry told him. “Besides, I’ve pretty much said all I have to say.”

“Except why.”

“Excuse me?”

“Why, Ms. Stuart. You solved a big problem for me today by saying how—there was always a question as to how that information got released. The question that’s coming to everyone’s mind right now is why. Why would one of Roger Stuart’s kids—seemingly a nice, intelligent, successful young woman—deliberately release information so damaging?”

Kerry was silent for a moment. “I was just asking myself that same question. I guess I just felt it was the right thing to do at the time.”

“Still think that?” Herkins asked shrewdly.

Kerry let a breath out. “Morally? Yes. He did things that were not right and not legal.”

“Well,” the prosecutor’s voice sounded satisfied, “I’d agree with you there, Ms. Stuart, and you sent a very powerful message today, whether you realized it or not. How about you and I meet for breakfast and we can talk? Maybe I can work things out so you can finish up here and go home.”

Home. “I’d like that,” she admitted. “Honestly, I really don’t have anything else to add to the case one way or the other. I didn’t know—or even suspect—until I was looking at it in black and white on my screen.”

“I believe you, Ms. Stuart,” he replied. “He fooled a lot of people.”

He paused. “Tomorrow morning then? I’ll pick you up in the back. We’ll Eye of the Storm 355

go over to a little place near the hearing chambers. Okay?”

“All right,” Kerry agreed. “Are the hearings over for today?”

A soft snort. “They requested a delay. Apparently you rocked their apple cart pretty thoroughly.”

“Okay.”

“Ms. Stuart, don’t be surprised if they contact you. It’s up to you if you want to talk to them, but I think you realize they’re not your friends.”

“I understand,” Kerry answered. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Eight all right?”

“Perfect. Have a good night, Ms. Stuart.”

Kerry hung up the phone and stared at it. “He’s supposed to be the good guy.” She looked up at Dar. “So why do I feel like such a traitor?”

“Because you have a conscience,” Dar responded promptly. “And a good heart.”

Kerry sighed. “I want this to be over, Dar.” She rubbed her neck tiredly. “I want to be back in my office, listening to José complain and having something stupid and disastrous to work on waiting for me.” Her shoulders slumped. “I want to have a cup of café con leche and one of those cheese pastelitos, and know when the sun sets that there’s a climbing wall waiting for me.”

Dar rested her head on her arm. “Are you telling me you’re happy with your life?” The question slipped out without her realizing it and was more serious than she’d intended.

“Yes.” Kerry’s eyes were unfocused, as she stared across the nondescript hotel room. “Maybe I didn’t realize until this moment just how happy I am.” She blinked. “True hearts are such a rare gift, Dar.”

Dar wasn’t sure where this was coming from. “Yes, they are,” she answered cautiously.

Kerry turned and put a hand on Dar’s chest, right over hers. “How in the hell did I rate one?”

Dar had no idea of what to answer to that and was saved from having to improvise by a light knock on the connecting door. “Yeah?” She kept her eyes locked with Kerry’s, searching the shadowed green depths as the door opened inward and her father’s head emerged.

“Thought I heard voices.” Andrew cocked his head at the two of them. “You two all right?”

Kerry exhaled, then turned her head. “We’re fine, Dad. But my sister’s in the hospital having trouble with the baby. I need to go see her.”

“All right, kumquat. We’ll put on the hip waders and slog through all the pony paddies wherever you want to.” Andrew pulled his head back inside to relay the request.

“Dar?” Kerry turned back to regard her lover seriously. “You need to have children.”

“Wh—?” Dar’s eyes went round and huge.

“You just do.” Kerry got up and went to the sink, rinsing her face with the cold, metallic water.


Chapter

Thirty-eight

“ALASTAIR, IT’S GONE past where we can control this.” Evans was upset and his voice showed it. “We have the company’s reputation at stake here.”

Alastair fiddled with a pencil, tossing it back and forth between his fingers. “I really don’t see a problem, John—”

“Oh, c’mon,” Berensen augered in with a disgusted sigh. “For Christ’s sake, Alastair. We’re in the middle of a political nightmare here.

She admitted to releasing that information. What more do you want?”

“Well, it’s not against company policy to tell the truth,” the CEO

reminded them mildly. “Despite what you might have heard.” He looked up as Bea stuck her head in and they exchanged rueful looks. “Besides, we got some great press yesterday, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, until they all figure out the connection and realize those two,” a vicious pause, “ladies are shacking up together. Then what, Alastair? You want to put your puss on television and explain why we’ve got a couple of—”

“John,” McLean warned in a low voice, “our company policy is one of non-discrimination on paper, and we all know that, so—”

“Alastair, no one’s gonna give royal crap what our policy is. This’ll be front page news. You better do something about it right now.”

Alastair got up, walked around his chair, and paced in a small circle.

“Like what?”

“Fire Stuart!”

“For?” the CEO shot back. “Honesty? Integrity? Good job performance? What would you like me to fire her for, John?”

The air crackled with tension. Alastair leaned forward towards the teleconferencing session, where the two board members were displayed, having stayed after his general session that had completed not much earlier. It hadn’t been either smooth or cordial, and the CEO had a feeling he might be on the losing end of at least one of these battles. “Well?” he asked again.

“For using company resources to get that information on her father and use it for personal reasons,” Evans stated in triumph.

“We don’t know she did that,” Alastair told him. “We don’t know she used company resources, and given what the poor kid just had to go Eye of the Storm 357

through, it’s hard to see where she got any personal gain from it.”

“Oh, c’mon, Alastair!”

“I’m just protecting company assets, John,” the CEO reminded him placidly. “That is what you pay me for.”

Berenson slapped his hand on his desk, audible through the connection. “McLean, enough of this stupidity. Look, I know you’ve got a thing for Roberts, but for Christ’s sake, is it worth your job?”

Alastair stared at the screen for a long moment. “Well you know, let me get back to you on that one.” With a quick motion, he slapped the disconnect key and cut off further discussion. With a disgusted sigh, he sat down at his desk and propped his chin up on his fist as Bea entered again and brought him a mug. “Don’t think I need any more coffee, thanks.”

“It’s bourbon,” Bea answered with a wry smile. “I just put it in a coffee cup to cut down on the gossip.” She set the cup down and perched on a corner of his desk. “Tough situation, huh? I saw the footage.”

Alastair rolled his eyes.

“You knew this might happen if you promoted Paladar.”

“Yeah, I knew,” the CEO agreed, with a rueful smile. “But you know, Bea, I still think it was the right choice. Look at all Dar’s accomplished since then.” He exhaled wearily. “I just hope the little bugger hasn’t achieved more trouble than I can handle this time.” He glanced at the media feed, which had Kerry’s image displayed prominently, running on the corner of his computer desktop. “Gonna be a close one.”

HAVING A FATHER who spent the balance of his life in clandestine operations was, Dar discovered, a damn useful thing when in the public spotlight. Andrew guided them out of the hotel and around the corner into a small alley, then out onto the street where they captured a taxi with little trouble.

They were surprised to find a crowd outside the hospital, but it wasn’t anything having to do with the hearings. The hospital was home to a family planning facility that performed abortions and the group was protesting outside, picketing the entrance and chanting.