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  She made his coffee and took it to him. It was not in her job description, but she had done it all those years out of love. To stop now would make him start wondering if anything was wrong, and she couldn’t have that.

  “Hi James, your subcommittee is meeting at ten,” she said in soft tones as she placed the cup before him.

  James Coleman was already deep in work, going through different documents and publications. Everyone else had gone to their offices so it was just the two of them.

  He lifted the mug to his mouth without taking his eyes off the computer screen. “Hmm, thanks.”

  “I’ll just run you through your appointments for the day,” she said, standing next to him.

  He put down the cup and placed his hand on the back of her legs. There was nothing Diane could do about the shiver of revulsion that coursed through her. It was so noticeable that he took his eyes off the screen to look at her.

  “Missed me, huh?” He trailed his hands up until they rested on her backside.

  “Someone may come.” She tried to shift away, but he only held on tight.

  He swung his chair to face her and pulled her till she was flush against him. His mouth rested on her belly. Very deliberately, he moved down till his mouth was just below her waist, close to where her thighs parted and blew hot air there. Much to her shame, she shook, this time in need. The sudden reaction was humiliating.

  “Please, James, not now.”

  He rubbed her backside slowly before easing back. He placed a hand on her breast and pinched her nipple. “Soon.”

  She watched him go back to his computer and the resentment built. He was so cocky, so sure of himself. He could take whatever he wanted, whenever, with no consequences. Oh, by the time she was done with him, nobody would ever want him again.

  Diane was prepared to wait months, years even, if necessary, to sink the senator’s boat good and proper. But as fate would have it, the leak was sprung that very day and the hit did not come from her.

  She had been at her desk for about an hour when she heard a loud noise, like the sound of glass breaking coming from the senator’s office. She jumped up from her seat and hurried towards his door. She could hear him swearing in a loud and angry voice. She rushed in to find out what was going on and met him pacing.

  “James, what’s the matter?” She stared at the pieces of broken glass all over the white rug. She recognized the red color as the flower vase that had sat on his desk for years.

  “She is going to pay for this!” He ground out in fury pointing at his computer. “That slimy motherfucking bitch is going down.” He kept swearing, his eyes bulging in rage.

  Diane quickly moved to his side of the table and peered at the computer. It was open to the Chicago Daily website and there in big bold letters she saw it:

  Could Senator James Hugh Coleman Be Responsible For the Death of Hundreds of American Soldiers?

  The headline jumped out at her, making her gasp. It was written by someone named Sierra Newman. She quickly scanned the article and saw that this was beyond speculation. The woman wrote about the fact that when the senator became the chairman of the subcommittee, he recommended that the protective gear for the military be supplied by a company called Sentry Group. The gear was defective, which led to the death of several US military personnel. Then it went ahead to trace the fiduciary relationship between the senator and the real owners of Sentry Group, a relationship he had not disclosed.

  Diane kept scrolling down, reading about the Vida Health Foundation. She paused then. She knew the foundation very well; they were some of their largest donors. What did they have to do with this? Apparently, the Vida Foundation, as well as the Sentry Group, were all linked to the same criminal organization.

  She scrolled down some more and then she saw a face. Diane froze. The caption read Slim Johnny Natale, leader of the Abrantes Dukes. She knew that face.

  She stopped reading then, her pulse racing rapidly. Even if the senator was able to clear his name, and that didn’t look likely, the damage would be substantial.

  “Do you know if the network news has picked it up?” They could do damage control if it had not gone national.

  “How the hell am I supposed to know?”

  She kept her face neutral. What a prick. What made him think he could yell at her like that? She turned on the TV to a news channel.

  “Just in…News reaching us reveals that US Congressman representing Illinois’ sixth congressional district, Senator James Hugh Coleman, might be involved in an arms scandal linked to organized crime…”

  Almost as though a silent alarm went off somewhere, all the phones in the entire office began ringing at once. She moved towards her office to answer hers, but then something made her pause. James was speaking to his cellphone and seemed to have forgotten that he was not alone in the office.

  “I want you to find her and get rid of her. Permanently.” He paused briefly. “I don’t care how. She can meet with an unfortunate accident. You should have handled her the way you did her father.”

  Diane felt like ice water had been poured down her spine. On trembling legs, she walked back to her office and sank down on her seat. She tried to see if she could have misunderstood what she’d just heard, but no matter what angle she examined the words from, they only had one meaning.

  She gazed about her office in shock. How could she have thought she was in love with this man? He was a murderer. An immoral, heartless and callous excuse for a human being. Oh, she was going to destroy him and she knew just where to begin—with Sierra Newman.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Ace sat staring at the computer screen. A page was open with only two words written on it: Sierra Newman. He racked his hand through his hair, trying to stem the rising frustration. He needed to prepare a report on the Newman case, but his mind was as blank as the screen before him. He tapped his fingers on his desk. Sat up on his chair, then sank down again.

  It was no use.

  The weekend had been hell for him. Unable to concentrate on anything, he had taken a drive out of town in a bid to shake off thoughts of Sierra. He had come back in a worse state.

  He tried hooking up with someone over the weekend and even now, he cringed in embarrassment at how that had gone. He’d had absolutely no interest in having sex with the woman and had only made her angry, which was not what he’d set out to do. Heaven knew he had tried his best to feel attracted to the woman. He’d wanted to wipe out all thoughts of Sierra from his mind. But her touch was not right. Her scent too different.

  He had come away from that encounter sexually frustrated and ashamed. He had been trying to use one woman to forget another, and that was a new low for him.

  He wished he knew what he could do to stop thinking about Sierra. The night before, he fell asleep thinking of her and had woken up from a highly erotic dream that had featured her in different positions. If he closed his eyes, he was almost sure he could still taste her kiss.

  God, he was doing it again. Thinking about Sierra. Ace shook his head. This was getting out of hand. He peered at his computer screen, trying to focus. His fingers hovered over the keyboard and remained there. He needed to see her, but her rejection still stung. He was not egotistical or anything, but he honestly could not remember a time when a woman had ever rejected him. It just never happened to him. Instead, Ace was usually the one who did the walking away. The one who did the rejecting.

  To be fair to Sierra, it wasn’t as though he’d given her much to work with, and he was painfully aware of that. He raked both hands through his hair in frustration.

  “You are driving me crazy.”

  Ace looked up Rusty. The other man had his eyes trained onto his screen and his fingers were doing a rhythmic dance over the keyboard.

  “Fuck off.”

  “Wow, what’s gotten into you, bro?”

  Ace ran a hand over his face. This was crazy. Opening his eyes, he looked at Rusty. “I’m sorry. Bad weekend.”

&n
bsp; “She’s getting to you, huh?”

  He thought for a second of pretending ignorance, but that was too much effort. He shrugged instead and said, “Yeah.”

  “You should go see her.” Rusty finally took his eyes off the screen to glance briefly at Ace before going back to whatever it was he was doing.

  Ace thought about it. Actually, he’d thought of nothing else the entire weekend. But what was the point? So he shook his head. “Nah.”

  I don’t want this…I don’t want you…

  Those words kept echoing in his mind. He could still see her…the way she’d held herself rigidly when she’d said the words that wouldn’t stop haunting him. She had meant every word she’d said. But as he looked back, Ace saw with hindsight that although her mouth had said one thing, there had been this whole other thing going on with her eyes. They had sent a completely different message. One Ace had failed to recognize.

  A dreadful realization settled in the pit of his stomach. He should never have left her. Not without first speaking to her, and maybe not even then.

  Her eyes had been pleading with him to make an effort and he had ignored her. He felt like the biggest fool alive on the planet. He needed to see Sierra.

  “You really should go to her,” Rusty said quietly.

  Ace’s gaze had turned inward and he’d become oblivious to his environment. He focused now and saw Rusty staring at him. The other man looked like he wanted to say something. Ace lifted an eyebrow.

  Rusty hesitated.

  “Do I have to beat it out of you?” Ace asked.

  The other man gave him a look that clearly said he would like to see Ace try, which made him smile ruefully. Rusty did not have the bulk that Ace and Drew had, and he was gentle, which was probably why women found him irresistible. Nonetheless, Ace had seen him fight and Rusty fought like a street fighter; without rules and without sparing any punches. He was laser focused and did not stop till the opponent was down. If Ace got into a fight with Rusty, they would probably both end up dead or in the hospital at the very best.

  Rusty looked at Ace, meeting his gaze directly. Ace stilled, all his attention focused on his colleague and friend.

  “When a person is dead, no matter how much you want to talk to them, it would be too late,” Rusty said, his voice quiet.

  He held Ace’s gaze, passing on his wisdom to the other man. Finally, Ace nodded. He understood what Rusty was saying, and trying to imagine a situation where he could no longer speak to Sierra even if he wanted to left him feeling cold. He needed to go to her and they both needed to sit down and talk. Really talk.

  “Rusty, turn on the news.” Emily walked in briskly.

  For the first time since he knew her, Ace saw anxiety on Emily’s face. He sat up, tense. He stared at her, but she did not meet his gaze. Her eyes were trained on the flat screen behind Rusty. He swung his gaze to the screen as it came to life. A nature show was on. Rusty changed it to a news channel. Ace saw the perky blonde reading the news, but it was not until she mentioned Sierra’s name that he paid attention.

  “…published by the Chicago Daily this morning indicting Senator James Hugh Coleman as being responsible for the death of scores, maybe hundreds, of American soldiers. We have reached out to Senator Coleman’s office. The senator’s response to the article is quote, ‘ridiculous and overreaching, a desperate attempt at blackmail’. End quote. The evidence seems pretty damning right now. After the break we will be speaking to Roger Edmund, a professor and former adviser to the president on…”

  Ace had his eyes on the TV, but he could no longer hear what she was saying. His mind went into a tailspin, different thoughts running throughout, but his mind could not seem to pin one down.

  Rusty turned down the volume of the TV and there was sudden silence. In the intense quiet that followed, Ace could almost hear the rapid beating of his heart against his ribcage. For the first time in a very long while, Ace knew true fear.

  “What the hell has she done?” Rusty’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but it fell in the room like a thunderbolt and spurred Ace into action.

  He got up from his seat, sending the chair to the floor as he rose. He had only one thought on his mind—to get to her as soon as possible.

  “Hold on, Ace.”

  He paused, his eyes on Emily. She walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulders. “I’ll ask Mom to call her at the office.” She picked up the phone and spoke into it, “Mom, please connect me to the Chicago Daily.”

  He wanted to speak to Sierra and find out just what the hell she was playing at. He paced a few steps and walked back to Emily. This was ridiculous. He could go to her office himself and talk to her. Let her know what a dumbass move she’d just made. She had put herself out there, a damn sitting duck.

  He felt fear course through him. Fear for Sierra’s safety. How could she do something so stupid?

  “I would like to speak with Sierra Newman, please,” he heard Emily say. There was a pause then, “Oh. Okay, I see…Thanks.”

  “What’s going on?” Ace asked. He did not like the look on Emily’s face.

  She returned the phone to the cradle and sighed deeply before raising her gaze to his. “Apparently, she took an indefinite leave of absence.”

  “Shit.”

  He picked up his keys as though in a daze, grabbed his coat and rushed out of the room. He had to get to her on the double! He met Emily’s mom with Captain Kinsella at the reception area.

  “I watched the news,” Kinsella said.

  “Yeah, we just did as well.”

  Ace looked back, not surprised to see Emily and Rusty close at his heels, coats in hand.

  “What the hell was she thinking?” Emily threw her hands into the air.

  “Oh, the poor girl. This is terrible.” Coralline Silver cast a worried glance at Ace, which he pretended not to see it.

  They were wasting time chatting when the Abrantes men could be at Sierra’s now. He was getting impatient.

  “We’re heading there,” Rusty told the police chief.

  They walked out the building, Ace feeling the tension rising inside of him.

  “This is going to blow our case wide open,” Kinsella said walking to his car. He paused and turned around. “Any idea why she did it?”

  The others shook their heads.

  “Ace?” His truck was parked right next Kinsella’s vehicle and the man turned to Ace.

  He knew why. He’d never met anyone as focused and as determined as Sierra Newman. When she set her sights on something, she did whatever it took to get the desired results and this move of hers was a case in point.

  “What are you thinking, Ace?” Emily asked.

  He shook his head. “Bait.”

  He saw the confusion on their faces and then the shock as his meaning sank in.

  “Oh my God.” Emily hurried to the passenger side of his truck and hopped in. “What are you waiting for, let’s move!”

  Rusty had also gotten into the truck.

  Kinsella shook his head. “In a crazy way, I admire her spunk.”

  Ace could not share the man’s view. He supposed that in a detached way, if it had been anyone else, he would have admired the person’s bravery as well. But this was Sierra and her life was in danger.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Ace almost broke all speed limits in his hurry to reach Sierra. He was careful to stay within the speed limits, just. They parked along her street, just before they got to her driveway.

  “Rusty and I will go through the back,” Emily said. Ace suddenly noticed that she was wearing her holster. He looked at Rusty over at the back and realized he was also wearing his gun holster.

  Ace reached into the glove compartment and pulled out his weapon, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol. He jumped out of the truck with the gun. He shrugged into his coat. It was easier to conceal the weapon beneath the folds of fabric.

  Emily used two fingers to wave towards the driveway of the house, nodded once and
then disappeared around the corner with Rusty.

  “Let’s go,” Captain Kinsella said, walking briskly past Ace. From the bulge beneath his arm, Ace could tell he had a concealed weapon on him as well.

  They cautiously walked up the driveway to the front door. Ace’s eyes darted to every corner, searching for any sign of trouble. His body was tightly wired, ready to act at a moment’s notice. Everything was still, eerily silent and nothing seemed out of place. Yet, he could not shake his unease.

  They walked up to the front door, without incident. The policeman pointed to the doorbell. Ace hesitated. He was not sure ringing the bell was such a good idea. If there was anyone inside, it would alert them to their presence. Then again, if there was anyone there, they’d probably already seen them.

  They both moved quietly to either side of the door and pressed their bodies against the wall, careful not to lean on the door itself, even though Silver Shield had gotten a bulletproof door installed when they’d taken on the responsibility for Sierra’s safety.

  Ace met Kinsella’s eyes and the cop nodded. Ace raised his hands with three fingers up. Kinsella nodded. They were going to burst open the door on the count of three.

  Kinsella raised one finger, then a second. He was about to raise a third finger and Ace was primed for action when Emily suddenly called out.

  “Guys, I’m opening the door. Stand down.”

  Ace heard Emily’s voice from the other side of the door. She had obviously entered the house, which meant that Sierra was safe. But where was she?

  “We’ve searched the entire house. Nothing here.” Emily let them in.

  Ace walked through the house that had become familiar in the last couple of weeks. It felt strangely flat, like something was missing. He went to her room and immediately stopped by the door. His eyes swept around the room and even from a single glance, he could tell that she had not been there in a while. He could still smell her scent, but it was faint.

  He entered the bathroom and discovered that her toothbrush was missing. He noticed the missing spots on her countertop. Sierra was such a neat freak that all the bottles were perfectly arranged, half an inch from the other. It was clear to see where she had taken some bottles out of the lot.