Aedan: Harrison Ambush – Erotic Tiger Shapeshifter Romance (5 page)

“I don’t have anything like that. Who would have set it up?” She gave him the names of the company that gave her the short list, and the courier company that they used all the time. “All right. I need you to hang on for just a moment please.”

Without waiting for a reply, Aedan put her on hold and called out to Cindy and asked her to check on it. In two minutes she had answers for him. He leaned back in his chair and tried to think.

The letter had never left the courier’s office. It still sat, sealed and ready to go out, on the desk of the man who was supposed to bring it to him. When Cindy tried to get someone to tell them why Aedan had never gotten it, they replied that they were told to wait until tomorrow to deliver it. Not a week ago, but the day of the event. Someone didn’t want him to have any information on this.

It’s in the papers that there is a debate, but no mention of who it might be with. And it might have been on the television, but as you know, we don’t watch much of it.
He didn’t either and told Riordan what he’d only just found out.
They’re making you look bad, and as a no-show, which I’m sure is what he’s hoping for, he’ll be able to bash you without you there to say differently.

Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking as well. Do you suppose that the person setting this up, or me up, in this is someone that works for Ellison?
Riordan said he’d count on that.
I have to get ready. I mean, he’s going to throw questions at me and I need to have answers.

I’m sure that you’ll do fine.
Aedan wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t one to go into things without plenty of planning.
Just write up what you want to say and be calm. Come over tonight and I’ll help you out if you want. But you’re going to do fine.

After closing the connection with Riordan with the promise of going over after he saw to his guest, he picked up the phone to talk to Penelope. He wasn’t sure what to tell her about the mess up, so didn’t mention what he’d found out. He did, however, get the times and places that he was to be, and cut her off again. He started working on his platform as soon as he finished up the report for Mac.

And now, here he was about to go on television for the first time in his adult life to talk to a man that he had no more respect for than he did the lowest form of scum. It had been a real eye-opener finding the things that Ellison had promised before in his campaign and just how little of it he’d done. Aedan had also come up with ideas of his own, things he was going to follow through on. Jobs for one. And that was in the works now.

At ten minutes before the hour he was introduced to Dewey Ellison. He’d met the man before, talked to him about things that he’d been noticing around the town, and had been fobbed off like he had been about the debate. Ellison seemed genuinely surprised to see him there.

“I wasn’t sure that you’d make it. Heard that you’ve been having a good old time getting your new house in order.” Aedan just smiled. He wasn’t going to get into that kind of debate with the man about where he lived. “Usually these things get a little heated. The people seem to like it when those running against me give them a good show. Are you up for that, young man?”

“I’ve watched all your debates, Ellison. I’m sure that this one will be different.” He asked him how. “You can’t think I’m going to give you all my answers, do you?”

“No, no. Not at all. Like I said, they like a good show and I try and give it to them. I saw your ad with the president. How much did it set you back to have the big guy endorse you? Either that or you had some big time dirt on him.” Ellison poked at him, like they’d shared a good joke. “You might want to share that with me when this is all over. Come on over to the governor’s mansion. I’ll show you around so you can see what you’ll be missing. It’s a lovely home, by the way. Maybe someday you’ll be able to stay there. After I’m done with it, anyway.”

“You think?” Ellison just glared at him. “And it’s my understanding that we can live where we want, so long as there is security around. I think my house, which I believe is a little larger than the governor’s place, will do me just fine.”

They were called into the studio to set up, and Aedan was sure that he was going to throw up. But looking out into the people there, he saw his mom. When she blew him a kiss and gave him a thumbs up, Aedan felt calmer. Even his cat seemed to settle down. If he could get out of this with just making a fool of himself and not his family, he might do all right just being a recluse at home from now on.

For an hour and a half, Aedan fielded questions and cut Ellison to the bone. Each time Ellison brought up something, mostly things from the survey that had been sent to Darcy, Aedan was able to come back with a fluent straight answer. He was going to send Storm a dozen roses when this was over for telling him to be prepared for those questions. Aedan smiled to himself when he glanced over at Ellison.

His tie had been loosened to the point that you could now see his jowl. It wasn’t hot in the little area, but he was sweating like he was on a desert island without water or breeze. Every time he picked up his notes, ones that were now smeared with sweat, he chuckled about how the lighting was dimmed and that he wasn’t sure who had written them out for him.

Aedan hadn’t brought notes to the podium that they were standing in front of. They’d made him nervous, and Riordan said that he fussed with them too much when he’d been practicing. Nor did he have any little cheats written on his hands other than the little drawing. His paw print, for as small as it was, helped him in big ways. All he had in front of him was an untouched glass of water. He looked at Storm and she nodded. It was time to hit Ellison where it counted. Aedan cleared his throat when he was given the floor.

“Last time you ran Governor, you mentioned that you were going to bring more jobs to the state. That you’d be taking on tighter control of drugs in the schools, as well as some improvements to the state roads.” Storm handed him the file that she had in her hand. Aedan pulled out the first sheet; it was bright yellow. She called it the sunshine sheet because Aedan was going to shove this information where the sun never shined in the governor’s body.

“Let me look at my notes here and get the numbers—”

Aedan cut Ellison off. It was his turn and he’d not asked a question of the man yet. “Unemployment is at an all-time high for the state. There are—”

“There has been a downturn in the economy if you remember there, young Harrison. Things don’t improve unless I have to raise taxes, and I won’t do that to the people who voted me in.” He laughed a little. “I’m thinking you have to get a little more knowledge under your belt before you take on this kind of office.”

Not a sound was heard from the audience, just the small nervous laughter from Ellison.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t cut me off when I’m speaking. Taxes have gone up four percent. Not a lot if you think of the single person paying that on their homes, but overall it was just over six million and some change. That money was earmarked, you said when you raised the taxes, to go to road improvement projects. So far, not one dollar has gone there.” Aedan pulled out another sheet of paper in the stack, this one bright blue. She called this her once in a blue moon paper. He’d only have to say this once to get people thinking. “Unemployment is at an all-time high, as I said, at nearly thirteen percent in some counties. Up nearly four percent since you promised more jobs. There is also—”

“I think you have the wrong information.” Aedan looked at him, hoping that he’d say something, anything that he’d be able to catch him on. “I’m sure that your information is a little outdated. Perhaps I can get a better understanding and send the information to that new house of yours.”

“I’ve asked you already not to cut me off. It’s my turn to speak, Ellison. And you keep bringing up my home. Once backstage and now here. Do you have a problem with someone being able to afford their first home?” Ellison stuttered around a moment. “You did say in your last campaign that you’d make housing more affordable and bring in more grants, and help with that from the government grants that you could get for our state. So have you since changed your mind about that?”

“No. No, that’s not what I said. What I was trying to point out is.... What I meant to say was that you.... Your family comes from a long line of money. Just where did it come from?” Aedan looked at his dad when he stood up, but Riordan pulled him back down before he said anything. “I mean, you should see the things my constituents are saying about you.”

“I have.” He pulled out the thick stack of questions that his brother had given him over a week ago. “You should be more careful who gets these. And some of these questions that you sent out, they might be considered lies.”

“Lies? I never…where did you get that? That was to go out to a certain list.... I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The audience started screaming questions at them both. Most of them were directed at Ellison about the questionnaire, but Aedan answered a few of his own. But when he lifted his hand up when he was told there were only a few minutes left, the entire room grew deadly quiet. Aedan looked into the camera in front of him.

“Plans are in the works now to bring seven thousand jobs to this state by the end of next year. I, my family, and others have been working on that for several weeks now. Also, there is ample money in the state programs to help lower income people to afford their first homes. In addition to that, if you call my campaign office, you can be directed to websites that can show you where you can get aide in the form of down payments, student loans, and other moneys that have been earmarked for such things.” He gave the address and phone number for them to call. “This has nothing to do with votes or with either of us being the governor. It’s money that is there to be used to help better your lives and our state, and I’d like to make sure that you know where to find it.”

As soon as he was told it was clear, he moved past the people there and headed to the bathroom. Aedan was barely in the stall before he bent at the waist and threw up. Christ, he wasn’t sure he was cut out for this shit. Standing up, he leaned against the stall door, then heard the bathroom door open and close, and knew who it was. His dad. Flushing the commode, he went to the sink.

“I don’t know if I ever told you this, but you’re very scary when you want to be.” He looked at his dad in the mirror as he washed up. “You took him right out of the running, I’m thinking. Jiminy Cricket, boy, you only had a day to prepare. I’d hate to see you when you’re not hard pressed to get things done. You’ll have him before a firing squad by sunset.”

“Thanks Dad.” Aedan was pulled into a huge bear hug and hugged his dad right back. “Thank you. Thank you for being the best dad that anyone could ever have. I love you.”

“I love you too, son. Now get on out there and show them what a Harrison looks like when he’s just won the governorship.” Aedan laughed with his dad and went out. He’d been wrong thinking his dad was having fun with him. Every person who had been in the seats in front of them was now asking questions. Aedan felt his belly churn up again but stood his ground.

He might have even enjoyed all the attention. Just a little, anyway.

Chapter 4

“I think I might have found something.” Otis looked at Joe when he came barging into his office. He was afraid it was his wife again. She and his little girl had been coming in here three times a day since the flower crisis. He’d finally told them that if they entered again, he was going to take their credit cards and cars and be done with the lot of them. That had worked better than he’d thought it would. “I’ve been looking at some footage, something that the police have set up for Amber alerts or something. Here, can you put this in your computer? Anyway, I have Paddy moving down a street on foot. Then I think in a car about six blocks away.”

Otis took the small thumb drive from Joe but was so excited to have something, anything, that he fumbled it a few times. Finally, Joe took it back and slid it in where it would work properly. Neither of them mentioned it and Otis was glad. He’d have hated to kill the man after all this time.

“I thought his car was in the garage.” Joe said that it was, just as the cameras started where the man was walking down a sidewalk holding his side. The car was as of an hour ago; it had never moved. When the car was stopped at a light somewhere, it was obvious to him that it was Paddy Neal. “Then he had a stash somewhere. Not to mention, if he had a stash set up with a car he might have also had a place to go that no one would have known about. Cash, he would have had cash there as well. That would explain the lack of use of his credit cards too.”

“Other than the direction he was headed, I don’t know much right now. But I have some clues. Not on the girl, but if we find him, then she’ll come out. They’re pretty tight, or so I’ve been told.”

Otis knew that as well. He wished at times that he had that sort of relationship with his kid. From some of the reports that he’d read about Nikki and her grandda, the two of them had something special.

Dorothea was just too used to having it all, and he’d come to realize that hadn’t just been his fault. Savannah had been just as indulgent.
But he figured that if he had it, she should as well. It was coming back to bite him in the ass.

Otis looked at Joe when he realized he’d missed something, and asked him to repeat it.

“We have him on the interstate at about ten the morning we went to talk to him regarding Nikki. The same system picked him up later at a gas station about ten miles from a little town in Ohio. There’s an airport there with no kind of camera system, but I don’t think he would have used that. But there are any number of places that he could have stopped at to get help.”

“Could he have gone on? I mean, the coast is where I would go.” Joe shook his head. “Where is he then?”

“I know that he didn’t go any further on the interstate than when he got off at the gas station. I’ve watched the video myself four times to be sure. He went there and didn’t enter the highway onramps again. There is a chance that he took back roads to somewhere—Ohio has a shit load of them—but in his condition, I don’t think so. I’ve already sent out a team to look into doctors and hospitals in the area. He has a minimum of three bullets in him I think, so if he made it that far, he’s going to be hurting bad. If not dead.”

“Christ, at this point I don’t want him dead until I kill him.” Joe smiled. “Can you go out there for me? I need you here, but you going there would be better so that I know that it’s not going to get fucked up again. Once you find him, call me on my cell and I’ll come out. I want this over with. I have a feeling that wherever that bitch is, she’s just making her plans to drop a big bowl of shit right over my parade.”

He’d lost two more shipments over the last three days. Before he’d had her in his sights, he was sure that someone else was giving up the information, and they were going to pay when he caught them. And he would have. Then two weeks before the big showdown, he’d found out that Nikki’s grandfather had been a fucking Fed while he’d been away, and that had to be it. That explained to him who was giving information about his drops.

It wasn’t coming through his contact. Well, nothing was now. The man was now at the bottom of the deepest lake Otis knew of. But what bothered him the most was that the fucking bitch wasn’t even getting any kind of pay from her department for the collars. She had been giving them over to the big guys, the fucking Feds. Not that anyone would have given her any kind of kudos anyway, at least not the cops he’d had working for him.

What burned his ass was that she’d been able to get in anyway. For six months she’d been working in some of his labs, going to work every fucking day, and even getting paid with his hard earned money. It had taken him nearly the entire time she was infiltrating his shit for someone to realize in the station house that she might be the one interfering with his work, not one of his own men. Then, once her picture started going around and five people confirmed that they knew her, Otis had killed three of his men before he was able to get his temper under control again.

“I’ll drive out today.” Otis nodded at Joe. But when he didn’t move, Otis looked at the only person in the world that he called friend. “Robert wants to go. I think, like you, he’s heard enough about the wedding. You should also know that I don’t like him. Don’t know why yet, but there is something off about him that makes me want to draw my gun and blow his fucking head off.”

“He’s been having that same effect on me too. I think it’s the stress. At least that’s what I’m hoping. But this wedding? You think he’s backing out?” Joe shrugged. “Christ, I hope not. Even if you don’t count all the money I’ve poured into this fucking thing, I won’t be able to stand either of them if he does. I love my little girl to death, but she might be about the whiniest person I know other than her mother. I need this wedding to go on.”

“I’ll take him with me. He can make up any kind of excuses he wants to his bride to be. But I draw the line at her coming with us. I can’t be around her that long.” Otis didn’t even think of what he was saying as an insult to her. Dorothea was hard to be around on her best days. And Savannah was about ten times worse. “We’ll leave as soon as he can get packed. I’ve already made arrangements at one of the hotels just outside of the town where Paddy got gas.”

After he left him, Otis looked at the thumb drive that Joe had shown him again. Pausing it on the face at the light, he looked at the man. Christ, Otis knew that Paddy was old enough to be his own father, yet he looked like he was more fit than he was. Otis looked down at his expanding waistline and decided that he was going to be slimmer for this wedding. He was not going to be one of those fat fucks that waddled their daughter down the aisle with an oxygen tank simply because he was too lazy to push away from the table in time.

Pulling a file from the bottom of his desk, he took out the only picture he had of Nikki. Sitting it by her grandfather’s image, Otis could see that they were related. He wished now that he’d thought about it before it had gotten this far, if he had he might not be in the shit he was in now. As it was, he was losing money on his business, and the woman had more dirt on him than even her grandda had had back in the day. He wondered what else besides his books she had.

Each place that she’d been at the computers had been cloned. Nine of his most profitable labs and distribution centers had to be closed down because of her snooping where she had no business. But by the time he’d found out, it had been too late for some of them. She had enough information to not only bury him, but five more of the bigwigs in town too. He’d been stupid and clumsy in using real names rather than a code. And if they ever found out, the ones on his books, he might as well put the gun to his temple and pull the trigger himself. It would be much quicker and less painful if he did.

Four bank managers who made his money clean were on that list. There was his investment guru that had made sure that all the right paperwork was used to have his money in safe accounts. The county law, the state boys, and a few other highly profiled men and women were on his lists as well, two of them judges that made more money just from making one ruling in his favor than the state paid them for a single year.

These people didn’t have much on him; very little, other than that they took bribes from him. But if one fell, it would be like a house of cards. He’d be in prison before the last one got their turn at trying to get a deal from the local and federal crime agencies. This was why Otis hadn’t even told Joe of what Nikki had gotten.

It was nearly four later that afternoon when he got a call from Joe. He’d tracked Paddy to a town called Nashport. Beyond that, there wasn’t a single hit, not even someone saying he might think he maybe saw him.

“I’m going to see what I can find out in the hospital here. They’re remodeling, so it might be easier than I thought to get somewhere. Also, there is a list of doctors here that I’m having Robert check on. Most of them are gynos anyway, but we’re still looking.” He asked him if Robert was bitching. “Yes. The wedding is in peril, so you know. I guess Dorothea told him that if she didn’t get things her way all the time, she’d come running to you and you’d make it right. Also, I think....Well, you might be surprised to know that he has been talking to your wife too. He seems too comfortable around her to me. He’s more uptight about the fact that Savannah is upset than he is about his intended.”

“My wife? Perhaps I can have a talk to her about it. Maybe she’s egging the two of them on or something. But you tell him once he says the right words and doesn’t beat her, I’m never stepping in. The house I’m getting them is a wedding present in both their names, and he’s already signed the pre-nup, so that’s taken care of.” Joe said he mentioned that too. “He want out of that?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve set someone to look into his finances. I think he might be having a few issues of his own.” Otis said he’d look from here. “Good. I was wondering how I was going to set that up. Anyway, when I find something on this end, I’ll call you, day or night.”

“Yes. Be sure that you do.” Just before he was ready to hang up, he thought of something else. “This vamp you mentioned. You think he’s there? In the town with them? I mean, there can’t be that many in such a small ass town, do you think?”

“I’ll check. But I would say not. This is a sports town, if you know what I mean. And they have gun racks in the back of their trucks, which everyone seems to drive.” Podunk was the first word that popped into Otis’s head. “I’m going over to the hospital now, and then in the morning I’m going to check on locals. I’d think he’d stand a better chance of getting one of them to help an old man out than a hospital.”

Otis looked at the picture of the man he’d printed out from the surveillance video he’d been given, and wanted to tell Joe to look in the gyms while he was at it. After they closed the connection between them, he put the phone in the cradle only to have it ring again. Picking it up, he figured that it was Joe again.

“What have you found out about the girl?” It took his mind a moment to realize who was on the other end. “You said you’d have something by now. And I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but I think she might have taken our pictures while we were standing there ready to blast her out of the fucking planet.”

“I wasn’t aware of that. Are you sure?” The man snarled at him that he was. “I’ve got my best men working on this. We still have no idea what might have happened to her body.”

Otis jerked the phone from his ear when Wendell started cursing. If he knew the half of what shit was going on, he’d be running out of the country. Otis might too before this was all done but for the wedding of the year.

“You find her, I want to know about it. And if I hear on the news or the paper that I’m being indicted, I’m dropping everything at your door.” The phone slammed down and Otis just sat there. Calling Joe back, he told him that it was time to end their relationship with Wendell Householder. By this time tomorrow, the man would be dead.

~~~

Ennis was just leaving his office when someone pulled into the parking lot. He was ready to tell them that he was closed up for the day when he looked at them. Everything in him told him to shift and kill them. Calming his cat, he smiled at the men and asked them what he could do for them. It was then that the bigger of the two men made sure that Ennis could see his gun. Fuck.

“We were just checking some things out and were directed to your office to see if you knew anything. We’re inquiring about someone that you might have had come here about a week ago. Elderly gentleman that might or might not be shot.” He flashed him his badge, and Ennis was able to see that it was from Illinois and nothing more. “We’ve traced him this far, but so far no one has seen him.”

“Do you have a picture of him?” He said that sadly he’d left it in his hotel room. “I don’t know that I can help you anyway. I see only a few regulars here right now. I’ve only just opened my own practice. Before that I worked at a larger firm where people were coming and going so quickly that I’d more than likely take care of my mom and not know it until later.”

They both laughed, but the younger man moved up on the step with him and looked in the window of his offices. The older man, the one with the gun, said nothing, but Ennis could tell that he wasn’t happy about whatever it was the younger one was doing. Ennis reached for Riordan.

I have two men here looking for Mr. Neal. They’ve not said his name nor do they have a picture, but they’re from Illinois. I think they’re trying to pose as good old boys, but the younger of the two is antsy and making my cat pissy.
Riordan asked if he was alone.
Yes. I’m not in my offices but out in the empty parking lot. Are you close?