Concrete Evidence (37 page)

He took her hand and led her farther down the corridor to a restroom. “You need to fix your lipstick.”

Inside, she faced herself in the mirror. In her flushed face she saw a slight resemblance to her mother—not the woman she’d been in the last years of her life but the woman her mom had been before Erica’s father died. Losing the love of her life had destroyed her mother. Erica had already lost everything that mattered to her. Could she survive losing Lee?

If she couldn’t, she’d have to let Jake get away with his crime.

For the first time in a year, she didn’t want to redeem herself. She didn’t want revenge. Redemption and revenge would cost her the one thing she wanted more: a life, a future, a chance at happiness. Lee.

C
HAPTER
F
ORTY

B
Y THE TIME THEY REJOINED
the party, Erica felt drunk, but not on champagne. She was giddy, happy. Crazy in love. Lee looked at her with fervent eyes, and the air between them crackled with electricity, the buzz of energy that came with intense feelings.

She’d made a decision. She wasn’t going to give up her chance at happiness tonight. For once she’d take the safe route and wouldn’t fight the lonely fight. She would remain silent.

Later, after the party, she’d tell Lee everything, and together they’d find a way to keep her safe.

They circulated among the guests, talking with politicians, pundits, and celebrities. Lee introduced her to US Attorney Curt Dominick, whom he described as an old friend. Her mood was so high, not even Curt’s speculative gaze could break through the warm cocoon that enveloped her.

The senator, already the front runner for his party’s nomination, hadn’t made his entrance yet, but the excitement in the room was a testament to the facts of his candidacy: he was a charismatic minority from a hardscrabble background with enough experience to make him the ideal candidate. His supporters considered him a shoo-in.

Edward Drake walked up and clasped her hands like they were longtime friends. “Erica Kesling,” he said. “The senator told me he invited you. I wasn’t aware you knew him.”

“My work on the Thermo-Con project brought me to his attention.”

Drake cocked his head to the side. “Thermo-Con. Is that the concrete house on the reservation? I didn’t know Joe was interested in that project.” He looked at Lee and did a double take. “You look familiar. Do you work for Talon & Drake?”

She could think of at least two instances when Lee had stood right next to Drake in the office, yet he hadn’t noticed the six-foot-five intern. Hard to imagine, but she was aware of Lee on a primal level and therefore wasn’t a reliable judge of his impact on other people.

He held out his hand. “Lee Scott.”

A look of surprise and recognition crossed Drake’s face. “Oh. I get it now.” He chuckled. “Joe’s invitation didn’t have to do with Thermo-Con, but you can tell people that, if it makes you feel better.” He walked away, leaving Erica dumbfounded.

“What the hell did he mean by that?” she asked.

Lee snagged two new glasses of champagne from a passing waiter. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

No kidding.

A man approached and said, “Lee Scott, the senator needs to speak with you.”

She stifled her groan of frustration. She had unlawful carnal knowledge of the man but had no idea how everyone here knew his name.

Lee kissed her cheek. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He followed the aide.

Dammit. What had he been about to say? She scanned the room for Alexandra, perhaps the one person who would tell her how Lee was connected to the Talon family. Given everyone’s tight lips and vague statements, she’d assume he was the senator’s illegitimate son, but Lee didn’t look like he had an ounce of Talon in him.

She straightened her spine and began to circulate the room, then heard a low whistle behind her. “Cream Puff, you do clean up well.”

She spun around to face Jake. He wasn’t the sun-bleached, tanned treasure hunter she’d spent a summer with, but a polished, Armani-wearing businessman.

She smiled stiffly. “Jake. I’m surprised the senator would risk inviting you.”

“You’re finally getting your spine back. You know, I really hated breaking your spirit.”

“You never broke my spirit. I’m just methodical. There is a phrase, ‘revenge is a dish best served cold.’”

He grabbed her arm and squeezed her biceps. “Don’t threaten me, Erica. You’ve never really understood the situation. I’m your only hope.”

“Let go, or I’ll scream.”

He dropped her arm instantly. She felt a surge of power and silently thanked Lee for making sure people would notice her in this room full of important people.

“Screwing the senator’s stepson has made you cocky. But soon you’ll be dumped by both Scott and Talon & Drake. Then you’ll need me.”

He stalked off, and she stared after him, stunned. His insinuation was chilling, but it was nothing compared to the maelstrom he’d created in calling Lee the senator’s stepson.

Erica had seen several profiles of the senator and his wife on TV, and every one of them mentioned the senator’s current wife—his third—was childless. She wasn’t Lee’s mother. JT’s mother was wife number one. Lee’s mother had to be wife two. Her head began to throb. Why the hell hadn’t he told her?

She saw Alexandra on the far side of the room. She headed toward the vivacious blonde, but before she’d taken three steps, the announcer asked everyone to move the party to the front room. The crowd shifted en masse. She had no choice but to follow.

Sam Riversong stepped onto the dais set up in front of the Aztec Room with a microphone in his hand. “Good evening,” he said. “Welcome to the Menanichoch Casino.”

The crowd applauded. She took a shallow breath and tried to calm herself. Had Lee
lied
to her or just omitted the part about being Joseph Talon’s stepson?

Was there a difference?

“You are all gathered here for a very special evening, and I know you didn’t come here to listen to me, so I’m going skip the flowery words and just hand the mic over to the man we’re all here to support tonight. It is my great pleasure to introduce to you my brother in spirit, fellow tribal member, and the best senator this country has ever seen, Joseph Talon.”

The room broke out in ecstatic applause worthy of a sporting event, and Joseph Talon took the microphone. An arm slipped around Erica’s waist, and she felt a light kiss on her neck. She glanced at Lee and felt choking anger.

“I need to tell you something,” he murmured under the sound of the crowd. “Joe just told me he’s going to introduce me—”

“Jake told me. How nice of your
stepdad
to include you,” she said through gritted teeth. A pool of raw, burning, ferocious hurt simmered inside her.

His eyes changed from wary to urgent. “I love you, Erica. Remember that.”

“Bullshit.” If he loved her, he’d have told her who he was. Her eyes blurred. She grasped at the anger. Heartache would break her, but anger would get her through the next three seconds, three minutes, three hours.

Back in control, she faced the senator, who waited for the crowd to quiet.

“Thank you,” Joseph Talon said. “It is such a joy to be in this room tonight, as I see here family, friends, and colleagues who give my life and work meaning. I have a few words I wish to say before I cut the ribbon to open up the newest addition to the Menanichoch Casino.”

An expectant hush fell over the crowd. Flashes went off from the press area at the side of the room. “As you all know by now, I came from nothing. A nobody orphan raised in an Indian school. I didn’t have a home, a family, or even hope. When my school burned down, I had nowhere to go. But my good friend Sam Riversong gave me a home, the people of the Menanichoch tribe became my family, and at long last I discovered hope. The Menanichoch sent me to college, where I met Edward Drake, a professor of engineering who took me under his wing and encouraged me. Later, Edward Drake and I started a company, an engineering firm, Talon & Drake. I’m immensely proud of the company. It has grown over the years into a multimillion-dollar business with clients all over the world.” He paused. “Not bad for a boy from nowhere. Not bad for ‘a stupid Indian kid.’ That’s a quote, by the way, said often by the headmaster at the Indian school.

“When I joined the senate, I was pleased my son, JT, took over the day-to-day running of Talon & Drake. JT has made me proud, and in the dozen years since he took over, he’s doubled the size of the business. Now my good friend and mentor, Edward Drake, is retiring from his position as head of the Bethesda office.”

Lee’s lips brushed her ear as he whispered, “I’m sorry. I will explain later.”

She jerked away from him and bumped against a woman to her right. Murmuring an apology, she stiffened her spine and listened to the senator.

“—as important to you as it is to me,” he was saying, “but please indulge a proud father. Many years ago, I was married to a wonderful woman who brought to our union a son from a previous marriage. I am a flawed man and was even more so then. I was a lousy husband and worse father. I let Talon & Drake take all my time. The marriage ended because I failed to prioritize. But my stepson didn’t leave my life when my marriage dissolved twenty years ago. He forgave my flaws, my ambition, and, even though I’ve had no legal ties to him since he was twelve years old, he has remained my son, my friend, my supporter, and a source of great pride. Tonight I’m pleased to announce my stepson, Lee Scott, has agreed to take over management of the Bethesda office of Talon & Drake upon Ed’s retirement. Lee, please, join us up here. I want my whole family with me as I embark upon this next great journey.”

The attention of the audience shifted in their direction. Lee slipped an arm around her waist. She wanted to jerk away from him again, but everyone was watching. The sonofabitch had trapped her. Again.

Lee took a step forward, and she had to go with him or create a huge, awful, appalling scene. She plastered on a smile and walked toward the dais with Lee. Coldness swept through her. She was a glacier, moving relentlessly forward. Little did Lee know she would destroy everything in their path.

“With my stepson is his girlfriend, Erica Kesling,” she heard the senator say. “An archaeologist who is as smart as she is lovely and the perfect addition to both the Talon and the Talon & Drake families.”

Christ. Joseph Talon had just
claimed
her.

She was being manipulated by masters and now had to stand and face the crowd while reeling from the blow of having the meager facts she’d known about Lee dissolve.

She felt the heat of the lights as she tallied what she knew about him to be true.

He was no intern. He was no career student.

His name. That was all she knew.

How old was he? He’d been twelve at the time of the divorce, which had happened twenty years ago, according to the senator. Lee was thirty-two. Older than her by three years.

She was an idiot. A complete moron.
Of course
he was older than her. He’d done a rotten job of playing the green intern. She’d just been too stupid to see it. She’d been so absorbed in trying to corner Jake and Sam, she’d ignored every sign.

The senator had continued speaking, and his words finally penetrated her thoughts. “As I start this next great adventure, it’s important to look at the foundation that made me who I am and to appreciate the gifts this life has given me. I’m proud of my sons and the business I created. Talon & Drake provides a vital service, here and around the globe. This is a great nation that gives a young orphan Indian—a stupid Indian kid—the opportunity to succeed and share that success with future generations. I got where I am not only because I am intelligent and driven. I got here because people believed in me, mentored me, and supported me.

“As a nation, we’ve become fractured. We’re struggling as a world power and divided in our beliefs, our causes. That isn’t the road to success. We need to come together and support each other. We need to mentor other countries, bring them back from civil war and poverty…”

His words faded as Erica’s concentration splintered into disjointed thoughts. Several times she’d asked about his past, his connection to JT, only to be distracted by roving hands or words of love. Tonight she’d asked him point-blank who he was, and he responded by coercing her into saying she loved him.

Days ago, he’d been angry with
her
for using their attraction as a weapon, but she had nothing on him; his skill at deception outdistanced hers by miles.

Lee held her hand in a viselike grip. He brushed his lips against her temple. “Keep it together, Erica.”

She tightened her smile and shifted so her pointed heel came down directly on his foot.

He didn’t flinch. She dug in, shifting all her weight to her heel. He released her hand and moved his foot, causing her to teeter and clutch at him to stop her fall.

His caught her so smoothly she doubted anyone noticed their scuffle.

“…I have a plan.” She tuned in to the senator’s speech again. “And that is why I’m running for president!”