Justice Reborn (Cowboy Justice Association Book 8) (23 page)

“Y
ou’ve done a hell of a lot of work in the last two hours,” Evan observed with a grin. Cameras were perched on all four corners of the house. “Is there anything left to be done?”

Seth chuckled and handed him a screwdriver. “Don’t worry, there’s still work left to do. We still need to get the cameras around the perimeter.”

“The motion detectors?”

Dare stomped out of the house just then with a smiling Josie on his heels. Evan couldn’t stop the twinge of jealousy that ran through him when he saw the two of them together. It was stupid and he knew good and well that Dare was head over heels for Rayne, but maybe Josie was seeing that there were other men out there that could not only keep her safe but were also gainfully employed.

He needn’t have worried because she headed straight for him, brushing her lips across his cheek shyly. Clearly she wasn’t much for public displays of affection and frankly, neither was he but… He might make an exception this time. She looked so damn cute with a bit of sweat on her face and chest, giving her a youthful glow that he could barely drag his gaze away from.

“Josie and I finished the motion detectors just moments ago. They work, too. I hope your neighbors didn’t hear them go off,” Dare grimaced. “At least it’s not the middle of the night.”

Seth rolled his eyes and shook a hammer in Dare’s direction. “I can attest that they are indeed functioning. Damn near broke my eardrums.”

“No one will be sneaking up on us and that’s the point,” Dare laughed, grabbing a bottle of water from the cooler on the porch steps. “I see Marisa dropped you at the door and high-tailed it out of here. Was it something we said?”

“No, but it was definitely something I said,” Evan replied with a grin. “I don’t think she liked me pointing out to her that my life was none of her damn business. She got a little huffy and basically told me I was an idiot. Of course, she’s not the first to say that. Luckily it’s not a trend.”

“I don’t think you’re all that bright,” Seth deadpanned. “In fact, I’ve never thought you were smart at all. Or funny.”

“But I’m good-looking and that’s all that matters.” Evan slapped his friend on the back while keeping an arm around Josie. He leaned down and dropped a kiss on her freckled nose. “Let’s get those cameras up and then we can relax a little.”

Reed stepped out onto the porch, a notebook and pencil in his hand. “How about we all take a break? I just got off the phone with Jared, Logan, and Ava. There’s a lot to tell and I think you’ll want to hear this.”

Hopefully it was something they could use.

*   *   *   *

They were all settled into the only room that was air conditioned.

The bedroom.

Josie sat on the edge of the mattress cross-legged while Evan lounged on the floor with his head against her knee. Dare and Seth reclined against the wall, their long legs stretched out and a cool drink in their hands. Reed was perched on the chair at the desk, tapping away at his laptop. He cleared his throat before he began.

“I just got off the phone with Logan and Ava.”

“I thought you talked to Jared–” Seth began but Reed held up his hand as if anticipating the question.

“I did, before I spoke to Logan and Ava. But I’m going to start with my conversation with her. You know she’s a writer and she has quite a few contacts in the press. When I filled her and Logan in on what’s going on, she made a call and found a journalist we can trust. Ava says she went to college with this woman and she’s on our side. She works for a major newspaper in Chicago and she’d love to break a story about Lydell. Plus, she won’t turn Josie in to the cops. A win-win all around.”

Relief ebbed through Josie’s limbs, letting her breathe much easier. The weight of being wanted by the police was beginning to wear her down.

“Chicago?” Evan replied, sitting up a little straighter. “When do we leave?”

Evan looked like a man who wanted to take action. Any action. Sitting around waiting for something to happen was obviously not his style. She felt badly that he was stuck protecting her when he wanted to be out vanquishing the enemy.

Whoever that was. Even she wasn’t truly sure.

Reed laughed and shook his head. “We don’t. After a long talk with Logan, he and I decided there was no way we could guarantee Josie’s safety if we left here. We’d also be taking a chance that someone might recognize her. Her face has been out on the news in the Washington D.C. area and maybe more, for all we know. No, we need to keep things on a lockdown here where we have some control over the situation. I talked to the reporter and she’ll come to us. She’s going to grab the next flight and should be here by tomorrow.”

Then maybe this will all be over. Once the video is public, they won’t want me anymore.

Dare nodded as he rubbed his chin in thought. “That makes sense. Once we’re out in the open, anything can happen.”

“And usually does,” finished Seth with a grin. “I’m happy to stay here. Especially now that we’re almost set up with the security equipment. A fly couldn’t get into this house without us knowing about it.”

Reed tapped on the laptop keys. “Now for my discussion with Jared. He and Jason used some government contacts and got access to the facial recognition software. Don’t ask me how. Just be glad they did. They found the girl in the video. She’s one Kelly Martin, originally from Roanoke, Virginia. She works on Lydell’s staff in public relations. Or should I say she did, past tense. She’s now unemployed.”

Josie slapped the bed, anger beginning to bubble in her gut. This guy was a real creep. If he didn’t have money he would have been thrown in jail years ago. “He has sex with her, beats her up, and then fires her? What a total asshole.”

Reed’s brows shot up at her display but he simply appeared amused at her vehemence. “Actually, he didn’t fire her. It looks like she left of her own accord. It also appears that she won’t have to work for a while. Her bank account is now two hundred thousand dollars richer.”

Dare whistled and climbed to his feet so he could peer over Reed’s shoulder and see the laptop screen.

“Sounds like she had a lot of vacation pay saved up.”

Seth rubbed his chin and chuckled. “How many years of vacation would that be for some poor sheriff? Like maybe ten or twenty years’ worth? More? Math never was my strong suit.”

“It’s a shitload,” Evan said flatly. “The rat bastard paid her off so she wouldn’t tell on him.”

Her body trembling with fury, Josie had to clench her fists to keep from springing up from the bed and starting a rant. But screaming and complaining wouldn’t do a damn bit of good. She had to be patient. Lydell was going to get what he deserved.

Reed nodded and clicked a few things on the screen. “Seems like the former senator has a bad habit of this. He does something illegal and despicable and then has to pay them off. So far, Jason and Jared have found over a dozen payments to ex-employees, from his administrative assistant to one of his household staff. He doesn’t even restrict himself to pissing off the fairer sex. There are payments to males as well. But that’s not the most interesting thing they found.”

“I’m afraid to ask,” Josie growled. “Let me guess. Human trafficking? Drugs? Weapons?”

Reed stood and pulled a paper from the printer, handing it to her. “Lydell helps run a super PAC for his favorite candidates. This super PAC is getting loads of cash from Wall Street firms. But there’s one in particular that Jared found. They’ve given millions under the guise of their shadow holding companies. It took Jared hours to wade through the paperwork of all these shell corporations. When it came down to it, Lydell’s single biggest contributor – by far – is this company.”

The realization jolted Josie like a light being snapped on in a pitch black room. “That’s what the muffled talking in the background of the recording is about at the end when the girl leaves and those other men come in. They were talking about the SEC and the Treasury. This isn’t about him beating up that girl at all.”

Evan groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. “Jesus, Lydell is a real tool.”

Reed nodded in agreement. “My guess would be that many of those Wall Street bankers are hoping that they’re buying some political influence.”

“And without this recording he just might get away with it,” Josie sighed, anger tightening her chest. Such a waste for something that truly didn’t matter in the long run. That senator couldn’t take the money and prestige with him. “That’s why they want me. That’s why they killed Amy. God, what have we come to as a country that our fellow man is willing to sell us out to make a buck?”

Dare jumped to his feet and paced the small space. “This is about more than money. This is about power. Lots of it.”

“The power to make lots more money,” Seth snorted. “Guys like Lydell don’t care who they screw. It’s not just the regular citizen that gets hurt. He’ll fuck over anyone in his way, millionaire or ditch digger.”

Something inside of Josie became stronger…more resolute. This was bigger than Amy or herself. This was about so much more.

“If anything happens to me–” she began softly, her mind already running miles ahead.

“Nothing is going to happen to you, honey. No one and nothing is going to touch you,” Evan interrupted, jumping to his feet and pulling her up so she was in his arms. “If anyone wants to get to you, they’re going to have to go through me.”

That didn’t make her feel any better. The last thing she wanted was for Evan or his friends to get hurt.

She reached up and placed her fingers on his lips. “Wait. Listen. If anything happens to me, I want you to promise to get that recording to the journalist. I don’t want Lydell to get away with treating people like garbage, all that Wall Street bullshit aside. He shouldn’t be able to use good people and then pay them off. It’s not right. Promise me, Evan.”

Evan looked away and groaned in frustration but Josie didn’t give in. He needed to understand that this was more important than her life. Amy had trusted Josie. She’d died for this. Josie couldn’t allow her friend to die for nothing.

“Promise me.”

Finally nodding, Evan raised his head to look in her eyes, his own dark with emotion. “But nothing is going to happen to you.”

“Just in case.”

He sighed in defeat. “Just in case. I promise.”

She hoped he wouldn’t find himself in the position of having to keep that promise.

Chapter Twenty-Six

T
hey finished installing all of the security hardware and then Evan drove into town to get pizza for everyone. The boys were serious about keeping Josie close to home, which was a blessing and a curse. She loved hanging out with Evan’s friends – they were funny and entertaining – but eventually she was going to get antsy and want to go somewhere. It was inevitable.

Over dinner, Seth had told his version of his wife’s story and how Evan had been there to help them. Two things came through loud and clear when he was speaking. The first was that he adored his wife and thought she hung the moon. Second, he had a deep respect for Evan, which only confirmed Josie’s feelings that he was one special man.

When they moved on to the story where Evan was shot, he clearly was uncomfortable, trying to shut down the discussion several times. He wasn’t able to stop Seth and Reed from telling the tale but he did manage to change the subject a few times, veering them off course for a short while.