Authors: Misty Evans
Bianca felt numb. “And President Norman is closer to Haley Banner than he is the First Lady.”
All eyes shifted to look at her.
“Are you saying…?” Thomas let the question hang.
“Yes.” She paced to her white board once more, wondering why she felt terrible giving up a secret on a woman who wanted her and Cal dead.
Haley Banner was a hard person not to like. She was a friendly, tireless mother of two who brought democrats and republicans together on bills for equal pay and education reform as easily as she won over foreign dignitaries. Another reason it would be difficult to build any kind of case against her without solid testimony or proof of her actions. “She has all her bases covered.”
The room fell silent and Bianca felt like a two-ton elephant were on her shoulders.
Analyze! This is what you do!
There had to be a way to stop Banner and save President Norman.
Her mind went into hurricane mode again and she drew a circle around McConnell Place. “Lugmeyer will be in Chicago along with the president and V.P., but he’ll stay off the radar. The only way to grab him is at the dinner before Tephra’s presentation. He’ll need a good vantage point to take his shot and then a clear exit path. Odds are Banner will bring out Tephra after the president’s remarks and before dinner.”
“What about Killer Kathy, Katy, Kasia…” Ronni said. “Whatever her name is. Will she be at McConnell Place?”
“No. She’ll be here, trying to locate Halston, and staying close to him once she does. Even if Tephra follows the script, the vice president will probably have Kasia take out Halston once the president is dead. The senator knows too much and can figure out the rest.”
Cooper, still staring at the floor, tapped the pen against his open palm. “Bobby, send all of this information about Kasia to Dupé and have him get it to the senator’s security team.”
Thomas glanced at Cooper. “So we’re going to Chicago?”
Bobby, typing on his laptop, looked up. “I can call in some favors and score us tickets.”
Cooper rose and stared at the white board, his gaze steering clear of Bianca’s. “Not all of us, the taskforce will go in alone. Bianca and Reese will stay here with Petit and his team. Their mugs will be on all the no-fly lists, and if the V.P.’s as smart as we think she is, she’ll have the FBI and Secret Service on the lookout for both of them. The FBI will be running everyone through facial recognition as they enter the dinner. No way will our fugitives get into McConnell Place without being arrested.”
He was right, but irritation burned in Bianca’s chest. “We can use Emit’s private jet to fly to Chicago, and facial rec or not, Cal can get the two of us in.”
All eyes landed on her. Cal’s were the most surprised.
It didn’t seem all that difficult to grasp. “He’s a Navy SEAL. He could get us into the White House unnoticed if necessary.”
“Bianca…” Cal started.
She cut him off, pointing a finger at herself. “My job is to protect the President of the United States.” She pointed at him. “Yours is to protect its people. I’m not sitting here with the monks and protecting my own hide while the president’s in danger. And if Banner gets in office, you and I are both dead.”
Leaning on the back of a chair, she switched her attention to Cooper. “You and the team can’t go in legitimately either. Lugmeyer will have alerted Banner that you may know what’s going down, especially if Dupé alerts anyone with the Secret Service or his cohorts with the FBI. But Cal and I can sneak in. No one knows Justin Lugmeyer as well as Cal. He knows how the man thinks, knows his MO.”
Cal made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. Bianca ignored him. “I’ve studied Rory Tephra, and now that I’ve met him in person, I understand what motivates him and how dedicated he is to his country. Cal can shut down Lugmeyer and I’ll find Tephra before they bring him out. We’ll come up with a plan to expose the truth about Haley Banner.”
Cooper finally met her eyes. “It’s too dangerous, Bianca. I can’t let you do that.”
Frustration made her want to shut down. She’d never been a good team player.
But she wasn’t about to let her emotions—those irrational, worthless things—cloud her judgment.
Taking a deep breath, she reached for logic, which never let her down, and took a different approach. “I strongly suggest the team go in under false identities in case Lugmeyer has in fact alerted Vice President Banner that you may know more than is good for you. Then you’ll be present to back up me and Cal.”
Cooper nodded at her. “Good idea, except for the part about you and Reese sneaking in.” He cocked his chin at Bobby. “Can you make that happen? False IDs that will stand up to intense scrutiny from the FBI?”
Bobby looked offended. “Is my name Bobby Dyer?”
Thomas snorted and Ronni smiled.
Bianca tried on a smile too.
Time to be a team player
. “You’ll need to analyze the layout of the building, any sites an assassin could hide, all the entrances and exits, and do a thorough check on all the people attending the dinner.”
Bobby reared back slightly. “That will take hours, possibly days of prep work.”
Bingo
. Bianca turned her big, baby blues on Cooper. “Or you could let me help. With my memory and analytical skills, I could have it done in no time, improving your odds of a successful outcome by 96.2 percent. But that means, I’ll have to come with you. And if I’m going, so is Cal.”
A tense silence fell over the group. Everyone shifted their attention to Cooper.
He crossed his arms, leaned back slightly on his heels. His eyes were hard, challenging.
Cal cleared his throat, stood, and moved to Bianca’s side. “She’s right. You can’t argue with her logic.”
A sense of pride flushed her skin. She’d made up the calculation of the odds but as she’d pointed out to Cal on a day or two ago, bluffing was one of her strengths. If he considered it manipulation, so be it. For her, it was a way to make sure everyone was as safe as she could make them. She couldn’t wield a gun accurately and she didn’t know the first thing about being an undercover operative, but she knew how to analyze a dangerous situation in an instant, and that was one skill that could help all of them, including the president.
She met Cooper’s challenging glare. “You keep saying I’m part of this team, so let me do my job.”
“I’m not saying you can’t help Bobby with the prep work.” His eyes held hers. “But you’re not going to Chicago.”
Bianca straightened her spine. “Then we don’t have a deal. You, Bobby, and the rest of the team are on your own, and Cal and I will be on our way. Know this, the team will fail. I guarantee it. You need me on this operation, and you need Cal. If you won’t use us, then we might as well go on the run tonight. Vice President Banner won’t stop until the two of us are dead, and you can’t keep us here forever.”
Ronni started to chime in, but Cooper raised a hand to stop her. “There’s one thing I want to know,” he said.
“What?”
“Did you find any dirt on Director Dupé?”
That threw her a curve. She hurried to regroup, her Command and Control training kicking in even after all she’d been through. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Cooper set his hands on his hips. “Stop lying, Bianca. Did you or did you not find anything incriminating about Dupé?”
Who did she have to be loyal to at this point? Her government or Cooper Harris? Easy call. “I did not. Director Dupé is one of the few men in power who deserves it. He’s dedicated to his job, he loves his wife, and he’s never so much as got a speeding ticket. You’re right to have placed your loyalty with him.”
She shifted her weight and thought about going for the jugular…throwing Cooper’s secrets in his face.
But she was tired of blackmailing people. Tired of being the drama queen Cal had so often accused her of. All she wanted to do was help and she’d told Cooper the truth about the odds, even if she had fudged the actual percentage of success. It was probably closer to fifty percent, but that was still better than if they went without her. “Look, this is what I’ve been doing with Command and Control—analyzing situations and the odds of operational success. I can tell you when and where to strike, when and where your
assassin
is most likely to strike. My life is worth nothing if this fails. You have to let Cal and I go to Chicago with you.”
Thomas broke the tension with a stage whisper behind his hand. “Tell him you’re his only hope.”
Bianca frowned and looked at Thomas. “What?”
“You know,” he said, “ʻHelp me, Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.’ From
Star Wars
? The way you’ve made it sound, Bianca, you’re our only hope of success.”
Ronni shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I’d like nothing more than to keep Bianca safe, too, Cooper, but she has a point.”
Cooper screwed up his mouth. “What about you, Reese? You okay with taking your wife into the heart of danger?”
Cal placed a hand on her lower back. She was still wearing the nursing jacket with Mickey Mouse on it. Heat from his hand seeped right through the jacket and his T-shirt underneath. “Bianca knows how to handle danger.”
Once again, pride rose like a swell inside her chest. She found his hand and grasped it with hers. A silent thank you.
Cooper rubbed the bottom of his chin, let out a deep sigh. “All right then. It’s on. Everybody catch a few hours of sleep. We’ll meet back here at 0500 hours and figure out a plan.” He caught Bianca’s eye, gave her a nod. “The taskforce is going to Chicago. All of us.”
Chapter Thirty
No way was Cal letting Bianca anywhere near Chicago.
While everyone else said “goodnight” and “see you in a few hours” as they vacated the dining room, Bianca was attacking her whiteboard again like a madwoman. He could tell by her jerky movements and the way she muttered under breath that her mind was in overdrive once more.
Part of her process or not, it killed him to see her this way.
Stepping up behind her, he gently wrapped an arm around her waist and halted her writing by cupping his hand over hers. “You need to rest. Let’s go upstairs. Take a break.”
She tensed. “You know I can’t.”
He buried his nose in her hair, savoring the feel of her body against his. She still smelled clean from her earlier shower. “I can help you.”
“You think I need help?”
“We all need help sometimes.”
He felt her swallow hard. “Help as in…I’m turning into my mother and going loco?”
Her greatest fear. “Of course not. You’re not suffering from a mental illness and compounding the problem with drugs.”
“I wouldn’t be sure about the mental illness part.”
“Well, I am. I know what happens in your brain is sometimes unwanted, but think of all the good you’ve done in the world. All the people in this country you’ve protected.”
Slowly, breath by breath, she relaxed into him. “I’ve wished for this.”
He took the marker from her hand and set it in the cradle. Moving her hair aside, he laid a soft kiss on the side of her neck. “Wished for what?”
“You, me, working together, like I told you before. I’ve never been a team player, but you are. This was…” Her voice trailed off. “Tonight was a big step for me. I feel like a real member of the SCVC Taskforce, and I feel like you and I together, with their help, can actually stop the assassination of the President of the United States. I’m not just a desk jockey sitting in my cubicle, analyzing terrorists and giving the go sign for operations taking place half a world away.”
“You’ve always been more than a desk jockey, and I’m sorry if I made you feel like less.”
“You didn’t know the details about my job, and I couldn’t tell you.” She sighed, tilting her head and giving him more access to her neck. “Secrets are not good for a marriage, especially the kinds of secrets I was keeping. I saw no way out. I felt like I had to divorce you in order to keep us both safe, and then you’ve always been so devoted to your career, it seemed like I was doing you a favor. You’ve taken care of me long enough. It was time I gave you your freedom.”
He laid his forehead against the back of her head, his heart pinching in a way he hated.
Guilt
. He’d always vowed not to screw her up more than her mother had done, and yet, somehow he had. “What’s done is done. We can’t undo the hurt we’ve caused each other, but we can start making up for lost time. Right here, tonight.”
She turned in his arms, lifted her chin to look into his eyes. “And I want that, I do. But I only have a few hours to get the data I need and analyze it into some kind of plan. My brain is fully engaged and sleeping is out of the question.”
He kissed her lightly on the lips and turned on the charm. If he didn’t get her upstairs, his plan would be ruined. “I wasn’t talking about sleeping.”
She grinned, tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth for a second. “An hour. I’ll go upstairs with you for an hour. Then I have to get back to work.”
He took her hand and led her away from the whiteboard.
They took the stairs, but didn’t get far before their hands and lips were on each other. The circular stairwell was cool and damp, the stones rough. Bianca pushed him against the wall and kissed him, hard and long. He gripped her ass cheeks and lifted her off the ground, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist. He would have taken her right there if he didn’t need to get her into bed.