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“Is Everly still sleeping?” Connor asked.
He nodded. “Yes, she needs rest. Yesterday was hard on her, especially the fire at Mad’s.” His guess was that she’d been bottled up for a long time. Gabe had encouraged her to cry, to let her emotions out and share them with him. He’d been so gratified that she’d trusted him enough to comply. Had she ever cried with Mad? The question disturbed him. “Besides, the longer she sleeps, the longer it takes for her to figure out we’re stuck here.”
He didn’t want to be the one to tell her their hideout had quickly become their prison.
“No way around that truth.” Connor sighed. “Roman’s in the kitchen making coffee. Warning: he’s not in a good mood. There are so many members of the press milling around the building—even someone from People magazine, I’m told. Roman had to slip in using the supersecret celebrity entrance created for the famous blowhards who inhabit this place. Two movie stars, a Broadway legend, and three producers who are convinced that people will recognize them in hoodies and sunglasses.” He scoffed. “Puffed-up douchebags.”
A little of Gabe’s shiny mood faded. If Roman had been forced to sneak in, the press presence must be worse than he’d hoped. “Shit. How did they find us?”
Roman strolled into the living room, his face set in a fierce frown. He held two mugs of coffee and handed one to Connor. “Probably the cops. Since we had to tell them where you’d planned to stay last night before they’d stop questioning you about the fire, I’m sure word got around the precinct. Someone who didn’t mind taking a little kickback for tipping off the press likely ran his mouth. So Dax is downstairs working with security to make sure no one slips up here.”
He’d promised to protect Everly. He needed to do a better job of it.
“Any chance they’ll go away if I make a statement?”
“You going to go hunting for unicorns next?” Roman shot back. “Of course not, and anything you said could be twisted in the press or a court of law. You’re better off keeping your mouth shut. There’s an underground garage with a tunnel that leads to the building next door. But I’m not sure it’s uncommon knowledge. We’ll try taking you in and out that way if necessary.”
At least they might have an escape route. “I don’t want those reporters getting anywhere near Everly.”
“No, but you sure like getting near her yourself,” Connor said with a knowing grin. “She’s a screamer, by the way. Any time I nodded off, she’d start making noise, and I’d be wide awake again.”
Gabe scowled. Everly would likely be horrified to know Connor had heard her cries of pleasure. Gabe wasn’t thrilled to know that his buddy had heard them, either.
Roman set his mug down. “Are you sure sleeping with this woman is a good idea?”
He didn’t like the way Roman said this woman. He scowled. “Her name is Everly.”
“All right. Are you sure sleeping with Everly is a good idea?”
“Everybody already thinks I am,” he replied. “I don’t see how it hurts anything at this point. I could go out and make a statement that we’re not together. No one would believe it.”
“You’re likely to hurt her. I’ve done some checking. She’s not like the women you usually date.”
“I’m not really dating her.” But no denying he was involved—deeply. And what he felt for her was so new and fresh, he wasn’t ready to discuss it, not even with his best friends. He sure as hell wasn’t letting them dictate when and how he spent his time with her.
“I think she would disagree, and that’s why it’s a bad idea to continue sleeping with her,” Roman countered.
“He’s not going to listen, man. He can pretend all day long, but he’s really falling for her.” Connor redirected his attention to his computer screen, hitting the button to refresh. His eyes flared. “There she is. Oh, yeah. I’ve got you now.”
“Has he finally gone feral?” Gabe asked Roman, tossing a thumb in Connor’s direction, more than happy to change the subject.
Roman glanced at the screen. “Shit! Is Senator Armstrong’s daughter really running Capitol Scandals?”
“Probably.” Connor sipped his coffee. “Or she’s shacking up with whoever is. Either way, she’s up to her pretty neck in trouble. But my hunch is that she writes the blog.”
“Damn it. Armstrong is Zack’s ally in the senate.” Roman scowled. “Tread carefully, Connor. If this comes out, it could be damaging to our administration. That blog is full of crap challenging Zack’s policies.”
Capitol Scandals was the tabloid of choice for the DC crowd, but . . . “Isn’t it a rag?”
“The front pages are, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find a lot of commentary on policy. She completely disagrees with almost everything Zack and the senate have done in the last two years,” Roman explained. “Of course she backs it up with crazy conspiracy theories that seem to contain just enough fact to scare the shit out of people. But if it came out that one of Zack’s closest allies has a dissenting daughter bent on destroying him, it wouldn’t be good.”
A predatory gleam lit Connor’s eyes. “I can shut her up.”
Gabe didn’t like the look on Connor’s face. “You can’t kill her for expressing her opinion.”
But the CIA “analyst” smoothed over his expression, that nasty gleam in his eyes suddenly gone. “Of course not. I meant I’ll explain that continuing to run this ‘clandestine’ site is no longer a viable career choice. She blew her cover by falling right into my trap. Look at the headline on Capitol Scandals this morning, boys.”
IN THE MIDDLE OF DANGER, PLAYBOY SAVES BOOZE
Gabe sighed. Had the blog mentioned how he’d evaded the two armed men who had tried to kill him? Or talked about his willingness to sacrifice himself to save Everly Parker? Nope. Everything in black and white revolved around the fact that he’d saved Mad’s wretchedly expensive Scotch. “Well, this is going to help my image. Really, how can I thank you?”
Frowning, Connor snatched the computer back. “I would have saved that Scotch, too. Leaving it behind to die tragically in that fire would have been a terrible crime.” When Gabe slanted him a warning glare, Connor sighed. “Look, I had to give Lara Armstrong something no one else knew to see if she’d run with the story. You passed that bottle off to Dax when we picked you up in Harlem. The cops had no idea you ever had it, so this ‘leak’ proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that she’s either running Capitol Scandals or talking directly to whoever does. She’s the only one I told, the only one who could have known.”
Gabe understood the reasoning, but wished Connor had passed on a more positive angle. “You couldn’t make up a story, like I bench two-twenty or something?”
“I’m not that creative.” Connor rolled his eyes. “Besides, I had to give her
a tidbit up her alley, and she loves to run pieces that make the rich look entitled and stupid. It’s a theme with her.”
“We need to shut her down.” Roman took a seat and ran a hand over his tired face. “Before her identity comes out.”
“Once I figure out what she knows,” Connor promised. His voice had taken on that stony, I-know-something-you-don’t quality he used when he no longer thought it was prudent to talk.
“What’s up?” Gabe couldn’t let him keep secrets. “What do you think she knows?”
Connor’s jaw tightened, his whole face becoming a stubborn mask.
Roman sat up, pinning Connor with a stare. “Don’t hide shit from us. I know you’re used to dealing in secrets and you play close to the vest, but we’re not agents and there’s no need-to-know basis here. We need to know everything.”
Connor’s shoulders slumped, and Gabe knew whatever was about to come out of his mouth would be bad. “I didn’t want to even mention it until I found out if she’s trying to make money or waves by tearing Mad apart. She says she’s heard rumors that he was a pedophile.”
Gabe felt his jaw drop. Mad had loved sex—no doubt—but no way had he ever touched a child. “Are you fucking kidding me? If Lara Armstrong runs that story, I’ll sue her. I don’t care what it will do to Zack. He’s a big boy and he can handle it. But I won’t let her spread lies.”
