“It took time for him to warm up to me, but in the end, turns out he’s an excellent judge of character.”
“He likes everyone who feeds him treats.”
“Sounds like a solid life philosophy.”
She laughed. It felt good. Easy. The way things should have been all along.
His phone buzzed. He shifted, pulled it out, and glanced at the screen. “Sutton.”
The call lasted several minutes. Erica watched his expression shift from mild annoyance to serious.
“No,” he said. “That tracks. Morgan had access.”
The mention of the former agent’s name made her uneasy. Vince must have noticed, because his fingers tightened around hers.
After another pause, his jaw clenched. “Why am I not surprised?”
Whatever Sutton said next made him mutter something under his breath. “Let them convene,” he said finally. “It’s overdue.”
Without saying goodbye or thanks—a cop thing, apparently—he disconnected and slipped the phone back into his pocket.
“Burnside?” she guessed.
“He’s dirty. Always was.” He didn’t soften it. “The FBI is digging through everything Morgan touched. Turns out our visit wasn’t the first time he and the senator met. The appropriations Burnside kept pushing? They weren’t for infrastructure. His entire office is lawyering up.”
“You mentioned something convening.”
“An ethics investigation. The DOJ is all over it, too. His reelection campaign is the least of Burnside’s worries.”
She considered how the senator had wrapped himself in patriotism, family values, and public service, all while back-door dealing with men like Morgan and Kedrov. Somehow, it still shocked her.
“What happens to Shannon?”
He hesitated before answering. “Burnside cut her loose as soon as the news broke. She has agreed to testify. Even though her reasons were justified, she’ll have trouble finding similar work.”
Erica looked down at their joined hands. “She did what she had to do to protect her sister. In her shoes, I’d have done the same thing.”
“Most of us would have,” he agreed.
She was quiet for a moment. “What about her and O’Reilly? Are they… done?”
“Seems so.”
Her brows drew together, anger sparking. “None of this is fair. Shannon was Kedrov’s victim too.”
“I know.” He didn’t say anything else for a beat, and she could almost hear the wheels turning. “I’ll follow up with her when we get back. See what I can do. About work, not Justin.”
“Would you?”
“Absolutely.”
The other name he mentioned, she didn’t want to bring up. He did instead.
“Sutton gave me an update on Morgan too, if you’re interested.”
Did she care if he rotted behind bars? No, but curiosity won out.
“I shouldn’t be but tell me anyway.”
