Page 87 of Dangerous Liaisons

“We cut off the head of FARC and destroyed the sub base,” Tom shot back.

“Perez headed FARC?”

“We got them, Jesse,” he added with his old enthusiasm. “Lanton is finished. We can make him quietly retire. We need you around to remind him of that.”

Horror filled her. “You need me to remind him—what the hell kind of bullshit is this? What we need is for people to know that the law applies to everyone, even those at the top—especially those at the top.”

Tom’s lips thinned. “A scandal like this would damage the U.S. I love this country too much to allow that to happen. We’d be the laughing stock of the intelligence community. No one would take us seriously. Besides, there are no tapes.”

“Wha—”

“No one but the four of us knows what happened here,” he insisted. “All confidential. You know the drill.”

“If I go along with this, I’ll be no better than him.” She whipped her Beretta from her waistband and pointed it in Lanton’s direction.

“Jesse,” Tom stepped toward her, “he’s not worth it.”

Amanda’s smiling face flashed before Jesse. Her world had crashed around her. “No,” she replied. “But I know someone who is.”

Jesse pulled the trigger.

Her heart seemed to beat in slow motion in the instant between the deafening blast of the gun and Lanton’s stumble backwards. Shock etched his face as she pivoted, leg high, and slammed her heel into Cole’s jaw. Latex ripped and his head snapped back. Tom lunged for Lanton. She leaped into the car.

“Jess!” Cole shouted.

She hit the starter, and slammed the car into drive.

Cole had his hand on the door handle. She met his gaze as she jammed her foot against the accelerator. The car shot forward. His hand jerked back. She shifted hard into second, her eye on the mirror. Cole stared after her.

She looked ahead at the road, jumped the curb, and pulled out of a four-wheel drift. The tears she’d felt earlier were nowhere near the surface. The puzzle pieces finally fit. Cole had told her Tom gave him her number, but she hadn’t believed it. She couldn’t prevent a snort of near hysterical laughter. The one time he’d been telling the truth, and she hadn’t believed him.

Pain lanced her heart. Cole had known where she was when she walked by that alley because Tom had given Cole her location. And, of course, this explained why Tom had seemed at home at Cole’s ranch. How many times had they sat together in that opulent living room and discussed life, politics, women…her?

As the corner of the last warehouse approached, she glanced in the rearview mirror. Cole hadn’t moved. Cole Murphy. He had such expressive blue eyes. Even the brown contact lenses hadn’t quite hidden them. She hadn’t thought about that before.

Jesse tossed the Beretta over her shoulder. It struck the floor of the back seat with a thud as she turned the corner. Anyone waiting for her at Amanda’s would be advised that the Baretta she carried shot blanks.