Page 9 of Keeping Her Secrets

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Ash handed Mari a glass of champagne from the tray and glanced around the room. Explaining to his family that he and Mustique had run into each other, and she’d agreed to come as his last-minute-date to the wedding had been easier than he’d expected. Everyone bought it except Daniel. He hadn’t said anything, but, from the way he’d looked at them, Ash knew he was calling bullshit.

The fact they’d been seated at the same table with the kids had worked as a buffer, deflating the otherwise tense situation. Now that he knew more about the situation, he realized they were going to need a bigger team. Mustique might be used to working alone, but he wasn’t. His brothers always had his back on the Teams, and with what they were facing, they needed that safety net now. Otherwise, the chance of one of them dying went up exponentially, and as he looked at the woman beside him, he realized he would quite like to live long enough to taste that mouth again.

In the car on the way to find her a dress, which was now torturing him with all the curves it showcased, she had given him more details about the one-woman mission she’d started.

Senator Robert Hanley was the groom--Davey Langford’s godfather. Hanley, it turned out, had been accepting huge, illegal donations for his re-election campaign from Iranian businessmen Ramin Hashemi—a fact that had stopped Ash in his tracks. He’d heard that name before; Hashemi was rumored to be an ally of the current Iranian President.

With Hanley expected to win his seat by a good margin at next year’s election, having him in bed with Iran was a clusterfuck.

Glancing around the reception and catching sight of Jake and Nick standing with Ian and his wife Angie across the room, he motioned for Mari to follow him as he headed in their direction. He knew she wouldn’t like this, but they needed help. Hanley had a team of personal protection guards, and God knew what Hashemi had or even where the fuck he was. “Mari, I want you to meet some friends of mine.”

“Thanks for coming, Ash. We thought perhaps you were going to run out on us again,” Ian said with a smirk. The man was known for his legendary sarcasm, and the fact that he hadn’t called Ash by one of his made-up names was a testament to his good behavior today.

“Yeah, sorry about that. It was my fault. I’d had a little too much to drink,” Mari added surprising him.

“Ian, Angie, Jake, and Nick …” Ash, inclined his head toward Ian’s wife, then turned to the gay couple. “This is Marisol.”

Jake and Nick took turns shaking Mustique’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Marisol.” Nick grinned.

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“It’s lovely to meet you, Marisol. I adore your dress.” Angie said, and Mustique actually blushed at the nice comment. It surprised him because she must have heard how beautiful she was hundreds of times. She was drop-dead, knock-you-on-your-ass, gorgeous.

“Nice to meet you, Marisol. But maybe next time stay sober. It’s not safe to get that way and put yourself in danger.”

Ash tensed at Ian’s words, wondering how Mustique would react.

“Ian!” his wife exclaimed.

“Angel, she needed to know,” he replied with a stern look at his wife.

“He’s right. It was foolish and won’t happen again.” Marisol’s gaze dropped to the floor for a second before she looked up again. “However, it’s not your place to be lecturing me less than a minute after we’ve just met.”

Ian and Mustique locked eyes for a second, sizing each other up before she dropped her gaze to her glass.

“Bratty subby; I like her.” Ian received a playful slap to the stomach from his wife. “That’s ten, Angel.”

Ash saw Angie blush but snuggle closer to her husband’s side.

“I actually have something I’d like to discuss with you guys, if you have a moment free?” Ash felt Mari shoot him a look which he ignored. The way her hand tensed on his forearm was easily read though—she wasn’t happy.

Angie turned to Ian with a secret smile that seemed to say more than any words could. “I actually wanted to go and ask Megan where she got that baby sling. Do you mind?”

“Of course not, Angel.”

She stood on tiptoes and kissed him before she smiled and sashayed way.

“That woman is one-in-a-fucking-million,” Jake said and laughed.

“Yeah, and she never lets me forget it.” Ian watched her walk away, and the love he had for his wife was evident in his eyes. Yet when his gaze landed on Ash, it was gone, and Ash wondered if he’d imagined it, because it was replaced by the SEAL he knew from old. “Now spit it out. What the hell is going on and does it have to do with that knobnugget over there?”

Ash knew he was referring to the Senator. “Mustique, would you like to explain?”

The men focused their attention on Mari. She eyed Ash, and he nodded. She could trust them with her life, as he did, but he knew she didn’t. The trust she was displaying was solely in him.

“Four months ago, I received a tip that Ramin Hashemi was funding Hanley’s campaign for re-election. I followed the money, and it does trace back to Hashemi. What I also found is Hanley is being blackmailed over it. Someone is forcing him to block specific bills in Congress.”