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"Waylan. He cropped up on my watch, too."
"Damn embarrassment to the state," Will began. "Karen's the one who gets into politics. Don't get her started on Waylan." For the first time, he grinned, and his face looked abruptly younger. "In this house, we hate him. Anyhow, I figured there was something there, too. What the hell does he care—except he's got relatives in the AMA. I'm starting to check it out, then I'm blind-sided, flat on my back, and the goddamn droid's got a laser at my throat."
He sighed, rose to pace. "I was going to tell my boss, put it in the report, but on my next shift, I get called upstairs. Commander tells me that there's more complaints about the tone of my investigation. I'm not getting support from the brass; instead, they're warning me to watch my step, don't step on the wrong toes. Ease back, it was only scum that got taken out, anyway. Don't hassle nice people. Rich, powerful people," McRae said, turning back. "Pissed me off. That's when I decided to send my family away and dig in deeper. Until I got the pictures, then I folded. Faced with the same choice, I'd do the same thing again."
"I'm not going to beat you up over it, Will. I don't have what you have to risk. The way I look at it, you took it as far as you could, for as long as you could."
"I gave up my badge." His voice cracked, and she watched him suck it in. "They took yours."
He needed something, she thought, and worked up a smile for him. "We got fucked either way, didn't we."
"Yeah. We got fucked royal, Dallas."
"I'm going to ask you to give me anything you can, and maybe we can return the favor. Did you copy any of your files?"
"No. But I remember a lot of it. I've been going over the details in my head for months. I've written some of it down for myself." He glanced over his shoulder as he heard his wife's voice. "Karen doesn't know anything about this. I don't want her upset."
"Give me the name of somebody you put away who's been sprung."
"Drury. Simon Drury."
"I'm here about Drury." She glanced over, lifted a brow as Roarke strolled in carrying a tray loaded with cups, plates. Coffee and cookies, she mused, then struggled with a scowl as she noted the cream pitcher in the shape of a cheerful white kitten.
The man never lost a damn bet.
"Looks great." She helped herself to a cookie, mildly fascinated by the way Karen had to maneuver her body, shift her spectacular belly in order to sit down. How, Eve wonde
red, did a woman function on any level hauling all that bulk around?
Noting where Eve's gaze had focused, Karen smiled and stroked a hand over the mound. "I'm due today."
Eve choked on the cookie. If Karen had whipped out a laser on full and blasted it in her direction, she'd have felt less panic. "Today? Like now?"
"Well, not this minute, apparently." Laughing, Karen sent Roarke an adoring look as he served her tea. Quite obviously, they'd bonded between cookies and kittens. "But I don't think she's going to wait much longer."
"I guess you'll be glad to—you know—get it out of there."
"I can't wait to meet her—hold her. But I love being pregnant."
"Why?"
She laughed again at Eve's obvious puzzlement, then shared a tender look with her husband. "Making a miracle."
"Well." Since that dried up her pregnancy conversation, Eve turned back to Will. "We don't want to take up any more of your time. I appreciate the help. If you could get me any of your old notes on Drury, I'd be grateful."
"I can dig them out." He rose, paused by his wife to lay a hand over hers, linking them over their child.
• • • •
At Eve's request, Roarke drove aimlessly while she filled him in on her conversation with Wilson McRae.
"Do you blame him?"
She shook her head. "Everyone has their own, what do you call it, Achilles' heel. They found his and put the pressure on. Guy's got a kid, another on the way, a pretty little wife in a pretty little house. They knew just where to jam him."
"She's a teacher." Roarke cruised the freeway under the flood of safety lights and kept the speed steady. "She's been working on-screen for the last six months and plans to continue that way for at least another year or two. But she misses the personal contact with her students. She's a very sweet woman who's worried about her husband."
"How much does she know?"
