As soon as the meeting adjourned, Sharp told Brad that he had to speak to the senator in private. Then he pulled his friend into an empty meeting room and shut the door.
“Do you remember talking to a woman named Jessica Koshani two months ago at the Hilton fund-raiser?” Sharp asked as he watched his friend intently.
Carson couldn’t stop the heat from rising in his cheeks. Sharp noticed.
“Koshani, yes. She and some of her business associates gave us a sizable contribution.”
“Is anything going on between you and Koshani?” Sharp asked.
“Nothing. She’s just a supporter,” the senator stammered. His answer wasn’t convincing.
“I hope to God you’re telling me the truth, Jack. Remember the night you met Koshani at the fund-raiser at the Hilton?”
Carson nodded.
“Do you also recall my telling you that she’d been the subject of discussions when I was in the DA’s office?”
“Yes.”
“And do you remember I told you she was suspected of laundering money through several companies? One of the companies we discussed when I was a prosecutor was InCo.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah, ‘shit.’ I don’t think it will go over well with your constituents if it’s revealed that one of your supporters is also supporting terrorists.”
Carson started to sweat. “Emil didn’t mention Jessica.”
“He didn’t mention a lot of stuff. The people running this operation worry about leaks, for which politicians are notorious. So, Jack, how bad is this?”
“It’s not bad,” Carson answered, fighting hard to keep calm.
“Did you screw her?”
Carson’s eyes dropped. “Just one time,” he lied. “I had a little too much to drink.”
“Fuck!”
“We’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“You pay me to worry.”
“We’ll be fine,” Carson repeated, but like a lot of things he said on the campaign trail, he didn’t believe one word of what he had just told his best friend.
Chapter Ten
“Jessica, it’s me, Jack. I have to talk to you.”
“It’s two in the morning. What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m at the gate. Let me in. I flew all night to get here.”
“You know the rules. We meet when I say we meet.”
“This isn’t about sex. It’s urgent and it concerns your future, your life.”
Koshani was silent for a moment. Then the gate swung open and Carson ran a hand across his face. He was a mess. Ever since his first night with Jessica Koshani, he had been her slave. He craved her the way an addict craves his drug. He was besotted, and he lived for the infrequent times she permitted him to see her, times she rationed out slowly so that the days between became sheer torture. And now this. Everything he’d worked for could crash and burn.
The senator was terrified that Koshani’s house was under surveillance, so he was wearing jeans, a dark jacket, sunglasses, and a baseball cap, and he parked in the shadows so his rental car could not be seen from the gate. The front door opened and he rushed inside. Koshani was wearing a black see-through teddy, and the sight of her near-naked body stopped his breath.
“We’re in trouble,” he blurted out, praying that the CIA had not bugged the mansion.
“Stop,” Koshani commanded, and he obeyed. “We’ll talk upstairs in my bedroom.”
Koshani turned and Carson’s eyes followed her tight, swaying buttocks as she walked up to the second floor. It was difficult for him to think so close to her. Despite the danger, he grew hard.
When they entered the bedroom, Koshani turned and looked at him with contempt.
“Why are you here?” she demanded.
“I shouldn’t be. I’m taking a huge risk,” he babbled.
“Get to the point.”
“Our committee met this afternoon,”
“What committee, Jack? You’re an important man,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “You sit on many committees.”
“Intelligence. There’s concern-real concern-about a terrorist plot. One of your companies was mentioned. The FBI suspects it’s being used to launder money for terrorists to finance an operation.”
“Nonsense. What company did they mention?”
“InCo, the import-export company. Jessica, if you’re questioned, you can’t mention me.”
“Who does the FBI suspect the company is aiding?” Koshani asked.
“I… I can’t tell you that. It’s classified. I’d be in big trouble if they found out I came here to warn you. I just wanted to make sure you know you might be questioned so you won’t be surprised and get me in trouble.”
“Why in the world would you think that I’d place your well-being over my own?”
“Look, if it’s money you want…”
Koshani swept her hand around her beautifully appointed bedroom. “Does it look like I need your money?”
“Please, Jessica.”
Koshani studied him the way an entomologist studies a common and uninteresting insect. Then she walked over to a cabinet and took out a DVD, which she inserted in a slot in a DVD player that stood beneath the plasma TV across from her bed. She clicked the remote and a picture appeared.
“This is your last session,” Koshani said. Carson blanched and he felt as if he might throw up.
On the screen, a woman in black latex was holding a leash attached to a dog collar worn by a naked man, who was on all fours. The woman’s identity was concealed because the camera was behind her. United States Senator Jack Carson’s face was clearly visible.
“You are a good boy and you deserve a reward,” the woman in the DVD said. “Do you want a reward?”
“Yes,” Carson said, his voice hoarse with desire.
“Is that the way I have trained you to answer?” the woman asked angrily.
Carson cowered. Then he said, “Yes, mistress,” and kissed the woman’s foot.
Koshani clicked the remote and the picture disappeared.
“How would your wife and children react if this recording appeared on the Internet? How many votes do you think you would get after it was shown?”
Carson’s hands balled into fists and his face flushed with anger. He took a step toward Koshani, then stopped abruptly. He had been so focused on the television that he had not seen her take the Beretta out of the drawer that held the DVD.
“That’s a good boy,” Koshani said in a tone that mocked the words that had been said on the screen. She waved the barrel toward the bed.
“Lie down,” she ordered. Carson knew what would come next. He’d done it often enough during their sex play.
Koshani used sets of velvet-lined handcuffs to fasten the senator’s hands and feet to the four corners of the bed. Then she sat on the bed and caressed Carson’s crotch. His penis was limp.
“Has the fun gone out of sex for you?” she asked with false concern. Carson turned his head so he wouldn’t have to look at her. She slapped him.
“Look at me when I speak to you,” she ordered.
When Carson brought his eyes to hers, there was real fear in them. This was not a game anymore. Koshani
