“For Kennedy you mean?” I eyed him.
“Mostly, yes. Whatever she wants to throw at me.”
I slung back the vodka. “My sister seems to think your boss doesn’t know anything about your relationship.”
“She doesn’t.” He gripped the glass. “My personal life is private. I don’t think she needs to know about my relationship with Seraphina. I don’t let it interfere with work. It’s part of Kennedy’s philosophy. Makes it easy to keep things separate.”
My father was an asshole, but he was good at judging people. He could sniff out a liar within five minutes of talking to them. A con or a thief even faster. I tried to tap into that Corban intuition. I tried to size up Crew. What I saw was a confident man. It would take more than five minutes to decide if he was sincere about my sister.
“Kennedy’s philosophy?”
“Yes. She believes that work should strictly be about business. She doesn’t make exceptions to any of the rules she has in place.”
“I see.” I walked around the small apartment. I started to think about the opportunity I had been given. How badly did Crew want to make a deal? How much was he willing to sacrifice for a life in France with my sister and their baby?
I pulled up a chair. “Why don’t you sit?” I motioned across from me.
Crew took a seat.
It was a long shot. But this man knew her. He knew how she thought. What strategies she used. He knew her in a way I hadn’t begun to examine yet. I realized I might have a plan to get Kennedy back. Just maybe I was willing to start a war to make it happen.
5
Kennedy
I was impressed with Victoria Banks. Renee had been right about her. She might be the best lobbyist I’d ever hired. Three days passed since our meeting, and I believed her when she said there were other ways to get the votes we needed.
I was going to get the bill passed to allow gambling rights at the Crescent Towers. In the process, I would make sure Knight Corban never had a chance in New Orleans to regain a shred of power. What he had done to me wouldn’t be forgiven or forgotten.
It had also been three days since I woke up in bed with Knight. The morning I discovered how far he was willing to go to destroy me. It was the first time I had let me guard down. I knew what a mistake it was to let him in. It would never happen again.
The water rippled in the pool. I watched one of the floats bob underneath the waterfall. I tugged the kimono wrap around my shoulders. The wind was picking up. The palms rustled and the flower petals began to detach and whip around the courtyard. I glanced at the file I was reading again. I couldn’t remember where I had left off. I skimmed the numbers, trying to find the spot. Was it revenue? Was it the quarterly profit and loss?
I looked overhead a flash of lightning crackling across the sky. I gathered the folders and shoved them in my pool bag. One warning was all I needed.
Kimble was waiting for me when I stepped inside.
“There’s a weather alert about a tropical depression. I was headed out to make sure you knew it wasn’t safe to sit by the pool.”
“The lightning was enough for me.” I clutched the straw handle. Kimble didn’t alter his stance. “Is there something else?” I asked. Usually at this time of night he was in his suite. He popped out for perimeter checks a few times. As long as I was in for the night, I rarely saw him.
“Have you seen the radar? It’s going to be a rough night.”
I shook my head. I didn’t bother with weather. “No. I’ll stay in if that makes you happy.” I smirked.
“I think we should talk in your office,” he answered. “I need to brief you on something I learned today.”
“Oh? I’m headed upstairs to change. Can you give me a few minutes?” I was wearing a swimsuit under the kimono. I wanted to swim a few laps before the storm blew in. The thunder crackled. I felt the vibrations as the windows in the old house rattled. The panes were fragile and thin.
“It’s important. I think you’re going to want to hear this.”
I blinked. “All right.” I slipped into my sandals. “Let’s go to my office.” Kimble followed me along the corridor. He tugged the sliding doors closed behind us.
“What is it?” I rested the straw bag on the floor.
“It’s about Crew.”
“What about him?” I couldn’t think of Crew crossing paths with Kimble lately.
“He had lunch with Knight Corban yesterday.”
“Is that all?” I laughed. “He has an assignment from me regarding the Corbans tech investments.”
Kimble cleared his throat. “It’s wasn’t a meeting about tech.”
“How do you know that?”
Kimble’s eyes narrowed. “My priority has and always will be to keep you safe. I don’t believe those men were meeting about tech.”
I groaned. “You’re going to have to give me more to go on than that.”
“Because of this.” He held up his phone. I saw a picture of Crew and Knight. I ignored the extra beat pounding in my chest when I saw the sharp lines of Knight’s jaw.
“Lunch. Yes, I get it.” I glanced at Kimble.
He pinched the screen, zooming in to the table. “Look closer,” he instructed. “At what they are doing.”
I peered at the photo again. “Is that?” I yanked the phone from Kimble’s hand. “Those are the tunnels. The plans for the Vieux Carre.” I stared in disbelief. I twisted the phone around, in case I was wrong about what I thought I spotted.
He nodded. “Yes.”
“But why would Crew have those?” I realized now that they were both staring at the plans on the table, spread out between their place settings.
Kimble shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Why would he share those with Knight?”
“I have no idea.” His lips pinched together.
I
