“I guess. Any requests for dinner? I’d better get started.”
“Don’t rush. I have a conference call later and some research to do first, but I can eat afterwards if need be.”
“Should I come and take notes for you or anything?”
“That’s not necessary. Someone’ll record the call. And it’s not until ten o’clock.”
“Ten tonight? Who’s still working that late? Or is it a time zone thing?”
“The call’s with James Harrison, and according to his public schedule, he’s been busy all day. So I imagine he’s fitting us in before he goes to bed.”
“Oh, okay… Wait. You don’t mean the James Harrison?”
“The president? Yes. If anyone can shed light on the situation with Senator Carnes, it’s him.”
“But…but… Are you joking?”
Beth was cute when she got flustered. Maybe Alaric should invite her along to take notes.
“No, I’m not joking. He’s just a politician. I thought you’d be used to hanging around with that type of person. Doesn’t your father run in those circles?”
“Yes, but his friends are crusty old MPs, not hot…uh…” Now her cheeks turned bright red. “Uh, the President of the United States is kind of a big deal. I don’t understand how you’d even get a call with him. Er, no offence, I just meant… I’ll stop talking now.”
Alaric couldn’t help laughing. “Emmy’s husband went to school with him.”
And Alaric was ninety-five percent certain that Emmy used to fuck Harrison too, though she’d never openly come out and said so. But Alaric had seen how Harrison looked at her, and also the way Black glared at Harrison with open hostility whenever he caught him doing so. It was remarkably similar to the scowls the man shot at Alaric.
“Really? It’s nice they’ve kept in touch.” Beth spoke with a touch of wistfulness. “Have you spoken to President Harrison before?”
“A handful of times, but only once since he became president.”
And that had been under awkward circumstances. When Alaric had heard that an unidentified female had been quarantined in the aftermath of a biological terror attack, Naz had ferreted out the details, and Alaric had known right away there was only one woman clever enough and crazy enough to get into that situation. Emmy. Breaking into the facility where she was being held had been his first step back into the light as well as a challenge to himself. Was his undercover game as good as it used to be? Could he still sneak into a heavily guarded military base? It turned out the answer was yes, but he hadn’t realised Harrison would be there until he found himself facing off against a dozen Secret Service agents. It probably hadn’t helped when he’d put two fingers to Harrison’s temple and told him his security was fucked, but adrenaline had a lot to answer for, and hey, he’d lived to tell the tale.
That day, Harrison had looked like shit, clearly worried about Emmy. Black hadn’t been in much better shape. It would be interesting to see the two men together again, to find out whether the dynamic between them had changed. In the old days when Harrison was a mere senator, Black had held all the power. Would he make any concessions to the president? Harrison still jumped when Emmy clicked her fingers. Alaric had glimpsed the message she’d sent him on the plane earlier—Devane - WTF???—and this late-night phone call was no doubt the result.
“Well, er, wow. Good luck. Is that the right thing to say? I’ll make something you can reheat whenever you’re ready.”
Beth could act smooth and polished when she put her mind to it, but Alaric liked how she was so openly awkward in private. There was no second-guessing with her. She wore her heart on her sleeve, or at least, what was left of it after her prick of an ex-husband had done his worst. Alaric had messed up too when they first met—they’d gotten too close, too fast, and he’d taken a hasty step backwards before he ruined her. With his reputation still in tatters and his wanderlust unsated, he was in no position to consider a relationship. And Beth was too fragile for a fling.
That didn’t stop Alaric from feeling like a shit for sleeping with Ravi two nights ago, though.
He blocked the memories out as he bent to kiss Beth on the cheek. “Anything you’d care to cook will be superb.”
This wasn’t a regular presidential phone call. Emmy, Black, and Alaric clustered around a tablet in a conference room at Riverley while Harrison was on a couch in what looked like his personal study, the space devoid of the usual hangers-on who sat in on his calls. Was anyone else listening from the situation room? Black got straight to the point.
“Is this a private call?”
“Does it look as if I’m on official business?”
Not in jeans and a faded Def Leppard T-shirt, no. Alaric noted that Harrison sidestepped the actual question, but Black seemed satisfied with the answer.
“You remember Alaric McLain?”
Harrison gave him a tight smile, a day’s worth of light-brown stubble speckling his jaw. “How could I forget? You’ll be pleased to hear the Secret Service has tightened up its procedures.”
Good news for the country, bad news if Alaric wanted to bypass security again. “Excellent.”
“And I never did thank you personally for the information about Likho.”
Ah, yes. The supervirus Emmy had tangled with. The dirt had come from Naz, who was a treasure trove of secrets. When he quit his job at SVR—Russia’s foreign intelligence service—he’d walked away with more than a stapler and a “Good Luck” card. The Russian government would still be trying to kill him if he hadn’t faked his own death.
“Forget it.”
One of Alaric’s own sources had heard that the reason the FBI hadn’t pursued Alaric to the
