The lights glared in his face, but he kept a serene look pasted in place. His life had led with deliberate pacing to this moment. He had earned the opportunity and no one would take it from him. He would make certain of that.

The young woman across from him rested a legal pad on her knee.

What would it be like to get closer to her?

He reined in his thoughts.

Not now. He would have only the bearing and comportment of the officer he was. The one he would be as soon as the farce of the hearings ended. He locked gazes with Senator Langdon, who’d arranged this little parlay with the media. The coward hadn’t once indicated he was in support of Dane’s appointment. That was fine. Dane had a long memory and had as much dirt on Langdon as Langdon thought he had on Dane.

It wouldn’t be a fair fight, but the good senator didn’t understand that.

The journalist glanced down at her notepad. Something about her reminded him of a younger Jaime. The worldly edge tinged with vulnerability reflected his niece as a teenager.

The man behind the camera jarred the room with a loud voice. “Ready when you are.”

The woman glanced at him. What was her name? Kathy? Karen? Carmen? It didn’t matter. All that mattered was the way she used her beauty to lure him in. Little did she know the power was his. He had learned that years ago with a subject much more appealing and innocent.

“Mr. Nichols.”

“Colonel Nichols.” He’d earned the rank through years of dedicated service.

She inclined her head toward him. “Colonel Nichols, tell us why you should be the army’s next brigadier general.”

He answered, the question so softball he didn’t need to think. The conversation pinged back and forth, him keeping his gaze locked on her, ignoring the cameras pointed at him from two positions.

“Do the charges filed by the Commonwealth’s Attorney of Virginia concern you?”

He schooled his features, kept them controlled. “What charges?”

“The ones that allege you molested your niece.” There was steel undergirding her smile, as if she knew she’d caught him off guard.

Not nearly as off guard as he’d make his niece. So far he’d only toyed with her.

No one messed with his career.

No one.