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STEVE PROPPED HIS FEET up on the coffee table, switching through the channels looking for something to occupy his mind. Jennifer sat on the end of the couch curled up with a stack of scripts in front of her.
After the third round through the channels, Jennifer asked, “You want to read a couple of these and tell me if you think it’s worth pursuing?” She handed him half the stack.
Steve glanced at the offering and then met her gaze.
“You’re driving me crazy,” she said, still holding the stack.
“I’m sorry,” Steve said and settled on the Fox News station. He dropped the remote on the table and took the stack from her. He figured if the script was good enough, the television wouldn’t pull his attention away.
“Thank you,” Jennifer said and sent a smirk his way.
“I can think of a dozen better ways to spend my time,” he muttered and flipped open the first script in the pile.
“I need to read these,” Jennifer said waving the pile.
“We could still...” he trailed off at her glare.
“I have to get through these today. If you’re so hard up, you’re more than welcome to take care of it yourself.” She gave him a challenging purse of her lips and he chuckled.
“Touché,” he said and focused on the words in front of him, but his mind kept returning to the thought of her sexy mouth doing all the right things. He glanced in her direction with a suggestive grin plastered on his lips.
Jennifer glanced up from her script and laughed. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” He feigned innocence.
The ring of the telephone saved her, and he leaned forward, muted the television, and grabbed the phone. He glanced at the caller ID before answering.
“Hey, Ron,” he said and put the papers in his lap aside.
“They’re issuing a subpoena for you to appear in front of the grand jury,” Cleary said.
Steve sucked in air, and Jennifer’s gaze jumped from the script to his. “When?”
“The end of the week.”
Steve stared at Jennifer. “That’s pretty fast,” he said. Jennifer mouthed Tom’s name and Steve shook his head, pointing at his chest.
“I told you they were on a witch hunt,” Cleary said, and Steve closed his eyes, thankful for the bitter tone in his boss’s voice.
“Have you been interviewed, yet?”
Cleary laughed. “No. They didn’t ask, and I didn’t volunteer.”
Steve opened his eyes. “Okay,” he said. “What’s happening with Sarah?”
“She told them she asked you about Ty, but you didn’t come clean with her until the day of his funeral. From what I understand, they’re going to give her a formal reprimand for failing to bring this to the attention of her superiors.”
“What are they charging me with?”
“Aiding and abetting a known criminal, extortion, and reckless endangerment. They haven’t found anything concrete that could lead to charges related to either his death or Jessica’s so they drummed up reckless endangerment for allowing them access to key case details during an investigation. I just thought you’d like to prepare for this.”
“Jesus,” Steve whispered and dropped his head against the pillows behind him. “If I’m found guilty, what’s the penalty I’m looking at?”
“They are going for the maximum they can get for each count, so you’re looking at thirty years before you’re eligible for parole.”
“Thirty years?”
“And a five million dollar fine,” Cleary said.
His mouth turned bitter, like he’d bitten into a bad lemon and he clenched his teeth. “So my record doesn’t count at all.”
“Not to them.”
Steve closed his eyes and ran his hand down his face. “Fucking bureaucrats,” he muttered and took a deep breath. “Anything further on the Windwalker?”
“No, nothing.”
“Thanks for the heads up. I guess I’ll see you in Washington when the time comes.”
“I’ll be there.”
Steve hung up the phone and tossed it onto the table.
“They could put you away for thirty years?” Jennifer asked.
He nodded and glanced in her direction. The color in her face drained and she shook her head.
“No, that can’t happen,” she gasped.
Steve shrugged.
“You’d better do whatever you can to not land in jail. Understand?” Jennifer said. Her tone and her stare, coupled with the paleness in her cheeks, sent a severe message and he nodded.
“I’ll do my best.”
“No! Promise me you’ll make this go away,” she said, slamming the stack on the table.
Steve pressed his lips together for a moment, debating on whether or not to make that promise. He had never utilized his powers to persuade anyone for personal gain and wasn’t sure he could, just on principle alone. It was against everything he stood for.
Her insistent gaze transitioned to a glare.
“You’re not going to save yourself, are you?”
Before he could answer, she stormed out of the living room and up the stairs. The bedroom door slammed, shaking the house from the force.