pleasure to see you here. What a delightful surprise.” Alice Silva—the senator’s wife—air-kissed him, her smile as big as her Botox allowed, he guessed.
Cash was aware of Reese side-eyeing him at the “Constantine” because, yep, that was his name. But his friends called him Cash. Always had. “It’s a pleasure to see you too. Alice, this is Reese Sinclair, my date for the evening.”
When Alice looked at Reese, her smile was as fake as usual, but then she blinked. “Reese, you’re Eleanor and Archibald’s daughter?”
“Yes.” Reese’s smile was tight.
So, of course, Cash was now curious about them.
“Oh, I wish they were here tonight. Your father loves to brag about you. You’re in cybersecurity, correct?”
Reese looked a little stunned at the brag comment, but she recovered quickly. “That’s correct. I’ve been following the work you’ve done at the KIDS’ TOMORROW literacy foundation, and it’s incredible.” She smoothly shifted topics, and even though she’d told Cash she couldn’t stand the woman or her husband because of their politics, he’d have never guessed.
“Thank you. It’s a project of my heart. Something your date knows,” she said on a laugh, looking at Cash now. “Thank you again for the generous donation. With the extra building, we’ve got a lot more space now for tutoring and mentoring.” She held her hand out and squeezed his, her expression sincere for the first time tonight.
“You donated a building?” Reese asked.
“Oh, he did more than that, he donated books and—”
He cleared his throat, laughing. “I did what I could. That’s all.”
“You’re too humble,” she said, squeezing his upper arm. “I wish more men were like you.”
“Constantine!” The senator joined them, and it was subtle, but Cash saw the tightening around Alice’s eyes, even though her smile remained in place. “She’s right, you know. I’m so glad you’re here tonight, and I was hoping to talk to you about something.” He shook Cash’s hand, completely dismissing Reese—and even his wife.
And the only reason Cash went along was because now was his chance to attempt to clone the man’s phone. “Sure, no problem.”
“We’re good. You boys go talk,” Alice said, her laugh brittle and nothing like earlier as she turned back to talk to Reese.
“What can I help you with?” Cash asked, stepping away—and hating to be separated from Reese.
“I heard you’re bidding on the Stapleton project.”
That was what he wanted to talk about?
“Ah, my company is, yes.” A company he’d started from the ground up, but he was now looking for a new challenge. Some days he wondered if something was wrong with him because he couldn’t simply be satisfied. He’d earned his nickname of Cash because everything he touched allegedly turned to cash. Maybe the name had a better ring than gold.
“I’ve got a couple suggestions for contractors.” The man droned on about two contractors he wanted to recommend—both known for shoddy work.
“Get him to pull his phone out,” Elijah said in his ear.
He was trying to find a moment to interrupt and do just that. It would be easier if Cash could actually swipe the senator’s phone as Hailey planned to do with that shady lawyer, but that wasn’t Cash’s skill set. And Elijah had the capability to clone as long as they were close enough and the man’s phone was unlocked. “Hey, would you mind texting me the names of the contractors? I plan on enjoying myself tonight and don’t want to forget.”
“Of course, but I don’t have my phone on me. Never bring them to these things. I won’t forget though. Tell you what, I’ll email you in the morning.”
“Great.” Absolutely fantastic. But he pasted on a smile as the other man continued droning on. Jesus, he liked the sound of his own voice.
***“You look like you need a drink,” Reese murmured as Cash approached.
What he needed was some Reese, but he kept that thought to himself. “Well, that was a bust.” And he hated the feeling of wasting time, especially with Easton’s life in the balance.
“Maybe not.” Reese smiled as she slid her arm through his. “I cloned Alice’s phone. Which might give us nothing, but it’s better than nothing at all.”
He glanced down at her in surprise. “How’d you do that?”
“She asked for my phone number, and when she unlocked her phone I took advantage.” She shrugged, but looked very pleased with herself. Her dark hair was up in a twist, showing off her delicate neck, and he wanted to lean down and pepper kisses along all that smooth, exposed skin.
Since that was likely to get him slapped, he ignored the impulse. “Any sign of Berch?” he murmured as they slowly made their way through the crowd. He recognized a lot of faces, some simply from television.
“No, not that I expected it.” Her voice was just as low, and with the din of voices and the live band playing, no one could overhear them anyway. “So, Constantine, you donated a building?”
Technically he’d donated a building, then completed the construction of another one, eating all the costs. “It’s a good tax write-off.”
She gave him a dry look.
Which made him grin. “So, your parents live in DC and know Alice Silva?” He figured it was a fair question if she was calling him Constantine.
To his surprise, her expression shuttered. “They split their time between here and New York. They’re lobbyists. I didn’t even realize they knew her, but I shouldn’t be surprised. They know everyone.”
Oh, there was definitely more there, but he didn’t push. He was playing the long game with this woman, though it was no game at all.
“I’m patching Hailey in,” Elijah’s voice sounded in his ear, reminding him that the other man was listening.
Because he’d actually forgotten for a moment.
“It’s me,” Hailey said a second later in his earpiece. “We did what we needed to do, and we’re getting out of here. Target One is leaving so we’re going to follow.”
Target One referred to the senator. “Sounds good,” Cash said as they reached the valet under the porte cochere. “I’m sure you know how we fared by now too.”
“Yep. We’ve got our phones if you need us.” He heard the subtle click letting him know that she’d ended the connection.
“So what do you want to do?” Reese asked as she looked up at him.
“Cash, darling!” A familiar voice rang out, making him wince.
Isabella Vance.
The tall redhead approached, a calculating smile in place as she air-kissed Cash, completely ignoring Reese—who was trying to ease away from him.
So he slid an arm around Reese’s shoulders and pulled her close as he stepped back from Isabella, avoiding what looked like a potential hug. He didn’t want the woman touching him.
“You’re leaving already?” she asked before he’d said a word.
“Yep.” He kept his arm securely in place around Reese’s shoulders and decided not to ask any questions or invite conversation. It made things awkward, but he was petty enough not to give a shit at the moment.
“Oh, that’s too bad.” She pouted a little, then finally looked at Reese, her smile firmly in place. “I’m Isabella.”
“I’m Reese.” She nodded politely but didn’t offer her hand or anything.
For the first time since Cash had known her, Isabella seemed flustered. “Well…it’s good to see you. I’ll reach out, and we can set up lunch.” Then she hurried inside as the valet finally pulled up with his vehicle.
“I didn’t think you could pull off the icy thing, but you did that well,” Reese said once they were alone in his SUV and heading out.
He lifted a shoulder.
“So is she an ex? Because I know who she is, and she’s engaged to that, uh, that guy who looks like a Kennedy but isn’t, right?”
“Yep.”
“Is that all I’m gonna get?” Reese shifted slightly, crossing one leg over the other as she started pulling pins from her hair.
He tried not to stare at the swath of smooth skin as her dress split over her crossed legs, the fabric falling on either side of them. She wasn’t paying attention either, wasn’t trying to be coy or whatever as she grumbled about all the “dumb pins” in her hair.
“If you tell me about your parents, I’ll tell you about Isabella.”
Now he got the grumpy look he was getting used to from her. “Fine, whatever. We’ll both keep our secrets.” Before she could continue, his phone buzzed with an incoming text.
“Open it for me?” he asked, giving her his code.
“Oh, hell, it’s Chloe. She attached a picture of the listening devices we planted with an angry face emoji. But she also says to come over, she has something for us.”
“Could be a trap.”
“Are you armed?” Reese asked.
“Always.”
“Then we’re good. Let’s go.” She slid her dress up higher to reveal a blade strapped to her thigh. “Because I’m armed too.”
He swerved slightly at the sight of her lifting her dress and showing off a weapon. Why was that so hot? Okay, he knew why. “How’d you get that through security earlier tonight?”
“It’s not metal, doesn’t set anything off.” She gave a casual shrug, and he forced his gaze back to the road ahead.
Because the urge to look at her, to simply drink her in, was going to cause him to crash if he wasn’t careful.
The rest of the drive was quiet enough, with the city bright around them until he turned into the established neighborhood where Chloe Grace lived. He wondered if her neighbors knew what she did for a living, doubted they cared. Because Chloe would be discreet, and hell, maybe some of her neighbors were her clients, considering the amount of wealth in this zip code.
Thankfully, he found parking close by so Reese wouldn’t have to hoof it far in her heels. Not that she was complaining, but he didn’t want her to have to.
As they reached the top of the steps to the brownstone, the front door opened up. Chloe wore soft-looking, wide-legged pants, a fuzzy sweater, and her face was completely made-up. So maybe she was expecting company. Her expression was neutral as she stepped back to let them in, but as they entered the foyer, she said, “You don’t go any farther into my house after what you pulled.”
“It’s not personal,” Reese said before he could. “We’re looking for someone, and we’ll cross a lot of lines to find him.”
Chloe’s expression was tight as she glanced between the two of them. She handed them the smashed devices, then sighed. “Look, I don’t like having enemies. And you’re one of the most decent humans I know, so… Henry has been talking about hitting it big soon. Nothing too specific. He likes to talk, and he loves to brag about his accomplishments. And I’m using that phrase lightly, because like I said…he’s just not that bright. But he’s betting a lot of his money on some big pharma thing, thinking it’s going to make him ‘Midas rich’ by the end of next year. I don’t know any more than that, and I definitely don’t know anything about a kidnapping—which I still don’t think he’s smart enough to pull off. I know what I do is technically illegal, but it shouldn’t be. And other than that, I walk the straight and narrow, whether you believe me or not. So if this isn’t enough for you, then I guess we’re enemies.”
“We’re not enemies,” Cash said softly, believing her. He felt like a bit of a dick for planting those devices, but Reese hadn’t been wrong. He would break a lot of laws to find Easton. “And for the record, I’m sorry about hiding these.” He’d shoved the broken pieces into the pocket of his tux.
Chloe shoved out a breath, nodded once. “Okay, then.” She looked between the two of them again. “I hope you find your friend.”
“Thank you,” he said, meaning it.
Reese didn’t say anything at all, simply nodded and headed out, Cash right behind her. “Do you believe her?” she asked once they were alone in his vehicle.
“I do. She seemed sincere, and I’m guessing she already weighed the pros and cons of making an enemy of me. And by extension, Jesse as well.”
Reese simply nodded, clearly lost in thought as she turned to look out the window as he headed back to Jesse’s place. What he wouldn’t give to know what she was thinking. Hell, what he wouldn’t give if she’d give him a chance.