Hurry Up And Wait (Owens Protective Services #24)

21. Kavanaugh

21

KAVANAUGH

The weeks passed in a blur of town hall meetings, advisory committees, and endless hours on the road with the senator. Each week reminded me how little I liked the man and how desperately I wanted to return to Isla. My only consolation was that I wasn’t alone. I had Eli and Red with me, even if they did mock me more than anything. Their jobs were moot since there was no threat, and even if there were, I was completely capable of taking care of myself.

I made it home just two weekends out of three, but I talked to her every day, even if it was only a text at night to tell her how much I missed her. Although, last night had been a particularly difficult night as our texting grew a little heated, ending with me fisting my dick as I imagined her dirty mouth wrapped around my cock.

I flicked through the texts, reading them again just to remind myself why I was forcing myself through this meeting. Because at the end of it, I was flying home to her and burying myself inside her.

“Bradford,” the senator snapped, interrupting the dirty plans running through my head. “Something you want to share with us?”

If he thought he would embarrass me, he was sorely mistaken. I didn’t give a shit what he thought about me or what I was doing. “Not really. ”

“Perhaps it can wait.”

I shoved my phone in my jacket pocket and spun in my chair to face him. “Actually, I think it’s waited long enough. And this meeting has droned on about an hour past when it needed to end.” I shoved out of my chair and buttoned my suit jacket, narrowing my eyes at him. “I have things to do.”

“We still have things to discuss.”

I turned and headed for the door, calling over my shoulder, “Send me the highlights.”

Red was slumped in the armchair, snoring loudly as his fist squished his face and Eli was trying to stick his hand in a glass of water. The things they did to each other on this job were bordering on childish, but what else were they supposed to do when their job was to protect a protection agent?

“Having fun?” I asked, smacking Red on the back of the head.

Red jerked awake, cursing as he pulled his hand from the water. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Eli dodged a fist to the face and glared at me. “Thanks for spoiling my fun. A few more minutes and I would have had him running to the bathroom.”

“A few more minutes and I might have committed murder,” I mumbled.

“Can we go now?” Red asked, rubbing the red spot on his face where his fist had been holding him up.

“We’re out of here. I have a very impatient woman waiting at home for me.”

“So do we,” Eli muttered. “This has to be the boringest job we’ve ever been on. There’s absolutely no excitement.”

“Maybe we could bring IRIS along,” Red suggested. “I’m sure he could find a way to liven up the place.”

“Didn’t you get the memo?” I asked, pressing the button on the elevator. “Cash banned the use of any explosives near the silo.”

“Right,” Red drawled. “But we’re not near the silo. And if you ask me, this place could use a facelift.”

The ding of the elevator sounded and we stepped inside. My back ached from sitting on my ass all day, but it was the late nights that were making this job really get to me. I hadn’t been getting in many workouts and the few times I had, I’d been interrupted by late-night phone calls from the senator about whatever shit show was occurring the next day. What I really needed was about a week off and at least three days in bed with Isla.

“What’s that smirk about?” Red grumbled.

“Nothing. Just remembering my…conversation with Isla last night.”

“Conversation,” Eli huffed. “He had phone sex.”

Red cringed. “I don’t need to hear that. Seriously.”

“He’s just jealous because Zoe’s holding out.”

“She’s not holding out,” Red argued. “She’s pregnant. She’s uncomfortable.”

“She’s holding out,” Eli chuckled.

“Well, you can relax. It wasn’t typical phone sex.”

“Nope,” Red shook his head. “I don’t care. I don’t want to hear about how in love you are or how amazing she is or?—”

He was about to step off the elevator, but I slapped my hand against his chest, chuckling slightly. “Whoa, uh…what are you talking about?”

“Phone sex,” he said slowly.

“No, the uh…the part about love.”

“What? That you’re in love with her?”

I raised my brows, waiting for him to explain. Instead, he just laughed and walked off the elevator. I hurried after him, grabbing his arm. “Seriously, what are you talking about?”

“The fact that you love her. I thought that was pretty fucking obvious.”

“I don’t love her,” I clarified, totally lying my ass off. Even at fifteen, I knew I loved her. But when she moved away, I went on with life, focusing on other things. Now she was back and?—

“See,” Red grinned. “Right there. That smile.”

I cleared my face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t know what you’re talking about,” Eli chuckled. “He always looks like he’s in love when he walks off an elevator. ”

“Maybe I do,” I snapped. Yeah, it was a horrible comeback. In fact, it only made them laugh harder. I wasn’t sure why I was denying it. Maybe it was self-preservation or the need to feel like I still had a few secrets. Either way, I wasn’t ready to admit it to anyone yet.

Red clapped me on the shoulder, still laughing at me. “Hey, it’s okay. We get it. She’s very nice.”

“And very beautiful,” Eli chimed in. “You’d be crazy not to be daydreaming about making little Kavanaugh’s with her.”

“That’s definitely not what I was doing.”

“Right, because you were?—”

Red cleared his throat loudly and Eli immediately stopped talking.

“Please, don’t stop on my account,” the senator said from behind me. “A word, son?”

I gritted my teeth and turned to face him. “I have a plane to catch.”

“You rush out of here a lot. I would almost think you’re not committed to the job.”

“I just have more important things to do,” I jeered.

“Like visit someone back home?”

I stiffened at his words, knowing he had done his own digging on me. I figured it would happen. I just didn’t realize he would be so pissed he would use it against me. “Don’t go there,” I said, my voice low and threatening.

He shrugged as if it were no big deal, but I knew the wheels in his head were spinning. He would use anything he could to get me to stay on the same track as him, including threatening anyone I worked with or loved.

“I always liked Isla,” he lied. “Sweet girl. I hear she has a husband. A cop. It would be a shame if he found out you were screwing his wife.”

I stepped forward, but before I could slug him, Eli was pulling me back, telling me not to do anything stupid.

“Stay away from her.”

He cocked his head, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Why would you assume I would go near her? Don’t you know I only want what’s best for you? I always have. However, it would do you good to remember that to the public, you have a fiancée, and if they were to find out you were cheating on her, it would be very bad for the campaign. And for you.”

I gritted my teeth, my fists clenching hard at my sides. I couldn’t hit him like I wanted. That would be bad publicity. But he was really asking for a car to run him down as he stepped off the curb at rush hour.

I stepped forward, shrugging off Eli’s grasp on me. When I was toe to toe with him, I spoke very calmly, though rage was boiling inside. “Let me make one thing very clear to you. If you so much as look at Isla the wrong way, if you even speak of her ever again, I will end your miserable life and make sure all your dirty secrets are aired for the world to see. Am I making myself clear?”

But the senator was used to threats and took them without so much as flinching. “I’m not the only one who’s concerned about your relationship with that woman. Just remember that.”

Red clasped me on the shoulder as the senator walked away. I wasn’t sure if the senator was threatening her or warning me about her ex. Either way, I needed to find a way to protect Isla now that the senator knew about her.

“Well, fuck,” Eli sighed. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag.”

“What do you want to do?” Red asked. “We could put someone discreet on her.”

“She would be pissed if she found out.”

“She’ll be pissed when she finds out the senator has it out for her,” Eli pointed out. “You might want to inform her that she’s unknowingly made an enemy.”

That could never happen. “No, this stays between us. We can monitor his movements and add some security around the property.”

“Like what?” Red snorted. “Should we add some laser beams and a few stormtroopers?”

I slowly turned and lifted an eyebrow in question.

“Sorry. I was watching Star Wars .”

“You have to tell her,” Eli started.

But I was already shaking my head. “No, I don’t want this touching her. The senator was never very nice to her. The last thing I want is for her to worry about what the senator has planned next. If I tell her about the senator, I have to tell her about everything else. I can’t take the risk that she’ll walk away when the job is almost over.”

“You can’t keep this a secret,” Red argued. “When this comes out—and it will come out—she’s going to be pissed you kept this from her. She’s going to think you’re trying to control her. Not to mention, she won’t like the fact that you have a fiancée.”

“I’m not trying to control her. Just the outcome.”

“And the fiancée part?”

That was something she could never find out. “The senator’s just trying to keep me in line. If I distance myself from her, he’ll back off.”

“You can’t be serious,” Eli said incredulously. “How the fuck are you going to explain that to Isla?”

“Easy. We’re on a job and it’s intense. I’ll be home when I can.”

I knew neither of them agreed with me, but what woman would willingly go along with what I was doing? I couldn’t risk losing Isla—not when I finally had her back.

“That wasn’t an idle threat,” Eli pointed out. “If he contacts her husband?—”

“I know,” I snapped. “Fuck, I know what he could do.”

We all knew the senator could make a simple phone call and get her husband riled up again. Hell, he could do worse than that and not even involve him. The senator had racked up a lot of friends in powerful positions over the years. I wouldn’t put it past him to try something stupid to put me in my place.

“What do you want to do?”

What I wanted to do was go home, but that wouldn’t be happening now. “Nothing. I’m staying here. You guys go home for the weekend.”

“You’re staying? With your fiancée?” Red let out a low whistle.

“I’m protecting Isla. I’ll stay away until I figure something out. If I’m not with her, the senator can’t use her.”

“That’s what you think,” Red muttered.

I shoved my fingers through my hair and sighed. “It’s fine. Go home. I’ll call Isla and explain. And somehow, I’ll figure out how to get myself out of this without blowing the whole fucking job. ”

Eli walked closer, lowering his voice. “You know, it occurs to me that you could solve all your problems by removing one person.”

“Yes, but if I killed the senator, how would I get the information for Cash?”

“I didn’t say it was perfect. Just keep it at the back of your mind. You might need to use it someday.”