Our Little Secret (23 page)

They found Gerald lurking among the melons, driving cap pulled low over his eyes, appearing to be in deep deliberation over which fruit to buy. When he saw them he lifted a melon in front of his face and whispered furtively around it.

“Are you being followed?”

Drew took the melon from him and placed it in their empty shopping cart. “No, they waited in the parking lot. They’re parked next to the Mercedes.”

Gerald looked disappointed. “Who are they?”

“It’s Hawknose and Trenchcoat,” Lauren told him, nodding sagely to emphasize the significance of her information.

His mouth dropped open. “Those two incompetent idiots are Secret Service?”

“Yes, and they’re expecting us to buy a cart full of groceries,” Drew told him, “so give us a good twenty minutes or so before you go out to the car.”

Gerald snorted. “You can add another ten onto that while I berate that big clod for ripping my topcoat.
The federal government owes me a refund, and by God, that clumsy oaf is going to get the bill.”

“Just don’t forget to buy some groceries first,” Drew said.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry.”

Drew dangled the keys to his dad’s Mercedes in front of Gerald’s face.

“Oh.” Gerald pulled a set of keys from his pocket and made the switch. “I parked by the loading dock in back. And if that ape in the produce truck got so much as a speck of dirt on my car, call the cops. I already have his license plate number.”

The side of Drew’s mouth quirked upward. “Will do.”

They started to leave when Gerald called out, “Hey, where are you going? How can I find you if something comes up?”

“I’m not sure where we’ll be, but we’ll check in with you.”

Gerald leveled a finger at Drew. “You be careful with Lauren.”

Drew’s arm went around Lauren’s shoulder and pulled her close. “Don’t worry.”

She broke away to go back and kiss Gerald’s cheek. “You’re sweet,” she said.

He smiled. “It’s one of my best qualities. Hey, what’s with the pockets?”

She followed his gaze to the bulging pouches on each side of her jacket. “Clean underwear.”

Gerald’s eyes darted to Drew, then back to her. He leaned close and said in a confidential whisper, “The skimpy, sexy kind, I hope.”

She shoved a hand into his shoulder. “I take it back. You men are all alike.”

A wicked grin crossed his face. “When opportunity knocks, be prepared. And girlfriend, you’ve got a huge hunk of opportunity standing over there.”

She bit her lip. “’Bye, Gerald. Don’t be too hard on the feds.”

“Sorry, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. You take care, now.”

He set off purposefully toward the dairy section as Lauren rejoined Drew. Exiting through an “employees only” door, they found the rear loading dock. Lauren followed Drew’s direction down a short flight of cement steps to the oil-stained pavement behind the store, and stared at the sleek silver sports car gleaming in the spring sun.

“
That’s
a Volvo?”

“Volvo C-Seventy. Nice, huh? Gerald’s a car snob.”

She gave it a long, appreciate look. “Bet it goes fast.”

“Bet we aren’t going to find out.” They took a side driveway, then slipped into midday Washington traffic.

Lauren hadn’t questioned Drew’s escape plan, probably because her mind became muddled every time he touched her, and he’d made his plans while stroking her and her brain cells into rapturous confusion. With both of his hands on the steering wheel, she had a better chance at holding an intelligent conversation.

“Now tell me why we’re playing hide and seek with the Secret Service,” she said, tossing her raincoat into the back seat. “We’re not the ones Chapman and his partner were supposed to protect. Do you really think they’ll waste their time looking for us?”

“I’m more concerned with avoiding whoever followed us to the embassy and tried to turn us into road kill. And as for the Secret Service, they did follow us to
Whole Foods. Maybe they think the best way to find Dad and Meg is to stick close to us, in case they try to contact us again.”

She liked the idea of eluding whoever was trying to kill them, but Lauren had been hoping Meg would call again. “If they do try, we won’t be at the house. What if we miss a call from them?”

His mouth set in a grim line. “I don’t think we will. Something spooked them, Lauren, and they ran from the people who were there to protect them. They took a chance and called once just so we would think they were safely out of the country. I don’t think they’ll risk it again.”

She nodded, thinking. Who was her sister so afraid of? “I wasn’t enchanted with Agent Chapman, but when he thought I was Meg he seemed honestly frustrated that I wouldn’t let him take me into protective custody. I don’t think he was lying, Drew. He doesn’t know why they ran from him.”

“I know, I don’t get it, either. But if we want to find them, I think our chances are better if we stay away from the Secret Service. And since the Secret Service might think their chances are better by staying with us,” he patted the dashboard fondly, “we use Gerald’s hot Swede to sneak away.”

“Makes sense,” she said, settling back in her seat. And by the way, we could get there a lot faster if you’d give this baby some gas.”

He shot her a puzzled smile. “Is this a glimpse of your wild side?”

She didn’t know what it was. She felt suddenly free, like she’d just been sprung from a cage and was eager
to see how far and how fast she could go. “I like fast cars,” she said, even though she was pretty sure her feeling had nothing to do with cars.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but we don’t want to attract attention.”

Too bad. But she could indulge that impulse another time, since she had no intention of going back in that cage. “So where are we going?”

“Take your pick. We could check the last place we know they were—the airport. If they never left for the Virgin Islands, we can assume the Secret Service made sure they didn’t get on a different flight, either. And if they didn’t fly out of there, they must have driven. We could try the rental car companies and taxis, which would take days. I’m guessing the Secret Service is already on that, and doing a better job than we could. They could also have called a friend for a ride. We could contact the most likely suspects and see if they know anything.”

She nodded. “Time consuming, but it might work. What else?”

“Dana Zamecki, the TV reporter. How did she happen to be there with a camera crew exactly when Dad and Meg were trying to run from the Secret Service?”

She thought for a few seconds. “You think someone tipped her off. Who? Meg and your dad?”

“I think either Dad and Meg set it up to make the Secret Service and everyone else think they were leaving the country, or the bad guys tipped Dana off, just to cover that avenue. If Meg and Dad tried to fly out of town, it would be news, and they’d hear about it.”

“Agent Chapman said another senator was being
blackmailed first. If we could figure out who it was, maybe he’d have some idea who might be doing it, or where your dad and Meg are hiding.”

He smiled and reached over to gently squeeze her thigh. “Good thinking. Now where would you like to start?”

Right there’s good
, she thought as her brain cells scrambled again.
Or a little higher.
The warmth of his hand spread up her leg to settle between her thighs.

Closing her eyes, she willed his hand to move upward.

“Lauren? Are you thinking?”

“Yes.” She peeked at him.

Comprehension sparked the moment their eyes met. For one second Drew appeared startled, then his gaze shot into her like a laser, clean and purposeful. “Jesus,” he muttered, jerking his hand back as if he’d been burned. “Tell me where we’re going right now, before I pull into the nearest Marriott.”

She nearly asked how close the Marriott was, but an irritating thread of common sense held her back.

“Let’s start at the beginning, with your dad’s friend, the other senator who was being blackmailed.”

Drew released a sharp breath. “Okay. That means we go see Paul Pierson, the octopus you danced with at the embassy. He and Dad aren’t in the same political party, but they’ve both been in Washington a long time and no one knows my dad better.” He took a sharp right turn and began working his way back toward the Capitol area.

Lauren thought she did a credible job of looking calm and collected, even though her heart pounded and her pelvis throbbed. The connection between them
was only growing stronger, and it shocked her every time she felt it. It wasn’t just sexual—she admired Drew’s resourcefulness and intelligence, and the way he kept his sense of humor in a crisis. But she wasn’t about to downplay the sexual part. It was new and powerful, and best of all, mutual. She intended to explore it in languorous detail, not in the desperate collision of bodies that this new, outrageous side of her seemed prone to.

Although they could try that, too. Lauren looked out the passenger window, chin propped in her hand to hide her grin.

Drew silently thanked Gerald for his Eagle Scout preparedness. The BlackBerry in the glove compartment contained every conceivable phone number, from the Georgetown dry cleaner to the president’s secretary. Combined with IDs and passes for nearly any government building in D.C., they were inside Senator Pierson’s suite in the Dirksen Senate Building with barely enough time for Drew to lose the persistent erection he suffered whenever he touched Lauren.

Paul Pierson met them in the deserted corridor with open arms. “Meg, you luscious temptress, you decided to leave the old fart after all! You’ve made the right choice.”

Drew inserted his arm between them as the senator attempted to wrap Lauren in an embrace. “Sorry, Senator, not this time. You can flirt all you want with Dad’s wife, but this is her sister, Lauren. I wouldn’t want her to think you’re as lecherous as you pretend to be.”

Pierson dropped his arms, but looked intrigued, staring first at Drew, then Lauren. “You’re kidding.”

Lauren shook her head. “I’m sorry about deceiving you at the embassy, but we had a good reason.”

“That was you?” After another long, interested look at Lauren, Pierson asked, “Does Meg know about this?”

“No.” Lauren shook her head.

“Harlan?”

“No,” Drew answered.

“Huh. This should be good. Come on in and sit down. It’s Sunday and the Senate recessed for a week, so we have the office to ourselves. I can offer you a drink, if you’ll settle for Pepsi, 7-Up, or Nestea.”

Drew caught Lauren’s surprised glance as they followed him to his inner office, and smiled. “The senator’s not the lush he appears. He also has a wife and six kids, so I hope he’s not an adulterous lech, either.”

“Hey now, son, don’t give away my secrets. Just tell me why you two are going around Washington impersonating my favorite lady. Right after my wife and four daughters, that is.”

Drew watched Lauren succumb to Pierson’s charms and felt a twinge of jealousy. They weren’t even lovers—not yet, anyway, an oversight he planned to correct soon—and already he felt proprietary. Lauren seemed to bring out all sorts of new feelings in him. But he had other important things to worry about now.

“This is confidential information, Senator. You can’t talk about it with anyone, because we don’t know yet who Dad and Meg are hiding from or why.”

“Hiding from?” Pierson’s expression grew serious. “Tell me.”

They told the story the way Agent Chapman had related it to them, beginning with Senator Creighton’s report to the Secret Service that someone was attempting
to use another senator’s indiscretions to buy votes, his idea to “marry” his secretary and continue seeing his current girlfriend in order to make himself a target, followed by Meg and Harlan’s abrupt disappearance when the apparent blackmail was received.

They left out the X-rated photos in the safe-deposit box. Drew was fairly certain the pictures were what had been offered to buy Senator Creighton’s silence, although he didn’t understand how his father might be intimidated by proof that his wife had had a previous lover.

Pierson’s sharp mind hadn’t missed any of the implications. “That’s an incredible story, son, but I don’t see why you’re so desperate to find Harlan and Meg. Why not wait for them to show up on their own?”

“Because they’re so afraid of something they don’t even trust the Secret Service to keep them safe,” Drew told him. “Whoever tried to blackmail them must be pretty powerful if they don’t feel safe with that level of protection.”

“And they tried to convince us to stay out of it, to keep
us
safe,” Lauren added.

“So naturally you want to get right in the middle of it.”

“Someone has to,” Drew told him.

He regarded them over his soft drink as he took a long sip, then set the can on his desk. “Okay, how can I help? I assume that’s why you’ve told me about it. I’ll do whatever I can.”

“We’re hoping you can give us a name,” Drew said. “We have very few clues to go on. Maybe if we know which senator confided in my dad, it would help us figure out who might be trying to blackmail them.”

“You mean tell you who might be cheating on his wife, so you can confront him?”

“Do you have a better idea?” Drew asked.

Pierson eyed him speculatively for several seconds, then shook his head. “No.”

The senator rose and stood at the window, staring at the street below. Lauren gave Drew a worried look and he took her hand with a gentle, reassuring squeeze while they waited for Senator Pierson to decide how much he could trust them.

Finally, Pierson turned. “I heard something recently that I discounted at the time. It may be nothing, but there is one person who could be in that sort of situation, and who would probably confide in Harlan before anyone else.” Drew waited, while Pierson struggled with his reservations. “It has to remain strictly confidential.”

“Of course.”

“And remember, this is only speculation.”

Drew nodded impatiently.

Pierson took a deep breath. “It could have been Senator McNabb.”

Whatever name he expected, it wasn’t that one. “Senator
Charlene
McNabb?”