Stoking the Fire (Salus Security #1) - Teodora Kostova Page 0,86
as well. His eyes widen, and he jumps out of the chair. “Zach!” Adri exclaims, diving in for a hug before I have a chance to say anything. I wince at the ferocity of his embrace, still sore and a little lightheaded. “God, I’m sorry.” He pulls away, his fingers grazing my cheekbone. “Are you okay?”
“For God’s sake!” I explode, anger I didn’t realize I was suppressing until now bubbling over. “No, I’m not fucking okay! I was kidnapped, and Alec could have been killed trying to get me back! My sister is in the fucking hospital! The city is tearing itself apart, and nobody is fucking telling me what’s going on. So, no. I am not okay.” I’m breathing heavily by the time I’m done. Everyone stares at me as if I’ve just announced I’m voting Republican. “I’m sorry,” I say, automatically, feeling deflated after my outburst. “I’m glad to see you, too, Adri. I was worried about you.” I cast a glare in my father’s direction. He doesn’t react. Just perches on the edge of the desk, watching us with an icy blue gaze.
Adri waves a hand. “It’s fine. I managed to get everything I needed faster and easier than I expected.”
My father walks back over to the desk and sits in his chair. “Alec, I believe you’ve met David, my executive assistant?” Both Alec and David nod. “And this is Sharon Leigh. She’s a researcher and is helping us with the case we’re building.” Sharon lifts her eyes from the monitor to waves awkwardly at us, before she’s absorbed again in whatever she’s doing. “Take a seat.” He gestures at the two chairs on the other side of the desk. “I have to warn you, though. Everything that’s said here tonight stays in this room.” His stern gaze bores into me and then Alec. “Is that clear?”
“Yes,” we say in unison, and I have to fake a cough to hide my smile.
“Adrian?” my father says, then gestures for him to proceed.
Adri clears his throat. “I’ve been investigating a tip I got a couple of months ago about Calloway. But I kept hitting dead ends and nearly gave up.”
I scoff, not believing for a second Adri would give up on anything.
He scowls at me before he continues. “A few weeks ago I got a new lead. And it turned out bigger than I thought.”
I look at Alec, who’s sitting stiffly in the chair, a deep frown etched on his face. When he speaks, his voice is clipped. “How big? Is it enough to end this?”
“End what?” I ask, feeling like I’m the only one out of the loop.
“This!” Alec gestures around before his dark eyes focus on me. “The threat on your life. The hiding. The running.” He sounds desperate all of a sudden, his eyes softening when he looks at me.
I realize then he’s been worried about coming back, but he’s been even more worried about what’s going to happen tomorrow. Or the day after. Or next month. I realize we have no way out of this situation. Not until the extremists targeting us get what they want.
Or we manage to neutralize them.
But how?
Adri watches us with hazel eyes that never miss anything. I can’t read his expression, but I see a flicker of emotion. It’s gone too quickly, not giving me a chance to identify it.
My father speaks before Adri gets a chance. “It is. I’m confident I can persuade Calloway to withdraw from the race and call his lapdogs back.” The gleam in his eyes is dangerous, but the smirk on his lips shows he will clearly enjoy that meeting.
“What did you find?” I ask Adri.
He glances at my father before he spoke. “Tax evasion. Corruption. Proof of plans to relax gun laws in New York.”
“That’s it?” I exclaim. “That’s not enough to scare him off, and you know it. The public won’t be outraged over tax returns.” I spit the words out, clenching my fists. “You know they won’t because we’ve seen it before. Corruption? Please. Nobody will bat an eye. And we all know he plans to relax gun laws, even if he hasn’t announced it publicly. That’s one of the main reasons he’s gathered a following of ex-military and law enforcement.”
My father and Adri exchange a look. And I’m getting tired of all this cloak and dagger shit. “What else have you got?”
Adri raises an eyebrow. “How about ties with armed militia who killed a Black protestor two weeks ago in Pennsylvania?”