His Hush-Hush Baby - Holly Rayner Page 0,55
on a folding chair in a hallway, while Xander and Kai went into a small room.
Kai gave his story from beginning to end. The only thing he didn’t mention was hiring a hacker. The officer doing the questioning insisted that he fill in that blank in the story, but Xander shut him down.
“We’ll get to that another time,” Xander said, rising with a self-satisfied grin.
Diane was called in next. As she passed Kai by, he tried to give her a reassuring smile, but she barely glanced at him. His heart sank.
“Be back soon,” Xander said before he went in with Diane. “Don’t talk to anyone.”
Kai gave a halfhearted salute. He wished he was in the room with Diane, holding her hand as she talked through her version of events.
It seemed to take forever before they finally emerged, and when they did Diane slinked down the hall to the bathroom, arms folded and shoulders slumped. Kai watched her go with an aching chest.
“Fill me in on you obtaining the emails,” Xander hissed as he settled onto the uncomfortable chair next to Kai.
Kai did. Luckily, Xander only made a face once or twice.
“It’s not lawful,” Xander said. “But in this case it was the lesser and necessary evil.”
“Exactly. That has to count for something.”
“It will. Don’t worry.” He chuckled. “Plus, you’re Kai Weiss. That counts for something.”
Kai grimaced. He didn’t want to be let off the hook because he was well-known and powerful, but because he’d done the best he could and taken down a person who would have done irrevocable damage.
“Hey,” a soft voice said.
It was Diane, still hugging herself and standing to the side.
Kai jumped to standing. “Hey. Sit down. Do you need anything? What can I get you?”
She smiled, and even though it was strained it still seemed genuine.
“I’m okay,” she said. “Thanks. I just called my job for the day and explained why I won’t be making it.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, as she took the seat next to him.
She waved his words away. “It’s all right. I was hoping to save up some more money before we go…”
“Go where?” Kai pressed.
She pressed her lips together and nodded at the police officer approaching them.
As the officer explained, Brie’s confession had come out smooth as butter once she realized that simply fessing up would make what was sure to be an already severe sentence a tad lighter.
She’d acted alone, she claimed. Knowing that Kai had a close friend in the FBI, she worried that if she reported him after the framing—even anonymously—Damian would do some digging around and find out it was her.
That’s where Diane came in. If Brie could plant the “evidence” and then have Diane discover and report it—cue stealing her driver’s license in the knowledge that Diane would search Kai’s apartment and come across the emails in the process—she would be in the clear.
Unfortunately for Brie, things hadn’t gone according to plan.
As Kai listened to the story, he watched Diane. She slumped in her chair, head hanging.
“My clients are free to go, of course.” Xander stood and gave the officer a don’t-mess-with-me look.
“Yes, they can go for today.”
Kai reached over and took Diane’s hand. He had no clue how she would react to the gesture and was grateful when she turned her hand over and laced her fingers with his.
“I would like to offer you a ride home,” he said.
Her eyelashes fluttered. “But you’re not going to?”
He swallowed and gathered his nerve. “But I would like you to come to my place instead, so that we can talk. No funny business. No games. I promise.”
She thought about that for a moment that felt like forever, and then finally nodded.
“I’ll call my driver.” He pulled his phone from his pocket then looked at his lawyer. “Xander? Need a ride anywhere?”
“Thanks, but I’m staying. I have more information to gather here, as well as paperwork, I’m sure.”
Kai nodded. “Call me with any updates.”
A minute later, Kai and Diane emerged into the bright day. It was hard to believe it, but it wasn’t even yet noon. In the course of one morning, things had gone from the worst-case scenario to the best.
“Thank you,” Diane said.
His heart tripped. “You’re welcome.”
The corners of her lips lifted. “Do you know what I’m thanking you for?”
“It doesn’t matter.” He reached for her hand, which fit so perfectly in his.
“I’m thanking you for busting my door down. Brie was getting…” Her lips pursed. “She was getting a little intense there. I was about to make