Red After Dark (Blackwood Security #13) - Elise Noble Page 0,6
cooking skills were on a par with Alaric’s—neither of them would starve, but if they wanted to impress a date, they took him or her to a restaurant.
“Dinner would be great. But if you’re tired, Emmy has a housekeeper, and she always leaves ready-made meals in the main kitchen.”
With the amount of food on hand at Riverley, Alaric had never been able to work out how Emmy wasn’t the size of a rhino. Certainly he’d put on weight every time he spent a few nights there.
“I’m tired, but I don’t think I could sleep right now,” Beth said. “Does that sound weird?”
“It’s not every day you change your life completely. Your body’s still adjusting.”
And Ravi was dealing with jet lag too. He’d gone to take a nap because in the morning, he’d be travelling to the Hamptons to snoop around a media mogul’s mansion. Life at Sirius didn’t stop just because Alaric decided to take off on a personal crusade.
“I guess. Any requests for dinner? I’d better get started.”
“Don’t rush. I have a conference call later and some research to do first, but I can eat afterwards if need be.”
“Should I come and take notes for you or anything?”
“That’s not necessary. Someone’ll record the call. And it’s not until ten o’clock.”
“Ten tonight? Who’s still working that late? Or is it a time zone thing?”
“The call’s with James Harrison, and according to his public schedule, he’s been busy all day. So I imagine he’s fitting us in before he goes to bed.”
“Oh, okay… Wait. You don’t mean the James Harrison?”
“The president? Yes. If anyone can shed light on the situation with Senator Carnes, it’s him.”
“But…but… Are you joking?”
Beth was cute when she got flustered. Maybe Alaric should invite her along to take notes.
“No, I’m not joking. He’s just a politician. I thought you’d be used to hanging around with that type of person. Doesn’t your father run in those circles?”
“Yes, but his friends are crusty old MPs, not hot…uh…” Now her cheeks turned bright red. “Uh, the President of the United States is kind of a big deal. I don’t understand how you’d even get a call with him. Er, no offence, I just meant… I’ll stop talking now.”
Alaric couldn’t help laughing. “Emmy’s husband went to school with him.”
And Alaric was ninety-five percent certain that Emmy used to fuck Harrison too, though she’d never openly come out and said so. But Alaric had seen how Harrison looked at her, and also the way Black glared at Harrison with open hostility whenever he caught him doing so. It was remarkably similar to the scowls the man shot at Alaric.
“Really? It’s nice they’ve kept in touch.” Beth spoke with a touch of wistfulness. “Have you spoken to President Harrison before?”
“A handful of times, but only once since he became president.”
And that had been under awkward circumstances. When Alaric had heard that an unidentified female had been quarantined in the aftermath of a biological terror attack, Naz had ferreted out the details, and Alaric had known right away there was only one woman clever enough and crazy enough to get into that situation. Emmy. Breaking into the facility where she was being held had been his first step back into the light as well as a challenge to himself. Was his undercover game as good as it used to be? Could he still sneak into a heavily guarded military base? It turned out the answer was yes, but he hadn’t realised Harrison would be there until he found himself facing off against a dozen Secret Service agents. It probably hadn’t helped when he’d put two fingers to Harrison’s temple and told him his security was fucked, but adrenaline had a lot to answer for, and hey, he’d lived to tell the tale.
That day, Harrison had looked like shit, clearly worried about Emmy. Black hadn’t been in much better shape. It would be interesting to see the two men together again, to find out whether the dynamic between them had changed. In the old days when Harrison was a mere senator, Black had held all the power. Would he make any concessions to the president? Harrison still jumped when Emmy clicked her fingers. Alaric had glimpsed the message she’d sent him on the plane earlier—Devane - WTF???—and this late-night phone call was no doubt the result.
“Well, er, wow. Good luck. Is that the right thing to say? I’ll make something you can reheat whenever you’re ready.”
Beth could act smooth and polished when she put her