very sketchy. If the sister makes too much noise, someone we don’t have control over could call them on it. Maybe send someone else to investigate. See if there’s someone who was there who actually did see what happened.” He paused. “Someone who didn’t get paid off.”
“I thought you said that was all handled.”
“I was assured it was. Our men even went back the next day and took care of the payoffs, along with a few well-chosen threats.” Sulzberger shrugged. “But if push comes to shove, someone could cave.”
“Then we’d better make sure they don’t.”
“By ‘we’ I assume you mean me.”
“You’re the man who can pull the strings,” Kendrick pointed out. “And with an expert touch, I might add.”
“Is that what you call it?” Sulzberger’s laugh held little humor. “You can kill the flattery. I’m in. I owe you, otherwise I’d insist we ditch your whole plan.”
“We’d better keep a close eye on everything, especially that damn sister. I’m not about to let her blow this whole thing. It’s bad enough my idiot son can’t control his impulses.” He rubbed his jaw. “When Owen reaches the ultimate goal I have set for him, he’ll be in the best position for you to take your revenge.” His lips curled in a smile that hinted of irony. “Although the money you’ve made and the influence you’ve built should be enough revenge.”
“For some. Not for me. The money will never be enough. Those holier-than-thou bastards would have done the same thing I did, given the chance. And what kills me is that many of them did.”
“They just never got caught,” Kendrick reminded him.
Anger tightened the muscles on Sulzberger’s face for a brief moment before he smoothed it out. “You’re right. A final nail in the coffin would give me pleasure. However, we have to get there first. Can you assure me that controlling Owen from here on out will not be a problem?”
Now Kendrick had to swallow his own anger—only it was directed at his son, not the man across from him.
“I’ll take care of it. Count on it.”
Sulzberger nodded. “Then we have a deal. I’ll dig into the people the sister has found and get back to you.”
Kendrick walked over to where the other man was seated and they clinked glasses.
“To success,” he said.
Sulzberger nodded. “To success.”
For a long time after Warren Sulzberger left, Peter Kendrick sat in his den, slowly sipping the rest of the bourbon in his glass and letting his thoughts chase themselves around in his brain. He could still recall the defining moment that had changed the other man’s life.
Sulzberger had grown up in a family that thrived on politics. His father and two brothers had all gone into it, either as elected officials or behind the scenes. He’d been groomed at an early age to run for Congress, much as he, Peter, was grooming Owen to make a run for governor. Successfully elected, he’d served four terms in the Senate, eventually being appointed to the prestigious Armed Services Committee. In that position, he had been able to swing very lucrative contracts to several of his supporters, earning himself a fat bonus each time.
But some of those friends had a dark side—very dark, like the arms manufacturer supporting a rebel group in Africa. It was to his advantage to keep the rebels supplied with his armaments and make sure they continued to operate. When he learned that a top-secret mission was planned to take down the key rebel leaders, the arms dealer had paid him a fat fucking fee for sharing the information. The rebels had proceeded to decimate the SEAL team. Only two members had survived.
It was a scandal of epic proportions, quickly covered up by the politicians with a combination of payoffs and threats. But Warren Sulzberger had been forced to quietly resign from his seat in the Senate. Two senior senators had forced the issue, threatening to ruin him if he didn’t take this way out. That would have precluded what came next for him. As often happened to people who succeeded on the wrong side of the line, he’d opened a very successful lobbying firm. Over the years he’d done many favors for other senators. Now it was time for them to repay that by voting for bills favorable to his clients.
His firm continued to grow, both in its treasury and its sphere of influence, a situation that would have been ruined if he hadn’t simply resigned. The word had begun to circulate below