Page 54 of End Game

“Don’t sound so skeptical. I don’t think there’s anything she wouldn’t do to protect my son.”

“Even breaking the law?”

“That, and more, if she had to. Kayla’s fiercely protective of those she loves.”

“Besides her political rivals, can you think of anyone who would want to kill Governor Stokes?”

She shook her head. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot since hearing the news. Believe it or not, Victoria was well liked by both political parties. She didn’t make empty promises. Knew the art of compromise. Kept a cool head. She cared about North Carolinians and wanted to enrich everyone’s lives, not just the wealthy. Pretty incredible, considering she came from old—very old—money.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was good. Selfless. Didn’t have any of that entitlement crap most of the wealthy have stamped on their foreheads. She spent a lot of time traveling the backroads of this state. Getting to know the challenges and concerns of all her constituents, not just the ones who helped fund her campaign.”

“Sounds almost too good to be true.”

“She does. But she was the real deal, and North Carolinians had Kayla to thank for such an amazing governor.”

“How so?”

“Kayla’s lobbying firm focused almost exclusively on Victoria’s election for two years. If not for her team’s relentless efforts, Daniel Puge might have been our current governor.”

Hollywood handsome, charismatic, and missing his right eye, Danny Puge had won the hearts of many voters by his gut-punch tale of fighting off a trio of gangbangers before they could rape a fifteen-year-old girl.

A smug look crossed Liv’s face as she continued, “Not long after Puge announced his candidacy for the gubernatorial race, Kayla’s team tracked down the real story behind his horrific accident.”

Ash knew about the video that had brought Puge’s campaign to an epic halt. But he hadn’t realized Kayla was responsible for making it public. “You’ve got my attention.”

“I don’t know the fine details, but someone tipped her off about the video that refuted Puge’s heroic claim. It took her months to locate Luis Flores, the videographer.”

The infamous video revealed Puge hadn’t lost his eye in a heroic street fight, but in a collision with a busted bicycle spoke hidden beneath the murky waters of a local swimming hole. An intoxicated Puge, and his two buddies, had decided that jumping from a rope swing at midnight into dark, impenetrable water would be a blast.

Once the video surfaced, Puge had found himself treading water and no one had been willing to throw him a life preserver.

“Sounds like Kayla approaches lobbying with the same passion as she does art collection.”

“Has she given you the tour?”

He’d noticed numerous artworks before a black-clad Kayla interrupted his sweep of her home.

“Quite a collection.”

“What’s in her house isn’t the half of it. If she pulled all of her paintings and artifacts from the various museums where she has them on loan, she could probably fill a floor at the Met.”

Ash’s grip on his coffee cup tightened, denting the sides. “I thought she had an in-home museum where she kept her collection.”

“Not so much a museum. More of a gallery where she displays her, and some of her mother’s, favorites. The rest are loaned out to museums across the country.” Liv smiled. “Kayla believes art appreciation shouldn’t be reserved for the wealthy alone. She likes the idea that one of her pieces might inspire generations to come.”

Something untwisted in Ash’s chest. He’d always avoided talking about Kayla with Liv, because of her close friendship with the lobbyist. Now he wondered if that might not have been a mistake.

Then he recalled the stack of paperwork on his desk and the upcoming changes Director Tao had announced last week, all thanks to Kayla Krowne’s meddling, and decided donating a few art pieces didn’t qualify her for sainthood. Especially if she’d participated in dozens—maybe even hundreds—of pay-to-play political schemes.

“I heard a rumor that she has a piece that dates back twenty-five hundred-years.” His phone vibrated in his pocket. An incoming call. He ignored it. He ignored everything, including breathing, except for Liv’s next words.

“A partial truth,” she said.

“Partial?”

“She does have an ancient Celtic statue, but it belongs to her mom, Jillian.”

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