Page 43 of Liaising Kai

“That hasn’t been established yet, Ms. Waterford. We’re still looking into the senator’s background. Once we have any information, we’ll let you know.”

“I think not. I will be involved in the interrogation.”

“Interview,” he said firmly. “We don’t have anything to hold the adult children on.”

“Whatever. We’re going to get as much as we can out of them.”

“Ms. Waterford,” Kai said, walking up to them. Leigh’s eyes flashed. She was wary of Kai, and it was the first time he’d ever seen the US attorney back down. He was now thinking it was out of respect…when two alpha she-wolves met, it would be a careful negotiation. “I hope we don’t have to have words again about how you treat my people.” Kai had gotten an earful when she’d finally gotten through, but she’d had some choice words for Amber who had answered the phone.

“No, we’re good. Aren’t we, Davis?”

He smiled wide. “Oh, we’re good, Leigh.”

His use of her first name made her smile back, albeit not with warmth. This was a tough cookie and wouldn’t crack easily.

He turned to Kai who had a suspicious look in her eyes. “She’s going to accompany us back to Pendleton for the interviews,” Davis said.

“Is she?” Kai said. “As long as she understands I’m still running this show.”

Leigh inclined her head and nodded, effectively showing Kai her throat in surrender. “For the time being,” she murmured. Leigh stared for a long moment and Davis could almost see the gears working as she weighed her options. Let out some rope and see if Kai hanged herself or took over and possibly F’d up the investigation. “As I said before, I hope you understood, finding out who ordered these hits is my only objective. We’ve lost good, strong people. If I don’t see some progress, I will be pulling my own strings, and I have some really pissed-off strings to pull.”

Back at Pendleton, they ushered the family members into the conference room to wait for their interviews. Kai was giving the orders. “Austin, I want you to scrub social media on the senator and his family, look for anything strange or compelling.” She turned to Jason. “I want you to work on the text and find out what you can on those numbers.” Both men nodded and went to their respective desks.

Just then there was a commotion at the elevator. An older woman got off with a man who was graying at the temples, and an agent stopped them. He recognized her immediately. Striding forward, Davis said, “Let her through.”

The agent nodded and got out of the way as the woman surged forward, an eager look on her face. “Hello, I received a message that you were looking for me. I’m Mayta’s mother, and this is my husband, Stephen Randolph.”

“I’m Special Agent Nishida. Mrs. Randolph?—”

“Please, call me Lena.” She had kind brown eyes and he wondered briefly if her daughter had inherited them. There was panic in them. “What has happened to my daughter?” she asked, her eyes searching his face, fear settling on her features. His heart went out to her. “She’s not answering her phone.”

“Could you please come with me,” Davis said, knowing the kind of news he had to tell her was best done in private. He glanced over at Kai, and she was watching him. She nodded to him, her eyes luminous. An unspoken harmony radiated between them, and that feeling of intimate companionship was so powerful it was almost as if they were physically bound together. Damn, he was so in love with her. She was acknowledging his thoughtfulness in taking over the death notification so she could be spared.

“You left so many messages…we were off the grid in Spain at a private villa,” Lena’s words were laced with anxiety and fear. “We need the break as Stephen is so in demand. He promised me after we were married that we would do this every year.”

That promise may have saved their lives.

Kai looked up from Austin’s console as his fingers flew over the keys. He was searching through social media feeds featuring Barlow Finch. The screen rolled with data. Her mouth thinned when she saw Mayta’s mother. “Keep working,” she said, leaving Austin to do his genius best. She didn’t want him to have to take all the burden. She could be present, but as it was, she made it to the interview room just after Davis delivered the terrible news.

Mayta’s mom was holding onto her husband, sobbing out her pain, and Kai knew all about that kind of pain. She gritted her teeth, working at keeping her own grief from swamping her.

Lena’s voice was racked with sobs in between her words. “Damn Eduardo. He was always making the mistake of group texting us when he meant to text someone else. It was a running joke.” She stopped talking, dabbing at her eyes. “He died for his stupid folly. He got our daughter killed. I’ll never forgive him for that.” Her husband rubbed her back. “Oh, dios mio, they must have been looking for us.” She looked at Davis and he nodded solemnly.

“They were. It might be best if you stay on base until we sort everything out.”

“Where is my baby?” Lena asked.

Kai slipped out of the interview room, not waiting for Davis’s answer, unable to handle Lena’s pain on top of her own. She understood the woman would never be the same. Young or old. It didn’t matter. The loss of a child was just as devastating.

She stopped at the coffee station and poured herself a cup, then poured another one.

She came back out into the office area and walked toward Leigh’s detail. She handed him the cup.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice deep and mellifluous. Without the sunglasses, his blue eyes stood out in his gorgeous tan face. She had no doubt he was special ops.

“You’re welcome, Mr.—”

“Hazard.”

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