Page 115 of The Rebel King

I smile even though it hurts to not be with her. “There are some guys in from Hong Kong. AfterGMA, I have to meet with them and try to save this deal, but I plan to catch a flight right after so I can be there in time.”

“If you don’t make it—”

“It’s a big deal. I want to be there.”

“Okay.” I hear the smile in her voice. “Well, I have to go now. It’s still really early here, but Mena will be up soon. I’m going for a run and then makingherbreakfast for a change.”

“Tell her I said hi. I love you. It needs to be Tuesday really soon.”

“We don’t have to say that anymore,” she says, laughing.

“I know, but I just like it.”

“Bye, you.”

“Bye, you.”

I need to focus. Kimba really did send me a huge stack of policy notes. She wants me prepared for this interview. I already know they’ll ask about Nix and me. There’s no paper for that. Everyone does these days. Not in the “dirty little secret” way they used to. Now they want to know if we’re engaged yet. Will she be my first lady if I win this thing?

Who the hell knows?

It’s an act of faith, tabling our marriage discussion but moving forward on the trail. Maybe she’ll warm to the idea of reshaping what the role of first lady could look like. I won’t rush her. Itisa huge sacrifice. Hell, if I win, I can’t run my businesses while I’m in office. I built those from the ground up. The thought of someone else steering them, shaping them while I’m away, is galling. But I meant what I said. I’m running because I believe I can change things.

The door opens as I’m reviewing a few immigration laws that really do need to be struck from the books.

“Grim,” I say. “Didn’t your mama teach you to knock?”

“I think you’ll be more interested in what I have for you than in my manners,” he says dryly but with just enough excitement in the undercurrent of his voice to catch my attention.

“What’ve you got?”

“Him,” Grim says simply.

My head snaps up, and I pin him with my stare. “Gregory? You got a lead on him?”

“Not just a lead. I know exactly where he is. I’ve goteyeson him, King.”

“How?”

“We found the rat.”

“How?”

“I’ll let Wallace tell you,” he says, dialing on his phone and coming around my desk so I can see. Wallace comes onscreen. He hasn’t been around much since our confrontation at Lennix’s apartment. Lennix and I have been on the road most of the time, first for Owen, then to Wyoming, and then for my campaign.

“Hey, Maxim,” he says. It looks like he’s home, based on the bedroom visible behind him.

“Wallace, how’d this happen?”

“Uh, yeah.” He rubs his eyes. “There’s this tech on my team, Chauncey. When I got back to work after Costa Rica, he was acting weird. Really weird. Missing work, checked out. Not at all like he was before my trip. Then he requested a transfer not long after I returned. CamTech never told anyone about the abduction, but he just kept watching me and gave me a sneaky vibe. So I gave Grim Chauncey’s information.”

“We cross-referenced him with what we knew about Keene to see if there were any intersections,” Grim says, “and there were. They were at Stanford together. A search of Chauncey’s home computer revealed some interesting payments that synced with several K&R incidents we suspect the Keene brothers may have been behind. Looks like he hacked into their systems for intel, but CamTech was the only company he infiltrated as an employee.”

“Did you get a warrant to search his place?” I ask, frowning.

“No, he was the victim of an ‘unfortunate home invasion,’” Grim says, tongue firmly in cheek. “While the burglars were at it, they tapped his phone.”

“Nice.” I fist-bump him.

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