Page 36 of After All The Wreckage
“Morning,” Rory replied as she stepped toward him.
The skinny man moved to intercept. “The congressman has a busy schedule today, as I’m sure Pat here told you, but if you put your name on the list, someone from our office will be in touch.”
Absolutely nothing about the situation or any of the words that had been spoken since we walked in were cause for alarm. Irritation, sure, but nothing to cause the hairs on the back of my neck to rise like the time Tall Paul and his lackey had come into the bar offering to buy me out. And yet, that’s exactly what happened.
Maybe it was just their jobs, the way they were taught to lie through their smiles as they bartered deals and told the folks back home exactly what they wanted to hear to be re-elected. Maybe it was the fact that Monte was missing, and he’d come here to try and save this man’s life with an absurd story. Either way, my senses were going off like a shotgun blast. Something was wrong. Something didn’t fit.
There was nothing good or jovial or even congenial about the men in front of me.
Instead, I got the same sense I’d gotten from Tall Paul and his thug. As if they were biding their time, waiting for me to crash and burn. Worse, they were ready to help tip me over the edge if needed.
All the inner tumult I’d been dealing with since realizing Monte was actually missing came bubbling to the surface. I stepped around Rory, going toe-to-toe with the black-haired man in a gray pinstriped suit.
“My teenage brother is missing after he came here to see Dunn, so pardon me if I don’t give two cents about the representative’s time, schedule, or next dirty deal.” I ripped the photo from Rory’s hand and shoved it toward the man.
“Just tell me what happened when he got here.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Rory
ATTACK OF PANIC
Performed by Aly & AJ
Shit.Gage was two seconds from slamming someone against a wall. Fury radiated through every ounce of him, muscles rippling with the effort of holding back.
The last thing we needed was to get tossed out of the building. He’d ruin my chances of ever getting information from anyone in the Capitol again. All my work schmoozing, bartering, and trading over the years would be lost.
I planted my feet and pushed against Gage’s ginormous biceps to shove him aside. Caught off guard by the force I’d used, he actually took two steps back before turning an almost deadly frown my way.
“You’ll have to excuse my client here,” I said, ignoring Gage’s look and using my sweet-as-frosting tone. “I’m sure you can understand how stressful it is to have someone you love gomissing. We’re just chasing down any leads we have. Can we walk with you to your next meeting so we don’t keep you?”
The skinny man, who I’d identified in my search last night as Connolly West, Representative Dunn’s chief of staff, stiffened. His eyes narrowed, darting from Gage back to me, determining that I was the lesser threat.
“We’re sorry to hear his brother is missing. We’re heading down to the subway. Feel free to walk with us.”
Dunn made a noise that wasn’t quite a huff of disapproval but close, and yet his face never broke from his suave, charming smile. For some reason, it raised my hackles. I suddenly wanted to wipe his grin right off, and if I was feeling that way, I could only imagine how Gage felt, knowing this man might have been the last one to see his brother before he disappeared.
Praying Gage wouldn’t do anything stupid, we followed as the two men stepped out of the office heading for the elevators. I shot Gage a glance that saidLet me handle this.
This was why you didn’t take clients with you. They lost their shit when faced with things they didn’t like because they couldn’t be objective. They couldn’t keep their emotions out of it. Hadn’t Dad burned that into me enough over the years? Emotions lost cases.
But I’d somehow forgotten that important detail with Gage as my client. Years of thinking of him in a very different light were clouding my judgment. I needed to get my head on straight before I made another mistake. One that could be much worse than costing my parents their marriage. This could impact us finding Monte before something bad happened to him.
In the elevator, I took Monte’s picture back from Gage and showed it to the two men. “This is Monte Palmer. He left school Friday afternoon to come and talk to you.”
There was a beat where the air went frigid, and I knew the next words weren’t going to be the whole truth even before the congressman spoke.
“Isn’t that the kid who talked to us in the plaza? Red hair is hard to forget,” Dunn said, sliding a look toward West. The two men were talking with their eyes the way I’d been attempting to do with Gage. They’d had years more practice at it.
West gave a curt nod. “Yes. He was talking about guns and shootings, wasn’t he? We told him he should make his petition in person at our office.”
Dunn’s gaze barely slid past me. I was uninteresting to him, but they took in Gage with something akin to curiosity. “You’re not from Colorado. What made your brother decide I was the one he needed to talk to?”
Gage hesitated, and my stomach tightened. If he spilled his guts right now about visions and future threats, there was no way we were going to keep their attention.
“You’re on the Education and Workforce Committee, so maybe he thought you’d be more apt to listen than Congressman Addison.”
