Page 6 of Hers to Hold
He interlaced his fingers in front of his face, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I want you spending time with this…Wesley. He may prove useful.”
“You think he has information?”
“Possibly. Find out what you can on him and assess his value. You need to grow your source network.”
His value? Right off the bat, Kady didn’t think he would be a reliable source. She recognized post-traumatic stress disorder when she saw it, and Wes was still deep in recovery. It was a miracle he wasn’t more overcome with all the noise in the shop. She wondered how he managed to function at a construction site if the dropping of a plate could set him off.
Using a man struggling with his pain felt…wrong. Unethical. Out of bounds.
But, that was journalism.
Sometimes.
“Sir, I’m not sure targeting a veteran is the best idea.”
“Oh, no?” He chuckled. “Enlighten me, then. You, a first-time investigative reporter, tell me, a seasoned one, how getting close to a man who’s next to the target is a bad idea.”
Kady steadied her nerves. This was a test. If she could prove to Yates that Wes wouldn’t be useful to the investigation, then she could stave off the smarmy feeling settling in the bottom of her stomach. “He’s seen war, sir. He’s probably under the care of a doctor. His information would be suspect at best.”
Yates pursed his lips in thought. “Well, when you put it that way. But, Drew Callaghan wouldn’t have hired him if he weren’t capable of handling the responsibility. And if they’re friends, which I suspect they are given the military connection, then he’ll be the best way into that inner circle.”
Kady frowned. Her editor was right. Unless she could connect with Kat beforehand, then Wes was the most viable option.
“What are you going to do?”
Kady cleared her throat. “Deliver the cupcakes. Ask for Wes and see how he’s doing.”
“Good, good. Wait, see how he’s doing?” Yates peered at her. “You said the encounter didn’t last long.”
“It didn’t,” Kady rushed to say.
“Then why do you think he should be under the care of a doctor?”
Kady sank back in her chair, wishing she hadn’t let that part slip out. “Someone dropped a plate and the noise triggered an…episode.”
Yates rubbed his chin and stared off into the distance for a long time. “Well, you’re probably right. It’s probably not a good idea to use him.”
Kady breathed a sigh of relief.
“But he’s still your in. Once you’ve made contact with the Callaghans, then you can forget about him, unless he gives you anything to go on. Remember, the inner circle will know the most information. If he’s the lead on a project, he might be receiving a kickback.”
Kady swallowed hard, but nodded. She wasn’t sure why, but it would disappoint her to know if Wes was involved in Drew Callaghan’s shady deals. There was something truly genuine in the man’s eyes. They way they had stared into hers, like he was desperate for her…or her help. Probably the latter. Other than his episode, he seemed to be a man capable of taking care of himself.
“Go on, Kady, get out of here. Don’t screw this up or you’ll be back on a plane to Idaho.”
Kady stood quickly and practically curtsied like he was royalty. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
He waved a hand at her while staring at his computer screen, already moving on to something else.
She couldn’t return to Idaho. There was nothing for her there other than the painful memories of a fatherless daughter and a bitter mother who had nothing good to say about the man who knocked her up and left her to fend for herself.
Gregory Kaye.
Kady discovered the name half-scratched out in one of her mother’s old journals. The man who seduced her vulnerable mother during a weekend business trip. He had claimed he was lonely after his wife had succumbed to cancer and they were unable to have children. It was hard for him to open his heart up and love again, even with the blessing of his dead wife.
Kady’s mother had been the bridge back to some semblance of reality, stirring in him a deep longing for human companionship—the female kind. Only when she had informed him that she was pregnant with his child did he about-face. If he ever heard from her again, he’d ruin her. Report her to her company for blackmail.
No address for Gregory Kaye to file paperwork with the court. No money to hire a private investigator to find him. She saved every dime to raise Kady on her own when her family shunned her for being a single mother.
