Page 43 of Now or Never
The president had a strained look on her face. “Perhaps we could sit.”
Kenna glanced at Petyr. He lifted a glass of the alcohol from the decanter and sipped without saying anything. She said, “You want us to hear you out?”
Petyr lowered the glass. “Someone is trying to kill me.”
“How do you know it isn’t me?” Kenna said.
The president turned to her. “Is it?”
“I’ve been busy.”
Jax squeezed her hand a fraction. “I’d like to hear you both out. I’m guessing Kenna is safe here in this house.”
“It’s the safest house in the world.” The president moved down the table, ushering them over to sit by her and pulled outthe chair at the head of the table. “I can assure you we didn’t bring you here to do either of you harm. You have nothing to fear here.”
Kenna didn’t know if she was prepared to believe that. Petyr took a seat on the other side of the table, and Jax sat beside Kenna opposite him.
“First of all, thank you for coming.” The president laced her fingers together on the table. “As you can imagine, we’re concerned as to the threat level this treaty presents. After the bombing, it’s become clear that steps need to be taken to neutralize any potential risk.”
Kenna bit back what she wanted to say and kept her lips pressed tight together. The president surely had people for that, Kenna didn’t consider it any of her business, and what did they want from her and Jax anyway?
She looked across the table at Petyr. He always wore a similar suit, and today’s tie was blue with gold stripes at an angle. His dark hair was slicked back, threaded with gray on the sides. Thick brows and a heavy forehead. Piercing eyes that looked almost black.
The president continued, “We have reason to believe someone is intending to influence the upcoming vote for the newImperatoris.”
Jax said, “Dominatusis voting in a new leader?”
“Petyr is one of the top contenders.” Kenna bent her knee and put her foot on the chair, trying to appear as casual as possible. Like none of this meant anything to her. Problem was, making that position work meant drawing attention to her growing midsection. “The president can’t be in charge because she’s female, andDominatusdoesn’t get with all that progressive stuff. They only want a male in charge, and he can’t be a head of state. They’re too busy. Commander in chief of the Croatianmilitary is a gray area, unless Petyr quits, which he’s thinking about doing if he wins the vote.”
“For the greater good.” He lifted his glass in a toast. “For the future.”
Kenna glanced at Jax. “When he drinks too much, he gets chatty. He told me about all of it during his visit to the platform.”
A tendon flexed in Jax’s jaw.
Honestly, seeing how much he disliked the entire thing helped keep her steady enough to glance between them. “What do you want? The culprits of the bombing have been arrested, so what is there for me to investigate? Or you’d rather I act as a human shield in case it happens again.”
The president gasped.
Petyr slammed his glass against the table hard enough some of the liquid sloshed out. “We would never endanger?—”
“One ofyourchildren.” Kenna glared at him. “I have that right, yeah? That’s what you were going to say?”
“The sanctity of life is one of our highest values. It’s why we do what we do.”
The president crossed her arms. “No one inDominatuswould dare harm an unborn child. It’s simply not done!”
“Glad we got that straight.” Kenna swiveled her chair side to side an inch to try and ease some of the tension she felt.
“I’m relieved to hear it,” Jax said, “but I’m not satisfied by any means.” He stared across the table at the Croatian man. “Don’t take my remaining placid as indication I intend to do nothing.”
Petyr inclined his head just a fraction.
The last thing Kenna needed is a rapport between them based on something akin to respect. “You still haven’t told us what you want.”
“We aren’t going to ask you to put your life in harm’s way,” the president told her. “Of course, we would never ask you that.”
“Maybe you should give me a Secret Service detail. Tell them I’m a diplomat.” Kenna would find that hilarious, but she also wouldn’t trust even the most upright federal agent right now. She’d rather have Ramon and Zeyla any day. The two of them were worth an army.
