it was who he was. Without it, he was just the middle son of a highly decorated air force general. The middle son sandwiched between two brothers who’d already proven themselves a dozen times over. Cal had never excelled at anything. In his youth, he’d been average at best and at worst been a screwup—something his father often reminded him of.
His career in the ISA was the one way he could prove to his father, and more importantly to himself, that he was worth something.
“After you rescued Ms. Laniere, the Justice Department questioned her for hours. Days,” Kowalski corrected. “She didn’t tell them anything they could use to build their case against Tolivar’s business partners. In fact, she claims she never heard Tolivar or his partners speak of the rebel group that they’d organized and funded in Monte de Leon. The group he ordered to kill her. She further claimed that she never heard him discuss his illegal activities.”
“And the Justice Department believes she was telling the truth?”
Kowalski made a sound that could have meant anything. “Have you seen or spoken with her in the past year?”
“No.” Cal immediately shook his head, correcting that. “I mean, I tried to call her about a month ago, but she wasn’t at her office in Houston. I left a message on her voice mail, and then her assistant phoned back to let me know that she was on an extended leave of absence and couldn’t be reached.”
The director steepled his fingers and stared at Cal. “Why’d you try to call her?”
Cal leaned slightly forward as well. “This is beginning to sound a little like an interrogation.”
“Because it is. Now back to the question—why did you make that call?”
Oh, man. That unnerving feeling that Cal had been trying to stave off hit him squarely between the eyes. This was not something he wanted to admit to his director. But he wouldn’t lie about it, either.
No matter how uncomfortable it was.
“I was worried about her. Because I read the investigation into Tolivar’s business partners had been reopened. I just wanted to see how things were with her.”
Judging from the way Director Kowalski’s smokegray eyes narrowed, that honest answer didn’t please him. He muttered a four-letter word.
“Mind telling me what this is about?” Cal asked. “Because last I heard it isn’t a crime for a man to call a woman and check on her.”
But in this case, his director might consider it a serious error in judgment.
Since Jenna had a direct association with an international criminal like Paul Tolivar, no one working in the ISA should have considered her a candidate for a friendship. Or anything else.
Kowalski aimed an accusing index finger at Cal. “You know it violates regulations to have intimate or sexual contact with someone in your protective custody. And for those thirty minutes in Monte de Leon, Jenna Laniere was definitely in your protective custody.”
That brought Cal to his feet. “Sexual contact?” Ah, hell. “Is that what she said happened?”
“Are you saying it didn’t?”
“You bet I am. I didn’t touch her.” It took Cal a few moments to get control of his voice so he could speak. “Did she file a complaint or something against me?”
Kowalski motioned for him to take his seat again. “Trust me, Agent Rico, you’ll want to sit down for this part.”
Cal bit back his anger and sank onto the chair. Not easily, but he did it. And he forced himself to remain calm. Well, on the outside, anyway. Inside, there was a storm going on, and he could blame that storm on Jenna.
“As you know, I’m head of the task force assigned to clean up the problems in Monte de Leon,” Kowalski explained. “The kidnapped American civilians. The destruction of American-owned businesses and interests.”
Impatient with what had obviously turned into a briefing, Cal spoke up. “Is any of this connected to Ms. Laniere?”
“Yes. Apparently, she’s still involved with Paul Tolivar’s business partners. That’s why we started keeping an eye on her again.”
That took the edge off some of Cal’s anger and grabbed his interest. “Involved—how?”
Kowalski pushed his hands through the sides of his graying brown hair. “She’s been staying in a small Texas town, Willow Ridge, for the past couple of months. But prior to that while she was still in Houston, one of Tolivar’s partners, Holden Carr, phoned her no less than twenty times. They argued. We’re hoping that during one of their future conversations, Holden might divulge some information. That’s why the Justice Department has been monitoring Ms. Laniere’s calls and e-mails.”
In other words, phone and computer taps. Not exactly standard procedure for someone who wasn’t a suspected criminal. Of course, Hollywood would almost certainly have been aware of that surveillance and monitoring, and it made Cal wonder why the man hadn’t at least mentioned it. Or maybe Hollywood hadn’t remembered that Cal had rescued Jenna.
“What does all of this have to do with alleged sexual misconduct?” Cal insisted.
Kowalski hesitated a moment. Then two. Just enough time to force Cal’s anxiety level sky-high. “It’s come to our attention that Jenna Laniere has a three-month-old daughter.”
Oh, man.
It took Cal a few moments to find his breath, while he came up with a few questions that he was afraid even to ask.
“So what does that have to do with me?” Cal tried to sound nonchalant, but was sure he failed miserably.
“She claims the baby is yours.”
Cal finally spotted her.
Wearing brown pants and a cream-colored cable-knit sweater, Jenna came out of a small family-owned grocery store on Main Street. She had a white plastic sack clutched in each hand. But no baby.
One thing was for sure—she didn’t look as if she’d given birth only three months earlier.
But she did look concerned. Her forehead was bunched up, and her gaze darted all around.
Good. She should be concerned about the lie she’d told. It probably wasn’t a healthy thought to want to yell at a woman. But for the entire hour-long drive from regional headquarters to the little town of Willow Ridge, Texas, he’d played around with it.
She claims the baby is yours.
Director Kowalski’s words pounded like fists in Cal’s head. Powerful words, indeed.
Career-ruining words.
That’s why he had to get this situation straightened out so that it couldn’t do any more damage. Before the end of the week, he was due for a performance review, one that would be forwarded
