Page 77 of The Lost Order (Cotton Malone 12)

“How convenient. I don’t recall ever seeing you.”

“I made sure that did not happen.”

She appraised the opposition with the gaze of a scorned wife. Easy, since this woman knew nothing of her own hypocrisy with Grant Breckinridge or Lucius Vance.

“Alex also told me you never slept together,” she said. “Interesting how you both say the exact same thing.”

“Your husband was an honorable man. I respected that, and I loved him enough to wait until he was free.”

How magnanimous. “What are you doing here?”

“I always kept the place in order for him. Apparently, someone broke in yesterday. The doorjamb was splintered. So I called the building superintendent to have it repaired.”

“No police?”

“I saw no need. I also didn’t see any clothes or a suitcase, so I assumed you’d left. I didn’t realize you were coming back.”

Neither had she. But the presence of this woman seemed a sacrilege. She was not Mrs. Alex Sherwood. And though this apartment meant nothing to her, she was not about to cede it over to a woman who’d been in love with her husband.

“You do know that you were not the only one,” she said. “Alex had many women.”

And she immediately saw her lie had no effect.

“It’s not necessary for you to disparage him,” Taisley Forsberg said. “He’s gone and can’t defend himself.”

The rebuke only enraged her more. Her competition stood across the den, near the kitchen, quite comfortable with her surroundings.

“And please don’t play holier-than-thou,” Forsberg said. “I saw you yesterday, kissing that other man.”

Interesting. Apparently she’d been observed with Grant. Which raised a question, so she decided to try a bluff. “Danny Daniels said you were observant.”

“He told you about me?”

“Oh, yes. He was here, yesterday, too. I’m sure you saw that also. He told me you knew all about my retrieval of books and a notebook.”

No reply.

Which was confirmation.

She walked toward Alex’s desk. She’d returned here for a specific purpose, one related to Danny Daniels, and now fate had tossed her another prize. The mistress herself. From right across the hall.

Forsberg watched her with a wary look, one that confirmed the upper hand was here on this side of the room.

“Not to worry,” she said to her competition. “Our marriage was over and, as you’ve probably already concluded, I was not the most faithful partner, either.”

“I came to that conclusion only yesterday. I went to President Daniels since he was the only one I thought might be able to help. When I did that, I thought you would want to know what happened to Alex, too.”

“I know exactly what happened. I killed him.”

Shock filled Taisley Forsberg’s face and Diane used the moment to slide open the middle right drawer in Alex’s desk. As always, the gun lay ready. Alex had been a solid Second Amendment advocate, an NRA favorite and gun-rights proponent, one of the few political stances he’d taken without equivocation.

She gripped the weapon and pointed it across the room.

Forsberg froze. “Oh, my God. What are you doing?”

She shrugged. “What? You have the nerve to seduce another woman’s husband, but not the nerve to face her down.”

She stepped around the desk, the gun aimed. “How many nights were you here in this apartment? On this sofa? Sitting here with him. Sharing the day. Each other. How many?”

“Please don’t hurt me.”

“Hurt you? What do you think you did to me? It’s a little late to be worrying about each other’s feelings.”

Forsberg had backed herself against the wall, nowhere to go. She loved the feeling of power a gun provided. And strange how the fear that coursed through her adversary produced not a hint of sympathy within herself. Instead, it seemed only to amplify her anger. Which she would need for what lay ahead. But she’d never shrunk from a challenge.

Never.

So why not.

She pulled the trigger.

Once.

Twice.

Both shots to the woman’s midsection.

Forsberg slumped to the floor, blood pouring from her in thick rivulets. Gurgling spurted from her throat as she tried to breathe.

More blood spewed from her mouth.

Then, silence.

She did not linger, moving quickly out the door, into the hall, and to the stairs. Behind her she heard doors opening. The shots had attracted attention. But she would be away before anyone spotted her. Surely there were cameras in the building, and her exit would not go unnoticed. She’d be identified and hunted, but not in the next couple of hours.

Which was all she’d need.

To finish what she started.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

7:50 A.M.

Danny slouched in the recliner, his eyes closed, next to Stephanie’s hospital bed where he’d slept the remainder of the night. He’d left Warren Weston’s house more confused than angry, traveling by cab back to the hospital. A different Magellan Billet agent was on guard outside the door, and he’d slipped in quietly to keep watch over his girl.

He opened his eyes.

Stephanie was staring at him.

He blinked, focused, and saw that it wasn’t a dream.

“How long have you been awake?” he asked.

“Just a few minutes. I decided to let you sleep.”

He pushed himself up from the chair and approached the bed, taking her hand. “You okay?”

She nodded. “I’ll live. But I don’t recommend getting shot. It hurts.”

“I’ll remember that advice.”

It was good to see her eyes alive again. And the smile. He’d missed that. Though she was tough as nails with her people, he’d seen the softer side, as she’d witnessed from him.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

“A lot. Seems this was nothing but a nasty hive, full of mad hornets.”

A curious look came to her face. “I don’t recall your being involved at all.”

“I wasn’t. Until I was.”

And he told her all he knew, ending with, “And I’m now a U.S. senator.”

She appraised him

with a look he’d seen before. “I knew you couldn’t just fade away. I was wondering how you’d get back in. And by damn, you found an imaginative way.”

“Doesn’t change a thing for us. The divorce will still happen. In fact, I don’t really give a crap what anybody has to say on the subject. Seeing you in this bed has changed things all around.”

She smiled. “Why Danny Daniels, you really are in love, aren’t you?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I am.”

She tightened her grip on his hand, which he liked. “I’m worried about Cassiopeia, though. No word on her is not good.”

“Malone’s on it. As soon as he deals with the two Breckinridges, he’s going to find her.”

“I should have been more careful. But it all happened so fast.” She paused. “I’m so sorry about Alex Sherwood.”

“He was a good man who didn’t deserve to die that way.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“I have to stop Vance. Today. Preferably before the Rules Committee does anything public. The less attention on this, the better.” He looked around the room. “How do you call a nurse? I think they should know you’re awake.”

Stephanie lifted the bedside control with her right hand.

“As should somebody else be notified,” he said.

And he released his grip on her hand and stepped out into the hall, speaking to the Billet agent. “Let Atlanta know that the boss is awake. I think she’s going to be fine.”

The man nodded, seemingly relieved.

“And take a break. Get some breakfast. I’ll stand guard till you get back.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“The danger is long gone, on the other side of the country. We’ll be fine.”

The man headed off down the hall.

He couldn’t see anyone from the nurses’ station headed their way, so he allowed the door to close and walked back to the bed.

“I’ll call a nurse in a minute,” she said to him. “Hold my hand again.”

* * *

Diane entered the elevator, recalling what Danny Daniels had told her. “A woman I care deeply about is fighting for her life in a hospital, thanks to your partner, whoever he is. I will get him. Along with you.” The man at the National Mall had told her the same thing, only he’d added a specific hospital.