Page 33 of Keeping Her Secrets

Mustique lifted an eyebrow at Ash then let her concentration go back to the senator and shook her head. “Try again. We have proof he’s providing donations to your campaign, so quit with the bullshit. How did you meet?”

The man seemed to shrink in front of her eyes as he realized he was beaten. He ran a hand over his face and sighed. “It’s almost a relief, you know, to be found out.” He looked to them for a reaction and got none. “We met at a fundraiser my wife had organized in Morocco two years ago. Looking back, I think it was planned, but at the time it seemed like luck. He offered to contribute to my campaign in return for me helping him get some simple bills through Congress. It appeared harmless, but then he wanted more and more.”

“Tell me about the kidnapping plot,” Mustique demanded, not wanting to listen to this idiot feel sorry for himself and defend his actions.

His brow furrowed in confusion. “I don’t know anything about a kidnapping.”

“Bullshit, I heard you at the party in Austin, talking to someone about the Craven girl.”

“Senator Craven? I don’t understand.”

Mustique was getting irritated now, bored with his act. She banged her hand on the desk, and he jumped when he spotted the knife in her hand. “At the party, you were talking to someone in the library about a plot to kidnap Senator Craven’s daughter and deliver her to Hashemi. Now tell me.” Her voice was low, and she saw his hands shake in reaction.

“I wouldn’t lie to her, Senator. I’m here for your protection, not hers,” Ash added, and she wanted to smile, even felt her lips pull, but fought it.

“I was never going to go through with it.” Senator Hanley sounded suddenly exhausted. “He said if I didn’t, they’d expose me. I’m a lot of things, Mrs. Jones, most of them not good, but I would never kidnap a child.”

“He who?”

The man shrugged. “I don’t know his name. He had a South African accent, tall, thin, wore an expensive suit, dark skin, a scar across his right cheek.”

Mustique didn’t recognize the description, but that didn’t mean anything, but the possibility that Ben was likely involved in this increased. Had he followed her? Had she led him to Leonie? Now was not the time to reflect on those thoughts, so she pushed them back in her mind.

“Why the sudden attack of conscience? You stand to lose everything, even your freedom.” Mustique was unconvinced by his sudden about-face and willingness to open up to them.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s not public yet, but I have three months left to live. Cancer—pancreatic.” Again he waited for a reaction, and although she found it sad for his family, she didn’t doubt this man had done some heinous things in his life and couldn’t find it in her to feel sorry for him. “So, you see, it doesn’t matter what they do to me now. I would rather go to the grave as a failed politician than have my grandchildren grow up thinking I’d harm innocent children.”

Mustique glanced at Ash, and he gave a barely perceptible nod. He believed him, and she was inclined to do the same.

“Did you tell Hashemi you wouldn’t do it?”

Hanley dropped his head as if he couldn’t face her. “No, he was going to give me details at the event regarding the drop.”

“So he still believes it’s going ahead?”

“Yes.”

Ash leaned forward to face the senator. “Do you know what he wants with her?”

“No, he didn’t say. Hashemi is not the kind of man you question. He’s…” He stopped and gazed at the wall , taking a deep, shuddering breath, and Mustique could see he was in some pain. “He’s not a good man. I made a terrible mistake, and now my years as a servant for this great country will be tarnished.”

“Not necessarily. I have a way you can help us, and, providing you’re telling the truth regarding your diagnosis, we might be able to come to an arrangement.”

Ash looked at her suddenly, a question in his eyes. They hadn’t discussed this, and she was working on the fly, as she so often did. Not used to having a partner, she’d made the decision on her own. Ash winked and she was relieved he trusted her.

“What do you mean?” Senator Hanley captured her attention again.

“You go to the event and get the drop location. Act as if everything is going as planned.”

He hesitated. “I don’t know; it could go wrong. I have a family. What assurance do I have that they’ll be safe? That I’ll be safe?”

Mustique rolled her lips between her teeth. This man wasn’t worried about his family. He was a greedy man, worried for himself and grasping at straws even though his time was numbered. “Absolutely none, Senator. That’s the price you pay for swimming with sharks. But if you choose not to, I’ll have you arrested, and your final days will be spent in a maximum-security prison with the sickest murderers on the planet. And you’ll still have no guarantee your family will be safe from retribution. At least, my way, you have a chance we’ll take him down and he’ll never be a threat to your family again.”

“I have no idea who you even are, young woman.”

Mustique stood and leaned closer to the man who, despite his earlier declaration, would’ve kidnapped a child, if not for the fact he was dying anyway. “And you never will, but rest assured I know who you are.” She smiled then and crossed to stand behind Ash, who was still sitting. “Do we have a deal?”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?”