Page 22 of Eros
“I know, but the person I’ve been dealing with since my mother’s death is the person he’s been all along. My mother just kept it away from me and my brother.” I rubbed at my temples as a headache started to pound against my skull. “Anyway, I overheard a phone call just a few hours before you found me. I was trying to decide how to handle it and needed a quiet place to get my thoughts together and come up with a plan.”
“What did you overhear?” Knox asked.
“Be specific,” Eros said immediately after Knox’s question.
I took another deep breath. “I heard him put a contract out on the life of Governor Jefferey Bailey.”
“Motherfucker,” Eros and Knox mumbled at the same time.
“I know. It’s the same thing I said. But I don’t understand why. Governor Bailey is one of my father’s closest friends. I grew up with his kids. We went on vacation together. But I know what I heard.”
“And how does he know that you heard?” Eros asked.
Rage rushed through my system thinking about my former best friend and how she weaseled her way into my father’s bed. Of course, I didn’t put the blame completely on her. My father played a very big role in the shitshow they called a relationship. But she did everything in her power to drive a wedge between me and him, and I blamed him for allowing it to happen.
“My former best friend, his new girlfriend, caught me listening at his office door. It’s not that I was eavesdropping. I was coming to let him know I was leaving. His door was cracked, and I heard the conversation. Shannon saw me and told him I was spying on him. I made an excuse, and I thought he believed me, but I guess he didn’t since someone is trying to kill me.”
“What did you hear, Janea?” Eros asked. “Word for word.”
“Whoever he hired is supposed to make it look like an accident. They’re going to tamper with the brakes of his car. He’s supposed to have a dinner meeting with my father and other officials next Saturday atLa Couronne.But he’s not supposed to make that meeting.”
“It’s going to be hard to pull that off,” Knox said. “Unless they have someone on the inside, there’s no way anyone can get that close to the car the Governor is chauffeured around in. He has protection.”
“I know what I heard,” I said defensively. “It will happen, I just had to figure out a way to stop it. I’ve known Governor Bailey for years. He’s a good man, and he doesn’t deserve what my father is going to do to him.”
“And you know the Governor that well?” Eros asked.
I could see his wheels turning.
“I do. Like I said, the man’s been in my life since I was a child. But I don’t think he’ll believe me. They were friends long before my father got into politics. And if I accuse without proof, he’ll go to my father. That is if I’m not dead and all of this gets buried.”
“I’ve already told you,” Eros said, “I’m not going to let you die, sweetheart.”
I ignored the warmth overcoming my entire body. What we had was a one-time thing. After all this was over, I’d go my way, and he’d go his. His words shouldn’t carry any weight, and there was no reason to trust or believe them. Of course he’d try to protect me, but it wasn’t because he wanted to, it was because of the information I had and what he could get out of it.
Knox’s gaze flickered between me and his president, his eyes crinkling at the corners with amusement. “Is there something I should know about you two?” Knox asked, with humor lacing his voice, but before I or Eros could answer there was a knock at the door.
Eros sighed. “Come in!”
The door opened, and in stepped a woman who looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties. Her mahogany skin was smooth, her dark braids were adorned with black ribbons, and her eyes accented with dark shadow. Her outfit was a black skater skirt, a black tank top boldly proclaiming, “Yeah, I’m that bitch” in white letters across her chest and sturdy black combat boots. The look was both edgy and confident.
I liked it.
“You got something?” Knox asked as the woman plopped down in his lap and kissed his cheek.
She must be his old lady.
“I come bearing gifts.” She handed him a folder. “Inside you’ll find your assassin, all their background info, and who hired them.”
“Fuck, you’re amazing,” Knox said, and the woman’s face splits into a wide grin as he handed the folder to Eros.
“I know.” She winked at him, then turned her gaze to me. “Hi, beautiful. I’m Libby.”
“Hi. I’m Janea.”
Her eyes widened. “Ohhh. You’re the target.”
“Motherfucker,” Eros mumbled before I could answer her.
