Page 40 of Freedom Fighters
Chapter Eight
There were secret service agents everywhere. Their presence told Olivia this really was happening. She glanced at Nick as they approached the bench at the bus stop where they had been instructed to wait. Nick seemed unruffled.
There were agents in black suits scattered across the pavement and standing under the awning of the newspaper stand behind the bench.
It was six inthe morning and there were few people up and about. It was Sunday and it would be hot and humid. The sky already had the washed-out, pale-blue tone of late summer.
Across the road, sprinklers were watering the lawn under the big old trees.
From among the security suits, a man wearing a far more fashionable suit stood up and waved. “Nick!” he called.
Olivia stared at the man. Adán Caballero,one of the biggest A-List actors in Hollywood, sitting on a bus stop bench at six in the morning, on Pennsylvania Avenue. Amazing.
Olivia had started this junket to Washington with the impression that her family connections were more valuable to Nick than her worth as a diplomat. However, after a week of kicking their heels and taking useless meetings, Olivia admitted to Nick she clearly didn’thave the weight he needed to get things moving with the White House.
Nick nodded, his hand in the pocket of his trousers and a far-seeing look in his eyes. “It was worth a try. Your father is good at his job. He’s looking out for the President, which is exactly what he should be doing.”
“Then it’s a stalemate,” Olivia said.
Nick was silent for a long while and she got the impression that histhoughts were racing, yet nothing showed on his face. Then he smiled. It was a predatory expression, one that reminded her of his nickname. The Red Leopard.
“If your family connections won’t do it, perhaps mine will.” He picked up his cellphone from the coffee table between them and thumbed through his contacts, then dialed.
“Adán…is this a good time?” he asked.
Olivia raised her brow, puzzled.She wasn’t aware of any Adán in Nick’s family, although her knowledge of his relations was sketchy. Vistarians were passionate about their families and counted cousins, second cousins and even more distant relations as part of the core family. Even adoptees like Daniel were included and the lack of familial blood didn’t seem to be a barrier at all.
She had a lot to learn about the family shehad married in to, if Nick had a relative he thought would have more influence over the White House than her own father. The only Adán she knew was the Hollywood film star, Adán Caballero.
Nick nodded. “That’s right. A week now.” He listened for a moment, frowning. “You’re reading my mind. Would it be a problem?” Then he laughed. “If that’s what it takes. Thanks, Adán.” He listened for a minute,his frown deepening. “You don’t have to do—”
This time, even Olivia could hear the strident tones at the other end.
Nick lifted the phone away from his ear and looked at it, then put it back. Then he said with a mild tone, “Well, if you insist, then of course you should. I appreciate it, Adán. We all do.”
He put the phone back on the table. “Adán will give the President a call. They play golftogether whenever they can carve out time for a round. Adán’s sure if he spots the President a stroke or two, he’ll agree to a meeting. Unofficially, of course. Although even five minutes with the President will be enough.”
Olivia felt no surprise that someone who was the President’s golf buddy could swing a private meeting. Washington worked on relationships like that all the time. Deals werestruck over lunch and a handshake that could change the course of history.
“Adán who?” she asked. “I’m still learning your family tree.”
“My aunt’s son. My aunt is Karen Lord. Adán Caballero is her son.” He frowned. “He’s insisting on dropping everything and coming to Washington to set up the meeting. He wrapped on Tuesday, so it won’t upset any contracts.”
Olivia sank down onto the chair oppositeNick. “Adán Caballero,” she repeated blankly. No wonder Nick thought he might have the clout to swing a meeting with the President of the United States. Adán’s mother was Karen Lord? She had been called a goddess at the peak of her career in the nineteen sixties.
“All I have to offer is a paltry Chief of Staff as a father,” Olivia said.
Nick grinned. “Welcome to the family.”
That had been Fridaynight. Now they stood at a bus stop on Pennsylvania Avenue. Adán Caballero gripped Nick’s hand and pounded him on the back, a wide smile on his face.
“Adán, meet the newest member of the family,” Nick said, drawing Olivia forward. “Olivia Davenport de Castellano. You haven’t met her husband, Daniel, either. He’s Duardo’s brother.”
“This war is adding to the family at light speed,” Adán said.“I thought wars depleted families.” He picked up Olivia’s hand and went to kiss it. He paused and studied the bandages. “War wounds?” He raised a brow.
“Absolutely,” Nick said. “And in the service of Vistaria, too.”
Adán dropped her hand and took her shoulders instead. “Welcome to the family,” he said and kissed both her cheeks.
