Page 46 of Now or Never
The president nodded like a queen to her subjects, the political mask back in place. “Take the file with you.”
“I’ll be sure to find a shredder on the way out.” Jax took the file, and Kenna’s hand and they headed for the door.
It opened before they reached it, and two Secret Service agents entered. Two stood in the hall. Those followed Kenna and Jax.
At the turn in the hall, the assistant reappeared. “This way.”
Kenna plastered on a smile. “Of course.”
Jax waited until they were through the lobby and out the North Portico, with its hanging lantern light above them. Between the two center pillars. He chose the left path. Not until they were out in the open did he say, “If he hadn’t been there, were you going to tell me that the Croatian president is the one who claims to be your father?”
She winced.
“Interesting guy.”
“You aren’t mad I didn’t give you all of the information?”
Jax shook his head. “I don’t like being blindsided. I don’t think anyone does. But were you actually going to tell me between yesterday and everything that happened, with him being here in town and us working the lawyer’s case? Or were you going to keep it to yourself and hope the situation just fizzled out and went away?”
He had a point, which was why the questions had been rhetorical.
“Do you have to be understanding?” She wound her arm through his as they walked toward the gated entrance and onto Pennsylvania Avenue, which was closed for traffic and had Secret Service guards at a gate to the left. Beyond that, there was a coffee shop on the northwest corner she’d been to before. “I have to pee, by the way.”
Jax chuckled. “You wonder why I just roll with it.”
“Maybe you should be mad. But in my defense, it’s all scrambled in my brain. Although, I clearly remember him slapping me when I backtalked him.”
Jax’s arm tensed.
“He’s agreatguy,” she drawled in a sarcastic tone. “Definitely grandpa material.”
“What’s their problem with Bruce?”
“See that’s the thing. They’re all about harping on the fact he’s bad news. That he’ll betray me. Blah-blah. Where’s the proof?” She rolled her eyes. “They’re trying way too hard. Makes me think I can trust him, just because they said I can’t.”
“So why avoid him?”
Kenna sighed. “I’ve been avoiding a lot because it was just easier. Or I thought it should be easier. Maybe I have to face him, too.”
“We might not trust anyone implicitly, except maybe Maizie. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to betray us.”
She nodded, dragging it out while she thought the situation through. “There’s always an agenda. Why tell me Petyr is my biological father, and that Bruce is going to betray me so I can’t trust him? What’s the reasoning behind that? Add in a lack of caffeine and it’s enough to keep a pregnant woman up at night, pacing the RV.”
Jax walked her to the coffee shop, and she stood in line with tourists for the bathroom. A small moment of normal life in the middle of the insanity of their chaos. She and Jax weren’t the kind of people who’d bring their family to Washington, DC, to do the tourist thing, even if it was worth a trip. They knew far too much about what went on behind closed doors, what power did to people who wielded it, and the darkness beneath the surface of a civilized society to be at peace in a place like this.
She took care of the pressing business and found Jax in the corner by the door, reading the file the president had given them while he sipped from a paper cup. Of coffee. “Turns out I’m not so understanding as you,” she grumbled. “I want coffee.”
He held out the cup to her. “This is apple cider.”
“My hero.” She swiped the cup from him and sipped, savoring the tartness and cinnamon flavors. “That’s good.”
Jax chuckled. “Our rideshare will be a few minutes.”
“Back to the car?”
He nodded. “I still want to check out that building. You probably need to look at this file to see if it’s that guy.”
“At least you didn’t sayyour friend.”
