His Climb to Power Read online

  An odd sense of relief swept through me, and I hated it. Did it really take Riley attacking her for me to finally realize that she didn’t want him? What kind of asshole did that make me? I was going to spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to her.

  “When he first started working with Blythe, I had a background check run on him. Obviously, we didn’t go deep enough, but he didn’t look right. I’ll send you a copy tomorrow.”

  The officer nodded. “Appreciate your cooperation, Congressman. Glad you weren’t hurt.” After sending another nervous look my way, he turned to the other people milling around in the room. They were taking pictures and collecting evidence and generally making me want to punch Riley all over again. After everything I’d done to protect Blythe, her apartment had still become a crime scene.

  Not wanting to see anymore, I turned and jogged down the stairs. Rachel and Blythe were standing on the sidewalk. Rachel held Blythe shirt up a few inches and probed at her side. As I grew closer, I could see the bruise forming there.

  “He hurt you,” I muttered hoarsely. Christ, I felt so fucking helpless right now.

  “It could have been worse,” Blythe said quickly as she pulled her shirt down. “Seriously, Jack, I think you saved my life. I don’t even know how you got here so quickly.”

  She probably wasn’t going to like the reason why. I turned to her friend.

  “Rachel, thank you for coming over so quickly, but I think I can take it from here.”

  “You keep her safe,” Rachel growled with tears in her eyes. “Seriously, if anything else happens to her, I will never forgive you.”

  I wasn’t going to be able to forgive myself. “Rachel,” Blythe scolded gently. “What happened tonight was not Jack’s fault. I had a feeling there was something off about Riley, and I just didn’t trust my instincts.”

  Rachel burst into tears. “God, I practically pushed him your way. I’m awful.”

  “No. The only person I’m blaming is Riley, and I refuse to let the two of you blame each other, and I’m not going to blame myself. Understand?” Blythe grabbed Rachel’s hands and squeezed them.

  Sniffing, Rachel nodded. “Right. Okay. I’m going to go, but I’ll check on you first thing in the morning. If you need anything, and I mean anything, before then, just call me.”

  “I will.”

  After hugging Blythe, Rachel headed to her car, and I drew Blythe in close and wrapped my arms around her. “Tell me the truth, sweetheart. Are you okay?”

  “I am. Honestly. He got in one good hit. I’m mostly just shaken. Jack, how did you get here so quickly? It was just minutes.”

  “I was already on the way,” I admitted. “Since you fired Carl, he and I have been taking turns watching your apartment at night.”

  “Watching my apartment?” Pushing away slowly, she looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Like, just sitting in your car in the parking lot?”

  “Yes.”

  “Even though we’d broken up, like, for real.”

  “I made some mistakes, and I absolutely understand why you walked away, but I still love you, and I just want you to be safe.” Leaning down, I skimmed my lips across her forehead. “I’m going to call Carl, and you’re going to stay with him tonight.”

  “No, Jack, I want to stay with you.”

  “I’m not going home, baby. I’m worried that Riley might be part of the group I’m fighting against. I’m going to my mom’s hotel. I want to see if she can identify him, and if she can, I’m going to beat out everything that he knows about them.”

  “Okay,” she said slowly. “I’m totally on board with the first part of the plan, but for that second part, I’m hoping that you’ll let the detectives and federal agents do that part. You scared me a little bit earlier.”

  Smiling softly, I stroked her cheek. “I’m going to do things differently, baby. I promise, but you need to get somewhere safe and get some sleep.”

  “I’ll be happy to do all of that after I go with you to see your mom.”

  I recognized that voice. She’d made up her mind, and I wasn’t going to change it. “All right,” I said softly. “Come on.”

  She didn’t say a word as we drove to my mother’s hotel, and her silence only strengthened my anger. Normally, I could count on Blythe to keep me calm and focused, but even though she told me she was fine, she was still trembling.

  I should never have let Blythe stop me. I should have killed Riley while I had the chance.

  “You look angry,” she whispered as I parked the car. “You’re going to scare your mom if you walk in with that look on your face.”

  “I am angry.” Sighing, I tried to pull it together as I looked over at her. “I’d ask you to stay here in the car, but I know you won’t listen. It’s also probably safer if you stay with me. Come on.”

  She took my hand and squeezed it as we walked into the hotel lobby and stopped at the elevator.

  “Jack, have you thought about what you’re going to do if your mother does identify Riley as someone she recognizes? You’re working so hard to infiltrate this group, but if you tell the federal agents that Riley is one of them, you risk the group knowing that you’re just playing with them,” Blythe whispered as we got off the elevator to my mother’s room.

  I hadn’t thought about that. All I knew was that I wanted Riley behind bars for the rest of his life, and his attack on Blythe wouldn’t do it. “I’ll figure something out.”

  Pulling her with me down the hall, we stopped in front of a door, and I knocked hard. When my mother opened it, her eyes widened. “Jack, what are you doing here?”

  “Something’s happened, and I need to see you.” I was about to walk in, but there was something in her eyes that made me stop. “Is this a bad time?”

  “I’m with Daniel, although I guess you probably want to meet him.”

  Daniel? Instinctively, I pushed Blythe aside just a little bit and met her gaze. Stay here, I mouthed.

  Eyes wide, she nodded.

  “Donna, now isn’t really the time for me to meet your boyfriend,” I growled. “Blythe was attacked.”

  Immediately, my mother stepped aside and let me in. Praying that leaving Blythe alone in the hall wasn’t a fatal mistake, I stepped in, and my mouth dropped open. Instead of closing the door behind me, I left it cracked. I needed Blythe to hear this. “Clarke? What the hell, Donna? I thought you said your boyfriend’s name was Daniel.”

  With a snarl, the man in front of me pulled out a gun. “Mom!” With a gasp, I stepped between the two of them. “Clarke, what are you doing?”

  “Do you think that I’m an idiot, Drayson? I suspected that you were playing games, but you’re not that good of an actor. You know who I am and who I’m working for?”

  Heart pounding, I moved with Clarke to make sure that I was between that gun and my mother. When he was positioned in front of the door, bile rose in my throat. If he walked out into the hallway, Blythe was a dead woman. “I know you’re part of a group that’s been trying to play me like a puppet.”

  With a wicked smile, he clicked his tongue behind his teeth. “Oh, Jack. Does it make you feel better to think that? We haven’t been trying to do anything. You’ve done everything that we wanted. Handan will win by a landslide thanks to your endorsement, and your little crusade to clean up the waters is going down in flames. That’s all we needed you for. It didn’t matter why you were doing it. It just mattered that you did, and god, was it easy. I’ve never met a politician who was so in love with a fucking nobody before.”

  Blythe.

  Grabbing Donna’s hands to keep her behind me, I moved in an attempt to try and drive Clarke from the door, but he just moved the gun.

  “Jack, don’t,” my mother whispered from behind me as if she knew that I was thinking of tackling him.

  “You murdered Sherry?”

  “That little whore?” Clarke chuckled. “I told them that you weren’t going to fall for her again. Not when you’d already had her. Hones
tly, I thought that you liked variety, but you didn’t fall for Lila. God knows why. Let me tell you, she’s a good fuck too. Yes, I killed your little whore. The scandal would do more for us than her pussy did anyway.”

  “And Hirsh?”

  “He’d been a useful tool for us until Blythe. Christ, what is it about her? She turns a decent man into pathetic idiots. He was going to tell to save her. I think he was a little in love with her. I never liked him. Stabbing him gave me a little too much pleasure, and the fact that he died in front of Blythe was icing on the cake. Maybe when I shoot you, I’ll go see just what you like so much about her. Tie her to my bed. See how long I can make her scream?”

  “You’re not going to touch her,” I growled.

  “And who is going to stop me?”

  “I am,” Blythe announced. Clarke turned around sharply and connected right with her fist. He stumbled, and I started in on the attack, but Blythe was too fast. When her foot landed right in his crotch, even I winced as he groaned and fell to his knees. Wanting Blythe to work out a little aggression but not wanting to get her shot, I stepped forward and easily plucked the gun from his hand.

  “Call the agents,” I told my mother while I watched Blythe get a few more well-aimed kicks and call him some filthy names. Finally, when he was in a fetal position on the floor, I grabbed Blythe and pulled her away. “Easy, darling. We want him alive to testify.”

  “I’ll give you nothing,” he wheezed on the floor.

  “Wrong again.” Blythe held up her phone. “Recording app. I got everything you said.”

  God, I loved that woman.

  The job was over. If Clarke suspected that I was lying to them, the group probably did as well, which meant that I could finally come clean. The burden lifted from my shoulders, and I smiled at Blythe, but when she smiled back, it was hesitant, and I swallowed hard.

  Now, it was time for the cleanup, and I had some groveling to do.

  24 Blythe

  One Month Later…

  “So, you actually believe in this shadow group conspiracy,” Garrett Green, anchor of the Miami Nightly show, asked as he leaned forward in his chair.

  I slipped up my dress and looked over my shoulder at the television. For the last month, I hadn’t seen much of Jack. He’d been busy tying up loose ends with the federal agents. We didn’t have to hide our relationship anymore, but there wasn’t much of a relationship to hide. Our time together was mostly spent in bed. I had so much to say to him, things I wanted to talk about so we could make things right, but it just never seemed like the right time.

  He’d showered me with flowers and sent donors my way like there was no tomorrow, but none of it felt right.

  Tonight, he’d promised me a real date. I wanted to talk to him tonight, but I also just wanted to enjoy myself. It had been too long since I’d had a night with him all to myself.

  Jack chuckled. “It does sound insane, doesn’t it? Like something that should be in a movie, but the truth is that the investigation into Sherry’s death led us down the rabbit hole. I agreed to work with the agents, and that meant trying to lure them out.”

  “So, the meeting with the lobbyists and your support of Handan?”

  “All breadcrumbs to lead the group to me,” Jack assured Garrett. “I had contingency plans in place to make sure that my own plans weren’t derailed.”

  “Not true,” I muttered as I watched the show. It still made me feel a little cold to think of how far Jack almost went. I could have lost him. Hell, even now, I wasn’t entirely sure that I had him.

  “So, now what? You haven’t brought the group down yet, have you?”

  “You know that I can’t talk about the ongoing investigation. The feds are taking over, and I’m confident in their ability to do their jobs. The good news is that I’m out. I can focus on my campaign promises and seeing to the city of Miami again.”

  Garrett nodded eagerly. “Now, Congressman Drayson, you know we don’t go into too many personal details on this show, but I’ve got to ask. You’re all over the place with Blythe Hemsey, and now the two of you have been seen together. Are you two back together?”

  Jack smiled. “Blythe and I are as strong as ever, and I’d like to take a minute to thank her. She is an incredible woman. She knew what I was doing and understood that she had to take a step back for her own safety, but we don’t have to hide anymore.” He winked. “I think we can expect a spring wedding.”

  The interviewer started pressing him with more questions, but I turned the television off. I felt a little queasy. It wasn’t the first time he’d brought up our engagement, but he hadn’t given me the ring back. I think, deep down, he worried whether or not I would take it.

  It wasn’t unfounded. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to take it. He’d broken his promise to me, and I told myself that I wasn’t going to go through with that again. We needed to make some clear decisions about our relationship.

  There was a knock on the door, and I went to answer it.

  We didn’t need to make those decisions tonight.

  He stepped in and immediately pulled me toward him into a long and lingering kiss. It didn’t escape my notice that there was a large paper bag in his hands that he sat on the floor.

  “You promised me a romantic dinner!” I protested when Jack’s hands went to the zipper of my dress. We’d only just walked into the condo, and he was already undressing me.

  “I don’t think I said romantic. I’m pretty sure I just said dinner.” He pulled the dress off my shoulders, and it slithered down my body and pooled at my feet. With a squeak, I reached down to grab it, but he just pulled me back up and kept me walking to the table.

  “Jack!” Laughing, I let him guide me to the kitchen. As we stepped over the rug of the kitchen, he unsnapped my bra, and it fell to the floor. At this rate, he’d be using my clothes to decorate the condo.

  “Shoes off,” he commanded as we stopped at the table. “And stand here. Close your eyes. Do not move.”

  “Close my eyes? Are you serious?”

  “I’m just setting the scene.”

  What was going on with him? Shaking my head, I kicked off my heels—they were hurting my feet anyways—and closed my eyes. With a shiver, I wrapped my arms around myself. “It’s a little nippy in here.”

  “I can see that,” came his amused response, and I quickly covered my breasts and wrinkled my nose. He was getting a free show, and I had no idea what he was doing. “Don’t worry, darling. You won’t be cold for long.”

  I heard him shuffling around in the kitchen and chattered my teeth dramatically. The truth was that I couldn’t be happier.

  Riley, who had nothing to do with Clarke Mason, had been charged with aggravated assault and attempted rape. Clarke, who’d been arrested on a list of crimes that was longer than my arm, agreed to give up the name of his associates for a lighter sentence. Even better, his little curvy blonde assistant was arrested as well. I didn’t want to be the kind of woman who watched her enemy walking away in handcuffs over and over again, but the video of it was saved as favorites on my computer.

  So, sue me. I deserved a little pleasure after everything. We’d won.

  “Keep your eyes closed,” Jack said as his hands went to my waist. Slowly, he peeled my panties down, and I sucked in my lower lip and tried not to moan. I was hoping that he was about to eat me on that table.

  Instead, he pulled me to the side, and with a shriek, I landed in his lap. “Open your mouth,” he ordered.

  “Wow. This is about to be kinky, or is that not your cock I’m feeling under me?” I joked, but I opened my mouth, and he popped something in. Closing my mouth, I moaned at the taste of the savory piece of meat as I chewed and swallowed.

  “You can open your eyes now, darling.”

  Obediently, I did as he asked and grinned. “You know, when I said that I wanted a nice steak dinner, I was thinking that I would keep my clothes on and we’d go out, and I could show you off a little bit?”
r />   “Show me off?”

  “Uh-huh. You look pretty good in your suits, and when you bend over, my Lord, that butt! But we’re both naked and still at home.”

  “Complaining?” he popped another piece of steak in my mouth. “It’s not that I don’t want to take you out. I do. It’s just that I still can’t believe you’ve forgiven me after everything, and I’m not willing to risk that you might flee if I take you out.”

  “Jack.” Loving this man with all my heart, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. “I’m not going anywhere. In the end, you were the one who was right. It might not have worked out the way you wanted it to, but you did exactly what you set out to do. I should have been more patient and trusted you.”

  “I gave you every reason to worry,” he said huskily. “And I made a lot of mistakes.”

  “And you’re probably going to make more. So am I, but if anything, I think that we’ve proven that we can survive anything. Jack, I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  “You took the words out of my mouth.” He grabbed the glass of champagne and dribbled it on my chest so that it spilled down to my nipples. Lowering me back, he bent his head and swiped his tongue across me. “But let me keep you all to myself for just a little while longer.”

  Lost in the wicked pleasure, I moaned. “Maybe for just a little while longer,” I panted.

  We only got through half of the delicious steak dinner that he’d managed to somehow sneak in while we were out before he was inside of me and dinner was completely forgotten. By the time we were done, we’d made a complete mess. There was steak sauce on my body where no steak sauce needed to be, and glasses and plates were in broken pieces all over the floor.

  “My god,” I said weakly. “I don’t think I’ll ever look at steak the same way.”

  “Me either. Water. Fuck, I need some water.”

  I managed to find the strength to get off his lap long enough to slip on my heels and walk through the broken glass to get us some water.

  “Jesus Christ, Blythe, you look amazing,” he moaned as he watched me. “And I definitely see some spots that I missed.”