She shook her head as she brushed at her tears with the back of her hand. “Carl and my mother were good friends back before he was elected. He and my father had a lot of business dealings, but don’t like each other personally. Since my mother died, the only time I see Uncle Carl is when we meet for lunch every few months as his schedule allows.”
She took a breath, thinking about the last time she had seen him. Even in his seventies he still had salt-and-pepper hair—too stubborn to let it go entirely white, he would always say. Just like the man himself. He was healthy and strong, and her heart ached at the thought of anything bad happening to him.
Dex watched her, his expression compassionate. “Did he ever mention anything about work?”
She shook her head. “Not really. Did they say the shooting was related to his work in Congress?”
“They didn’t give many details at all.” Dex frowned. “I was just curious. I’m sure anyone who works in that environment makes a lot of enemies as well as friends.”
Kate nibbled her bottom lip as she thought back—a nervous habit that she was constantly trying to break whenever she caught herself doing it. “There were only a few times I ever remember him talking about work to me directly. Usually some frustration over riders being slid into bills before they were brought up for a vote. He said he was always careful to watch for those and would vote against bills that had what he termed ‘poison pills,’ even if the overall bill was good.”
Dex wiped his fingers before setting his napkin aside. “I think poison pills are par for the course in Washington, from what I understand. But the congressman must be doing something right. Hasn’t he been reelected several times?”
A slow smile blossomed across her face as she nodded. “It’s nice to know an honest politician. Growing up in the Fretwell house gave me a decidedly mixed opinion about them. But Uncle Carl has always shown me that doing it right is possible.”
She thought about all the meetings her father had with different senators and representatives when she still lived at home. There were quite a few times she saw money change hands and discussions become heated when her father thought she wasn’t around.
Her father had never met with any of the politicians she had been a submissive for—at least as far as she knew, though she realized there were probably some he had met without her knowledge, both before and after she had moved out. As she played with more of those in the political hierarchy, the chances that one knew her father grew exponentially.
She inwardly cringed at that thought and glanced up at Master Dex.
What would her father think of him, an analyst and part-time self-defense instructor? Kate didn’t think Richard Fretwell would be pleased. Which only proved to her that her father operated from the wrong set of criteria when judging people. People were more than just what they could do for you, and she hoped one day her father would learn that.
Chapter 9
Dex’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out under the table to see Shapiro’s name flash across the screen. Reluctantly he lifted the phone so Kate could see it. If the lead analyst on his case was calling this late, it had to be important. He cast her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. Work. I need to take this. I’ll be right back.”
She shooed him away with a smile.
He realized she was once again reading him well, and had picked up on his discomfort about answering the phone to talk business while he was with her.
He made his way to the front door and ducked outside into the parking lot, where there were only a few people left milling about and talking in between their cars.
He quickly answered before Shapiro hung up.
“Alexander.”
“Dex. I’m sorry. Tanner said you were meeting with Kate Fretwell. Can you talk?”
Dex glanced around, and seeing no one close by, returned his attention to the conversation at hand. “Yes, for a minute. What’s going on?”
“We’ve found some possible ties between some of Miss Fretwell’s graphic design projects and the amounts and locations of the large cash deposits around the country. But we need more information.”
Dex stiffened, and his stomach churned at the thought of Kate involved in this. His first instinct was to protect her, especially now that he was her Dom, but he bit that back and shifted firmly into field agent mindset. “What do you need from me?”
Shapiro cleared his throat, and Dex heard papers shuffling over the phone line. “Find out everything you can about her projects for Merestone Resorts, and what kind of work she does for them. We’re digging into them from our side.”
“That’s kind of broad. What ties have you found?”