“Interesting, isn’t it?”
Emery didn’t know what that meant or why the senator kept biting back a smile. She felt anything but amused and happy. “I have been searching for him for . . . longer than I want to admit. I didn’t know if he was a ‘him’ and not an ‘it’ for months. He answers a few questions with vague responses and takes off.”
“I know Wren. He is not the man you’re looking for.” The sincerity was right there in the senator’s voice, in the softening around her eyes that signaled concern.
“Then explain to me who he really is, and I’m not talking about the name. I mean the man.”
“That is not my story to tell.” The senator shrugged. “But it appears he wants to share with you, so who knows what you’ll be able to find out.”
Emery ignored the strange vibration under the senator’s words. “His name was in the file.”
She wanted to believe that the senator was telling the truth, but if she was that meant the lead had gone nowhere. Emery didn’t have another string to pull.
She’d been searching her entire adult life. She took the job she did as a way to help Tiffany. After seeing all those faces and being plowed under by all that pain, the job had become more than a vow she intended to honor, but she’d made that promise to find answers.
The senator shook her head. “I can’t explain that. I really don’t know why that would be.”
That gave Emery hope, but not really. Not real hope. The idea of squaring off with a guy like Wren—not old and ready to admit to his sins, but someone young and totally wrong—left her shaking. “Then he can tell me.”
“You need to be careful. Maybe heed his warning to back off.” When Emery started to argue, the senator held up a hand and talked louder. “And, of course, as I say that, I remember what you do for a living and realize you have no intention of letting this drop, do you?”
“No.” After a lifetime of guilt she could not just let it go. Tiffany deserved more. She could be out there. Emery knew only a shocking case of good luck had spared her and doomed Tiffany. Even now, after all those years and all that therapy, Emery had trouble living with that.
The senator hummed. “This will certainly be interesting to watch.”
That’s not the word Emery would pick. “You could help me.”
“I just did.”
Emery tried to appreciate that. She understood the senator had probably taken risks and called in favors to get Wren there. But the not-being-able-to-keep-him-there thing was a big hole in the plan. “He walked out on me without providing one bit of usable information.”
The senator leaned forward with both arms resting on her desk. “Do you honestly think a man like that is just going to forget the accusations you made against him and go away?”
“I didn’t actually accuse him . . .” Emery saw the senator’s eyes widen and rushed to keep from veering too far off the truth path. “Okay, I did.”
“He’s not someone who’s accustomed to having his integrity challenged.”
Yeah, she’d picked up on that. “I don’t really care.”
“You are one of the few people he’s agreed to meet.”
Not that she understood why. He’d cornered her in the coffee shop then showed up in this office. Neither seemed in character or made much sense. Maybe he liked games and this was all some big joke to him.
Emery hung on to that explanation. That one made it easy to see him as the enemy and hold her edge. With him as the jerk, possibly a dangerous one. She could forget the high cheekbones and athletic build. Ignore the near-perfect face.
“He’s powerful. I get that.” Possibly even more powerful than she expected. “But you have to agree he can be a little much.”
The senator smiled. “You have no idea.”
The senator actually liked the guy. That fact hit Emery out of nowhere. The senator didn’t tolerate Wren or fear him. This wasn’t about her office or him being a donor. No, on some level Emery knew their bond ran deeper. She’d found something redeeming in him and that caught Emery’s interest. “Fill me in.”
“I’ll leave it to him.”
Emery didn’t love that possibility. If he kept showing up while she drank her coffee she’d need to switch to decaf. “That sounds ominous.”
“When Wren wants to know more, and he will, he’ll find you.” The senator managed to make that sound like a good thing.
Emery wasn’t convinced. “I’m not sure being near him is all that safe or smart.”
“He’s harmless, or he will be to you.” The senator sat back in her chair again. “Besides that, I like the idea of him having to work for it.”
Once again the conversation looped around and Emery totally got lost. Much more of this and her headache might become permanent. “For what exactly?”
“Anything.”
CHAPTER 7