“I think you should follow your heart, tesoro. It won’t lead you astray.”
That was true. It had led him to Hector after all.
He drew in a breath then turned back to the agent. “Okay, I’ll meet with him, but I’m not making any promises past that.”
“I’ll let him know, Mr. Jacks.”
Chapter One
"Sir, your ex-wife is on line one, your mother is on line two, and Senator Rachis is on line three."
Senator Wilson Khor II rolled his eyes in clear view of his assistant. He smiled when the man chuckled. Lex knew him well. "Tell my ex-wife to call my lawyer if she wants to talk to me, tell my mother I will call her on Sunday as usual, and tell the senator I am not changing my mind about the Ways and Means Committee."
He had enough on his plate. He did not need to serve on another committee. He wasn't even sure he wanted to serve on the ones he was already on.
"Done, done, and done." Lex tapped away on his tablet then smiled up at him. "Are you sure you don't need me to come with you?"
"No, Lex. This is supposed to be a personal visit, not a political one." At least, that was what Wilson was hoping for. He didn't need his nervousness splashed all over the front pages of the newspapers. "If I need you, I'll call."
Lex frowned. "I just don't feel right about this, sir. I mean, what do you know about this guy?"
"The FBI fully investigated Wilson Jacks, Lex. I suspect I know more about his life than he does." He certainly knew how his son's life started.
His son.
Wilson never thought he'd say that, or even think that. He had a son. Granted the kid was in his early twenties and they had never actually met, but that didn't change the fact that he was Will's father.
"I shouldn't be gone more than a couple of days depending on how our initial meeting goes." From what Agent Darby had told him, Will wasn't that keen on meeting him. Wilson couldn't really blame his son. The man had been denied so much in life that could have been his if Wilson's father hadn't fucked things up.
Wilson had his own issues with his father. Keeping the knowledge of his son from him was at the top of that list, followed quickly by several things Wilson was just now coming to terms with. He just wished his father hadn't died earlier in the year. He'd offer up almost anything to give the old coot a piece of his mind.
His father had been interfering with his life since he took his very first breath. It felt as if it hadn't stopped, even though the man had died. It had been six months and Wilson was still bracing himself for whatever was going to come next and trying to play catch-up.
"Okay, I've sent the address of the motel where you'll be staying to your cell phone. I also included a GPS map indicating places to eat, places to avoid if you want to keep your face off the front page, and the sheriff's station in case you can't."
Wilson chuckled. Lex worried about him even more than his own mother did, which wasn't saying much.
Beverly Khor was a society matron. She worried more about rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous than she did about her own son. She wasn't proud of him because he'd become a United States senator. It was a status symbol for her. It got her into all the good parties and social events. Things she lived for.
Wilson ran into that a lot during his stint in the US Senate. He had run for senator with such high hopes. He was going to change the world. He hadn't changed shit. He spent more time arguing with other senators and lobbyists than he did actually making policy and changing things for the good of the country.
It left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Wilson was no longer sure why he'd ever thought to run for political office other than to please his parents. His rose-colored glasses had been crushed under the foot of self-serving assholes a long time ago.
Maybe it was time to reconsider his political goals and step down, let someone younger take his seat in the Senate, someone who didn't get stomach cramps every time they had to deal with just about everyone in the Capitol.
"Okay." Wilson grabbed his coat, briefcase, suitcase, and cell phone. "If there's an emergency, call me, but only if there is an emergency. And I mean like we're being invaded by aliens or something."
Lex grinned. "And if your mother continues to call?"
Wilson grimaced. "Tell her I'm out of the office for the next few days. Do not tell her where I am." He wanted a chance to meet his son and maybe get to know him before he released the hounds of hell on him. He wasn't even sure he wanted his mother to meet his son. There was no telling what she'd demand of Will.
Wilson pocketed his cell phone, pulled his coat on, then walked out of his office, leather briefcase in one hand, suitcase in the other. Instead of walking out the front door to where his normal car and driver would be waiting, Wilson headed downstairs to the parking garage. He was hoping to keep this trip under the radar as much as possible, and that meant using a rental car.
Getting to the car and out of the parking garage seemed relatively easy. By the time he was driving toward the airport, he was pretty sure he was in the clear. Wilson knew he could have easily taken his private jet and just flown to his destination, but taking a commercial flight under an alias seemed the better bet.
Until he met Will in person and got to know him a little, Wilson didn't want the kid thrown into the public eye. Beyond the file the FBI had supplied him, he had no idea what kind of man his son really was.
