Jase looked at Kate, saw that her face was pale. “That doesn’t seem fair. How about if Kathryn makes up for it by coming in early on Monday?”
Kate turned to the men. “It’s a special evening. I’ll have your report on Monday, just as I promised. I hope you don’t mind.”
Markum looked disappointed. He smoothed back the sides of his sandy brown hair, clearly hoping for a little more from Kate than just a report.
“All right, fine,” he said. “I’ll see you Monday, Kathryn.” Markum and Wiedel left the building together. Jase gave them time to reach their cars and drive away, then he and Kate walked out to the parking lot.
“Thank God,” she said as he opened her Camaro door. “I thought I was going to faint when I walked out of the office and they were standing in the hall.”
“I had a feeling something wasn’t quite right.”
“Victor insisted Arthur and I come up to his penthouse apartment and go over some recent information. It was a ruse. Wiedel would have left me alone with him.”
Jase lifted an eyebrow. “You sure you don’t want to rethink this private investigator business?”
Kate just grinned. “Not a chance. I’ll just have to make sure I’ve always got good backup.”
Jase chuckled, leaned over and kissed her.
The following day, Jase picked up the flash drive Tabby had remotely downloaded. Back at Kate’s apartment, they reviewed the files together and both of them felt sure they were exactly what the FBI was looking for.
A deal was struck and a meeting set. The flash drive with the evidence against Briton was handed over to Special Agent in Charge Quinn Taggart at a small café not far from The Max. In return, Jase and Kate were out of it. No longer connected to the investigation in any way.
With any luck the FBI would find enough on the flash drive for warrants, undercover surveillance, whatever they needed to complete their investigation. Taggart believed the files would ultimately lead to the arrest and conviction of the entire criminal organization.
Kate turned in her management consulting report Monday morning, as promised. She made it clear to Victor Markum that if he expected anything more, he was out of luck.
Jase figuredhewas the lucky man. He was the guy who ended up with Kate.
EPILOGUE
Over the next few weeks, the FBI arrested Victor Markum, Maximillian Schram and Arthur Wiedel. The men were charged with a list of criminal activities that would keep their attorneys fat and happy for years.
All three were currently out on bail, but Agent Taggart was sure they would eventually be convicted and spend a good portion of their lives in federal prison.
Then Kate got a thank-you call from Callie Spencer. Which resulted in Jason flying her down to Houston to visit the teen and her mom.
“You saved my life,” Callie said tearfully. “I’ll never forget what both of you did for me.”
“We were just glad we were there when you needed us,” Kate said, fighting tears of her own.
“I told my mom the truth about why I ran away,” Callie said. “But she had already figured it out. When we got back to Houston, my stepdad was already gone.”
“We’re glad to hear it, Callie,” Jason said.
“Mom made me promise never to hide things from her again. She said she would always believe me—no matter what.”
Kate thought of her own mother and how much she missed her. “Moms are good that way.”
The evening of the charity benefit finally arrived. Kate wore an off-the-shoulder white chiffon gown while Jason looked amazing in a perfectly tailored black tuxedo. A sight she couldn’t have imagined when she had met him that night at the Sagebrush Saloon.
Kate sat at a table with Jason, Chase and Harper, and Reese and his sophisticated, fashion-model date. Filling out the seating—to Kate’s amazement—were her dad and his wife, Jennifer.
Jase and her father had put the trip together as a surprise, and Kate was touched by the gesture. She was thrilled to discover how well she liked her stepmother. Jen was kind and smart, and she worshiped Frank Gallagher. Kate was happy for both of them and looking forward to spending time with them and the siblings she had never met.
Priced at an outrageous sum, tickets to the benefit sold out completely, which meant a great deal of money was raised for the New Hope Rehabilitation Center.
It was a wonderful night, topped only by the next night when Jase took her country-western dancing at the Sagebrush Saloon.
