Zane rubbed her back. “I’m not prepared to stake my life on it, but even if it’s somehow associated with their fraternity, I think we can rule out both Carmichael and the president.”
“Why?”
“For starters, the president was being guarded by none other than Benjamin North two years ago. If there had been any weirdness, he would have said something.”
“You think he would have? We keep secrets, Zane. It’s part of the job.”
“It is, but Benjamin wouldn’t throw you to the wolves. If he had reason to believe you needed to stay away from the president, he never would have been so enthusiastic about you running the protection preparation.”
“True.”
“As for Carmichael, I did some background research on himwhile I was still in DC. He’s not perfect, but he’s a family man. And he doesn’t drink. He’s been sober for over thirty years.”
“Plenty of people go to bars to hang out with friends and don’t drink a thing. That doesn’t rule him out.”
“True, but the fact that he was with his wife in Aruba that weekend does.”
“That would do it. But there are way too many ifs in this situation. We don’t even know for sure when that cuff link was lost. It could be unrelated to me. That place was a pigsty. Anyone could have left it at anytime.”
“It’s possible.” Zane couldn’t argue that point.
“But if it is connected, I can’t keep everyone in the dark. It isn’t safe.”
“True.”
“I may need to tell everyone on the team about what happened that night, and about Janus and the cuff link. I’m not ready to do it yet. But I’ll pray about it. And if I have to speak up, I will. I won’t risk any of them over my own pride.”
“Fair enough.” It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but it was a step in the right direction.
“For now, we need to get back to the office. I want to go over the guest list.”
“Your wish, my command.”
Tessa leaned her head against Zane’s shoulder. “Maybe we could stay here a few more minutes?”
He slid his arm around her. “When you’re ready to go, let me know.” He played with her hair, almost unable to believe that this moment, this woman in his arms, was real. “Fair warning. If you don’t say anything, we’ll sit out here forever, because I’m never going to choose to let you go.”
HIS WARMTH,his gentleness, his compassion, his strength, everything that was Zane being Zane all worked to loosen the knot of dread that had her insides in a snarl.
And the fact that he liked to play with her hair? Bliss.
It took fifteen minutes for her to find the willpower to insist that they return to work. Zane held her hand until they pulled into a space in the parking lot, then he climbed out and opened her door. He walked closer than ever before, but he didn’t touch her.
When they entered the conference room, they came face-to-face with three sets of curious eyes.
Luke checked his watch, then turned to Benjamin. “Time.”
Gil laughed. “Luke wins. I take second. Benjamin comes in last.”
“Do we want to know?” Tessa asked as she took her seat at the head of the table. Zane settled into the seat on her right.
“No wager was involved.” Gil opened his laptop. “But we all made a guess as to when you two would turn up.”
“Why?” Tessa glanced up in time to catch Luke give Zane a questioning look and Zane reply with a barely there shake of his head.
Luke bit back a grin but didn’t say anything.
Benjamin leaned forward in his chair. “It seems you two have some explaining to do.”
