“That’s what you said last night and I believe you. However, I guess you’re going to need to trust me.”
“It’s not about trust,” he said, lifting his arm as if prepared to touch my face. Then he thought better of it, curling his fingers. “Don’t forget that there have been two recent fires caused by arson. If you’re even remotely right about what you believe, you don’t want to be on their radar.”
Thankfully we were interrupted at the perfect time. I didn’t need to go into petty fights from years ago.
“Ms. Sterling, Mr. Beckett, the city council will see you now.”
I was on my feet first, heading to the door when he stopped me. “Can we talk about what happened last night later?”
“As I said, I’m not sure there’s anything to talk about. Let’s get through the meeting first. Okay?”
Exhaling, he nodded. “Fine. Let’s do this.”
A strange tone caught my attention. “What’s that?”
He yanked his phone from his pocket, reading a text. “Shit. I’m getting called to a fire.”
“Then you need to go.”
“I don’t want to leave you alone.”
I placed my hand on his chest. “I’m a big girl. I eat men like this for breakfast. Remember? Go be a hero.” What troubled me was the timing of the fire. “Do you have anything for me to give the council about your request regarding the firefighters?”
Axe cocked his head. “They won’t listen to you.”
“Oh, yes, they will.”
His laugh sent shivers down my spine. Thankfully, he pulled a piece of paper from his jacket pocket. “Just some notes. I don’t know what you can do with it.”
“Let me see if I can work some magic.”
He finally decided to touch me as he’d wanted to before, stroking my cheek with his knuckles. “Knock ‘em dead, Palomino Girl.”
“Maybe we’ll take a ride on the mare after you return from the fire.”
His face lit up. “That’s a deal, but only if you find a name.”
“I can do that.”
I waited until he’d moved out of sight before reading over his notes. Wow. It wasn’t much to go on, but I refused to let him down. After taking a deep breath, I headed into the room. The five men were staring at me.
“Good afternoon, I’m McKenzie Sterling. I’ve been retained as an attorney for the Sterling Corporation.”
“What can we do for you, Ms. Sterling?” The man’s voice indicated annoyance. Jack Parker had been on the council for a while, the man once considered very close to my father. While I hadn’t been able to discover the reason for the fallout, and my father hadn’t been forthcoming, I could tell he was already dead set against the approval.
Now the gloves were off.
I’d never say I was a politician, but I certainly knew how to handle a group of surly men who from the onset weren’t thrilled I was all but attacking their way of doing business.
“I think the paperwork speaks for itself, Mr. Parker. In order for an occupancy permit to be issued, the Sterling Stadium will need the council’s final approval, which quite frankly I’m shocked hasn’t been issued given every plan to date has been approved, every safety concern addressed. All that’s needed are your signatures. Now, I’m aware that there was a recent special election and that certainly could have hindered the timing. However, given my client is well underway in bringing an incredible charity event to our beloved city, as you might imagine, he’s quite anxious about the holdup.”
I allowed them time to digest my statement, glancing from one to the other. I’d also refused to take a seat. A tactic I’d used more than once.
Another council member laughed. Oliver Carter was new on the council, recently winning an election that I’d discovered had been questionable and why? Because it had become very apparent palms had been greased. At least those were my instincts. He’d come out of nowhere, only moving to Missoula a few months before. But his huge land development project had been fought tooth and nail by the locals. “From what I understand, there were corners cut to the project, warnings issued and ignored.”
So they were going to play that game.
At least two members who’d been on the council for a while were annoyed. Interesting to see.
