8
Two more days down the drain, and I’m irritated with a serious case of blue balls. Skyler didn’t have time for a little phone sex last night, but she did have time to send me a fuckhot picture of her in nothing but her underwear before she jumped on a plane to visit Tracey and sign some contracts on the A-Lister movie.
I rub my thumb over her scandalous picture. She’s wearing nothing but red lace. Her face is hidden by her hair, but I know that body like I know my own dick. Every curve, subtle dip, the muscular roundness of her calves . . .
My mouth waters as my phone buzzes in my hand. “Lovemaker” comes up on the display.
I hit “Accept” and put the phone to my ear; all thoughts of my golden goddess disappear in the hope that Bo has the goods. “Tell me you’ve got something!” I half beg. I’m tired of being in DC, visiting stuffy senators and pretending to work with a company that goes against everything I believe in as a human being.
“Boy howdy! I’m coming at you from the astute janitor’s closet at PB Resources, where the shit they are hiding is unconscionable. I actually couldn’t eat dinner last night or breakfast today, and that’s after only one full day of work.”
A grimace steals across my face. I don’t want my brother to have to deal in grotesque shit any more than I want to myself. “I’m sorry, brother.”
“Naw, it’s fine. Had to be done. I’m going to send you some quick pics I took. One a bit damaging but not enough to wound them. The worst so far is of a couple of dogs that are skin and bones, definitely malnourished. I went back in after I hit the vending machine and snuck the two dogs a couple of beef jerky sticks each. Today my overalls are loaded with treats just in case.”
I smile at the image of Bo sneaking dogs beef jerky. No matter how many women he loves and leaves, he’s a good guy with a huge heart.
“There’s a room I haven’t been into yet. It’s not on rotation until tonight. I have a feeling that’s where most of the hinky shit goes down. I’ll let you know what else I find.”
“Okay. And Bo . . . thanks again for doing this. You didn’t have to, but the fact that you want to make things right and are taking a hit for the team means a lot.”
Bo growls in clear frustration. “Shut up. I own a fat chunk of IG. It’s my ass on the line just as much as it is yours and Royce’s. We’re a team. More than that, we’re family. We don’t let scumbags fly on our radar. Keep your phone on, and I’ll send you whatever I can. I want out of this place soon. I’ve cleaned enough filthy rooms to last me a lifetime. As a matter of fact, I’m giving my housekeeper a raise for cleaning my bathroom alone. That woman’s a saint!”
Laughter fills my lungs and has me barking into the phone so hard my gut aches with the motion. “Wendy wanted to be the one to tell you about the janitor role. She was itching with glee.”
He lets out a groan. “She would! I’m going to have to find interesting ways to get her back. Maybe I’ll send her pictures of the presents these losers leave me to clean. Yeah . . . that ought to do it.”
A snicker leaves my lips as I try to cover my mouth and hide the noise. The last thing I want to get is a copy of whatever those particular pictures would contain.
“Anyway, I’m out, Park. I’ll keep you posted. I’ve got some floors to mop and some spying to do. Later.”
After we end the call, my phone pings, and I open the texts from Bo. One shows an image of at least six rats in a cage littered with shit and piss. Gross, but not enough to get them on the chopping block. The second picture is of two floppy-eared dogs. Their ribs are completely visible, and they’re huddled together, obviously scared out of their minds. I clench my teeth and breathe slowly through my nose. Anger will only cause me to screw up this case. The important thing to do right now is keep a level head with the promise of retribution in the very near future.
I save the images and forward them to Kendra, Royce, and Wendy. The five of us are operating at full disclosure, each one of us working our own angles. Royce and Wendy are digging into the financials and clients to see if we can find any additional avenues and doors to blow open. Bo is working the lab. And today, Kendra and I are meeting with Senator Portorino.
Yesterday we spent the day meeting with lobbyists, a congressman, and two senators. We slipped each one the damning information about the connection between PB Resources and Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals and what the bill would mean to public safety at large, not to mention the rumor of their treatment of animals in their testing practices. Senator Birchill is on her own mission to take them out regarding the environmental concerns of removing thousands of trees and destroying the natural landscape bordering a very popular national park, along with the amount of pollution those factories would be pumping into the air and water.
Unfortunately, as I see it, in the eyes of local politicians, her argument is weak. The benefit of the factories bringing in tens of thousands of new jobs and tax dollars to a downtrodden economy would far outweigh a little smoke in the air or the cutting down of a portion of a huge forest. The general public doesn’t usually see the long-term ramifications of such a decision, only the short-term benefits. And jobs and money are big benefits. It’s what the bill includes that needs to be brought into the spotlight. The ability to skip crucial steps in medical testing that ensure consumer safety. The fact that they’re abusing innocent animals in order to produce their products. Medical and cosmetic safety and possibly being able to tweak the moral compass of mankind are the best arguments we have to defeat this bill.
Grabbing my sport coat, I head to meet Kendra in our shared living room.
“I’m so done with being in DC. How the hell did you live here for eight years? The negativity in politics is insufferable.”
She grins. “Depends on which side of politics you’re on. When you’re fighting injustices, it can be a lot of fun. Kind of like a superhero or vigilante, working to achieve justice for the good of all people. I did it by taking cases that protected the public and the interests of good, honest-working corporations, not by wearing spandex and fighting crime.”
I slip on my khaki sport coat with the tan suede patches at the elbows. It pairs nicely with my navy slacks and the yellow lined tie Skyler added to my new wardrobe at her house.
The idea that soon I’ll be thinking our house makes me smile wide. That little bit of positivity about our future helps me feel pounds lighter. I can handle this case, get through it. Hell, I can survive anything if my reward is coming home to Skyler.
“What’s got you smiling so much? You’ve been nothing but a grump since we had our ‘come to Jesus’ moment with Senator Birchill.”
I tip my head to the side and decide if I’m going to share something so personal. She petitioned me to keep her personal life to herself, but behind the scenes, that’s not at all what I’m doing. I’m still waiting to find out more about the eight-year block of time in her life I don’t know about. If Kendra wants to have the same connection the rest of the IG team has with one another, she’s going to have to open up. At the same time, we’ll need to be open with her, build that bridge to comradery.
“Skyler and I have decided to start house shopping together as well as look into adopting a dog and a cat.”
She cocks a sculpted brow. “Wow. Big step. Have you been together long?”
“On and off for close to a year.”
“On and off?” She picks up on that fact like a hawk on a skittering rodent in an open desert.
“Well, one time off, for a couple of weeks. We had a bit of a bungle in some information. We worked it out and are stronger for it. We’ve just decided to shack up, forgo the two houses since, when we’re in the same city, we’re together every night anyway. Plus, Skyler made the huge leap to move to Boston to be where I am, and it’s now up to me to make a similar overture.”
“You planning nuptials anytime soon?”
The question practically lays me flat, like a tidal wave just hit me and slammed me back a foot. I lean against the edge of the couch and sit my ass on the arm. “Not at this time.”
“Hmm. Interesting. Buying a home and getting pets together is usually something a married couple does after they . . . you know . . . say ‘I do.’” She leans her elbows on her knees and stares up at me blankly, allowing her comment to wiggle its way into my subconscious.
I nod. “This is true. Skyler and I already have an unconventional relationship, with her being a celebrity and my being . . . well, not a celebrity. We have our own way of doing things.”
She stands, grabs her pristine white jacket, and puts it on over a mustard-yellow blouse that ties in a silky bow at the neck. Her skirt is black, as are her stilettos, though they have a slim gold strap that wraps delicately around the ankle. One thing about Kendra: the woman knows how to dress. She does not need any tips. Everything she wears is a perfect combination of slinky, elegant, and professional. Basically, sex on a stick for the average suit-wearing businessman.
Kendra is the type of woman who any man would be lucky to have on his arm. Beautiful, classy, and intelligent. Which is why it’s so easy for me to see her long feminine fingers looped around my brother Royce’s bicep. Not only would the two of them together be a jaw-dropper to look at, they’d make beautiful progeny. Something I know my brother wants with all his heart. A family of his own to raise and protect.
The only question is, Does Kendra want the same things? With her being so tight-lipped about her past and her personal life, I’m not so sure they’re even in the same galaxy, let alone on the same page.
“Senator Portorino?” I approach the petite olive-skinned woman. Her eyes are a dark brown that matches her espresso-colored hair, and she has a curvy, hourglass shape. A true Italian from top to toe.
She narrows her gaze. “Yes?”
I hold out my hand. “I’m Parker Ellis, and this is my attorney, Kendra Banks. We’re in from International Guy, located in Boston.”
She frowns. “I’m afraid I’m not sure why you’re here.” She glances around as if there might be someone else I’m meant to speak to.
“If we may sit, I can explain. We won’t take up too much of your time.”
The senator’s gaze turns icy. “I’m not sure who you are, and I don’t have a lot of time for lunch before I have to be back.”
Kendra steps up from behind me. “It’s about your sister. The one doing a six-month stay at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California, paid for by your husband’s brother. Interesting why your husband’s brother would get involved in your sister’s sobriety, unless . . .”
“Sit down,” she states, a pinched expression marring her pretty face.
We both take a seat and wave off the waiter when we do.
“Look, Senator Portorino, we mean no disrespect,” I start, attempting to curb the harsh approach we had to take in order to get her to speak with us.
“Could have fooled me.” Her voice is dripping with disdain.
I take a deep breath and try to smooth over the edges of her irritation. “We didn’t want to bring up your sister; however, the people who hired us to help them do. We’re trying to avoid the smear campaign they’re planning to run on you if you don’t vote yes on the pharmaceutical- and cosmetics-testing regulations bill coming up for vote in a few days.”
The senator tips her head back and laughs, her long straight hair shifting back behind her shoulders with the movement.
“This is no joking matter.”
“You’re what? Blackmailing me? Do you think I’m stupid enough to agree to the terms of a blackmailer? I wouldn’t have been in politics so long if I had. I have nothing to hide.”
I shake my head. “First of all, we’re not blackmailing you. Second, Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals is prepared to release the information on the last ‘get out of jail free card’ your sister was given by Judge Mastery. Not only would that hurt your reputation, it could absolutely hurt the judge for not having recused herself when seeing your sister was the one on trial. She knew you personally and that the defendant was your sister.”
Senator Portorino crosses her arms over her chest defensively. “For one, it was a small drug charge. She would have gotten a few years at most, with release in one year with good behavior. Instead, we agreed to a one-year term in a rehabilitation center. The same one she’s still in and where she’s doing beautifully. I’m not afraid of what the press will bring. Pure Beauty needs to work harder if they want to hurt me.”
“What about the judge?”
She shrugs. “Mandy retired a month after that case. She’s moved down to Florida, so she can play bridge and visit the beach.”
I smile wide at Kendra. “This is great news. I can’t wait to tell our contact.”
The senator frowns. “You’re not a very good blackmailer if you’re happy I’m unconcerned with the information you have on me. Besides, even if I were asked to resign, which I highly doubt would occur, this is my last term.”
This time, Kendra grins. “Senator, here’s some additional information on Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals that you don’t know. Some of your colleagues might not take kindly to the fact that the lab this company is in cahoots with is PB Resources.”
That name must tweak her, because a disgusted grimace slips across her lips. “That company is disgusting. They have one of the largest puppy mills, but no one can prove it. They’ve been raided and have received numerous citations for mistreating their animals, but they pay the fines and then carry on, business as usual. No one can find the mills. I can’t even imagine the poor innocent babies bred for the sole purpose of being tortured for the sake of the perfect long-lasting lip stain or wrinkle filler.” She shivers and winces.
“We can’t either. That’s why we’re going to do everything we can to make sure this bill is defeated. Not only is it unacceptable what they’re doing to animals, but the half-assed measures they want to take to release their products to the public at large are frightening,” I add.
She nods. “Well, I don’t care what they try to do to me. I’m not voting yes on that bill, and with this nugget of information, I know three other senators who will be voting no too.”
I grin. “Excellent.”
Kendra interjects, “Please, if you would, keep this meeting and our involvement to yourself. We’re doing our best to avoid a legal suit ourselves.”
She crosses her heart with her index finger. “My word is my bond.”
And with her, I believe it. “Thank you. We’ll let you get back to your lunch.”
“Good luck, Mr. Ellis, Ms. Banks. I’m rooting for you.”
“Appreciate the gesture. I fear we’re going to need it,” I finish, then pull out Kendra’s chair and walk with her out of the restaurant.
The second we’re on the sidewalk, Kendra turns to me. “That was risky, giving her the information like that in the open.”
I sigh. “Sometimes you’ve got to look like you’re doing what the bad guys ask in order to secure their belief that you’re on their side. If we’d had a clandestine meeting somewhere and were caught, there’s far more plausibility that we’re setting them up. At this point, we’re working out in the open, visible to everyone. Speaking of . . .” I pull out my phone and visit the recent calls, choosing the one I know as Vivica’s number.
“Preston,” she answers.
“Yes, Ms. Preston, it’s Parker Ellis. We’ve got an update. One I’m afraid, once again, you’re not going to be happy with.”
The next morning I’m sitting on the couch in the living room across from Kendra, who’s in the single lounge chair. My cell phone is on speaker on the coffee table in front of us.
“We’re just waiting on Bo to call in,” Wendy says.
I swear the silence is deafening. We haven’t gotten any additional good news, and it looks like we’re going to be eating crow unless Bo has something of substance for us.
“Guys?” Bo’s voice booms through the line as if my phone is on volume one hundred.
“Damn, dude. Turn it down a notch,” I suggest.
“Okay, we’re all here,” Wendy states.
I clear my throat. “First, I’ll go over what we’ve found here. Senator Portorino is not threatened by the information Pure Beauty has on her. Senator Birchill went public with their damning evidence on her. This means that both of them are going to vote no on the bill regardless of what the company tries to do to them. In theory, this all sounds great, except during my update call with Vivica Preston, she notified us that Senator Kemper and Senator Damren have been schmoozing additional yes votes, and according to them, they have them. The yes votes now outnumber the no votes by five.”
“That sucks!” Wendy states. “How can these people not realize how dangerous this company’s plans are to the public? Skipping steps in testing, not to mention working with a horrible lab that mistreats animals . . .”
“Yeah, guys, and it’s worse than we thought. Remember that rumor about puppy mills?” Bo questions.
Kendra leans over to get closer to the phone on the table. “Senator Portorino says that there’s no proof the mill exists.”
“Oh, it exists, and it’s bad. They have hundreds of animals being bred right on site at the lab.”
“No!” Kendra gasps. “How did the USDA miss that in their repeated citations?”
“Probably because the entire mill is underground,” Bo says.
“Where did you get your information, brother?” I ask.
“From my own freakin’ eyes, and I’m adopting a fucking dog, cat, or gerbil as soon as I get home. We all need to. This shit is bad. When it splits open there are going to be hundreds, maybe even a thousand animals that need homes. All breeds. All varieties. It’s awful . . .” His voice lowers, and it sounds like he’s taking a breather.
“Did you get proof?”
“Who the fuck do you think I am? Please. Don’t insult me, Park.”
I lift my hands even though he can’t see it. “Brother, no insult intended. I apologize. Tell us what you saw; walk us through what went down.”
Bo chuckles. “I’m pretty sure you don’t want to know exactly what went down, because it was a tall blonde named Stephanie who works as a lab tech in the supersecret program. She apparently digs a man in uniform . . .”
“A janitor’s uniform!” Wendy blurts out, and the rest of us laugh, a much-needed reprieve from the seriousness of the situation we’ve been facing all week.
“Hey, where there’s a will, there’s a way. And believe me, Tink, I always find a way.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Wendy fires back.
“Says the woman who wears a collar like a pet!”
“All day, every day. At least I don’t get my jollies off on anything with two legs!”
Royce interrupts their fiery banter. “Hey, hey, hey, calm down. That’s enough.”
“Sorry, Royce. It’s been three days since I’ve thrown barbs with the jackal. We’re overdue,” Wendy admits good-naturedly.
“True dat. Miss you, Tink,” Bo mumbles through the line.
What would these two do if they couldn’t tease one another? A tremor rips through me. They’d probably find one of us to lay their brand of communication on.
“Anyway, back to my story before I was so rudely interrupted by a big mouth in Boston . . .”
Wendy growls through the line but doesn’t follow up with a quip of her own. My mind supplies the image of Royce putting a big paw over her mouth to keep her quiet.
“When I got the lab tech all sated and happy, I promised to rock her world if she showed me where they kept all the puppies. Said I was enchanted by the work they did there, blah blah. She brought me to a specially marked elevator on the third floor. It’s backed into a corner and is rarely used because it’s supposed to only go between floors three and five. However, there’s a random small door under the buttons with a key card swipe inside. She swiped her card, and the elevator went down way more than three floors. More like seven or eight.”
“Nuts . . . ,” I whisper as Kendra puts her hand over her mouth.
“When the elevator opened, it was to a floor that smelled of antiseptic and wet animal mixed together. She took me down a hall that had at least twenty doors. Behind each door was a different breeding room. When she wasn’t looking, I snapped pics of at least four of them. Should be enough to damage them. Except it gets worse . . .”
“Jesus, brother, not sure if I can take more, and you just got started.” Royce’s deep, growling tone coupled with the volume of his timbre echoes through the room. Kendra closes her eyes at the sound. It’s not the first time I’ve seen her react to my brother, and I doubt it will be the last.
Bo clears his throat and sighs. “She took me by this room they call the ‘dead zone.’ We didn’t go in that room, but I could see through a window there was a guy tossing animals into some type of acid.”
“Dead animals,” I clarify.
“No, brother. These animals were not dead. They looked sick. Malnourished, but most of them were alive and breathing until he dropped them into the giant vat. Hold up . . . shit, I’m gonna be sick,” Bo says in a muffled voice, and then his part of the line goes quiet.
Not one person says a thing for a long time. My entire insides feel like they’re revolting. My stomach is in knots, my skin is hot as fire, and a pounding like someone hitting a bass drum picks up against my temples. The pendulum has swung to one of the worst possible scenarios. They’re essentially frying animals alive to get rid of them after they’ve tortured them with whatever crap they put them through.
Eventually Bo comes back on the line. “Back. Sorry. I just . . . Talking about it brought it all back up. Literally.”
I take a few calming, deep breaths and focus my gaze on the phone.
“Everyone . . . I want them to burn in hell. Kendra and I have skirted the boundaries of business ethics more than I care to repeat. What they are doing is wrong. If we have to break every rule in that contract, I say we do it. Consequences be damned. Whatever it takes, this has to stop now. Are you in?”
“Agreed,” Royce says.
“Fuck yeah!” Bo states.
“Absolutely,” Kendra adds.
“Damn straight,” Wendy chirps.
“It’s time to put our heads together and be smart. This is what we need to do . . .”