Challenging the Center (Santa Fe Bobcats #6)(77)

Kat.

No.

He wasn’t going to let his agent poison him against her. She deserved better. “Drop her.”

“What?”

“Drop her. Or, you know what? You should let her have the satisfaction of firing you. She deserves an agent that isn’t going to be against her every step of the way.”

“Lambert, she’s sucked you in. I warned you about this.”

“She’s not some black f*cking widow,” he snarled, feeling his insides clench. He needed to fight something. Someone. Why was there no outlet for his rage?

His hand chose that moment to throw pain up his arm.

Oh, right.

“You’re going to be ID’d eventually. It hasn’t happened yet, but within the hour someone is going to recognize you. It’s going to blow back on you.”

“Gotta go.” He hung up without a second thought and ignored the immediate call back from Sawyer. No, he only had eyes for one contact.

She answered on the first ring. “Hi.”

Her voice was tight, and he barely heard her.

“Kat,” he breathed. “Kat, did Sawyer—”

“Yeah.” She swallowed audibly. “Yeah, he told me. Michael…”

Neither said a word.

Then the doubt crept in. Like a termite gnawing faithfully through a thick block of wood, he heard Sawyer’s voice.

She’s sucked you in. I warned you about this.

“I’m sorry,” she said on a sob.

Who instigated the whole sex-in-an-office thing? Who convinced whom the office was safe?

“It’s not your fault.” The words sounded unnatural, not his voice.

“No,” she said slowly, “it’s not. But this stuff keeps happening to me. Just when I thought…”

You’re thinking she’s the victim again. She’s being taken advantage of. She’s got the worst luck known to man.

Her breath shuddered out. And he wanted her to say it. Finish the sentence. Know what she thought.

“It’s probably best if I take off,” she finally said, her voice small and a little… scared.

And though he wanted to say something, he couldn’t.



He didn’t believe her. Oh, he’d said it, but that voice wasn’t Michael’s. Not really. That was the voice of someone trying to keep the peace. Placating, making everything seem fine until you could handle the crazy situation at a later date.

“You don’t believe me.”

“That’s not…” He sighed, and she read between the lines.

“I get it, Michael. Two strikes, right? How could lightning strike twice in the same way?”

“Kat, that’s not what—”

“Did I bring it on myself? Is that the party line? Or maybe you’re thinking I actually did it. That I set it up.” Tears clogged her throat, but she shoved them down. Shoved them back. She had walked right into this. “I get it. You’ve got things going on, all those mentoring possibilities… can’t be tainted with the scandal.”

“Kat.” His voice was rough, like he was forcing back some emotion.

Probably disgust.

“It might not even come out that it’s you,” she said, noting her voice was tight. Hysterical almost. “Maybe the lawyers can get some sort of injunction and you’ll be kept completely out of it. I’ll leave town tonight, and it won’t be connected to you, and—”

“I believe you.”

Those three words sucked the breath out of her, and she collapsed onto the desk chair.



Michael waited, then waited some more. “Kat?”

“Yeah.”

Her voice was almost childlike, and it scared him. “Kat. You’ve got to straighten that spine.”

“I know.” But her voice was weak. “You believe me.”

He hated that he’d doubted her even for a single second. That it had even crossed his mind to doubt. That he’d let their former agent—because no way could Michael stay with Sawyer now either—worm his way in and plant the seeds of disbelief.

And he’d never let it happen again.

“I don’t just believe you, Kat. I love you.”

He let that soak in for a moment.

No reaction.

Okaaaaay. Not how he’d envisioned saying those three big words, but they were out there, so time to push forward. “How could I love someone who would do that? I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. You didn’t. We’ll get to the bottom of this, and it’ll all be okay.”

“You’re going to be found out. Cut ties,” she said bluntly. “Don’t walk into this trap. I’m serious. Bad news follows me like gnats on rotten fruit.”

“Don’t talk like that about my girlfriend,” he said in a mocking growl, but it didn’t elicit the chuckle he was going for. “My lawyer is going to be calling you here in a bit. I’ll text you his contact info so you know to answer the phone. Don’t answer unless it’s me or my lawyer.”

“Why not use my lawyer?” A bit of her feisty fire was back, and he relished it.

“Do you have a lawyer?”

“No,” she admitted.

“Then we use mine. He’ll be yours too.”