My Addiction (Club Desire #2)(30)
Dex took a sip of his coffee and then set it back on the table. “He was shot earlier tonight.”
Fear flooded her chest and settled like a hard lump inside her stomach. Uncle Carl had been a good friend and confidant, especially as she got older and the relationship between her and her father had become more and more strained. “Oh no. Is he all right?”
“He’s in the hospital, but stable, according to the report. They didn’t give much other information. Is he one of your Doms?”
The thought was so foreign it made her frown, but she shook her head, realizing that Dex probably knew only what everyone else in the local lifestyle knew—she had a few of the political elite as her Doms. So without knowing the details, he could easily assume what he had.
“No. He and I are extremely close, but definitely not in any kind of sexual way. He was at our house so often while I was growing up, I call him Uncle Carl. He’s like the uncle I never had, and his wife treats me like one of their family.”
Her chest hurt as she thought about Carl’s wife, Gloria, and what she must be going through right now. “I have to call Aunt Gloria.” She fished her phone out of her purse. “Do you mind if I try her?”
Dex motioned for her to go ahead, the concern etching his features showing her he was sincere. Normally, she would duck outside to make a call, but being rude was the last thing on her mind right now.
The phone rang, but almost immediately went to voicemail. Her chest tight, she left a quick message, even though her voice shook and cracked. She told Aunt Gloria that if she needed anything at all to call her immediately, day or night. She also told her she would keep them in her prayers, and added that she loved them both, before she hung up with tears streaming down her face.
Fear and frustration at not having any more answers than she had a moment ago constricted her throat. She looked at Dex. “Did they list a hospital on the news report?”
Dex studied her before closing his hand over hers in a silent offer of comfort that she appreciated and basked in.
He shook his head. “They didn’t, but I’m sure it will be a madhouse no matter where he is, with the press vying for a story.”
She hadn’t thought of that, but he was right. Not to mention that Carl and Gloria had several sons and daughters who had probably gone immediately to the hospital. She would only be in the way—a distraction Aunt Gloria didn’t need. So although she ached to see Uncle Carl and reassure herself that he was all right, it was selfish and wouldn’t help him recover. “You’re right. It was just such a shock.”
“I’m sorry, Kate. It sounds like you were very close. Would your father have more details for you?”
She shook her head as she brushed at her tears with the back of her hand. “Carl and my mother were good friends back before he was elected. He and my father had a lot of business dealings, but don’t like each other personally. Since my mother died, the only time I see Uncle Carl is when we meet for lunch every few months as his schedule allows.”
She took a breath, thinking about the last time she had seen him. Even in his seventies he still had salt-and-pepper hair—too stubborn to let it go entirely white, he would always say. Just like the man himself. He was healthy and strong, and her heart ached at the thought of anything bad happening to him.
Dex watched her, his expression compassionate. “Did he ever mention anything about work?”
She shook her head. “Not really. Did they say the shooting was related to his work in Congress?”
“They didn’t give many details at all.” Dex frowned. “I was just curious. I’m sure anyone who works in that environment makes a lot of enemies as well as friends.”
Kate nibbled her bottom lip as she thought back—a nervous habit that she was constantly trying to break whenever she caught herself doing it. “There were only a few times I ever remember him talking about work to me directly. Usually some frustration over riders being slid into bills before they were brought up for a vote. He said he was always careful to watch for those and would vote against bills that had what he termed ‘poison pills,’ even if the overall bill was good.”
Dex wiped his fingers before setting his napkin aside. “I think poison pills are par for the course in Washington, from what I understand. But the congressman must be doing something right. Hasn’t he been reelected several times?”
A slow smile blossomed across her face as she nodded. “It’s nice to know an honest politician. Growing up in the Fretwell house gave me a decidedly mixed opinion about them. But Uncle Carl has always shown me that doing it right is possible.”
She thought about all the meetings her father had with different senators and representatives when she still lived at home. There were quite a few times she saw money change hands and discussions become heated when her father thought she wasn’t around.
Her father had never met with any of the politicians she had been a submissive for—at least as far as she knew, though she realized there were probably some he had met without her knowledge, both before and after she had moved out. As she played with more of those in the political hierarchy, the chances that one knew her father grew exponentially.
She inwardly cringed at that thought and glanced up at Master Dex.
What would her father think of him, an analyst and part-time self-defense instructor? Kate didn’t think Richard Fretwell would be pleased. Which only proved to her that her father operated from the wrong set of criteria when judging people. People were more than just what they could do for you, and she hoped one day her father would learn that.