My Addiction (Club Desire #2)(81)
He cracked his knuckles and downed three fingers of whiskey, letting the burn of the alcohol brace him for the challenges ahead.
He picked up the phone and dialed the number for the local FBI office.
After a few rings, a very professional-sounding man answered.
“My name is Richard Fretwell the Third, and I need to speak to Agent Dexter Alexander. I have some information on his current case that we need to discuss. And I will discuss it only with him.”
“One moment, sir.” Soft classical music played over the line while he waited.
Several minutes later, a different male voice came on the line.
“Mr. Fretwell, this is Agent Tanner. I understand you have some information on an open FBI investigation?”
The managerial tone was clear. The man was going to try to intimidate him into telling them what he knew right now. They might be the FBI, but he’d dealt with lawyers and cops for fifty years, so he’d learned a thing or two. “You understand correctly, Agent Tanner. I’d like to speak to Dexter Alexander.”
“Mr. Fretwell, withholding information on an active investigation is against the law. I’m sure if you come in we can find someone else to take the information and pass it to Agent Alexander.”
He smiled. At least the Feds were just as predictable as the local authorities. “Agent Tanner, let me be clear. I called you. That doesn’t sound like withholding information to me, and I doubt it will to a judge. I’ve offered information; I just insist on giving it directly to Dexter Alexander.”
Richard heard what sounded like Agent Tanner holding back a small chuckle. “All right, Mr. Fretwell. Agent Alexander will contact you in the next few days. What’s the best number to reach you?”
Richard laughed. “Let’s not pretend that he won’t know exactly how to find me if he wants to, Agent Tanner. I look forward to hearing from him.”
Chapter 26
Kate left the meeting with her father, returning Carolyn’s disapproving glare as she made her way back to her car. That woman got on her nerves. Kate’s mother had never liked Carolyn and would fight with her father repeatedly over having a young, sexy, and eager-to-please receptionist. Granted, that had been many years ago, but Carolyn was still around, and she was still much too eager to please for Kate’s tastes.
She had long suspected an affair between her father and Carolyn, and was sure her mother had, too. That was another thing that had driven a wedge between them, and at this point, Kate wasn’t sure she even wanted to know. She had enough issues with her father without having that possibility confirmed.
Unbelievably, her anger with her father had ebbed. It hadn’t disappeared completely, but it was definitely less intense than before.
The confrontation definitely hadn’t gone as expected, and she was still sorting through her thoughts and feelings over all she had learned.
As she drove, movement in her left peripheral vision gave her just enough time to brace against the coming impact.
She was jarred to the side as the door crunched inward. The combination of the front and side airbags deploying, and the momentum of the impact, caught her arm and yanked her against the seatbelt while whipping her head back hard against the headrest.
Pain flared along her arm and cheek as she flinched away from the airbags.
Another jarring impact on the passenger side told her she’d either been pushed into something or something else had hit her.
That was her last coherent thought as pain exploded at the back of her skull.
She blinked hard, trying to clear her suddenly blurry thoughts.
When all movement finally stopped and everything went still, she relaxed back against her seat, unable to think of what to do next.
Pain shot through her left arm, even when she tried to keep it still. The back of her head and neck hurt, there was something wet on her cheek, and she felt dazed and confused.
She raised her hand to her cheek and winced at the stabbing pain where something had cut her skin.
Sirens blared louder and louder just as the windshield shattered in front of her, showering her with bits of tempered glass.
Seconds later, two loud pops made her wince and duck as far as she could in her seat, which only swamped her with more pain.
—
Dex rushed inside the Good Samaritan hospital, flashing his credentials at the nurses’ station before hurrying past.
As soon as he’d gotten the call about Kate’s accident he was on the road, headed to L.A. as fast as he could. He had even called in a few favors and gotten the highway patrol to give him a wide berth.
Kate’s protection detail and his analyst team had kept him updated as much as possible, and her detail was still with her.
For all the good that had done!
He shook his head. That was unfair, and he knew it. Even if Dex had been sitting in the car with her, she still could have been T-boned by the other car. As for the woman who had tried to break out Kate’s windshield with an axe, the team had taken her out before any real damage was done. Unfortunately, the scene had caused several other accidents unrelated to Kate’s, so it had taken extra time to get emergency vehicles to the site.
Dex made his way upstairs to the fourth floor.
When the elevator opened, an older man with salt-and-pepper hair holding a small briefcase stood in the hallway, watching Dex expectantly.
“Agent Alexander?” the man asked in a tone that said he was confident he was correct.