Jo stifled a yawn as she stood up and again perused the house. Then she sat back down, thinking about Trent Fontenot. He had been one of three people that the man who’d met with Sabrina had wanted information on, and he’d been murdered the night before the bank robbery. What were the odds of that? It would have to be quite a coincidence, and Jo didn’t believe in coincidences in general. Had there been something in his safety deposit box that had led to his murder? She couldn’t answer that yet, but she definitely wanted to look at Trent more, to talk to his girlfriend and see what else was going on before he’d been killed. It might lead to nothing, but she had to check.
She spent a few more minutes looking at all three people, but she didn’t find anything else noteworthy. Finally, she pocketed her phone, turned off the lamp in the living room, and settled on the floor between the loveseat and the coffee table, where she could see the front window. She placed a pillow under her head, lightly covering herself with a blanket. It wasn’t bad, more comfortable than the many nights she’d spent on cold, hard ground. She stared toward the window, mulling over everything. Sometime later, she fell into a fitful sleep, her subconscious still alert.
What if that man showed up?
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Thank you, Kline,” Lydia said as she slid into the back seat of a shiny white Cadillac SUV.
“No problem, ma’am,” Kline said, waiting for her to get situated. She gave him a nod, and he slammed the door and slid behind the wheel.
“It was a lovely party,” Lydia pronounced.
He glanced in the rearview mirror. She was looking back to the stately mansion, waving to a few people who were milling about the steps near the front doors. He waited until her gaze shifted forward, then put the car in gear and eased down the long drive toward the street.
“It’s too bad JD had a meeting,” she said, and then sighed. “I suppose this time of night, it’s not so much a meeting as wining and dining people. But it’s what he has to do, and he’s good at it.”
Kline smiled at her. “You had a nice time?”
She nodded. “I do love catching up with everyone, and there were some new faces.”
He turned onto the street and navigated toward the highway, his mind on the woman in the back seat. Lydia was as good at working people as her husband was. JD frequently said he wouldn’t be where he was without her, and Kline figured that was true. There was a reason for the saying that behind every great man was a great woman. He’d seen her doing real work alongside JD, not just smiling and being polite. JD was a man who knew what he wanted, and that focus sometimes led to small errors on his part. Lydia had a subtle way of directing conversations, of nudging JD if he was being too forward or direct.
“Kline.” She interrupted his thoughts. “Do you think he’s working too hard?”
In all these years, she’d never referred to him by his first name. He wondered if she even remembered what it was. He’d been around her family for so long, he was almost like family himself. She treated him well, never had a cross word for him. He appreciated that, especially when other things could go so badly at times.
“No more than usual,” Kline replied.
“He’s been putting in long hours at the office, and he works when he comes home. And then a meeting like this—I don’t expect him home until very late.”
“Probably not.”
Kline glanced in the rearview mirror again. Lydia was gazing out the window, watching cars zip by on the highway. Even at this time of night, traffic was heavy. Dallas never slept. He drove on, wondering about the woman. Could she be as naïve as she acted? Did she really not have any idea that her husband didn’t have some important meeting tonight, that he was actually seeing another woman, someone who would fulfill desires that Lydia would never dream of?
“Is JD all right?” she asked.
“Of course.”
Kline gripped the wheel a little harder. Was she suspicious? Had someone been talking to her?
He’d been telling JD that the man needed to take a break, needed to ease up on the dalliances. And for a while, JD had. Kline had told him they didn’t need any more attention, even though things were going quite well. Better to lie low, to not risk any screw-ups. Then JD had texted him and said he needed a break. That was the euphemism to get things in motion, to have a secret place ready. Kline tried one text, warning JD not to do anything—not with everything going on the last couple of days—but JD just responded that he’d already set things up with the woman, and he’d made his excuses to his wife. Kline knew further arguing would be futile.
He didn’t know why the liaison bothered him so much tonight; maybe it was that he had to drive Lydia home. That task normally went to someone else, but Lydia had let the previous driver go after only a few months. That woman had seemed nice, and competent, but Lydia hadn’t liked her—and that was all that mattered.
Kline checked his surroundings for suspicious vehicles, but nothing caught his eye. His glance fell to Lydia.
For as long as he’d known her, she had always wanted a female driver, a person who also served as a bodyguard. She didn’t like men around, didn’t fully trust them. Kline often wondered if it was because, even at a subconscious level, she knew something about her husband, knew on some level that all men just couldn’t be trusted. Regardless, she hadn’t had a male driver in years. Since the last woman left, they’d been searching for someone else, but it wasn’t an easy task. Kline needed somebody who had skills, someone who could protect Lydia as well as chauffeur her around. Whoever it was, they had to keep Lydia safe, no matter the situation.
Someone that skilled wasn’t easy to find. Kline had a list of possible hires, procured from a variety of places: his law enforcement contacts, other security services, even other bodyguards. Some of the women he contacted weren’t available, and some weren’t interested. Some he didn’t like, didn’t think they could fulfill the responsibilities. He was beginning to worry that he’d never find a suitable candidate. And he was having to drive Lydia around more than he should have, more than JD wanted him to. Kline was needed elsewhere.
JD had been working on Lydia, trying to get her to ease up her standards, whatever those were. She wouldn’t say what made her like a particular driver, or what made her dismiss one, just that it was a feeling she’d get. JD tried to tell her that was nonsense, but that hadn’t worked.
Kline grimaced. They’d find someone, he knew, but at what expense? How long could he afford to be distracted by this hiring process? They might have to settle for the best man available, for the time being. That might not be a bad thing, as long as they knew they could keep her safe.
Lydia yawned. “Oh, I am tired tonight. I don’t know how JD manages on such little sleep.”
Kline studied her. If she knew anything about what her husband was doing, she didn’t show it. He thought, not for the first time, that she’d make a great poker player. She never had a tell. Then he laughed to himself. Lydia would never gamble. She was too refined for that.
He took another quick glance. Not only was she a beautiful woman, she was nice. Kind in ways that few were. She didn’t deserve what JD was doing to her. What would she do if she ever found out? Some people liked the money, the fame, and they stayed in situations despite being aware, long after they should have. Somehow, he didn’t think that would be Lydia. If she ever discovered the real JD, what he was really capable of, she would be gone in a second—and JD would be crushed.
Kline couldn’t have that. He loved the money, the position he was in, the power he had. There was no way he’d let anybody take that away from him. Even Lydia. Which was why he was growing more irritated thinking about JD now. That man might jeopardize everything.
Kline was still thinking about his boss when they drove into the Highland Park neighborhood, soon turning down the long front drive of a palatial residence on two acres that JD and Lydia had built many years ago. He parked in front, hopped out, and opened the back door. Lydia got out as well and smiled.
“Thank you, Kline,” she said. “I’m sorry you had to drive me home only to go right back to get my husband.”
“It’s no problem,” he said.
He walked her into the house, then got back in the Cadillac and left. Only he wasn’t going back to the governor’s place. Kline would be waiting where JD was, ready to whisk his boss home when he was finished for the evening.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lydia waited until Kline had let himself out. Then she set the alarm and went upstairs to the main bedroom suite. She kicked off her heels and let out a sigh of relief. After a long stretch, she unzipped her dress as she headed to her closet. She slipped out of the dress and left it and her shoes on the floor, then went with only bra and underwear on to a dressing table in the bathroom. As she scrubbed herself and began to take off her makeup, her mind went to her husband.
He wouldn’t be home until late. Again. What was that about?
JD had gone through a period where he’d been home a lot, and then the late-night meetings had started up again. There was always a reason, and the explanations made sense. But still, why have so many meetings at night?
