How ironic, Jo thought. Here she was, being told she was honest, and yet she was lying about her present circumstances and about why she was driving for Lydia. But she’d told Lydia the truth in one regard—she would do anything to protect her father and sister.

“Is there something you’d like to talk about?” Jo asked.

Lydia looked at her. Her lower lip was trembling, barely discernible in the shadowy dimness in the car. She did seem to want to talk. She seemed desperate to divest herself of something that troubled her. Jo thought she was going to, but then she shook her head.

“No, thank you.”

Lydia was quiet the rest of the drive home. Jo hoped she might say more, but the woman only stared out the window. She didn’t want to push her luck—better not to risk irritating Lydia in any way. Sometimes silence was the best option.

When they returned to the mansion, Jo hopped out and opened the back door for her. Lydia got out and paused, searching Jo’s face. Then she forced a small smile.

“Thank you—and not just for the drive. I appreciate . . . being able to talk to someone.”

“It was a nice conversation,” Jo said. “If you need anything else, let me know.”

“Thank you,” Lydia repeated, then strode away from the car.

Jo waited until her boss went inside, then sat for a moment, wondering what the other woman had said that had upset Lydia so much.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

“It’s not what you think,” JD called out as he walked down the hallway toward his office.

“Really?” Kline said, the sarcasm like fire in his tone.

JD glanced over his shoulder. He didn’t like the tone he was hearing. He’d never seen his second-in-command so mad. Well, at least not recently.

“I’d be careful if I were you,” JD said, although he knew he would never do anything to Kline.

“Do you know how foolish you were?” Kline said. “If you’re going to go out like that, I need to know about it. I have to be able to cover things.”

JD’s hand shook as he unlocked his office door. Kline was furious, but so was he. In part at Kline, but also because he knew the man was right. He shouldn’t have sneaked away from his dinner engagement like he had. Still . . .

“How dare you talk to me like this.”

He pushed open the door and stepped back. Kline walked past him and into the office, then whirled around.

“I can’t protect you if you’re going to do things like that,” Kline said. “It’s not that simple. You have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. You just meet with them, do your thing, and then you come home like it’s no big deal. But it is. And it’s only going to get worse as your political career rises. Do you know how many people want to come after you now? And that number is only going to grow. You screw up, and people are going to see dollar signs, a way to get at you. If you keep up this behavior, the coverups are only going to get more complicated.”

He had his back to JD, which was probably good. Right at that moment, JD didn’t want to see Kline’s face—he probably would hit him. Kline may have understood security, but he didn’t understand the pressures JD was under. It was worse right now, given the situation with Fontenot, and the bank. He stood with his fists balled at his sides, taking a deep breath so he wouldn’t say anything rash.

“Did you get the woman to sign an NDA?” Kline asked, his back still toward JD.

He nodded as if Kline could see him. “Don’t worry, I took care of it.” He felt the papers in his pocket. “She’s not going to talk.”

“We’ve heard that before.”

“It’s going to be okay,” JD said. “You’re taking care of everything, just like before.”

He flashed to that time long ago. He didn’t think he could ever be that stressed again. But then, he’d never made such a drastic choice to resolve a situation, either.

JD had been different then, less able to control his emotions. He’d been stressed when he was around the house, and he’d snapped at Lydia more than he should have. But he’d gotten it together, and things had been running smoothly. Lydia hadn’t known a thing.

Right?

Lydia. The tension around the house was like black smoke now, and he was working hard to make sure he acted nonchalant so that she didn’t suspect anything. At least the boys didn’t live at home anymore, so they wouldn’t see their parents together. Lydia would never tell them there were problems between the two of them. Still, Kline had a point. JD shouldn’t have seen that woman, shouldn’t have done anything tonight. He swore silently.

Why did he keep making those choices?

“Did you at least get rid of the drive?” Kline asked, his voice a little calmer.

“Not yet,” JD said.

Kline whirled around. “Why the hell not?”

He shrugged. “We might need it?”

“You want to keep the evidence lying around? What are you, some kind of common crook, wanting to look at the mementos from your crimes?” Kline’s jabbed a finger. “Shut the damn door.”

JD was still standing in the doorway, and he hadn’t even realized that in his anger, he had left it open. He leaned back and glanced up and down the hall, then stepped into the room and quietly shut the door. He stared at Kline.

“Don’t worry, no one was out there.”

“As I’ve said many times, I get paid to worry.” Kline raked a hand through his hair. “Look, boss, I shouldn’t have yelled at you, but I’m worried.”

JD went to the coffee table for a cigar. He clipped the end, lit it, and puffed slowly as he sat down. He contemplated the red, burning tip of the cigar, then looked at Kline.

“What’s going on?”

“I looked into that employee from the bank,” Kline said. “I can’t figure out why she would talk to the police. She was paid well. My guy threatened her—and her family, too. She never should’ve opened her mouth.”

“Even if she talks, what can she tell them?”

Kline paced. “That’s the problem—I don’t know. But she could’ve seen something that she’d end up telling the police, and it would lead back to my guy.”

“He won’t say anything.”

“No,” Kline said. “It’s still a risk. If the police find him and start asking questions, you never know if it’ll come back to us. No matter how much you think you’ve covered your tracks, you can be tripped up.” He stopped and turned to face JD, hands on his hips. “That’s why I want you to be careful. You don’t know what might happen.”

His words, and the slow and careful way he said them, sank in. JD puffed on the cigar and blew smoke into the air. He was trying to appear calm, but inside, his nerves were like shattered glass, the shards cutting at him. He never should’ve met the woman tonight. Why? he chided himself. It was a double-edged sword. He knew he shouldn’t be doing those things, but they were the very things that seemed to ease the burdens on him.

At least until he had to face Kline. Then the pressures were back. He puffed on the cigar again, and when he knew he could keep his voice calm, he spoke.

“Still nothing from your contact at the police department?”

Kline shook his head. “I don’t like it. I’m asking around, but I’ve got to be careful. Something’s going on, though.”

“I’m sure you’ll get to the bottom of it.”