Read Online Lazar's Intrigue (The Jack Lazar Series) by Kevin Sterling - Free Book Online Page B

So there was ultimately no
choice for Jack but to leave the company quietly, and Hesterling won without a
fight.
    Jack
thought back to the time he and Lisa had together, which began two years ago on
Christmas Eve. The two of them decided to stay up late and sit next to the fire
after everyone else adjourned to bed. They talked for hours and became ever
more attracted to each other as the night wore on.
    Lisa
was so vibrant and young, just twenty-five at the time, and her azure eyes conveyed
such joy and compassion for everything in the world. She tossed her golden hair
from side to side as she spoke to him that night, her virtuous smiles drawing
him in. Jack had never met a kinder, more delightful person, and he couldn’t
help but act charming in return, nor from falling for her. And before either of
them took the time to think about it, they were making love by the fire.
    After
that night, they met whenever possible, but always on the sly, and they grew to
be the best of friends, often doing nothing that Harry Benson would have
objected to. Lisa said she almost told her father about the affair, but she
couldn’t go through with it. She knew he would think it inappropriate, given
the nature of their quasi-familial relationship, for her to pursue Jack, or for
Jack to pursue her. And she couldn’t stomach the thought of bearing her
father’s disapproval.
    So,
after the incident with Sean, they simply cut off their romantic relationship,
and their rendezvous regressed to simple lunches during which they spoke of “Harry
Benson’s pain”. Neither of them could handle the guilt of further deceiving the
man by continuing the affair, and throwing it out in the open would only make
things worse. Consequently, the spark between them passed, and they took new
paths toward separate lives.
    Jack
never knew how Gerald Hesterling found out about the affair. He could only
assume the son of a bitch had hired a private investigator to follow him around
until they found something to use against him. But now Jack had some ammunition
against Hesterling, and he would use it to vindicate the loss of his job, not
to mention Sean’s death. The big question was how. No doubt, walking into
Harry’s office tomorrow morning and announcing that Gerald Hesterling was doing
business with drug dealers was not the right approach. All of his proof was circumstantial
at best. Besides, a man like Hesterling probably had a million ways to
discredit such an accusation, making Jack look like an idiot in the process.
    No.
The possibility of letting him win a second time was not acceptable. Jack would
work diligently to build a case against Hesterling, using every resource at his
disposal to destroy the man. And not until he was fully prepared would he show
his hand.
    Jack
wondered how many kids like Sean had destroyed their lives with Hesterling’s
and Antonucci’s help. How could these men look in the mirror every morning and
feel good about themselves? How evil they must be. How selfish and inhumane. They
deserved everything Jack’s imagination planned for them.
    It
was time to plot his strategy, to mount his attack. And perhaps with Sarina’s
help they could nail Antonucci and Hesterling to the wall together.

 
    SEVEN
     
     
    “As
I’ve already told you several times now, Mr. Lazar, Miss Anapoulos is on
assignment out of the country.” The switchboard operator at the DEA’s Los
Angeles office sounded nasal and unconcerned.
    Jack
had tried to reach Sarina for three days, but so far she had either not
received his messages or was intentionally avoiding him.
    “Isn’t
there some way you can contact her? I mean, the woman must have a cell phone
with international roaming.”
    “Sir,
I don’t have that kind of information.”
    “Well,
someone does. Will you please ask?”
    “All
I can do is pass on your message.”
    “Look.
I have some information that is absolutely critical to her case.”
    “I’ll
make a note of it.”
    Jack
sighed.