Read Online Seduction in Session by Shayla Black, Lexi Blake - Free Book Online Page A

remedy that. He’s actually influential in a very quiet way. I invited him to dinner. So why are you protecting Lara Armstrong? I thought you were going to have Capitol Scandals shut down, not play bodyguard. Wait. He said she was in the hospital. Was she involved in the shooting on 2nd Street?”
    He had to give his commander in chief credit. He wasn’t slow on the uptake. “The police suspect it was random, but they were trying to get Lara, Zack. He pointed that gun straight at her head. She needs me, and I need access to her daily life if I’m going to find whatever information she knows. Now I have access, and in order to keep her cover,we’ll play boyfriend and girlfriend. Don’t be surprised if you see pictures of us. No matter what I do, a senator’s daughter getting caught in the middle of gunfire is going to make the news.”
    So he would play her mystery guy. He already had everything in place. His cover would hold. The reporters who looked him up would see exactly what he wanted them to see.
    “You really think she’s going to lead you to Nata?” She’d been Zack’s childhood nanny. From what Connor knew about Zack’s upbringing, he was fairly certain Natalia had been more of a mother than Zack’s biological mom. There had been rumors for years that Mrs. Hayes had a drinking problem. Her accidental death had been blamed on slick roads, but the whispers had never ceased.
    “I think she’s the only lead I have. We know the informant wanted Everly to reach out to Lara. He said Lara had another piece of the puzzle. I’m betting that piece is Natalia’s location.” In fact, he was betting a lot on that.
    “I don’t know, Connor. I’ve been talking to Roman about this. Maybe we should leave it alone.” Zack’s voice turned low, a sure sign he was uncertain.
    In this case, he couldn’t follow Zack’s lead. This was Connor’s area of expertise. “And potentially have this come back to bite you in the ass?”
    “Me? Whatever happened was probably my dad’s doing, but his dementia is getting worse every day. Last week, when I reminded him that I was his son, he told me he didn’t have one.” Zack cleared his throat, and Connor had no doubt his old friend was struggling with his father’s degenerating illness. “So I don’t think my dad will care what the press says. And it couldn’t have been my fault. I was a baby. I don’t think even the press can come up with a way to pin this on me.”
    Oh, but the press could be so creative. Besides, more than the media potentially threatened Zack. The Russian mob was somehow involved in all of this, and he wanted to make sure he put any connections between them and the White House to rest. “It doesn’t matter andyou know it. If you get mired in this kind of a scandal, no one will talk about anything else. Every drop of energy you have will go to changing the dialogue, so every bit of power you have could go down the toilet. We need to find her and shut this down now.” And figure out who the hell the mysterious Sergei was. It was a name he’d come across more than once, and this mysterious Russian seemed to be at the center of everything. He didn’t talk about it with Zack, though. As president of the United States, he had enough to worry about. “I’ll take care of this.”
    “I know you will, Connor. I just can’t stand the fact that Dax got shot and Gabe and Everly almost died over this. I could just come out with this info myself. Maybe if I directly address it, I can shut it down.” A long sigh sounded over the line. “Roman’s threatening to hang himself. Or he’s trying to tell me I’m committing political suicide. He’s not very good at charades.”
    He should have known Roman would be there. He was Zack’s right hand. “He might suck at charades, but he plays the game of politics well. Let me handle this. I’ll be fine.”
    “No, I’m not going to ask him . . . What is wrong with you?” Zack’s voice got muffled for