If this information was leaked, Stockton might be able to talk his way out of it and salvage his career. But until he did, his life would become very interesting.
“Revenge or blackmail?” I said.
“Blackmail? That’s illegal. Persuasion, on the other hand—I’m betting Stockton would sure hate to see this stuff come out in a civil trial. He’ll settle out of court, or his network will.”
Politics. Playing each other to get what we wanted. Was there any way to avoid it? Couldn’t we all just get along?
“This is never going to be over, is it?”
“I think your place in American pop culture is assured. You’re going to end up as a question on a game show, you realize.”
I might have groaned. Ben chuckled.
“Sure, go ahead and laugh. It just means job security for you.”
He sat back in his chair, abandoning the paperwork for a moment. He wore a vague, amused grin. “I know what Cormac sees in you.”
“What, a target?”
“Not at all. He’s downright smitten.”
“Huh?” Constantly making veiled threats constituted smitten? To an eight-year-old, maybe. And how many times had he come to my rescue now? Urgh . . .
“It’s true. I’ve known him since we were kids.”
“Kids? Really? How?”
“We’re cousins. I probably shouldn’t even be saying this—”
Cousins? Had to keep him talking. “No, please. Say this. What does Cormac see in me?”
“You’re tough. Tough and whiny at the same time. It’s kind of cute.”
I couldn’t tell if he was making fun of me or not. Time to change the subject.
“So you’ve always known Cormac. Was he always like that?”
“Like what?”
“Hard-nosed. Humorless.”
“No, I suppose not. But you have to go back a long way to see him any different. He lost both his parents pretty young. I figure he deserves to be as humorless as he wants.”
Even saying “I’m sorry” sounded lame at that point.
“You told me once that Cormac likes seeing how close to the edge he can get without falling off. What about you? Why do you hunt vampires?”
He shrugged. “I don’t hunt anything, really. I just look out for my friends. That’s all.”
Which made him a good person to have at your back—all anyone could ask for, really. That, and an honest lawyer, all wrapped into one.
“When are you going back to Denver?”
“After I file suit in court. Though it may not come to that. I’ve gotten word from both Duke’s office and the NIH that they’re willing to settle. Duke won’t want to settle, but if the Senate Ethics Committee gets involved, he may come around. There are still criminal charges pending, but this might not drag on so long.”
“Thanks for doing all this. I don’t even care about the money, you know. I just want a little old-fashioned revenge.”
“That’s the best part,” he said, grinning his hawk’s grin, the one