Page 72 of Idaho

"We need you to call off Fremont," Lock said.

Powell's brows rose as he looked at each of us in turn. "I don't have any authority over the district attorney."

"Not officially," I replied, "but we know you have a… personal… relationship with him." We didn't really, but the redness sweeping up Powell's neck confirmed it. "So, you're going to do what we ask."

"Or what?" he dared.

"We currently have a foreign dignitary staying with us. The Grand Duke of Luxembourg has tasked us with watching over his daughter while she visits Tucson." My words caused Powell's face to pale, washing away all the earlier anger. "If you don't want to deal with an international incident within your city, you'll do as we say."

"You can't be serious." He looked at each of us again, but none of us spoke. "You're blackmailing me."

"No," Lock said, shaking his head, "we're giving you an opportunity. One that will keep your name from being dragged through the mud. If something happens to Lady Tatiana while she's under our care, because Fremont couldn't resist coming after us, then it's going to not only fall on him, but you as well. We'll make sure of it."

The fact that he wasn't denying knowledge of Fremont's grudge against us told me we had him rattled. He was panicking, trying to figure out what to do. He may not necessarily be directly involved with Fremont's vendetta against Lockout and the others, but he knew about it and didn't try to stop it. That made him just as guilty in my book. Not to mention, he likely knew about everything else Fremont was involved in, and really, I just hated dirty, corrupt officials. Shit stains like this shouldn't be in charge. They didn't deserve the position.

"How do I know you're not lying about her being here?" he asked.

"Do you really want to take the chance?" Lock countered.

"If you doubt it, call her father." Reaching forward, I grabbed a pen and wrote down a number on a sheet of paper nearby.

"You can't write on-" he gave up as I finished, sighing.

Grabbing the phone, he dialed the number I'd gotten from Eva's contact list last night.

"His name is Louis," I offered.

"Hello, is this..." Powell stuttered to a stop. "Well, Sir, I got this number from Levi Sharpe. He claims that he is in charge of protection for your daughter while she-" He jerked the phone away from his ear and we could hear Eva's father laying into him. "Just one moment." With a resigned look, he handed the phone over to me.

"Hello again," I said into the phone, my eyes on Powell.

"What the hell is going on, Sharpe?"

"The mayor found out we had royalty visiting our fair city and is making things...difficult," I told him. "He doesn't believe who Tatiana is and is unwilling to allow us to do what we need to remain anonymous and protect her."

"Give the phone back to him," Louis ordered. I handed it over.

"You're in deep shit now," Hush muttered with a grin.

Powell shot him a dark look as he answered the phone. "Yes? Well you can't expect me to take their word for-" He fell silent once more, then the cell phone sitting on his desk chimed. He picked it up and read something. "How did you get my email so quickly?"

"He has people for that," I answered, but Powell was busy cringing at whatever the duke was telling him.

"Yes, Sir. I'm more than happy to assist your daughter in any way I can while she's here. Oh, you're coming, too?"

Lockout shot me a look and I shook my head. "Tell you later," I promised.

Powell hung up the phone and blew out a breath. He wasn't happy, but his next words satisfied me. "I'll make that call as soon as you leave my office."

"Pleasure doing business with you," I told him and we walked out.

Lock wrote down a new number on the same sheet of paper I used, ignoring Powell's dirty look as he messed up more of the document. "Text that number when you've gotten Fremont in line," he ordered. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning. Leadership suited Lock. Watching him command the Mayor of Tucson was making my day. Getting back to Eva would override the event, but for now, it was the highlight.

Powell just entered the number into his phone and nodded. While still looking at the phone, he said, "You know that she'll have to go home at some point."

I gave him an innocent smile, pretending like I didn't hear the implied threat. "Don't you worry about that, I'll take care of any lingering business long before she has to leave." I winked and we strolled out.

"You gave him your number?" Hush asked.