Page 116 of No More Lies
“Good morning.” Diane’s voice took him by surprise.
“Angel. I thought you were still sleeping.” Steve jumped up and went over to her in the doorway.
“I slept nine hours, that’s double what I’m used to. I think I’m good.” She gave him a small smile.
Steve leaned down and kissed her on the lips and her smile widened.
“If you guys need to talk, I can get out of your way.” She was still wearing his t-shirt, but she had put on leggings. She looked sexy, vulnerable and cute at the same time.
“No. Come sit.” Steve led her to the couch. “Sam, whatever updates there are, I’m sure Diane would like to know, too. It’s not like she doesn't know what’s going on.” He waited to see if Sam would object, but Sam merely nodded.
“Of course. I’m very sorry about what happened to you, Diane.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Diane relaxed against Steve’s side and placed a cushion under her arm. “How are Melanie and Natasha, and little Anya?”
“Ms. Costas is home and asked me to pass along her phone number to you. She said when you’re ready, she’d love to hear from you. I put the number in your phone.”
Steve saw the confusion on her face. “Sam got you a new phone.” He gestured to the table.
“Oh, thank you. That’s so kind.”
“You’re welcome. Anya is with her mother and the two of them are staying with a friend. Natasha has been very helpful in providing some background on Volkov and has agreed to work with the FBI. She will be allowed to collect some personal belongings, but the house, together with all of Volkov’s assets, are being seized and frozen, pending a full investigation.”
“And Volkov?”
“He’s in custody and won’t talk without a lawyer, but we have plenty on him now. Kelly, Mira, and our intel team were able to connect him to several deals with the terrorist organization. His inside man at the airport has also been arrested.”
“Reborn and the sarin?”
Sam turned his attention to Steve and Steve held his gaze. He wasn't apologizing for telling Diane about Reborn or the sarin. “She knows Volkov was about to hand her off to Aziz.”
Sam nodded and spoke again to Diane. “Yes. We are working right now on finding the leaders of Reborn. It may take some time, but we’ll get them.”
“Good,” Diane said simply.
Steve would probably get a dressing down for sharing too much, but Diane had a right to know. She’d been caught right in the middle.
“What about Anya? Will she stay with her mom now?”
“Ms. Costas is going to seek full custody, and she should get it. Turns out Volkov was blackmailing a judge to ensure the hearing would go his way. FBI uncovered that little gem. I won’t share what Volkov had on him, but it wasn't good.”
“That’s why he wouldn’t listen when I told him we didn’t have enough to win.”
“Correct. It didn’t matter.”
“That man has ruined so many lives.”
As silence fell on the room, Steve looked between Dex and Sam. There was more. This time Dex spoke.
“Diane. McCormick and Michaels were arrested late last night.”
Diane gasped and he squeezed her to him.
“How involved were they?” Steve asked.
“Dale—sorry, Diane—Dale is our FBI contact. Dale’s team went over everything you provided. There’s nothing to suggest they knew about what he was transporting, but there was enough there to suggest they were covering up wire transfers, and falsifying documents.”
“I can’t believe it,” Diane said quietly. She raised her voice and asked, “What does that mean for the firm?”