Brock’s jaw pulsed while he nodded his head.
I placed my hand on Brock’s thigh and caressed it. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“I don’t want to keep secrets from you.”
I appreciated that and gave him time to gather his thoughts. I focused on Bing Crosby’s ultimate rendition of “White Christmas” while watching the windshield wipers go back and forth, back and forth. It put me in the mood to watch the movie, if Brock was up to it. The way he was twisting his hands around the steering wheel and stretching his neck from side to side told me that whatever John had done, it was a doozy. I wondered how Sheridan was taking it.
“You have to understand,” Brock finally spoke. “My dad didn’t mean for any of it to happen.”
“That’s what he said the last time we spoke.”
Brock looked surprised that I had spoken to his father somewhat recently, but he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he let out a long breath. “When my dad was a new and eager senator, he was idealistic. He couldn’t be bought by special interest groups because he had already accumulated his own wealth by then. Edward,” he spat out his name, “used that to his advantage. He convinced my dad to sponsor a national security bill that would aid in combating international terrorism as well as protecting our troops overseas. You know how passionate my father is about the military.”
“About as passionate as you are.”
Brock nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Edward knew that too. He also knew my father’s upstanding persona and his passion made him the perfect poster boy to get the bill passed. Edward made sure Dad had audiences with the president and introduced him to all the big players in Washington. What my dad didn’t realize, being so green, was that it was all a ploy. That bill was a cover for more nefarious purposes. Money from it ended up lining the pockets of several politicians. Worse, though, some of it ended up funding weapon purchases for some less than scrupulous military contractors who allowed some of the weapons to end up in the hands of terrorists. Those same weapons cost the lives of several members of our military in Iraq and Syria.”
I gasped and covered my mouth.
Brock’s face tightened and then tightened some more. “Dad was devastated when he found out.”
“How did he find out?”
“Edward, of course,” he growled. “He tried to make it come off like it had all been a horrible misunderstanding. But eventually my father figured out it was all part of Edward’s plan to own him. He got a lot of pet projects done through my dad because of it. He’s held it over my father’s head for years.”
This sounded like something straight out of a movie. “I’m so sorry.”
“My dad was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He was set up to be the fall guy. Something like that could send him to prison. For years, Dad has tried to make up for it. He’s made sure the families of each one of those soldiers who were killed have been provided for. He’s paid for any children they had to go to college and set up funds to aid the widows,” Brock’s voice pleaded with me to understand.
I rubbed Brock’s arm, not knowing what to say.
“I know what you’re thinking. My dad is a coward and he should have done the right thing and come forward about what he knew.”
“I wasn’t exactly thinking that,” I whispered.
“That’s what I’ve been thinking,” his voice broke.
My hand moved up his arm to knead his tight neck. “I’m so sorry. I know how much you’ve looked up to your dad.”
“He’s put us in a hell of a mess. Worse, he got Brant wrapped up in it. My brother,” he said tenderly, “had no idea what kind of man his future father-in-law was.”
“But he and Jill are over, right?”
“Yeah,” Brock scoffed, “but only because Brant was forced to play their sick game.”
I grabbed my heart. “What did he do?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, though the truth now was more important than ever.
Brock carefully switched lanes to pass a car going extra slow on the highway. “He dug up dirt on Jill.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. That didn’t sound so bad. “Am I an awful person if I get a little pleasure out of that?”
Brock’s mood lightened some, and he let out a chuckle. “Not at all. She’s a piece of work. And honestly, she would have ended up being a liability to his campaign.”
“He’s still running?” I had some hope he could still get his dream.
Brock shook his head. “No,” he said solemnly. “He has to walk away. It’s a game of chess now. Brant’s move has checked Edward, for the time being.”