“I want daily conference calls while we work out the details. Paul, put Sam and Rita on handling his house arrest, and give them as many people as they request on the rotation. Use a cover story that there was a credible threat and we’re assisting the Secret Service. I’m comfortable trusting the lady shooter’s safety to Marcus and the marshals he assigned. Get her tucked away for tonight, start debriefing her tomorrow.”
“We’ll be able to handle it, sir.”
The director nodded. “There’s no choice but to handle it.”
Paul took the next hour to get security arrangements made for the VP and confirmed the lady shooter had an airtight security configuration waiting for her. After he finally saw both on their way, he went looking for Ann. She had disappeared shortly after the discussion with the director. He thought she would be somewhere reading the chapter the VP had sent her, or sketching out on a pad her notes for the events of tonight. She wasn’t in the conference room. He headed down to his office. She wasn’t there either. He pulled out his phone to call her, then saw the office light that was on. He leaned against the doorframe to Rita’s office. “Hi.”
“Rita said I could use her system since she has the double monitors.”
“No problem.” Ann was playing back the hospital security tapes. Every camera feed for the hours before and after the lady shooter’s arrest had been put to disk for them. “What are you looking for?”
“I thought I would go tell her husband she’s okay.”
He pulled out a chair beside her.
“She was comfortable in that hospital. You don’t miss noticing someone with those facial injuries. Staff knew her and thought nothing of her being there in the middle of the night. She was on the surgical floor to leave that tape. Her husband is a surgeon who saved her life.”
“You think her husband works at the hospital.”
Ann found the moment she wanted, of the lady shooter on her way into the hospital. The lady stopped on the walkway from the parking garage to the hospital’s main building, stood for a moment looking over and up, then turned and went into the hospital. Ann ran the same camera forward to the middle of the night. She pointed to a lit window in an otherwise dark floor. “There he is, watching, hoping to see you leave with her. Do you want to go tell him she’s okay? I’d like to do something nice tonight.”
The odds were good Ann was right. “She’s got witness protection and house arrest. He’ll be able to see her once this settles down. Let’s go find his name, find him, and tell him she’s okay.”
31
Ann was growing comfortable in this home that was no longer just Paul’s but hers as well. She picked up the yellow legal pad and the letter she had written for her husband and went to find him. She found him in the kitchen, fixing dinner for them both.
“Hi.” She slid her arms around him and rested her head against his back. She loved being able to hug him.
He shifted so he could kiss her. “Welcome home.”
She’d spent the last week in the solitude of her private quarters. She’d slept, read a stack of books, and painted in her studio. She felt more relaxed than she had in more than a year.
Paul brushed back her hair. “You look more rested.”
“I needed the week.”
“I know you did.” He kissed her again. “I missed you.”
She leaned into him, loving him. “Can you read my writing?”
He looked at the pad of paper and smiled. “I can probably work through it.”
“How did Black survive?”
“He slept outside your door for the first three days, then conceded he’d come sleep in the master bedroom. I think he’s now crashed in the den watching that animal video you got him.” They heard a clatter and a thump. “Change that. He’s heard you. He’s coming.”
The dog skidded around the corner into the kitchen, his tail slapping everything he passed.
“Hey, gorgeous.” Ann knelt to hug him. She laughed and glanced up at Paul. “He’s not being annoyed with me this time.”
“He’s just glad to have you around again.” Paul turned down the heat and reached behind him for a spoon. “Try this and tell me what you think.”
She accepted the spoon and sampled the sauce. “It’s good.”
“It’s Jackie’s new pineapple sauce to go over ice cream. She also sent over her roast beef dish and some kind of corn dish she’s experimenting with. I promised her your opinion.”
“I’ll be glad to give it.”
Ann slid onto a stool to watch him finish putting together the meal. “I’d offer to help, but, well, you know.”
Paul smiled. “First night back is on me,” he reassured her. “Tomorrow night you can choose which restaurant we call for delivery.”
Tomorrow night. A lifetime of events from now. Tomorrow it would begin.
The VP autobiography was shipping tonight, and sometime in the next couple of hours copies would be delivered to their door. By morning the media would have the biggest story of their year, and tonight no one out there knew it was coming.
Every hour of tomorrow had been scheduled with attention to every detail. The VP would be arraigned at noon and plead guilty, with a deal for a five-year prison sentence. The expectation of a pardon to commute his sentence to house arrest was likely, but it wouldn’t come before sentencing, a month away. The lady shooter had agreed to sit for an interview in a location carefully designed to keep her secure. Ann would join Paul for two interviews and a press conference. Sam and Rita would sit with Paul for a series of interviews over the coming week as reporters got their hands around all the elements of what had occurred.
“Don’t look so sad.”
Ann glanced up and offered a half smile. “It’s more relief, and a desire to be past this. I’m not really worried. So many secrets will be released that speculation about who wrote the diary is going to get buried under more interesting facts for the reporters to concentrate on.”
“You have this place to hide in, and if necessary a plane trip to anywhere you wish to go. I won’t let the press be a problem for you.”
“I know. Vicky is coming?”
“Vicky and Boone will be here when we get home tomorrow night.”
Ann was grateful. “I need to tell Kate, before she hears it on the news.”
“Call her after the book arrives and read her the chapters.”
“When do you want to tell your family?”
“I arranged a family call for very early in the morning. Whoever is around will be on it, and I’ll post an audio of the call so others in the family can listen to the news.” Paul set a plate before her. “Eat while this is hot.”
Paul fixed himself a plate and slid onto a stool beside her. They ate occasionally at the dining room table, but both preferred the simplicity of this.
“You can tell Jackie it’s wonderful.”
Paul smiled. “She’s nervous about food in a way I wouldn’t have expected. You look really good in my shirt, by the way.”
“I rather like this one.”
“Did you and Lovely get a chance to talk?”
“We did. I needed that kind of week even more than I did the sleep. There was a lot to catch up on, and a lot to prepare for. He told me not to fear what was coming, that He was with me.”
Paul squeezed her hand. “So am I.”
“I know.”
“I’m glad you had that time.” Paul pulled the pad of paper over. “What did you write me in your letter?”
She smiled and let him read. She was coming to like these monthly letters to her husband. She saw him wince and figured he had reached her list of minor things that had to be mentioned. He wanted to know, and she was doing her best to be honest and tell him. Next he laughed. She relaxed. She’d planned what she wanted to sneak into the letter, and it sounded like she was going to get her wish.
She got up to fix a bowl of ice cream with pineapple sauce and brought back two spoons. “I’ll share.”
&n
bsp; He considered her over a spoonful of ice cream.
“You really want another honeymoon?”
She smiled. “I’ll be better at it the second time around. You’ll need a reason to get away from the weight of the job for a couple weeks once this settles down. It will be something to look forward to.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“I wouldn’t mind a repeat of last time.”
“I can arrange something for when this is over.” He studied her face. “Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?”
“I expect it’s going to be choppy. I’m nervous about the interviews. I’m glad you’re going to be doing them with me.”
“You won’t have to do any of the interviews alone. I was thinking for tonight you might want to see an old movie. We’ll share the couch for a few hours.”
“My favorite way to pass an evening.”
He caught her hand as she slid off the stool. “I’m glad you married me before this day arrived. You could have asked to wait, and you didn’t.”
She linked her fingers with his. “I made the right decision. I love you.”
“I figured that out when you agreed to the wedding.” He leaned forward to kiss her. “You want popcorn for the movie?”
“I do, if only because Black likes to mooch.”
“I’ll fix it while you choose the movie. Tomorrow, when the day is getting chaotic, remember the peace of tonight. We’ll have more quiet evenings like this one eventually.”
“It’s what I’m counting on.”
“Ann?”
She stopped tugging away from him and smiled at him. “Yes, Paul?”
“If you’re going to be up reading tonight, I might join you. You still owe me Tom and Jennifer’s story. Print me out a copy?”
“It’s just a background piece, not a story, but I’ll make you a copy.”
“I like your love stories. When you finish writing ours, I’d like to read it first.”
She blushed. “How did you know I was working on our story?”
“You smile when you’re writing on that pad of paper, and you often get lost in thought looking at me. I know your expressions. You’re remembering this last year together.”
“You are the best part of this year.”
“I’d agree with that. You are the best part of mine.”
“You need to let go of my hand.”
“In a minute. I love you, Ann. I know your secrets, I know what the next few days are going to bring. I’m going to protect you, have a non-answer ready when the questions get posed I don’t want you to deal with. You’ll let me protect you and speak for you tomorrow when necessary.”
She thoughtfully nodded. “I’m going to let you handle as much of it as possible. I don’t want to be famous, or known, or be the center of attention. I’ll gladly let you speak for me.”
He kissed her palm and released her hand.
He watched his wife and his dog disappear into the den. Tomorrow he got to be a husband when it mattered the most, when the world came tossing questions at his wife. She’d handle the VP story, she’d handle the questions about the chapter she had written, and he would get her through the chaos of the day. He had wanted the role of husband, and he had it now. He’d make sure she was carrying her duty weapon, he’d make sure she was in comfortable shoes, and he’d make sure there was a good book tossed in her flight bag so he could carve out thirty minutes of sanity for her whenever he could.
He fixed popcorn and thought about a year ago. He decided God had answered most of his hopes and most of his dreams. He’d found a good wife. The details were still unfolding for what that meant, but it was a change he’d wanted, needed. He liked being a husband. And sometime after this was over he was going to have to tell her the director had formally asked him to take over the Chicago office. He’d let her decide if he should take it. He’d had enough of the politics of being in charge during the last few months to last for a lifetime. He thought he’d enjoy going back to being just a murder cop.
“Black, I get the couch tonight, buddy.”
The dog dropped from the couch back to the floor, and spotted the bowl of popcorn. He came over with a wagging tail and upturned face. Paul had brought a paper plate for him and dumped two handfuls on it. The dog had to step on the plate to keep it from sliding around the room. Paul settled on the couch with Ann.
“We both spoil him.”
Paul smiled. “We do. I like spoiling my family.” He leaned over to kiss her again because she was near, because he could. “I think we should spend part of a honeymoon being tourists again. You can fly us to all the interesting spots for taking pictures, the Grand Canyon, the Tetons, the beauty of the Great Plains. I’d like a few hours in the air with you, where no one can interrupt a long conversation.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“I’ll come up with something. I’ve missed you, Ann. It’s been too much work and not enough time hanging out with you.”
She laid her hand against the side of his face. “We’ll get it balanced again. I think spending some time being tourists sounds perfect. And there is nothing I like better than to fly for a few hours for pleasure. I would love spending that time with you.”
“It’s a date then. We haven’t had enough of them.”
She smiled. “I’ll put it on my calendar.”
“I found your calendar in my briefcase the other day. That tells me how much you missed it. It’s probably been there for about a month.”
“I’m like Black. My schedule is to see where you are and follow you.”
He laughed. “I do like that about you, Ann. You keep your priorities straight.”
The dog pushed at him for more popcorn. He refilled Black’s plate.
Ann started the movie. “If I could define what I most want in life, it’s this, an evening with you.”
He dropped a kiss on her hair. “There will be more of them. That’s a promise. We’re in this together, forever.”
Dee Henderson is the author of sixteen novels, including the acclaimed O’MALLEY series and the UNCOMMON HEROES series. Her books have won or been nominated for several prestigious industry awards, such as the RWA’s RITA Award, the Christy Award, and the ECPA Gold Medallion. Dee is a lifelong resident of Illinois. Visit her at DeeHenderson.com.
To view the video trailer, read the extras, and join other readers to discuss this book, visit:
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Books by Dee Henderson
* * *
Danger in the Shadows
The Negotiator
The Guardian
The Truth Seeker
The Protector
The Healer
The Rescuer
True Devotion
True Valor
True Honor
Kidnapped
Before I Wake
The Witness
God’s Gift
The Marriage Wish
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