Every Action (The Gifted Realm Book 3)

by Jillian Neal

  “Now, if that weren’t enough, I’d pled with my opponent to allow our family their annual trip to the beach for Labor Day. While we were there, he hired not one but three private investigators to follow my children and myself. I believe Iodex has documentation to prove this; do you not Daniel?” The governor quizzed Vindico.

  Vindico moved in front of the microphone.

  “I have copies of the checks, paid for out of former Governor Peterson’s personal checking account, in my possession.” He informed the cameras before he stepped away.

  “Then, one of my youngest sons was taken while on the boardwalk with his brothers and sister. Try to imagine for just a moment the hell that my wife and I went through when the same man that attempted to kill my wife had his hands on my little boy.” The Governor choked over the emotion of the memory.

  “You can see them here today.” He gestured to Henry who was in Emily’s arms and Keaton who was in Patrick’s. “It seems the Realm has taken everything else so I figured you might as well have pictures of them as well.” The Governor spat angrily, before he continued.

  “Then and there, I decided I wasn’t putting Lillian and my children through that kind of horrendous abuse. I would just not run. But you see it got so much worse.” The governor shook his head in disbelief.

  “Now, what I’m about to say I’m not supposed to tell you. I’m not supposed to even know this, but I’m exhausted of the games and the lies and the nightmare that I’ve forced my wife and my family to live, so Dan if you want to arrest me then go right ahead. Right here on national television, I’m going to tell the Realm that my opponent accepted a substantial cash donation to his campaign, the first of many, from the head of the Interfeci organization, Dominic Wretchkinsides.” He dared anyone or anything to object.

  “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t turn the Realm that Joseph Lawson, Gavin Willow, Arthur Vindico, Regis Carrington and I worked so hard to establish over to criminals. So, I decided to take Dan up on his offer of broad range protection for my family. I tried to convince myself that it was for the best for my family. You see, I don’t want my wife or my children, or my grandchildren…” he gestured to Will and Brooke who was so full of Will’s son she could hardly stand. “To live in a Realm governed by criminals either.

  “I was blasted by my opponent and by the press for the money it was costing to keep my family safe, but I forged on. Then my wife was rushed to a specialist a few weekends ago in tremendous pain.” The Governor shook his head at the memory.

  “We found out that our child is different, special if you will, or will have a few special needs. We had no time to be with one another to process that information, or for me to be of any assurance to my wife, before we found out that my opponent had bribed an orderly at the Medio Specialist’s office. So, a few hours after we’d been given the information the Realm also knew of our news. Not only that but that the Realm was infuriated that we’d decided to keep our child, due to the news that she might not be Gifted.” He shook his head in disgust.

  “So, I gave yet another speech, fighting and vying for the Realm to remember who I was and what I’d done. I’ve dedicated the last thirty years of my life to being a Governor for this Realm. I fought and worked desperately to ratify the Constitution that Joseph Lawson wrote and ultimately died to uphold. That was in the past, and it didn’t seem to matter. The fact that my child might not be Gifted meant more.” He lambasted the viewers.

  “My child, my little girl…” Governor Haydenshire’s eyes flashed furiously. “See, we’ll never know why this happened, if it was the poison that my wife ingested or if it’s our age that caused these complications. There are many reasons my little girl will be the way she will be, but until this moment I’d not pointed that out.

  “Lillian didn’t want me to share that, or to place blame, but you see, I will never believe that it’s our age.” He emphasized the word ‘our.’ “My wife, the love of my life, has delivered me ten, beautiful, healthy children, and just a mere two years ago she gave me our twins. So, no, I don’t believe our age has anything to do with this. I will always believe that Roberto Vasquez, under orders of the man funding my opponent’s campaign, not only hurt Lillian but hurt my child as well.” The newscasters present reeled inaudibly from the Governor’s statements.

  “But it continued…” the Governor stated almost in disbelief. “My daughter, who was driving the twins, was nearly run off the road after a handgun was aimed at her from another vehicle. Then, last night, as the campaign is finally winding down, I thought I could give my wife one night to have her children surround her and for our lives to resemble something normal. I found out during dessert that my opponent has placed a camera in a hotel smoke detector and caught my campaign manager coming to my room to ask me a question in the middle of the night.” He huffed indignantly. “I will be happy to stand up here and tell you that I have never and would never cheat on Lillian.”

  He reached and took Mrs. Haydenshire’s hand. She smiled up at him sweetly.

  “She is the love of my life, and I understand that the photos in the papers this morning look bad. I will tell you that Judy Young knocked on my door, in the middle of the night, and I answered the door. She asked me a quick question regarding campaign fund accounts. I answered her question, and she returned to the room she was sharing with her husband.” He vowed adamantly. He shook his head with defiance armored in his drive.

  “But I’ve decided that the only people I need to believe me are standing on this stage with me right now. If you want to believe me, then I certainly appreciate it as I’ve spent most of my life trying desperately to fight for the good. I’ve tried to be a fine, upstanding citizen, and in all my years as Governor of this Realm I have never lied to this Realm. So, it seems you should believe me now, but I also know that, as people, we tend to believe what we want to hear and see only what we want to see.

  “So, I stand here today, and I’m not even going to ask you to vote for me. I’m simply going to ask you this…” the Governor paused dramatically. “Do you want to vote for a man who is capable of doing all that has been done to my family and to myself? Do you want Lachland Peterson running this Realm?” He quizzed quietly, with the strength of a man who’d done nothing wrong and who had truly decided that he didn’t have anything left to lose.

  After the Governor was done, Vindico explained what had happened in Portland the night before, and Buffet declared that he’d never made a phone call to Judy in the middle of the night.

  Then the waiting began...

  Thursday evening Rainer and Emily paced with all of the Haydenshires in the Governor’s campaign headquarters. They watched as the numbers continued to roll in.

  Everyone waited anxiously for the polls on the west coast to close. Patrick and Will counted the votes as they were phoned in.

  The photos of Governor Haydenshire and Judy had done a great deal of damage, but the testimonies of Vindico and the arrests had done some repair. It was anyone’s guess at this point.

  “They have to believe him.” Emily hushed nervously as Rainer nodded his understanding.

  “They will,” he vowed fervently as he prayed that the Realm would.

  By 12:45 the twins were sound asleep in the portable cribs the Haydenshires had brought for the evening. Will leapt onto a table and held up the final tally sheet.

  “Dad won with sixty-eight percent of the vote!” he declared. Everyone cheered quietly as not to wake the twins.

  Utter relief washed through Rainer as he lifted Emily off of the ground in his exuberance. Governor Haydenshire shook his head in disbelief as Mrs. Haydenshire wrapped her arms around him.

  Rainer smiled as he watched them. He knew that he was in the presence of a true and lasting love. It was one he felt so blessed to be a small part of.

  A Collective Disaster

  While Emily was in the shower, the next day, Rainer phoned the Hotel Royale to make certain that all of the provisions he’d ordered and paid f
or were being taken care of.

  He was assured that the roses and the wine had already been delivered, and that the candles would be lit and the flowers would be on the bed when he and Emily arrived that evening, after the Governor’s inaugural ball.

  Though he tried to focus on their evening together, Rainer’s heart ached every time he thought of driving her to the airport the next morning, and then of not seeing her for over three weeks.

  Vindico had assured him that although Wretchkinsides had a set up in Rio several years before, that Anthony Pravis, the man who’d run the Rio branch of Interfeci, had been moved to Columbia and that operations had temporarily been shut down in Rio. He felt that Emily would be perfectly safe as long as Garrett went along, and Brazilian Iodex was aware the Angels were in the country working. Garrett was going with the Angels as their security and their contact with the orphanage.

  Logan sank down at the kitchen table and poured himself a bowl of cereal; though, it was noon. They hadn’t gotten home until nearly three in the morning, after helping the Governor’s campaign staff clean up and clear away the remnants of the campaign.

  “So,” Logan quizzed with a wry smile. “About how much fun are you going to be for the next three weeks? You know, just so I can plan accordingly.”

  “Shut up, Logan.” Rainer quipped. Logan grimaced and rolled his eyes.

  “About that much, huh?”

  “She’ll be gone almost a month. That is a long time.” Rainer knew that he sounded like a whining child. Emily emerged from the shower with her hair twisted up in a towel and was wearing her least attractive bathrobe. She marched to the table.

  “What if some girl, at the Senate, has just been waiting on me to leave, and then she’s going to ask you out?” Her eyes were spinning wildly as she fought tears. Logan shook his head.

  “Ok, I’m going back in there to eat. You two are a collective disaster.” He refilled his bowl and moved back to his and Adeline’s room.

  “Well, are you going to say yes?” Emily demanded insanely.

  “Sweetheart,” Rainer soothed. This was not the first time over the past week that she’d dreamed up something so outlandish. He stood and wrapped her up in his arms. This was not an easy feat as her body and hair were swathed in terrycloth. He rubbed her back consolingly.

  “No one is going to ask me out, and more importantly, my baby and my heart will be in Brazil, and I will be here missing them both terribly.” He vowed. “Now, Miss Bacall I believe that your grandmother will be here momentarily to do your hair, so perhaps you should get dressed.”

  He and Emily always went to costume parties as Bogie and Bacall. Every year they’d been at the Academy, for the Venton Costume Ball, they’d gone as the famous couple.

  Emily loved dressing up as the Hollywood bombshell, and when she’d read that Bogie always referred to Bacall as his baby, she’d fallen head over heels for playing the part.

  Other than the sheer amount of hair grease he had to apply to pull off Humphrey Bogart, Rainer had to admit he enjoyed it as well. He loved that Emily got such a kick out of it, and he loved the way her eyes danced and her grins were unending, when she got to pretend to be one of her favorite actresses of all time.

  Nana Anderson had recreated Lauren Bacall’s famous white, billowing, deep v-neck dress with the thin black empire waist, which Emily looked stunning in. Rainer rather liked Emily’s hair coiffed in a tight wave. It was like she’d stepped right out of a bygone era and into his arms.

  As the Senate Chamber Room was to be used for the inaugural ball, no matter who had won, Rainer wondered momentarily how the Petersons were handling their loss. They’d been invited to the event, of course, but Rainer was certain they wouldn’t show.

  When Rainer’s father had been killed and Carrington had run unopposed to step in as Crown Governor, which had been his father’s wishes, there had been no ball. There was no celebration at all. The Realm mourned the loss heavily, but everything about this night felt different.

  The press, in its ever-vacillating temperament, seemed to have, for the first day of his reign at least, decided to stand behind Governor Haydenshire and herald his good deeds. The Realm seemed to be responding with goodwill and allowed their best to shine through. This evening was to be a celebration of all that had been established and all that had been fought and died for.

  The very energy that pulsed around the Gifted people seemed to vibrate with elation and pride.

  Emily unwound the towel from her hair, and Rainer smiled.

  “See, now I can kiss you.” He planted a kiss on her cheek. She giggled and then smirked.

  “Yeah but I bet Bogie never told Bacall to put clothes on.”

  With a hearty laugh, Rainer shook his head.

  “Oh, I don’t know. If you don’t put the dress on then I can’t take it off of you, baby.” He goaded in his best Humphrey Bogart impression.

  Emily beamed and then raced to the back door to let her grandmother in.

  “I haven’t seen your mother so happy in weeks.” Nana gushed as she nodded when Emily offered her tea. “All this stress, I’ll tell you, our new Crown Governor and his first lady deserve a year off.” She shook her head. Rainer and Emily agreed.

  Logan came to give his grandmother a hug and then began searching for more food. He and Adeline had many conversations over the past few weeks on what to dress as for the ball. He’d made numerous dirty innuendos about them dressing as each other so that he could play Medio. Adeline would generally blush and roll her eyes. They’d finally settled on Popeye and Olive Oil.

  Logan grabbed a Dr. Pepper from the fridge then settled on the couch so that Adeline could draw his anchor tattoo with eyeliner.

  “All right Lauren, I’m headed to the shower, baby.” Rainer winked at Emily.

  “I just love it when he calls me that.” Emily admitted as her grandmother laughed heartily.

  “Yes dear, we’ve noticed.” Rainer started into the bedroom.

  “Remember not to shave.” Emily called frantically.

  “Done,” Rainer assured her. He generally didn’t shave for a day or two before donning his long vintage tuxedo jacket, to pull off Bogart’s rougher appearance.

  Bogie and Bacall

  With his mind full of Emily, and the night he’d planned in the extremely romantic Hotel Royale, Rainer drew a deep breath and forced himself to focus on the hours of the evening, and not think about what the morning would bring.

  He could see her all dressed up, with her eyes alight from the excitement of the party. He could hold her in his arms and feel her luscious curves sway against him on the dance floor. Then he could take her to the suite he’d booked, give her a bath, feel her energy, take care of her, fill her with him, make love with her repeatedly, and will the morning light to stay away by getting lost in the two of them together.

  Three weeks in Brazil seared through his mind again, but he shut it down instantly and filled his mind with thoughts of her. Rainer waited in the living room. He was dressed in a vintage tux from the 1940’s. His hair was slicked with black grease. As he retied his bow tie, Adeline and Logan appeared. Rainer laughed.

  “Very nice.”

  “Ay-ga-ga-ga-ga,” Logan added in a terrible Popeye impression.

  “If you do that all night, I will hit you.” Rainer warned which effectively cracked Adeline up.

  “And I’ll let him.” She added as Logan feigned insult.

  “Em ready? The limos will be here soon.” Logan checked out his white sailor’s cap in the mirror over the mantle. Rainer moved to their bedroom door.

  “Ms. Bacall you’re needed on set.” He knocked lightly. Logan rolled his eyes dramatically as Adeline swooned.

  “Ok, I’m coming,” Emily called.

  “How about I won’t do my ay-ga-ga-ga-ga all night, if you won’t ‘hello baby’ her all night.” Logan negotiated. Rainer shook his head.

  “Sorry man, it’s part of our thing, and it generally leads to me getting l
ucky so….” He drawled just to make Logan gag. Emily emerged wearing the long, flowing, white, gown with the black banded waist that put her cleavage on stunning display. Her hair was fixed in auburn coiffed waves and her make-up was done to suit the part. Rainer gave her a sultry grin.

  “Well hello, baby.” He watched the thrill dance in her eyes.

  “Ah geez, do we have to ride with them?” Logan spat as Adeline giggled.

  A limo that already contained Will and Brooke, and Patrick and Lucy pulled into their driveway.

  Rainer helped Emily in and seated himself beside her. Patrick chuckled as Logan climbed in after Adeline.

  “Did you, uh, forget your spinach?”

  “Nah, spinach gives me gas, man.” Logan explained wryly as everyone groaned. The exhaustive, stress-filled days of the past few weeks were finally behind them. Everyone seemed to settle in and decide to just have fun for a little while.

  Patrick was dressed as a rather convincing James Dean and Lucy was playing Marilyn Monroe, although Rainer overheard her whisper to Emily that she didn’t think she had the chest to pull off Marilyn.

  Patrick heard her as well and immediately began whispering in her ear how drop dead gorgeous he thought she was. By the time they arrived at the Pentagon, Lucy was giving Patrick looks that said they probably wouldn’t be staying at the ball all that long.

  “Might have another niece or nephew here in about nine months,” Rainer teased Emily and gestured to Patrick and Lucy as they headed into the Senate ahead of them. Patrick reached back at that moment and grabbed a handful of Lucy’s backside that was wrapped, rather tightly, in the dress she was wearing. Emily giggled and nodded her agreement.

  They entered the Chamber Room, and Emily sighed contentedly. A broad smile lit her face.

  “It’s beautiful.” She gushed as Rainer nodded his agreement. The vast room was bedecked with thousands of tiny twinkle lights. The tables that surrounded the dance floor were dressed in white, linen tablecloths, and the room held a dozen flowering dogwoods, Mrs. Haydenshire’s favorite tree.