At the Pleasure of the President

by Shayla Black

  “How can you be so sanguine about this?” Gus was usually the first one to rail against restrictions, not agree with them.

  “I grew up with a Southern momma, a Navy admiral for a father, and an alpha male brother. And don’t get me started on Roman. I’m used to overly protective types. Besides, I don’t mind staying in. I think I’m getting old. I’ve gotten to where I prefer books over bars.”

  Liz had always preferred them, but her nights in lately hadn’t been relaxing. Well, except for the hours Zack’s magical touch took her out of her head. When he made love to her, she forgot everything else. “Well, I’m looking forward to the trip overseas next month. I never thought I would consider a trip to the G7 Summit a vacation.”

  “Anything has got to be better than sitting around waiting for a bomb to go off.” Gus stared down at the contract. “These look good, but Roman will want to go over them with a fine-tooth comb. I’m sure he’ll demand a bunch of changes for the hell of it.” Her gaze climbed up, and she studied Liz intently. “I’m worried my fiancé has it in his head that someone close to Zack is working with the enemy.”

  Liz glanced back, making sure the door was closed before sinking into the chair across from Gus. “Did they find anything while they were going through the personnel files?”

  Not being able to be a part of the investigation was wearing on Liz. But she and Zack couldn’t stop running the country to focus on their hush-hush inquiry. Too many questions would arise. So they were forced to rely on the rest of the group for answers.

  Gus hesitated. “They’ve identified a couple of people they’re unsure about.”

  Liz had worked with Gus long enough to read her cues. “What are you not telling me?”

  Gus knotted her hands together as though trying to stop a nervous tic. “Can you think of a reason my incredibly suspicious ass of a fiancé would be investigating you?”

  “Me? Roman is investigating me?”

  “One of the private investigators he often uses sent him a report yesterday. I caught a glimpse, and it was pretty much a rundown of your whole life. Birth certificate. College transcripts. Validation of your résumé. I believe he talked to a couple of your childhood and college friends. Why would Roman do that?”

  Liz felt her stomach flip over. “I don’t know. Is he looking into all of us? Or everyone who hasn’t been around since y’all were kids? I mean, it makes sense to vet the girlfriend of the president, though I went through all of this when I was hired. I’ve worked tirelessly for Zack for years.”

  “Yes, they did a full background check. Even I went through the process when I came on board.” Gus drummed her nails against the top of her desk, a sure sign her mind was churning.

  “So…I don’t understand.”

  “I’m starting to think the guys don’t trust you, and that worries me. Liz, are you working with the bad guys?”

  “Are you kidding me? Of course not. That’s ridiculous! I’m going to kick Roman’s ass.”

  “Excellent.” Gus smiled, obviously relieved. “He’s way too deep into his own paranoia. Let’s all have dinner tonight and drag this shit into the light. We can have a good old-fashioned screaming match and get it over with.”

  At least Zack didn’t feel that way, although she could easily see how Roman’s suspicious nature might influence him.

  Wait. What if the tension she’d been feeling from him lately stemmed from more than their current conundrum? What if he was worried Roman’s suspicions were true?

  “Hey, don’t frown. And don’t worry. This is what Roman does. He’s not an optimist. Where other people see sunshine, he sees melanoma.” Gus leaned closer. “Sometimes it’s cute. Sometimes it makes me want to strangle him.”

  Liz was gathering a comeback when someone knocked on the door, then shoved it open.

  Gus sighed at the sight of the woman in the doorway. “Yes, Vanessa. Please come in.”

  “Something’s happening.” She glanced behind her. “Turn on the news.”

  Liz followed Vanessa’s gaze. Sure enough, the whole office was buzzing. She stood, worry flooding her veins. “What?”

  Gus reached for the remote on her desk and clicked it. The television monitor on the opposite wall flickered on. A noted news anchor’s face filled the screen.

  “I think it’s the president.” Vanessa clutched her phone. “What should we do? We’re already getting calls.”

  “Oh my god,” Gus breathed, going pale.

  Liz’s heart stopped when she heard what the news anchor was saying.

  “We don’t have details yet, but we’re getting multiple reports of an assassination attempt on President Zachary Hayes.”

  Liz did her best to tamp down her panic as she strode out of her office and into the main hub of press relations at the White House. Everyone started shouting questions her way. She didn’t hear any of them because her whole being was focused on one thing—getting to Zack. Work wasn’t registering in that moment. She wasn’t a press secretary; she was a woman in love, desperate to know if her lover was alive.

  “I’ll come with you.” Gus took her hand. “Roman was with him, right? Where were they going?”

  The world seemed to slow even as her thoughts raced. Liz forced herself to focus on Gus because if she didn’t, she would lose her mind. Where was Zack now? Was he even still alive?

  Suddenly, she felt transported back to that awful evening in Memphis, standing in the auditorium and hearing the crack of the bullet, feeling the ground shift as the crowd sprinted for the exits. And seeing the blood. So much blood…

  “They were on the south lawn,” Liz managed to eke out. “Jogging. He and Roman wanted to be outside.”

  “I’m going to kill that man myself.” The second the words passed Gus’s lips, she paled. “I’m sorry, Liz. I didn’t mean it.”

  “It’s fine.” All that mattered was Zack.

  She squeezed Gus’s hand, then started to plow through the small crowd staring at the monitors all around the press office. Every single news channel was covering this story.

  Liz refused to wait around for cable news to tell her what had happened. She was going to find Zack herself.

  In the distance, she heard sirens. Her stomach plummeted with dread, and she sent up a silent prayer that Zack would be all right. She couldn’t lose him. She couldn’t, not when they’d finally found each other and were getting so close to the life they’d both dreamed of, to the family they wanted.

  She was nearly to the doors when they crashed open. Two men in dark suits strode in. Secret Service.

  “What’s happening?” Gus demanded immediately of the one who looked like he was in charge. “Where are they now?”

  There was no question who “they” were. If Zack had been hit, Roman would have stayed with him, accompanied him to the hospital.

  The agent touched a Bluetooth device attached to his ear and ignored her questions entirely, instead replying to whoever was speaking in his ear. “Yes, sir. I’ve sent a team to secure the vice president. I’m bringing Ms. Matthews down. Yes, sir. I’ll let her know.”

  The icy-eyed agent grabbed her arm.

  “What’s happening?” Liz could barely contain her panic.

  “I’m here to escort you downstairs, Ms. Matthews,” he replied. “I have orders to take you to a secure location. Ms. Spencer, Mr. Calder would like you to stay in your office and wait for his call. He’s uninjured.”

  “I’ll go with Liz,” Gus offered.

  The second of the two agents stepped in front of her, coming between the women. “I’m sorry, Ms. Spencer. We have our orders.”

  Liz looked back, pure terror in her veins. Why would they leave Gus behind…unless Zack wasn’t okay? Tears pooled in her eyes and she all but ran, trying to hurry the agent to Zack’s side. Behind her, the world was erupting as the other agent moved everyone else into the press room.

  “What hospital is the president at?” she asked, her voice shaking.

  “Come
with me, ma’am.” He opened the door that led to the hallway, then she found herself in an elevator.

  Please don’t let him be dead. Please. Let him be alive. They could face anything if he just lived through this.

  The elevator doors closed. Liz shut her eyes and tried to dredge up her inner strength. The world suddenly seemed so quiet it was stark, tense. Somehow, she had to stay calm. She couldn’t lose it when Zack might need her.

  What would she do if he was gone? If someone had managed to extinguish his life? She couldn’t even consider it. He was alive. She would be by his side and holding his hand when he woke up. She would never complain about anything ever again if the universe gave her back the man she loved.

  Finally, the elevator doors opened and she blinked. She wasn’t in the garage she’d thought they were taking her to. They weren’t anywhere near the underground parking.

  They were in PEOC.

  Were they taking her to see Mad and Sara? But that didn’t make sense…

  Cautiously, she stepped out and looked right. Her heart surged and pumped to life again because Zack was standing there, Thomas and Roman flanking him. His T-shirt was torn and his hair was a mess but he was thankfully, blessedly alive.

  “Oh, Zack.” She wept freely now and started to dash toward him.

  The Secret Service agent clamped a hard grip around her elbow and hauled her back. She gaped at him, and reached out for Zack.

  The chilly look in his eyes froze her where she stood. She’d never seen him look so cold, as if she meant less than a speck on his shoe. Like he could look through her and not feel a thing.

  “Zack?” she whispered, his name a question and a prayer on her lips.

  He ignored her, gesturing to a hallway on his right. “Please take her to the second interrogation room. Thank you.”

  “Interrogation?” she screeched. “Zack, what is going on?”

  The agent began to drag her away from Zack.

  Stunned, horrified, she glanced at the man she’d poured her heart and her life into. What the hell was happening? His face told her nothing.

  Then her shoe slid on the slick tile and she started to fall. Strong arms wound around her before she could hit the floor, and she found herself swept up. Zack. He’d caught her, but he didn’t look at all happy with this turn of events. In fact, his jaw was tight as he secured her against his chest. She could see where he’d suffered a minor abrasion, and she wanted to reach up and soothe him, but everything about his demeanor told her she’d better not dare.

  “What’s happening?” she breathed.

  “Someone tried to assassinate me, sweetheart,” he said, starting down the hallway.

  “I know. I heard on the news. I was so worried and—”

  “And you were the only one who knew where Roman and I planned to take our morning run. I’m afraid your time is up.”

  How could he talk to her in that arctic tone? Surely, he wasn’t implying that she’d had anything to do with the attempt on his life. “My time? Zack, I didn’t tell anyone. I would never do that. I didn’t want you to go outside at all.”

  He said nothing, merely walked until Thomas opened a door. Zack entered and set her inside. The room was utilitarian, with only a metal table and a couple of chairs.

  He set her on her feet and stepped away like she was a viper he suspected would attack at any moment. “We have some questions. I think it’s best if Roman handles you. We already know I can’t think straight when you’re around.”

  This couldn’t be happening. It must be some kind of nightmare. “Zack, don’t do this. I would never hurt you. I love you.”

  “I don’t expect you to admit anything to me. After all, you’ve got me whipped, so why stop lying now?”

  “What? Lying?” She stared in open-mouthed horror.

  “Think carefully about how you proceed.” He stepped to the door. “Tell Roman the truth. Tell him everything you’ve done and what else your ‘friends’ are planning. Then you and I will talk. But if you don’t tell Roman everything you know, I’ll have to bring in someone else. You won’t like the someone else. Make this easy on yourself, Elizabeth.”

  He thought she was capable of hurting him? Yes. He thought she was working with the Russians, so he also thought she was capable of treason.

  She shuddered. “You can’t honestly believe I’m some sort of spy. Zack, I know someone made an attempt on your life, and I was the last person you talked to, but whatever Roman thinks about my loyalties, he’s wrong.”

  “It’s not just Roman. I was suspicious of you long before now. Today merely clarified your guilt for me.” He turned away.

  The watchful Secret Service agent stood right by the door. Making sure she didn’t get another chance to speak to the president. No, making sure she didn’t get another chance to hurt him.

  This was beyond surreal.

  “You slept with me when you thought I was working against you?”

  He’d made love to her like a man who couldn’t get enough. He’d held her like he loved her. They’d been sharing a bed for two weeks and sharing their lives for far longer than that. She’d practically been a wife to him, and he hadn’t given her the benefit of the doubt. He hadn’t even done her the courtesy of telling her why he suspected her. Instead, he’d brought her to a secret site to be interrogated. He was locking her in a room and not letting her out until she gave him some sort of a confession.

  “You know what they say,” Zack began. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I couldn’t have gotten closer to you if I tried.”

  In that moment, all the cherished memories of the two of them she’d stored lovingly in her memory turned to ash.

  He didn’t love her. He never had.

  With tears falling, she watched as he slammed the door between them and the lock slid into place.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Zack stood outside the interrogation room and tried hard to quell his need to punch something.

  He glanced down at the monitors that showed the two small rooms. Elizabeth was in there. He’d said terrible things to her, sicced Roman on her, and locked her inside.

  “Zack, we have a sniper suspect in custody.” Connor strode up to him. “I want your authorization to speak to him. He’s a Russian national and, according to my sources, he’s got connections to the syndicate. We might finally have Krylov’s balls in a vise if we can get this guy to talk, but I have to move fast. Krylov is in the US now, but if he thinks we can shut this plot down and expose him, he’ll head straight for Moscow. And we’ll never be able to touch him again.”

  “Arrogant bastard,” Roman said, joining them after changing back into his standard suit and tie. He looked immaculate, not like a guy who had been inches from an assassination attempt less than an hour ago. “We can’t let him get away with this, and I’m sure he believes he will.”

  “Why shouldn’t he? He’s gotten away with it for years. The whole Russian apparatus has,” Connor pointed out. “No doubt he’s hoping we’ll be too busy trying to protect Zack to bother with him and his comrades.”

  “We have to put a stop to this, once and for all.” Zack reached that decision as he’d locked the door and walked away from Elizabeth. This ended. Now. He wouldn’t put any of his family through another day of this. It wouldn’t rule him anymore. “And if we can’t get Krylov and his whole ring, I’m going to talk to the attorney general in the morning. If I have to, I’ll step down. I’ll even go to fucking jail, but I’m not letting them win.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Roman argued.

  Connor stopped him with a raised hand. “Before you do anything, let me talk to the assassin. Even if he doesn’t confess, there’s a good chance we’ll be able to tie him back to the syndicate. It’s not a smoking gun, but it will help corroborate our story if the Justice Department and the press get involved.”

  “Okay.” Zack nodded. “While you’re at it, have some of your boys round up Krylov in New Y
ork and question him.”

  “Will do. Now that they’ve tried to assassinate you, he’s likely to make a mad dash to the airport.”

  “Even though he has no idea whether I’m dead or alive?” Zack turned to Roman. “We haven’t given Gus any instructions on a statement for the press, right?”

  His chief of staff confirmed with a shake of his head. “I called Gus and told her to say ‘no comment’ until we decided on our next move. Connor, find out from this asshole how he knew where Zack and I would be jogging.” Roman stared down at the monitors displaying Elizabeth and Paul Harding in their respective interrogation rooms.

  They’d brought Joy’s father in thirty minutes earlier. Paul sat staring at the door, utterly still. Eerily still. He’d asked no questions, hadn’t questioned the agents sent to bring him in.

  Elizabeth, on the other hand, hadn’t stopped moving. She also hadn’t stopped crying, but at some point her tears seemed to have morphed from sorrowful to furious. With him.

  Well, he was furious with her, too…but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t still do his damnedest to protect her. And he would have to. After today, Zack didn’t see a way not to believe Elizabeth had set him up to die. She was the only one who’d known where he and Roman would be taking their morning run. The Secret Service would have caught anyone from inside the White House following them out to the lawn, so it wasn’t a dirty staffer or agent. But Elizabeth had had plenty of time to contact her Russian handler with his location, presumably to trigger the assassin they must have stationed near the White House.

  “The police only found the shooter because he had a freak accident and fell out of the tree he’d set his sniper nest in. He hit his head on the sidewalk and was found unconscious.” Connor grinned. “He’s awake now. Time for me to play.”

  “Don’t get cocky. Remember, we thought we had the right guy when Joy was shot.” Zack could still remember how he’d felt when he’d heard the man who’d killed Joy was dead. Now he knew that man had been a patsy.

  “I feel good about this one.”