by M Brereton
Noah wasn’t liking the sound of that ‘elsewhere’.
“Oh, by the way,” Eva added from the doorway, “Even though we never discussed it, I had the tubal ligation done.”
“What!” Noah exclaimed angrily, but as she pinned him with a deadly glare, he conceded softly. “You know, it’s your body. You can do what you want.”
After she left him, he finally released the breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. Taking another deep breath and rubbing his neck. He was going to revoke Patricia’s internship. It was the safest thing to do, but not the wisest. The media would have a field day if they knew his reason for doing so. Maybe he should just avoid being alone with her. Eva was his wife and he had to schedule meetings to see her, so avoiding an intern shouldn’t be a problem.
* * *
So, Noah had foolishly thought a week ago. The woman made it her business to be around every time he was in office. He saw her so much he began to think she was part of his entourage which she eventually became when his uncle assigned her there.
“I need her off my detail,” Noah demanded as soon as he was alone with his uncle.
“Who?”
“Patty or Patricia, I don’t care.” Noah said harshly, “Get her away from me!”
“Ah the joys of the Presidency,” Wayland teased, “She is very dedicated to serving you and she’s a distant relative of Theresa’s. Maybe you misinterpreted her intentions.”
“I’m not misinterpreting nothing! She wants to get her Lewinsky on and I’m not having it! I got enough problems already,” Noah muttered firmly.
“Yes,” Wayland agreed as he observed him. “You sleeping in the Oval office is a problem.” When Noah’s jaw dropped at his declaration, Wayland continued, “You think I wouldn’t notice. You’ve been sleeping everywhere else except next to your wife. You’re lucky the Secret Service is discreet.”
“Not that discreet apparently.”
“What’s wrong, Noah?”
“Nothing.”
“Did you sleep with Patricia?”
“No!” Noah denied vehemently then asked snidely, “Wouldn’t you know that?”
“Then what’s the problem between you two.”
“A problem between us,” Noah stressed, “It’s not your concern.”
“It is when it affects your image and people outside our circle are beginning to notice,” Wayland corrected, “You want to be rid of Patricia? Let Eva help you. I’m sure she’ll have no problems protecting her territory as it were.”
That’s what Noah was afraid of.
“She doesn’t have to warn her off,” His uncle was saying, “just let her know you’re off-limits. Eva will know what to do.”
Just great, Noah thought as he glared at his uncle. His stupid advice was to use his murderess wife to scare off his pesky intern. What was he supposed to do, let Eva kill her? With no other choice, Noah stormed out of his uncle’s office in search of the FLOTUS.
He found her in her office at her desk with Kate beside her and two members of her detail lounging in chairs within the room. At his arrival, they stood up and saluted. Eva however lifted her eyes once then set them back on her work before her.
“Can I have a minute?” Noah asked her.
“No,” Was Eva’s succinct reply.
“Eva please,” He begged in front of the agents. She conceded grudgingly and with a regal wave dismissed them all.
“How do you do that?” Noah asked of her.
“Is there something you wanted?” Eva asked in a bored tone and Noah was suddenly struck by the oddness of their situation. Here he was the President of the United States and he had to grovel as though he was petitioning to a queen no…goddess, he corrected.
“I need your help.” Noah pleaded quickly and when she just looked at him he explained, “It’s about Patricia…” Eva rolled her eyes as her face grew angrier. “She sorta stuck to me and we can’t fire her without answering a lot of questions in the press, so Uncle Wayland suggested you may be able to help.”
Eva sighed before asking in honesty, “You want me to do it my way?”
“NO!” Noah shouted and the agents at the door asked, “Is everything alright, Sir?”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” He responded through the door. When his head turned back to Eva, she was smiling. Noah just stood there smiling with her stupidly until she teased, her dimples flashing, “I was joking, Noah.”
“Right,” Bad fucking joke to make, but…ok.
“I’ll take care of it.” Eva agreed, finally resuming her work, effectively dismissing him.
“Ok,” Noah uttered lamely as he walked out. His audience with her over.
* * *
Noah spent many sleepless nights wondering just how Eva was going to take care of it. He felt like he had made a deal with the devil and should put a stop to whatever plans she made. Part of him said he should just trust her to take care of it, after all, she promised she wouldn’t kill anymore. But she never promised not to have someone killed, his conscience reminded him.
Eventually, the problem with Patricia seemed to be magically solving itself. She was only there when he wasn’t and suddenly had to go visit a sick aunt in Canada for a week. Patricia was also given a female agent to stay with her and take her home when she worked late.
With the problem of Patricia off his back, he was on his way to see Eva (Fire Queen as he heard the agents call her behind her back) to tell her the good news. Patricia was leaving for a whole year, the aunt was terminal, and she had no one to help her.
“Hi,” Noah greeted as he stepped into the sitting room. Eva was sipping tea with Kate and the Chief Usher discussing plans for the twins’ birthday.
“Do you have any input on the twins’ birthday?” Eva asked him.
“I think I gave plenty already towards that end.” Noah joked crudely. She narrowed her eyes at him and his chuckling ceased, “Anyway, I came here to tell you, the problem cleared up on its own so thanks, but no thanks.” He told her then turned to go.
“You’re welcome,” Eva uttered softly, freezing him in his tracks.
“What did you say?” Noah asked, pointing at her.
“I said you’re welcome,” Eva repeated as she calmly sipped her tea.
Noah’s jaw dropped, and he backed slowly out of the room. Once he was in the hall he ordered Shadow One. “Find Sam, now!”
By the time Noah arrived back at the Oval Office, Sam had been waiting a whole ten minutes.
“Did you lose her at any time?” Noah asked once they were alone.
“Lose who?” Sam asked, perplexed.
“Who are you watching?” Noah gritted out, “Eva! Did you lose Eva?”
“No, she’s right here,” Sam stated, not understanding the question.
“At any point did your team lose sight of her?” Noah explained.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. The only time one of us isn’t in the room with her is when she’s here and sometimes…”
“Sometimes?” Noah questioned.
“Sometimes, like you, she likes her privacy, so we give her some space.”
“How much space?” Noah asked coldly.
“Look man, I didn’t think it would be that big a deal. Eva knows how to protect herself…”
“When did you leave her alone?” Noah asked hastily.
“A couple of times…”
“Recently?”
“Yeah, we dealt with the paparazzi when she visited a church. She said she needed to confess, what she needed to confess…”
“How long?” Noah cut him off asking.
“Uh…about fifteen minutes.”
Plenty of time. Noah mused. She was good he’d give her that to do whatever she did under the noses of the Secret Service.
“Why are you smiling?” Sam asked him, interrupting his thoughts.
“Just thinking of a few things, she may have to confess.”
“TMI man!” Sam g
riped, hoping nothing too dirty went down on the rug he was standing on. “Is that all?”
Noah nodded, and Sam gave a half-assed salute and left.
7
Change of Heart
“Sir, Venus is already on route to the Beast. ETA in ten minutes.”
Noah nodded and followed the agent out. He almost forgot he had to speak on his changes to the protective services. Eva and both his Secretaries of Defense and Veterans were joining him on the podium. He was giving his soldiers, homeland security and the rest of his protective forces a very expensive upgrade.
He joined Eva in the Beast and then they were boarding Air Force One and flying to Detroit. Then they were back in the Beast heading to where the outdoor rally would take place. Throughout the entire trip, no words were spoken between them.
The guest speakers droned on until it was Noah’s turn to speak when suddenly, Eva uttered before he walked on, “Good luck.” Noah never even acknowledged the sentiment, just stuck out his arm for her to take it and they both plastered a smile on their faces as they approached the podium.
While Noah went through the motions of his speech, Eva kept her face pleasant and clapped at the appropriate times. Her eyes watched the reaction of the crowd to his words. Not all were pleased he wanted to spend their tax dollars on better equipment for the people that gave their lives to keep them safe, but she knew Noah would find a way to do it, he had promised his friends at the bureau.
Some stupid bitches were screaming at him like a bunch of fangirls. It was one of the things Eva hated at these things, women wanting him, touching him, it tested her restraint. One bitch, in particular, moved closer to the stage, no doubt to be first in line for a kiss when he came down from the podium.
She wasn’t even particularly pretty, Eva thought smugly, in fact, she looked odd. Eva’s rote clapping ceased for a second as she watched her. The woman was wearing baggy jeans, a baseball cap and a tank top with a shirt tied around her waist – she wasn’t exactly a fashionista – but what really concerned Eva was when the woman’s face. It changed for a split second from adoring fangirl to murderous rage then it returned to fangirl status. Discretely Eva moved closer to Noah since the murdering fangirl kept her eyes on him, most likely he was the target.
She was about to alert the Secret Service when the gun came out. Noah had taken a step from behind to podium and was waving Eva over, but Eva didn’t glide across as she customarily did at the end of these things, Eva dove on top of him. Then he heard the shot. Noah felt Eva jerk against him, but she was up in a heartbeat and turning with his gun in hand taking a shot at the fleeing shooter.
The Secret Service moved to cover her, but Sam ordered, “Leave her!” A shot went off and the shooter was down.
Eva dropped his gun then turned to Noah, “Baby are you alright?”
“Eva, you’re bleeding,” Noah muttered in shock.
“Are you alright.?” She repeated.
Noah nodded, and she collapsed.
Noah and several agents rushed to catch Eva’s falling form. EMT’s were already rushing the stage by the time Noah caught her. A stretcher was placed next to her and he was led away by Sam who consoled him saying, “Don’t worry she’s a fighter, she’ll be okay.”
The bullet hit her near her ribs and even though he was no doctor, going by the amount of blood on her peach-colored dress suit, on the ground and on his hands, it didn’t look good.
The race to the hospital took far too long for Noah’s liking and by the time the ER doctors had gotten to her, they had declared her condition critical. She gained consciousness briefly in the ambulance, only to say the words, “I love you,” before passing out again. When she came to again, in the hospital, she moaned, “My babies, take care of my babies.” Then passed out again.
Eva was transferred from the gurney to the operating table, her upper torso exposed. The bullet entered through her back with no exit wound, so the doctors began cutting as they spoke.
“It’s lodged near the heart! Crash cart on standby!”
“What’s the hold up on that blood?”
“I’m going in. Everybody pray!”
Noah saw them open her up and something like a long thin nosed plier was inserted. The room became deathly still, with all the medical staff holding their collective breaths. When the instrument came out, eyes started smiling around the room and as the ping of the shell hit the steel bowl, everyone breathed easier.
A chorus of beeps went off and the staff went into action once more.
“She’s crashing out. Crash cart.”
“Clear”
Eva’s body jumped but the beeping continued.
“Increase to one-fifty. Clear!”
Another jolt and still the beeping continued.
“Maybe it’s best you leave now, Sir,” One of the doctors suggested. When it seemed like he wouldn’t obey, a discrete gesture was made to his detail and they escorted him out.
Noah sat at the edge of the seat rocking back and forth. Eva could not die. She was strong. She wasn’t going to leave him. He was going to fix things as soon as she got out of this place. She was fine. Why the fuck didn’t she let the Secret Service do their fucking job!
Noah was in such a state he wasn’t aware of the arrival of his mother and uncle. They tried speaking to him, but he just kept rocking back and forth muttering that she was going to be ok. She wouldn’t leave him. She promised she wouldn’t leave him.
“This is not good,” Wayland muttered. He knew if Noah lost Eva so soon after losing Cooper, he was not going to be able to finish his term. As of right now, the President of the United States was quickly turning into an asylum patient.
“I prayed for Noah’s protection, but not this way,” Ana cried, “never this way.”
The beeping finally stopped along with Noah’s rocking.
“No.” Noah cried, softly. “I can’t lose her. Not like this.
A doctor came out of the room and the look on her face said it all.
“NO!” Noah denied before she could speak a word. “No, she wouldn’t leave me. She promised she wouldn’t leave me!” He continued to wail as he rushed into the room and saw her sheet-covered form. “Baby don’t do this! DON’T LEAVE ME!” He bawled as he dropped to knees at her bedside clutching her still warm hand and pressing it to his cheek. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I should have just forgiven you. I love you, baby! Please come back. Eva, wake up, Honey. Baby, please wake up. Oh, God! I can’t do this without you! What about Amelia and the boys, you can’t leave them without a mother!” He rained kisses on her cooling cheek and pressed his lips to hers one last time. The last year wasted arguing with her flashed across his mind. All that time, wasted because he was a prideful fool.
“I’m not leaving you! I’m staying right here, baby! I’m not going anywhere, I promise!” Noah promised as he rocked her lifeless form.
“Is there anything we can give him?” Wayland whispered to the doctor as he watched Noah’s actions.
“I can give him a sedative, it’ll knock him out, so we can process her body.” The doctor informed him.
“Do it,” Wayland told her and signaled Noah’s detail to restrain him.
It took five of them to pull him away from the body, disarm him and hold him down to allow the doctor to inject him with the sedative. In the end, three of them were seriously injured while Noah screamed Eva’s name until he passed out.
As Noah fought the agents and the sedative, he cried out for his wife, the sedative causing his movement to become sluggish and his hits less effective. It warped his mind so bad that as Noah faded out of consciousness he thought he heard a faint beep.
8
Second Chance
Second Chance
Pain, so much pain, Eva thought as she gasped for breath. A mask was placed over her face and voices talked over her.
“She was dead!”
“Almost five minutes!”
“Let’s not question the how right n
ow. Let’s just keep her alive before we lose the President as well.”
“Did you see how he freaked out?”
“Do you hear me, Ma’am?”
Eva tried to speak, but something was stuck in her throat.
“We have to leave that there for now. Show two fingers if you understand and one if you don’t.”
Two fingers.
“Good.” The doctor praised, “You are one helluva lady! Taking down the shooter and kicking the grim reaper’s ass! If you ever run for President. You have my vote!”
Eva gave her a wane smile and put a thumb up.
“Outstanding!”
“What a shock he’ll get when he wakes up!” A nurse remarked, and Eva got worried. Who wakes up? Noah was fine when she saw him. Did something else happen? How long was she out?
Seeing the distress on her face the doctor asked. “Are you in pain, Ma’am?”
Eva made writing gestures with her hand.
“Get me a pad and pencil!” The doctor ordered and when the implements were brought, she set the pencil in Eva’s hand and positioned that pad under it.
Eva only scribbled one word, “Noah.”
The doctor smiled before responding, “He’s resting…” she evaded. “He’s had a rough day.”
Eva gave a small nod of understanding before falling asleep herself.
Eva awoke hours later to the feel of someone holding her hand and stroking her hair. A soft kiss on her forehead had her opening her eyes.
“Try that shit again and I’m chaining you to a bed.” Noah threatened gruffly.
He was a mess, Eva thought. His face was unshaven, his eyes bloodshot, clothing torn, and a bruise on his cheek. Was he in a fight? Eva wondered.