Caught by the Chief of Staff (A Presidential Affair Book 2) Read online

  She was so close, and I had no idea! It breaks my mothering heart to think she was so close, and I didn’t know. I carried her in my body. I should have felt something!

  I help Rachel stand up, and then I push to stand. The room swims before me. Ashley didn’t pull any punches when she clobbered me on the head. I honestly thought she was just another spoiled socialite from the Upper East Side. I had no idea she had a homicidal streak in her. And I honestly can’t see how she was behind the plot to take down the president. She’s just not that smart.

  I try the doorknob and it’s locked. Shit! I have to get Rachel out of here. The window on the far wall is up way too high and is too narrow for me to push her out of. Not to mention, she’d get hurt falling from a window this high. We’re going to have to wait for someone to come in here and open the door. Best-case scenario, I can distract them so my baby can get away.

  I always knew I would trade myself for her. But actually knowing it’s going to happen is terrifying. I’m not afraid to die, because I would happily trade my life for hers over and over again. I’m afraid to say goodbye to my daughter.

  Now I have to explain to her what I need her to do. That I need her to run to Amber’s house. I know she wouldn’t have done this if she weren’t afraid. But now I need her to help get my baby to safety. Rick will protect her from there and hopefully give her a beautiful life. They both deserve it.

  “Come here, Rachel,” I say softly. I crouch down in front of her so she can see my face. It’s something I’ve always done when I want her to know I’m serious.

  “What is it, Mom?” Her big hazel eyes, so much like her daddy’s, look at me wide and scared.

  “I need you to listen to me. We’re in a pretty tough spot right now, but we’ve made it out of tough spots before, right?”

  “Right,” she answers me like I know all the secrets of the world and I’ll never let her down. But I’m about to let her down now; she just doesn’t know it yet. But I’m not walking out of this room with her. This is where my story ends.

  “I’m going to get you out of here,” I tell her. “But I need you to be very brave for me.”

  “I know.” She smiles at me.

  “When I tell you to run, you run and don’t look back.” I weight my words so that she knows how serious they are. “Promise me, Rachel.”

  “I promise, Mommy.”

  “Don’t look back,” I tell her.

  God, please just let her run. Don’t let her hear or see anything. I need her out of this house of horrors before I die.

  “I won’t,” she says quietly.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I tell her.

  Please, God, just let her be okay.

  “Okay.” She nods her little head. Her dark brown curls are a rat’s nest. I hope Rick has the presence of mind to deal with combing this mess out, because she would not look good bald. This just goes to show that the things that run through your mind at the end are actually ridiculous.

  “Daddy will find you.”

  “But what about you?” she asks me the one thing I was hoping she wouldn’t ask, even though it needs to be said.

  Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry…

  Tears burn the back of my throat. “Don’t worry about me,” I say, forcing a smile I don’t feel to my face. “I’ll find you when it’s all over.”

  “Mom….” God, sometimes, I hate how smart she is. Even though she’s only eight, I know she can tell I’m lying. She just doesn’t know about what, and I’d like to keep it that way. My sweet girl will learn soon enough.

  “Just remember to run and don’t look back,” I tell her. “It’ll be fine. Just find Mrs. Amber and have her call Dad.”

  She watches me for what seems like forever before she finally nods and answers me. “Okay.”

  “And remember to run.” Fuck, I’m going to cry. I’m not going to get to see this beautiful, wild child grow into a woman. I’m not going to get to teach her all the things.

  “I will,” she promises, and this last bit is going to kill me, but I have to hold on, because I have to see her to safety.

  “And I love you more than anything in this world,” I say quietly, but I know she hears me.

  “Mom,” Rachel says again, sounding more than a little alarmed now, but there’s no time to explain.

  “Someone’s coming,” I whisper as I move her to stand in the corner. I grab one of the metal folding chairs and lift it over my head, ready to strike. “Just remember.”

  “Aide-de-Camp Injured in Hunting Accident”

  Chapter 25

  Thwarted plans

  Everything seems to happen in slow motion, but I guess that’s always how it plays out.

  The doorknob slowly turns. Rachel is practically shaking where she’s standing behind the door. My girl is trying so hard to be brave, and I’m so very proud of her. I would tell her so, but there’s a ringing in my ears.

  “Shh,” I whisper, and she nods.

  But the person who steps into the room shocks the absolute shit out of me. Although I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Rick told me to be careful around him.

  “Come on,” Captain Black says quietly. “We have to go now.”

  I watch him warily. Rick said not to trust him, but if we don’t get out of this house, Rachel won’t have a chance to run. I guess it all comes down to the devil you know and the devil you don’t. And I know I don’t want to be held in this house with the psychotic Ashley Jeffries any longer.

  “What are you waiting for?” he snaps. “Come on.”

  “Okay,” I say. “Come on, Rachel. We have to go now.”

  “Come on. We gotta move,” he says in his slow southern drawl.

  It’s the gunshot that I didn’t see coming.

  One minute, I was setting down the chair and Rachel and I were going to have to trust Captain Black to get us out of here, and the next, Ashley is standing there with a smoking gun.

  Black clutches his chest where the bullet must have left his body, because she shot him from behind. The look on his face is one of surprise. Me too. I did not see that shit coming, and I should have.

  “Oh fuck!” she screams, and I have no idea what she has to scream at me about. I’m not the one who just shot a man.

  Captain Black crumples forward, his face on the plain utilitarian gray carpet. His breathing is shaky. He doesn’t look so good. But for now, he’s alive.

  “Look what you made me do!” She’s panicking. Panic never helps in a situation like this. I should know; I watched a lot of Hart to Hart reruns late at night when I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about how much I missed Rick.

  “This is okay,” I say, trying to reassure a fucking murderer. How is this even my life right now? Oh fuck, now I’m panicking a little. “It’ll be okay. Just let us go.”

  “No!” she hollers. “Fuck. You ruined everything. They’re going to kill me now.” I’m not going to feel bad for her, because she’s involved with some pretty heavy stuff and is probably going to die. I’m pretty sure she just killed the president’s aide-de-camp. That’s not going to go over well. Not to mention, she is going to kill me and my daughter if I can’t come up with another plan. Still, I’m not going to tell her any of this.

  “Who’s going to kill you?” I ask her, giving her my best impression of being sympathetic. Maybe if she feels like we’re a team here, she will cave and let us go. “We can still fix this.”

  “It can’t be fixed, you dumb cow!” she yells, waving the gun around while she screams. “I have to figure out what to do!” Ashley whirls out the door, slamming it behind her. I wait a second and test the handle, but it won’t turn. Of course, in her wild mental state, she would manage to have the wherewithal to lock the goddamn door.

  I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know what her solution to this “problem” is going to be, because I think it ends with me in a body bag, and I’d really like to not help facilitate that. But the fact remains.

  I
have no other plan.

  “Funeral Plans are PENDING”

  Chapter 26

  Plans and the end

  I need a plan.

  My plans keep changing, and I don’t like that. I’m great at adapting to my surroundings in order for survival, but this is excessive even for me. First, my plan was to get her out of the house and to Amber, but then Amber helped kidnap me, not that I blame her. Ashley put her in a tough spot.

  My second plan was to attack Ashley when she came in the room so Rachel could run. I knew Ashley had a gun and would kill me, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make in order to get Rachel to safety. But then Captain Black came in and tried to help us escape. I thought he was a bad guy, but he wasn’t, which is too bad, because then Ashely shot him before losing her damn mind and locking us all in this little room again.

  So now I need another plan. I don’t have much time. Ashley looked to be a woman on the edge. And the fact that she kept ranting about how “they” were going to kill her leads me to believe she is not the mastermind here. Not that I ever thought she was. She’s crazy, to be sure, but she’s also dumb as shit. There’s no way she could have come up with a plot to kidnap my child, let alone blackmail the president into passing some crazy bill that gives our enemies all our money and power and weapons.

  “Mom, is he dead?” God, why does she have to ask all the tough questions today? I don’t know how to tell her that a man who she’s only even seen and not met just died in front of her trying to save us.

  “Uhh…” I start, but he pushes up to roll over, surprising us both.

  “Not quite,” he groans and winces as he leans back against the small daybed. “Shi— ahh, shoot, that hurts.”

  “In these circumstances, Captain Black, you may say shit in front of my child,” I tell him, making her giggle, so it was totally worth it.

  “You can call me Ryan,” he says in a strained Texas drawl.

  “I’m sorry I thought you were a bad guy, Ryan.”

  “It’s all right. So does your husband,” he says, and his breath catches. It must hurt him to breathe. Contrary to his talking, I’m not sure he’s doing so well. His face is ashen, and he looks to be out of breath. The fact of the matter is, he was shot and could die any second now.

  “He does,” I admit, and it makes me feel really guilty. Ryan just smirks.

  “It’s okay,” he says shakily. “I wanted everyone to think I could be bad. It makes it easier to flush out the actual bad guy.”

  “Oh yeah, how’s that working out for you?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest.

  “Not so good.” He laughs and then gasps. “It got me shot. I hate getting shot. It stings like a bitch.”

  “I said you could say ‘shit’ not ‘bitch,’” I admonish him.

  “My apologies for the words that come out of this old marine.”

  “Apology accepted.”

  “Thank you kindly,” he says. “Now what are we going to do to get this little lady out of here?”

  “I don’t know,” I admit.

  “I think you had the right way of it earlier when you thought I was the crazy b—witch,” he says, changing his word at the last minute. God, he’s such a good guy. He tried to rescue us and got shot, and he’s still trying to watch his language in front of my kid, even though he’s clearly in agony.

  “I was thinking that too,” I tell him. I can feel the sad look on my face. “I guess it’s just you and me.”

  “Oh don’t look so sad,” he says. “I’m glad to go out with my boots on.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s nothing,” he says, brushing off my heavy words, and tips his head in the direction of Rachel, who is sitting at the table coloring like nothing is wrong. “But I think you should get ready, if you know what I mean. That crazy chick will be back soon.”

  Shit. I’m going to have to prepare her again, but this time I won’t have the element of surprise on my hands. She’s a smart kid, and she’s going to understand right away that Mom isn’t coming with.

  “Hey, Rachel?” I ask as I walk around to squat in front of her again.

  “Yes, Mom,” she answers, but she doesn’t look up at me.

  “Remember what we were talking about earlier before Captain Black came in?”

  “You were telling me to run when I get the chance and don’t look back,” she says. “Before trying to tell me that you weren’t coming too.”

  “Yes, that’s right, my darling girl.”

  “I don’t like it,” she says. “I want you to come with me.”

  “I want that too, honey.” Oh, God, how much I want that, but it’s just not possible. I don’t know of another way.

  “But you won’t?” she asks softly.

  “I can’t, honey,” I tell her honestly. “But if I could, I would be with you always. You’re my number one. Which is why I have to do this.”

  “Not come with me?” she asks hesitantly. I can see she’s unsure in her beautiful eyes, and I have to give her the confidence to act bravely and be bold.

  “Right, sweet girl,” I answer. “When I tell you, you’re going to run, just like we talked about. Don’t look back, just run.”

  “Yes, Mommy,” she says, and her little voice catches. I hate that she knows. Even though we haven’t spoken the words, this perceptive child knows she won’t see me again.

  “Whatever you do, don’t look back.”

  “Okay,” she agrees softly.

  “Find Daddy,” I remind her. “He loves you so much, and he’ll take care of you. Daddy will keep you safe.”

  “Okay, Mom. I will.”

  “Whatever you do, don’t stop running,” I say again. I hate the words, but I want to say them over and over so she knows what she needs to do. “No matter what you hear.”

  “I won’t.”

  “That’s my brave girl,” I tell her as I pull her into my arms and hold her tight. “And know that I love you. No matter what.”

  “I love you too.”

  “I hear footsteps,” I tell her, and fuck, I hate this, but I’m ready to go. I’ll do anything to save my child. Anything. Rick will raise her and care for her. I’ve seen the way he is with her, and he’s as I always knew he would be—a wonderful father. I’m only sorry I won’t be here to see it. “Get ready.”

  “I don’t want to leave you, Mommy,” Rachel says. She’s starting to get upset, because she knows we won’t see each other again after this.

  “I’ll be fine,” I lie. “I have Captain Black—”

  “Ryan,” he corrects. “I think we’re on a first-name basis now.”

  “I have Ryan,” I correct my previous comment. “Just be ready.”

  “You did a good thing,” Ryan whispers to me so Rachel can’t hear him. I don’t answer him; I just nod and get prepared for battle.

  Rachel hides next to the hinges of the door, ready to sprint around it once I clobber Ashley with the folding chair. I test the weight of it in my hands. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. My knees are bent, and I can’t hear anything but my heart pounding in my ears.

  “I need the brat!” Ashley hollers, her voice sounding like it’s just on the other side of the door. I don’t know what she wants Rachel for, and I don’t care. She’s not getting her.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I whisper to my baby. “Just remember what I said.”

  Rachel just nods.

  The knob turns and the door wings open, and then everything happens all at once.

  “Ashley, stop!” Rick shouts, and my blood freezes in my veins.

  No! I want to scream. He isn’t supposed to be here. I need him to be all right so he can take care of Rachel. Rachel will need a parent to love her and look after her. As she turns toward him, raising the gun in her hands, I swing the chair into her head and hear a crack.

  “Now!” I shout at Rachel.

  Our daughter runs in between where Ashley is lying on the floor and through the door. Rick pulls Rachel into
him, holding her so she can’t see the mess her mother made out of another human being.

  “It’s over,” he says softly. “Don’t look.”

  “I had to,” I mumble as my whole body shakes. I had to kill her. It was her or me. I just wanted Rachel to escape. I never meant to kill anyone. I’ve never killed anyone before, and I never want to ever again.

  I can’t stop staring at the mess on the floor.

  “Come here,” Rick orders, still holding our daughter tight in his arms.

  “I had to,” I whisper.

  And then everything goes black.

  “Vegas Wedding Bells Ring for Mr. & Mrs. Donovan. Couple Exchanges Vows in Front of Powerful Friends.”

  Epilogue

  What happens in Vegas is forever

  “This is it,” Grace says to me. “Are you ready?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that,” she says, handing me a huge bouquet of pink and white roses.

  Yesterday, Rick, Rachel, and I flew to Las Vegas and checked into the biggest suite known to man in the Paris Hotel. It’s actually two bedrooms larger than the apartment we shared when we were first married. After that, our friends started arriving.

  Last night, we dressed in our best and had a fabulous dinner filled with steak and wine and good friendships. Rachel was over the moon getting to stay up late and party with her favorite pals, Jules and Grace.

  But this morning was my absolute favorite.

  We woke up and had an amazing breakfast, and then the hair and makeup ladies showed up. They looked a little terrified, probably because they had to go through a thousand pounds of security clearances to get this gig, but we made it worth their while. They can never tell the stories from today, because of the ironclad NDAs they signed, but they had so much fun with us that they didn’t look like they cared.

  Now, Grace and Jules are wearing beaded gowns in a muted shimmery gold. Rachel and I are in a rose gold. My dress is fitted and sleeveless with a deep V in the front and a deeper V in the back. Rachel’s has cap sleeves and a poofy skirt. When we asked her what she wanted for our wedding, she said pink and sparkly. She should know by now not to give me a challenge like that. Her mama knows how to shop.