AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Of course, he zeroes in on exactly what I hoped he wouldn’t. He misses nothing. “You know I like that track.”
He keeps staring. “How do you know he’s going to be running when we’re back at the big house?”
Shit. “Email. Walker requested a change.” A bald-faced lie.
“Why does he wanna run outside? The weather is going to turn to shit soon.”
We’ve got a short window of good weather before the heat and humidity skyrocket. DC was built on a swamp, and while I grew up breathing through water vapor, most everyone else transplanted to the city hates the summer.
“He’ll run early.” That’s only part of why I suggested the time. DC is groggy in the morning. Though the South Lawn track is private, there’s still a chance the wrong someone could see. “Look, he ran the beach in California. Staring at a wall on a treadmill can’t replicate that. He’s unhappy.”
“Unhappy?” Henry snorts. “Mr. Happy himself? You’re kidding!”
“Mr. Happy?” My burger drops.
He downs a long gulp of soda as red darkens his cheekbones. “It’s a nickname some of the guys have for him. You gotta admit, Walker seems to be pretty upbeat. At least, he does in the mornings.”
Mornings are when he and I meet. My face is stone, not a single flinch. If Henry wants to say something, now is the time.
“Five agents around the track should work fine,” he says, breaking the silence. “I can move things around and free up some guys from the end of the overnight shift. I’ll take the fifth slot. I’m not running.” He points a fry at me, shaking it. “I only run when it’s required for the job. I hated it in the Marines, and I hate it now. I’m gonna drink my coffee while you’re sweating your ass off.”
“That’s the point. Like I said, I want to run the track. I’m using him.”
“Uh-huh.” He stands and wipes his hands before grabbing both our plates. “C’mon.”
I only picked at my food. Usually, I can polish off a burger in no time, but he doesn’t say a word about my lack of appetite.
We’re out the door and on the way back to my SUV when he says, “Let’s move some people around on the detail. There’s this new kid on the night shift I wanna bring up. He’s got potential.”
“Oh yeah? Who?”
“Name’s Sheridan.”
I know everyone at the White House. I run through my agents’ personnel files in my mind. He’s a former Marine, like Henry. He’s young, too. “Agent Leigh Sheridan? The one from the case on the campaign? After what he did, the director put him on the fast track to the White House.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“He only joined the Service two years ago. That’s pretty fast to be moving up on the detail.”
I don’t want to play games with hotshots who have the director’s favor because they made one great move and had the good-guy glow on them for a few minutes. The Secret Service isn’t about the spotlight, and I don’t have time to teach prima donnas that truth.
Especially when I’m trying to cover up my own questionable decisions.
“Sheridan is a good agent. I know what you’re thinking, and he’s not like that. He’s here at Rowley doing his recert this week, too. You should meet him. You’ll like him.”
The list of people I truly like is small.
“I’ll take him under my wing.” Henry grins. “You’ll see.”
“Playing favorites with your fellow Marines?”
“Always.”
* * *
Henry’s right.I do like Sheridan.
We meet in the Rowley gym, in the boxing ring. I boxed through high school and on the New Orleans police team, and it’s a skill and a hobby I keep on top of.
