AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She laughed.
His innate sense of humor surfaced, and he managed a pained smile.
“What about your job?” she asked. “Don’t you have to get back to work?”
“It’ll hold.”
There were some things that didn’t add up here. “Lucy tells me you drive a Mercedes. Nice car for a steelworker.”
It took a moment for him to respond. “I never said I was a steelworker. I told you I worked in a steel mill.”
“The difference being?”
“I’m management.”
“I see.” She slipped her hands between her thighs. “How long before you go back?”
“It takes two weeks to get the results.”
Hope flared inside her, only to fade as he went on. “I’ll probably fly back with them tomorrow night, maybe the next day. I guess it depends on you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not leaving you alone.”
“I don’t need a bodyguard. That’s why I left in the first place.”
He reached down and absentmindedly scratched behind Squid’s ears. “The President held a press conference this afternoon. You were the main topic of discussion.”
She’d deliberately avoided listening to the news, and she didn’t want to hear this.
The dog propped his muzzle on Mat’s foot. “Vandervort reassured everyone there was no reason to be alarmed about your safety, that you’d spoken with Mrs. Bush just this afternoon.”
“Uhm.”
“Apparently the special task force of agents looking for you has narrowed their search, and they expect to locate you soon.”
She propped her elbows on her knees and sighed. “They probably will.”
“I don’t know. You seem to have covered your tracks pretty well.”
“They’re the best. Sooner or later, they’ll find me.”
“He blamed your disappearance on the nefarious villains that make up the opposition party.” His mouth twisted in a cynical smile. “He said you’d become increasingly distressed watching your husband’s political opponents put their own narrow interests above the best interests of the American people.”
She gave a soft laugh. “He would say that.”
“So which First Lady are you going to call tomorrow?”
She leaned back. “No more First Ladies. All of their phones will be monitored by now. I’ll have to move on to the Supreme Court or the Cabinet.”
He shook his head. “It’s still hard for me to believe.”
“Then don’t think about it.”
“It’s tough not to.” That flinty note had crept back into his voice. “You should have told me.”
“Why?”
