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 York 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.”

Thomas, who had been standing in the corner on his phone, joined the group. “I’ve just received confirmation that the caliber of bullet fragments CSI dug out of the tree is .308. That matches the caliber of the assassin’s weapon.”

“Bingo.” Connor looked happy. “I mean, we’ll have to run ballistics to make sure that bullet came from his weapon, but I like our odds. Plus, the police said they found a backpack and lots of fun sniper toys, so they think he’s been sticking close to the White House for a while.”

Just waiting for someone to call him and tell him to off the president of the United States.

“Likely so.” Thomas said. “It’s amazing that bullet went clean through Mike’s arm without blowing it off.”

Zack listened with half an ear. All this talk of bullets and violence and intent to kill. And god, he couldn’t stop thinking about Elizabeth, about forgiving her. She might have sent an assassin to ensure his death, and he was foolishly thinking about how he could possibly keep her. He was a masochist.

“Did the shooter have a cell phone?” When Connor nodded, Zack continued. “I want to know who he’s been talking to. I want that number.”

“You must know it was a burner phone, and I’m sure we’ll find out the call came from another burner. This guy falling out of the tree was a fluke. The truth is, these guys are never sloppy. But we can figure out roughly where the call originated from. So do I have authority to take over his questioning?” Connor’s whole body was tense as though he was already in work mode.

Zack nodded, almost feeling sorry for the bastard. “Go, and call when you have any information at all. I want to know who tipped him off.”

Connor nodded, clapped him on the shoulder, and left once again to do his country’s dirty work.

“Gus is going to kill me, you know.” Roman looked grim as he stared down at the monitors. “Dax and Gabe are in Elizabeth’s office searching it right now, finding out if she had anything incriminating stored there. They’ll do the same at her apartment when they’re through with her office. Are you going to wait for Connor or start interrogating now?”

“We can’t wait,” Zack said grimly. “Talk to her. Find out if she’s been trying to protect someone, if she was blackmailed into this.” Nothing else made sense. She loved him; Zack believed that. Or he wanted to. Then again, it was possible he’d been colossally fooled before.

Was he making a mistake in second-guessing her loyalty? But how could he not ask critical questions?

Zack hardened his resolve. He had a right to get to the bottom of her actions. Of her likely perfidy. There were simply too many coincidences for her to be anything but guilty.

“I’ll handle Liz,” Roman promised. “Be careful with Paul. We have no idea what he’s capable of.”

Was Roman doing his paranoid thing again or was he right?

“Actually, Freddy and I have some questions for Mr. Harding, too.” Mad stood in the doorway. “That is, if you don’t mind.”

“You’re supposed to be dead,” Roman reminded.

“After what happened today, I’m not going to hide while those bastards are taking shots at my friends.”

Zack shook his head. “We may need the element of surprise later.” And no one knew the case like Freddy. “Send your crazy friend with me.”

Mad shrugged. “If that’s what you want...” Then he glanced down at the monitors and winced when he saw Elizabeth. “Damn it, Zack. Seriously?”

Roman didn’t let him reply. “She was the only one who knew where we planned to jog this morning.”

“Hello, the Secret Service knew,” Mad pointed out. “We’re already aware of at least two agents in the past who were compromised. Who’s to say there aren’t more? Connor and Freddy still haven’t finished vetting everyone.”

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have to look into every possible suspect. There’s no way we can’t ask her.” Roman sighed as if he was not looking forward to this task. “I’m going to grab a stiff cup of coffee and get started. Be careful, Zack.”

Mad shook his head Zack’s way. “If you throw her in jail, there’s no coming back from this.”

“She’s not in jail.” Of course she wouldn’t be allowed to leave either. What would she do the second he unlocked the door? He had to look at all the evidence and make his best judgment call. What if she’d had a good reason for calling an assassin down on his head?

What the hell would constitute a good reason?

Misery swamped him. He wasn’t even angry anymore. In those first few moments when he’d realized she must be guilty, rage had thrummed through his veins. He’d wanted to walk right into her office, confront her…and he wasn’t sure what he would have done to her then.

His first impulse had faded as he’d been bodily hauled to safety, his movements restricted. In those moments, he hadn’t been Zack Hayes, an American citizen born with inalienable rights. He’d been the president, property of the American people. No amount of arguing would change the fact that he had no right to be simply a man in love. He’d wanted to go to her, force her to explain. And he hadn’t been allowed to.

That’s when his rage had morphed into sorrow. She’d just called an assassin to snuff him out, and he was still pathetically in love with her.

“Zack, go in there and talk to her. You could have died, so you totally have a right to your suspicions. But get her side of the story first.” Who would have guessed that Maddox Crawford would play angel to Roman’s obvious devil? That he would be the champion of true love? “Liz will understand. She’s a smart woman who gets the pressure you’ve been under.”

“I have to talk to Paul.” Zack didn’t trust himself to be alone with Elizabeth, even with cameras rolling. As far as he could see that interrogation ended one of two ways: either he hurt her more or fell right back into her trap. He turned to Roman. “Go. Find out why she’s done this.”

“Actually, Zack wants to know if she’s done this,” Mad cautioned. “Treat her like the friend she is. Or better yet, I’ll do it.”

Mad might be onto something. “Go with Roman and figure out what’s going on.”

Hopefully, they would balance one another.

“You got it.” Mad grinned.

Roman just sighed.

“And I’ll take Freddy with me. Do we know where he’s hiding?”

“I’m here,” a disembodied voice from above said.

Suddenly, Zack found himself right back under Thomas, and three Secret Service agents all trained their firearms at the ceiling.

“Don’t shoot him.” The phantom of the White House was at work again, and Zack vowed to add a new line in the budget for completely redoing all the ductwork in the White House to ensure no crazy people could use them to sneak around in the future. “He’s a friendly.”

Thomas let him up, still wearing his usual stoic expression. One of the other agents kept his gun trained as Freddy popped the vent and wiggled out.

“I can give you the name of a guy who will secure the whole system, Mr. President.” Freddy held up his hands to show he wasn’t carrying.

They frisked him anyway.

“Dare I ask why you aren’t in the very nice room I assigned you to?” Roman asked.

Freddy shrugged. “It was a cage, man. Been there, done that. Never again. Besides, the security guard down here watches TV at night and he’s doing a great binge of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I couldn’t miss that. If you could tell him to turn up the volume, though, that would be helpful.”

Zack made a mental note to have someone talk to the guard who apparently didn’t realize he was being spied on. He turned to Freddy. “What do you know about Paul Harding?”

A feral grin lit Freddy’s face. “Enough to suspect he’s been working for the Russians since he was a kid. I’ve really been looking at him the last few days, and I’m almost positive. Do I really get to question a suspect?”

“I’m in charge.” He needed to make that very clear.

Freddy gave him a jaunty salute. “I’m happy to play the perky sidekick.”

More like the insane sidekick. He turned to Mad and Roman. “Get me answers.”

Then Zack forced himself to turn away and focus on the job at hand. His father-in-law knew something and he was going to find out what.

 

* * * *

 

Zack stepped inside the utilitarian room and Paul Harding’s pale eyes shifted toward him. It was the first movement he’d seen from the man in the hour since he’d been brought in.

“Hello, Zachary. Might I ask why I was dragged from my home on such a nice day?” There was no deep indignation in his manner, merely curiosity.

Zack took the seat opposite, allowing Freddy to pace, which he seemed compelled to do anyway. Thomas, as always, remained his shadow.

“I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“I would like the same courtesy, Zachary.” Paul placed his hands on the table and leaned in. One of them was cuffed to the bar that ran along the side of the table. “Kak, po-tvoemy, mozhno izbezhat svoyu sudbu?” His Russian accent sounded as perfect as his bland American one.

How do you think to avoid your fate?

Zack’s stomach knotted. He swallowed down his shock. “You’re not even going to try to deny your guilt?”

“No, because he knows we have him,” Freddy said, sounding far more serious than Zack had ever heard him. The military intelligence officer in him was ingrained deep and had taken over. “It’s actually not surprising. They’re moving the operation to the next level, very likely because of your pipeline announcement the other day. Are you acting as the primary contact between the Russians and the administration now, Mr. Harding?”

“Well, since President Hayes has proven to be uncompromising so far, it’s become necessary to make contact,” he said. “Clearly, I no longer have influence over him in any valuable way, so I’m being put to other uses. However, I will not be your contact in the future. I am merely a messenger.”

God, it was all fucking true. Everything they’d been investigating and suspecting, the people hiding in the shadows, intending to control him or kill him…all of it was true. He’d been surrounded by wolves for years. “So your next move was to have me killed.”

A single shoulder shrugged. “Which has proven ineffective as well. I told them it would be better to poison you and implicate one of your friends. They argued that poisoning is more difficult than a bullet and harder to pin on someone. And unfortunately, I no longer have the kind of close contact with you that allowed me to properly doctor your food.”

The fact that his once kindly father-in-law was calmly discussing how best to kill him struck him squarely in the gut. He’d gone on fishing trips with this man, opened up to him about the fact he and Joy had tried to have children. Never once had he seen even a hint of the predator under Paul’s surface.

“When did SVR recruit you?” Freddy took up the questioning, seeming to understand that Zack needed a moment.

The expression on Paul’s face was like nothing Zack had ever seen. His mask had fallen away, finally revealing the real man. Cruel. Superior. Sure of his place in the world. “Please. They are nothing but a cover for the KGB. Don’t think for a moment they aren’t the same. You can’t change something like the KGB.”

“Your parents were planted by the KGB,” Freddy said. “I’ve been studying you. Your parents immigrated from Canada, but I would bet they were born in the USSR.”

Paul cocked a brow, a silent nod to Freddy’s cleverness. “You are the first to realize this. My parents were smart.”

“Mr. President, have you heard of a program called ‘the illegals’?” Freddy asked.

Paul rolled his eyes. “We had nothing to do with those idiots.”

Zack shook his head and waited for Freddy to clue him in.

“The US Department of Justice started tracking a group of sleeper agents years ago that ended in the arrests of ten operatives, many whom had been living in the US for decades and had children born in the US. Mr. Harding’s group was a precursor to that particular program. His father and mother came to the US under forged Canadian documents. It was simpler to arrange such things in 1957. Paul was fifteen then. His father was a nuclear engineer. His knowledge would have been deemed valuable. It would have been easy for them to get a work visa and a job, especially since he was a family man.”

“I was trained alongside my parents,” Paul explained. “Even at a young age, I knew about the corruption of your system. America is the whining child of the world. We were a small, but well-trained group. We were tasked with building a home and a life in the United States. My father sent information back to Mother Russia about your government programs for years. I did the same in the military. After I graduated at the top of my class in high school, getting admitted into the Naval Academy was simple. Excelling was even easier. After all, I was disciplined. I was working toward something monumental while my pathetic classmates cared only for drinking and making idiots of themselves. I fought in Vietnam, and came back a great American hero.” He sneered. “I was always helping my comrades on the other side, and no one ever suspected.”

Zack’s head reeled. Dear god. How many like Paul were out there? “That’s treason. You deserve everything that’s coming for you. Our past relations won’t save you. I won’t keep quiet, not after you actively aided the enemy in a time of war.”

“I was the enemy, boy. I always have been.”

Clearly, and the implications were staggering.

Freddy simply looked on. “Your parents never went back to Russia. They lived here until they passed.”

“My parents were true patriots. They showed me how to be loyal to my country, my people, no matter where I lived. I didn’t have to be in Russia to love it. That is what none of you understand. When my naval career brought me to loftier heights, we realized that we had an opportunity to use my skills and contacts for a greater purpose than I had previously imagined.”

To elect him to become a puppet for Russia. Zack could hardly fathom it.

“How much of this did Joy know?”

“Most everything.” He smiled, and Zack gaped, feeling sick. “My daughter was a true Russian asset. Her mother and I raised her to always serve the land of her heart,” he said with the aura of a true believer. “She did so admirably because she knew her duty and embraced it.”

“Did she set herself up to die?”

For a tiny instant, Paul looked downcast. “No. When it became clear you would not win the election otherwise, she became my gift to my people, an unfortunate sacrifice I made for Russia’s greater good.” Paul settled back. “After all, one cannot have victory without sacrifice, so I proudly made mine. We all must. It’s what entitled Americans like you don’t understand. You think you can have everything without paying a price. Without getting blood on your hands. But blood reminds us what is at stake.”

Zack sat back, swallowing down rising bile. Shock didn’t begin to cover how he felt.

Had Joy taken instructions from her handlers, thinking she merely had to get through the last days of the campaign before she could be free, never knowing her own parents were helping to sacrifice her for the cause? Had she realized what had happened, the way her mother and father had betrayed her, as the bullet tore through her chest?

“So you weren’t involved directly with the Hayes family in the beginning?” Thank god Freddy was capable of viewing this as an intellectual exercise. “Did you know Zack Hayes’s grandfather was a Russian asset?”

Paul shook his head. “They chose to handle him differently because he was always destined for this cause. I later fell into it.”

Based on what Zack knew, that made sense. “What do you know about Natalia Kuilikov?”

“Bah, she was nothing but a tool, and an ineffective one at that. She was a weak woman who cared too much. They did not break her properly.”

“She cared about me.” Zack remembered how kind Nata had been.

“The stupid woman was supposed to raise you right, help you understand your loyalties. But she became…difficult. So you were sent away to that boarding school. It was important that your education look thorough and proper, that you made the right connections,” Paul explained.

“So my parents weren’t involved in this giant scheme? They certainly didn’t raise me the way you did Joy.”

For the first time, Paul played coy. “You see, the CIA is quite intelligent. They have ways of finding our connections. So we had to ensure that your father had no idea where his father’s loyalties truly lie. Unfortunately, he proved…unsuitable for our needs.”

So the Russians had sought to compromise his father, help install him as president of the United States, and use him for their own ends. But when he’d been unable to win the primary, they’d shifted to another plan. They’d looked to the future. Zack.

“What you’re saying is that you wanted an asset who could be vetted and would have absolutely no problem passing a lie detector test,” Freddy mused. “Or any test since a good agent can get the truth out in other ways. But you knew that, so you avoided that possibility. After all, an asset can’t fail such an indicator if he doesn’t know he’s an asset until it’s too late.”

“Frank Hayes was weak, and they thought it best that he not know his part of the plot until he could no longer escape,” Paul confirmed. “For the same reasons, we would have preferred Zachary never knew he was being manipulated. If he had been strong enough to win the election on his own, my Joy would have made sure the right people were advising him.”

The right people? Did that include Liz? Maybe…but maybe not. His father had hired her. At Paul’s behest? On the orders of someone higher up in the old KGB structure? Or simply because her predecessor had been ineffectual at getting him positive press and she’d been damn good at her job? He wasn’t sure since Joy had taken the burden of finding the right people for the right job off his shoulders during the campaign.

Of course she had. She’d been instructed to. And it certainly wouldn’t surprise him if some of the people Joy had hired were still in their roles to this day.

That realization terrified him. The wolves could be anywhere, everywhere.

“Thomas, please go inform Mr. Calder that my late wife was working with the enemy.”

“Sir—”

“I know you’re not supposed to leave me, but Mr. Harding is an old man handcuffed to a table. I’ve survived one bullet today. I doubt there’s much else he can do to me.” When the agent still hesitated, Zack got stubborn. “I’m ordering you to. And I’ve got Freddy here to help me.”

Thomas sighed as if he didn’t like it at all, but he complied. “I’ll be back shortly.”

As he left, Zack sat back and tried to process everything Paul had hurled his way.

Joy had been a traitor. The woman he’d sought to make First Lady had been a Russian asset. Wow. Just…wow. Even as so many pieces of the puzzle began to snap into place, Zack thought of a thousand other questions. Why the emotional affair with Roman? What purpose would that have served to the Russians? To compromise his best friend? Possibly, but Roman was the one person he’d ever seen Joy be passionate about. Was it possible that she’d followed her heart that once? Had she changed her mind and shifted her loyalties, never knowing her end was near?

How much of her life had been dictated since the moment she was born? And what kind of relief had she felt when she’d thought she might escape? Zack could still remember the peace on her face when they’d realized he wasn’t going to win the election. At first he’d thought Joy was merely being a supportive wife. Now he wondered if she’d seen losing as her one-way ticket out of a life she’d no longer wanted.

What would it be like to have spent a lifetime in service of those others whose sole intention was to use you?

“I suppose I never found the ‘right people’ in your eyes. My father sent me to Creighton because you thought a school with such a rigorous reputation would make me easier to mold. You didn’t count on me finding a group of friends, did you?” Creighton had been isolating in the beginning. He’d spent the first half of a semester talking to no one until the mouthiest bad boy in the class sat down next to him and started talking. Maddox. He’d been the one to bring them all together. He hadn’t had any idea how his need to form a family would change their lives forever. “It might have worked if I hadn’t found my friends.”

“We expected all of you to drift apart as you got older. Most people do. We waited for you to get involved in your lives and careers, find other interests and people. Mr. Calder, we knew would stay around, but we thought he would be easy to deal with, especially when it seemed clear that Joy would have more success manipulating him than you. A physical affair between the two of them would have made him vulnerable.”

But Roman had never crossed that line.

Zack saw their plans now. They’d put him in the presidency, then waited until they’d been ready to use him. He was supposed to have been their frog in a pot. If they’d dropped him into scalding water, he would have leapt out. But by slowly turning up the heat, they had been hoping to boil him before he realized it was too late to escape.

“Instead, none of us drifted apart,” Zack pointed out.

One person had held them together. He’d done it by showing up at the most inopportune times and slyly convincing them to party. But now, Zack saw clearly that had been Mad’s way of holding his family together. He feared he would have done exactly what the Russians had expected without Mad Crawford to save the day. Even his death, sharing their grief, had held his band of brothers together. Everyone had underestimated Mad at every turn, even him.

“You did not. I didn’t see this as a problem, though. I believed your friends would be excellent tools to wield against you,” Paul explained.

“Hence the blackmail letter. Who delivered that to Ms. Matthews’s suite in London?”

Paul shrugged. “I am not privy to trivial details. I merely know the matter was handled poorly.”

A dead end, damn it. Zack raked a hand through his hair. No clue if or how involved Elizabeth might be.

That moment, Thomas stepped back into the room with a somber nod. It was done. Roman now knew that the woman he’d once thought he loved had been a traitor. Zack hated that he’d had to break it to Roman this way, but if it helped him at all in questioning Elizabeth…

Freddy jumped in with a narrow-eyed stare at Paul. “Why did you single out Maddox Crawford? I know he was getting close to discovering that Tavia Gordon’s foundation was a front for trafficking, but if you were willing to give up your own daughter, why not give up Tavia?”

“That was out of my hands. Some of us believed we should have killed Mr. Crawford. I took the man seriously, if only because I knew Zachary would. My partners disagreed. They believed that, if properly motivated, he could be persuaded to see our side.”

“I honestly thought I was going to find a corpse when I got to Mad’s apartment that night,” Freddy admitted.

Thank god Freddy hadn’t. “I assure you, you would never have been able to turn Maddox Crawford into a Russian asset.”

“Which is precisely why I wanted him dead. They thought he would break because he was a ridiculous, entitled playboy. I thought that his death would prove to you that our demands could not be ignored. The main handler chose a softer touch, but I knew you needed a hammer. And it is coming for you,” Paul promised.

“Who is Sergei?” Zack asked the question he’d been desperate to know the answer to for months. Sergei must be the hammer Paul meant.

A nasty smile lit Paul’s face. “You think it’s you, don’t you? Perhaps it is. Perhaps you are not who you believe yourself to be. It’s what children forget. You are who your father made you to be. You cannot change that, and you must pay because he sinned.”

“I know he did, but I will not make reparations for that. I am Zack Hayes. I don’t give a damn who gave birth to me. That was nothing more than a trick of biology. If I was born to Natalia Kuilikov, it doesn’t matter.”

That truth finally hit him. The man sitting across the table had no power over him unless Zack gave it to him. He’d spent so much time panicking at the need to save his friends and his reputation while ensuring the Russians didn’t have a backup plan that he hadn’t fully considered that simple fact.

“I assure you the voting public will care very much.”

“Then I’ll step down, but as I do I’ll drag every one of you traitorous bastards down with me.” Maybe that’s what he should have done the moment he’d received that blackmail letter. He’d hesitated because of Elizabeth. He hadn’t wanted to bring anyone else into the investigation in case she was involved. He’d been trying to protect her. Same with Gabe, who’d also looked potentially guilty because of the FAA investigation into Mad’s death.

Paul scoffed. “You cannot escape your past. Or your destiny. I am hardly the only one involved in this plan. I assure you, there are more of us. Many more. We’re right here in your White House. We’re waiting. You will do what we want or we will destroy everything and everyone you care about. If you need proof of our power over you, you will soon have it. And the price for your rebellion thus far will be steeper than you ever imagined. You cannot be rid of us. Not ever.”

Zack’s heart stopped. “What price?”

Paul merely curled his lips into the smile of a satisfied snake.

“What price?” he growled.

“You are easy, Zachary. You think those friends of yours make you strong, but every one of them is merely another weak link. I’m here to make you understand. And now I have done so. Call it the final act of a patriot. Cancel the pipeline or you’ll mourn more of your friends.”

Suddenly, Paul’s face went pale and his hand began to shake.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Zack replied, studying his unexpected nemesis. Paul seemed to be in physical distress. Or maybe it was an act, like everything else about the man. The important thing was, Connor and the guys from Justice could hold him, question him more. But Zack refused for a second to let Paul think they’d won a thing. “Mad is alive. I don’t have to mourn anything but my idiocy where you’re concerned.”

Paul staggered and paled further. Zack watched as the older man bucked, then a drop of blood dripped from his mouth. “I don’t mean Maddox. I suspected he survived his ‘crash.’ There was a reason the FAA investigation was halted. But you have other friends. You see, the agents who picked me up were kind enough to allow an old man his coffee. My people have perfected some excellent new poisons. They work over the course of a few hours. My time is almost up. How will you handle that, Mr. President? I assure you no one has seen this poison yet. They won’t be able to save either of us.”

“Either?” Zack could hardly breathe. “What do you mean?”

Thomas stepped in front of him. “Don’t get close, sir. We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

More blood spat from his mouth and he’d turned an ashy gray color. “Another of my country’s inventions. Odorless. Tasteless. Quick but not too fast. I sincerely hope your whore enjoyed her coffee this morning. If you don’t play the game properly, more will follow. This is my final message.”

Paul’s head fell forward and he slumped in his seat. In that moment, Zack knew precisely what real terror was.

Elizabeth.

He’d been such a fool. She loved him. He’d put her in a cell and failed to realize that the wolves around him would circle her the moment he pushed her away.

For his stupidity, he might have to put her in a coffin.

Without looking back, he dashed out the door, Thomas hot on his heels. Zack could only pray that somehow, someway he could save her.

 

* * * *

 

Liz was trying to pull herself together when the door burst open and Roman strode in, wearing his slick suit, carrying a thick file folder, and looking frightfully grim.

She gaped. Zack had sent his attack dog in after her rather than facing her himself? He’d nearly died and he hadn’t needed to see her, hadn’t wanted to hold her. No. He’d suspected she’d somehow been responsible for the attempt on his life and sicced Roman on her.

Mad followed, still in his pajama pants and a wrinkled T-shirt, looking like he’d rolled out of bed for this interrogation.

Roman frowned. “Liz—”

“Tell me exactly what I’m being accused of, you massive asshole. I’m never going to forgive you for this, by the way. Have you thought these ridiculous accusations through for even two fucking seconds? How long have you known me?”

He seemed slightly taken aback by her aggression, but he smoothed his expression as he set the file folder on the table and squared off with her. “I knew Joy, too. I knew her very well. And as it turns out, she was a Russian operative. Her father just told Zack that five minutes ago. So it doesn’t matter how well I think I know you.”

Liz felt her eyes go wide. Seriously?

But now that he said it, she felt stupid for not embracing that possibility sooner. She’d had her head in the clouds and hadn’t seen the real threat in their midst. Joy. Joy had been in charge of so many facets of the campaign and Zack’s life. Joy had been the ghost who’d kept her apart from Zack for years. Now she was the lie that could tear them in two for good. Liz had to handle this cross-examination well or risk losing everything.

“And that’s on you, pal,” Mad cut in. “Hey, Liz. You hungry? Sara made sandwiches. She could bring them down. Or booze.” He looked at Roman. “Man, we could probably use some booze.”

Roman glared his way. “I did not want you in here. You’re sitting next to me because Zack asked me to include you. I can toss you out on your ass.”

If that threat worried Mad, he didn’t show it. “I’m here so Zack has a shot at coming out of this with his family intact. You’re just going to ask Liz a whole bunch of questions you won’t believe her answers to because she doesn’t have definitive proof. But at some point the evidence she needs will pop up, and you’ll have to live with the fact that you cost Zack the love of his life because you can’t trust anyone. It sucks that Joy betrayed everyone. But you’re taking it personally by taking it out on Liz. You need to stop.”

Okay, Mad could stay.

Liz drew in a bracing breath. “I am not Joy, Roman.”

“While Zack and Roman were jogging earlier today, someone took a shot at him,” Mad explained. “Thomas managed to cover him, but one of the other Secret Service agents was hit in the arm. They’ve caught the man they believe is the shooter and Connor is talking to the Russian now at the police station.”

“Are you planning on telling her everything?” Roman asked with a huff.

She turned a glare on Roman because he didn’t get to have it both ways. “Well, according to you I should already know everything, shouldn’t I? Since apparently I’m the one who set Zack up to die.”

That was why she was here. They thought she’d sold Zack out. Now that she looked back, she could easily see that they’d suspected her for a while.

Her heart felt heavy in her chest. He’d suspected she was working with the Russians when he’d slept with her. What had he said? He kept his friends close and his enemies closer. Somewhere along the way she’d become his enemy, and only then had he taken her to bed. He didn’t love her. He’d merely placated and used her.

She forced herself to pull the chair back and sit because their accusations were serious. Zack had abandoned her. She loved Gus like a sister, but in the end her very dear friend would stick with her fiancée. Liz was completely alone. Sure Mad was trying to help, but the Perfect Gentlemen would close ranks around Zack, and she would be outside their circle. It was past time to start protecting herself.

“I would like a lawyer.”

“You don’t need a lawyer.” Mad pulled out his own chair and sat. “You need patience because this thing is going to settle out and Roman is going to see he’s being a butthead.”

“Is that a technical term?” Roman asked, shooting Mad a dirty look.

“Absolutely, Counselor.” Mad attempted a smile as he leaned in, his voice conspiratorially low. “That’s what we call him when he gets a stick up his butt about something, just like we have since we were kids. You have to understand that Roman feeds all of Zack’s worst impulses.”

“Could we stop psychoanalyzing me and focus?” Roman turned his attention back to her. “You’re not under arrest. I have some simple questions, Liz. If you’ll cooperate, I believe the president will work with you.”

“What he’s trying to say is Zack is absolutely sick at heart about this and he doesn’t know what to do. He’s crazy in love with you, but he’s suspected Joy for a while, and finding out that she was in on the Russian conspiracy won’t improve this situation for him at all,” Mad explained.

Oh, Zack had been smart to send Mad in here. “I’m not Joy.”

“I know that,” Mad promised. “And deep down Zack knows it, too. He just needs time to get over his shock. And you have to forgive Roman. He’s, like, ninety-nine percent cynicism. He was born that way. Once he has some proof, he’ll be right back to being our lovable grouch.”

She studied Roman. He was one of the most cynical humans she’d ever met. And she’d rather not play his game, but she didn’t have a choice. “Ask your questions, Roman.”

“How did you meet Joy?” Roman looked relieved to get down to business.

Her heart felt hollow as she answered. “You know I met her through Frank Hayes, the same way I met Zack. I had worked on a couple of other senatorial campaigns by then. As I understand it, Joy didn’t get along with Zack’s previous media consultant, and you didn’t like him, either.”

“He was old school,” Roman admitted. “He didn’t understand social media. His ways worked once upon a time, but I knew we needed a fresh voice, especially for the presidential election. I’m not great on camera, not the way you are. I liked the idea of bringing a woman onto the team. I thought it would make Zack look more inclusive.”

She didn’t take that statement poorly. Since Roman was a blunt instrument, he had very little tact. She’d always been more subtle. It was why Zack had needed both of them for that campaign. “I took the initial meeting with Frank and instantly disliked him. I didn’t think there was any way I would accept the job if he offered it to me, but then I met Zack and I very quickly changed my mind. I even got along with Joy. But I hadn’t met her or anyone else from the campaign before that day. I don’t remember the exact day of our meeting. I think it was a Friday. I have years’ worth of calendar data. I could check it if you want me to.”

“What did you know about the Women and Girls Education Foundation?” Roman asked.

“I certainly didn’t know it was responsible for trafficking women,” she replied. “I went to a couple of meetings with Joy since she was considering partnering with them if she became First Lady. If I met Tavia Gordon, I don’t recall.”

“Are you aware that the e-mail that called off the FAA investigation into the crash that supposedly killed Mad originated from your office?”

Roman’s question made her heart stop. “No. Are you sure? It wasn’t me. Roman, it couldn’t have been. I don’t have the power to call off an FAA investigation.”

“Well, someone on your team is tricky enough with our network and knew how to make that directive look as if it came from the Oval, but we’ve traced the message back to your office.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Someone had been using her computer, setting her up and doing god only knew what else, and no one had bothered to mention it to her?

“Normally, you don’t tell a suspect that you’re on to their bad deeds,” Roman replied. “It tends to hurt the investigation. I’ll be honest with you, Liz. I believe you should have been isolated until we figured out your status. One way or another, the choices you’ve made have caused Zack a great deal of trouble.”

“Wow.” Mad sat back. “I don’t even know how to save you from yourself, man.”

Liz stood, glaring Roman’s way. “Are you kidding me? My choices? How about the choices you’ve made, Calder? You chose to withhold vital information from me.”

“We didn’t know if we could trust you.”

And they still didn’t. “Then fire me. I believe during this process I offered to step down about ten times. I meant it. I was ready to quit. I still am.”

“I would have happily accepted your resignation. I thought it was a good idea, in fact.”

“Oh, I see. Zack wanted to torture me. He decided it would be more fun if he put me through the wringer before he tossed me aside. Tell me something, Mr. Calder, were we ever friends? I’ve worked beside you for years. I’ve sweated blood for this administration. I’ve acted as the First Lady without ever expecting a thing from either one of you, and you couldn’t be troubled to ask me a few simple questions or give me the benefit of the doubt?”

“I’ve told you my reasons.”

“Then tell me something else, and you really think before answering me. If you’d had even a hint that Joy was guilty all those years ago, would you have done this to her? Would you have allowed your best friend to use her sexually, to debase her with no thought to her feelings, so you could keep her close while you figured out if she’s evil? Or would you have gone to her? Would you have asked the questions because Joy was kind and sweet, and if she was doing something she shouldn’t, there must have been a good reason?”

Roman sat back, the color leaving his face. “He didn’t use you.”

“I assure you I feel very much used. Answer the question.”

“I didn’t…” He shook his head and sighed. “Damn it, yes. I would have asked her.”

She’d known that. And he hadn’t given her the same courtesy. “Because she was soft and compliant and never once challenged you. That was how she got you. She played the damsel in distress, and you always rode in to save her day. I never played you. I have always fought for what I believed in. I’ve crusaded beside you and Zack for what you two believed in. Trust me, I knew exactly how to play you, Calder, and I never did. So fuck you. If you had treated me with any kind of respect, I would have solved this by now because there are really only two people who have access to my office. Your future wife and Vanessa Jones. Without even talking to Gus, I have no trouble believing she’s completely innocent. Vanessa, not so much. See, I just solved your damn mystery in two seconds. Now unless you’re arresting me, I quit.”

Mad shook his head as though trying to process something. “Vanessa Jones? Wait. I know that name. Why do I know that name?”

“Liz, please sit down. We aren’t finished,” Roman said, but he sounded far less certain than he had before.

She glared at him. “Oh, we are. I gave that man my everything and this is how y’all treat me. Arrest me or let me go because I’m not playing games with you anymore.”

Roman slammed his fist on the table, making it shake. “It’s not a fucking game. It’s real, and Zack could have died today. Hell, I could have. I felt that bullet hit the Secret Service agent who covered me. I had to change clothes because mine were covered in blood. So I fully understand this is not a game.”

Her stomach turned at his words, but she couldn’t back down now. “I get that you’re scared. I am, too. And I understand that I was the only person Zack told where you two planned to run, but Vanessa was standing two feet away. She could easily have heard our conversation. Or the sniper could have been lying in wait because you and Zack have long-standing habits and it was only a matter of time before you returned to them.”

“When did Vanessa join the staff? How old is she?” Mad’s questions cut into the tension.

Roman frowned. “She was a volunteer during the campaign if I remember correctly. She’s fairly young.”

“She’s in her mid-twenties now.” Liz took a deep breath, trying to banish the rage burning through her as everything hit her like a ton of bricks. But she had to keep herself together. They had a conspiracy to uncover and it was deadly as hell. “Look, I’m angry with Zack right now. So angry. But I would never want him dead.”

But that had almost happened today. Someone had taken a shot at him and barely missed.

Liz teared up again.

“Are you okay?” Roman’s eyes were hooded as he looked at her.

“No, but it doesn’t matter.” She was furious and heartsick and nauseous. Her whole world had been obliterated by Roman Calder, but she still needed to find a way to make him understand. She turned back to Mad and answered his question. “Like Roman said, Vanessa came on during the campaign. She was a technical writer fresh out of Brown. She’s now in charge of proofing everything that runs through the press office and yes, that means she’s had access to my computer at times. I don’t know if you realize this, but my job can get chaotic. I don’t always have time to properly e-mail a statement and wait for someone to proofread and e-mail it back to me.”

On a hard news day she sometimes barely had time to breathe.

“Who hired her?” Mad asked. “Can I see a picture of her? She’s got a social media account, right?”

“I hired her, but she came highly recommended,” Liz replied, then sighed as she remembered. “Well, of course. Joy vouched for her.”

Roman turned his phone Maddox’s way. “This is Vanessa.”

Mad looked at the device and gasped. “I’ve seen her face… Hang on.”

“She hits on Zack a lot,” Roman said.

“She does what?” Liz felt her ire rise again.

Roman’s lips turned up slightly. “When you’re not watching, yes.”

“Well, she’s the person you should be questioning because she’s the only one besides Gus who could have used my computer without anyone questioning her. She must be one of the Russian insiders.”

“Um, yeah.” Mad nodded enthusiastically. “I know where I’ve seen her now. She was at Zack and Joy’s wedding.”

“No, she wasn’t,” Roman insisted. “I never saw her there.”

“I didn’t remember her, either. We were kinda busy… But she was definitely there. She signed the guest book. I found a picture of that day. I’ve been studying it, and I couldn’t figure out why it was bugging me… Let me make a call with your phone.”

Roman scowled but punched in his code to unlock his device. Seconds later, Mad had Sara on the line. “Hey, can you text Roman that picture you and I have been staring at? Yeah, the one where those three chicks are straightening Joy’s veil. Thanks, baby. Love you.” Then he hung up and looked at Roman with an expression that said I told you so. “Give her just a minute.”

“If Vanessa is a Russian asset, there may be more. Joy hired a bunch of people,” Liz pointed out. “Why don’t you look at them?”

“Liz, it’s not that easy. We have other evidence against you,” Roman said quietly. “The ‘secret meeting’ I told you Zack intended to have with the energy director the Friday following our trip to Camp David? It wasn’t real. It was a test of your loyalty. And you failed. Shorn came storming into the Oval, demanding to know why he hadn’t been informed or invited.”

She gaped. “I didn’t tell anyone about that. Not. A. Soul. The only thing I did was make a note about it in my phone after the fact to follow up and ask how the meeting went. If Vanessa is smart enough to route an e-mail through our network to make something that originated from my office look like it came from the Oval, then I’d say she’s smart enough to dupe my phone.”

“But you can’t prove that?”

“Can you prove she didn’t?”

Roman’s jaw tightened. “Can you tell me how it’s possible that Krylov was ever in your building and yet no one was able to find any proof of that? He would have been forced to check in unless you gave him the code to get inside.”

“Didn’t Gabe say there was a back way in that wasn’t covered by security cameras?” Mad was still staring at the phone, waiting for Sara’s text, but he continued to play the part of her advocate. “Krylov could have snuck in and out with a little help.”

“Exactly. Vanessa could have given him the code since she also lives in my building, along with three other members of the press office. I could have told you that had you given me the courtesy of treating me like a friend, rather than an enemy combatant.”

“See,” Mad put in again. “I’m telling you, Vanessa was at Zack and Joy’s wedding. She’s been involved far longer than we ever imagined. Liz, Roman thinks he’s been doing the right thing. It’s not that he doesn’t care about you. He’s made himself sick trying to figure a way out of this. The problem is he doesn’t have a creative bone in his body and he always expects the worst. Zack…well, Zack has never been in love and he’s clueless how to handle it. It’s not fair to ask you to be the bigger person, but the truth is they need you to be. Please don’t leave.”

“I don’t think I’m allowed to right now.” She settled back in a huff, Mad’s speech rolling through her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t hear what he was saying, but how on earth could she ever believe in Zack again, especially when he so obviously hadn’t believed in her? If he changed his mind because he suddenly had enough evidence to prove she was innocent and he deigned to sleep with her again, she would merely be a convenience. Liz refused to let herself be used by him anymore.

“I think it would be a good idea for you to talk to Zack.” Roman stood. “I’m sorry you’re angry with me. I like to think you would do the same thing if you were in my position. There’s so much at stake here. I have to take it seriously because no one else will. Stay here. I’ll talk to Zack and have someone find Vanessa Jones.”

A second later, Roman’s phone dinged and Mad’s face lit up. “Here you go.”

Liz leaned in to see the image at the same time Roman did. Sure enough, there was a teenage Vanessa standing beside Joy, looking at her with something close to worship as she straightened the woman’s veil.

Holy shit.

Suddenly, the door slapped open, Zack tore inside, wearing the wildest look in his eyes. She’d rarely ever seen him truly emotional, but right now he seemed out of control. His gaze careened wildly around the room until it landed on her. With shaking hands, he reached for her. Before she could retreat, he hauled her into his arms and held her so tightly she could barely breathe.

“Elizabeth…” His whisper was harsh against her ear and his whole body trembled. “I thought I would walk in here and find your body. Oh my god. Roman, we need paramedics. Now. Mad find me a cup. Something. She has to throw up.”

“What?” She pushed out of his embrace. “I felt like I needed to a minute ago, but now I’m just mad.”

Zack barely allowed a few inches between them. He gripped her arms, and the tension rolled off him in waves. She saw tears in his eyes. Actual, real tears. They felled her like nothing else because she’d never imagined she would see him shed any for her.

“I don’t care how furious with me you are. I’m not letting you die, Elizabeth, you can’t… You’re my reason for living. I can’t be in this fucking world without you.”

“Zack, what in the world is going on?” Roman demanded.

“She’s been poisoned. The Russians have several operatives here and one of them put a toxin in her coffee, according to Mr. Harding,” Freddy said, walking into the room.

Liz glanced at Thomas, who had joined them, too, and was heading her direction. She’d never seen the Secret Service agent look so worried.

He flung off the sunglasses he often wore even indoors. “I’ll hold her, Mr. President. We shouldn’t wait for the EMTs. You have to get your fingers down her throat far enough to hit her gag reflex.”

He’d done that a couple of times before but not with his fingers.

Liz pushed against him. “I’m not sick.”

“It hasn’t hit you yet.” Zack had lifted her off her feet and dragged her toward the trash can Mad had found. “Paul said it took a while. When did you get that cup of coffee this morning? Who gave it to you?”

If she didn’t stop this, she would be forced to endure a few really nasty minutes for no good reason. “Are you talking about the latte one of the interns brought me? I never drank it. Zack, it’s still sitting on my desk, utterly cold by now. I made myself coffee in the residence this morning. I filled up my thermos and I haven’t touched anything else.”

Thomas backed off. “Before your run, I did see a thermos on her desk, sir.”

“And you didn’t drink a drop of the stuff the intern gave you?” Zack demanded, slowly setting her on her feet.

She knew she should still be mad, but he was so distraught and unlike himself that she couldn’t help but cup his face and soothe him.

He wasn’t a man worried that, if she died, answers about the vast global conspiracy against him would be gone. He was terrified for her. He looked as if his whole world might crumble, depending on her next few words. He’d also just learned that he’d been betrayed by his wife and her family. He had the weight of the free world on his shoulders. But it was the possibility of losing the woman he loved that had truly undone him.

“I didn’t, Zack. I didn’t touch it. Ever since you bought me that coffee from Finland I love so much, I haven’t touched the other stuff.”

He’d changed up the residence in the last few weeks, ensuring it was stocked with all of her favorite things, even going so far as to import coffee from Helsinki because she’d fallen in love with it when they’d gone to a conference there years before. She’d been touched that he’d remembered.

Zack let out a deep, shaky breath. “Thank god, baby. Thank god.”

“Mr. Harding is dead. I checked. He apparently ingested poison before we brought him in,” Thomas supplied as Zack threw his arms around her.

“He claimed it was something new,” Freddy explained, actually sounding excited. “I’ve heard a couple of covert groups have been working on a poison that allows the victim to seem perfectly normal until it activates a few hours later. Some of my contacts will have serious hard-ons to read that dude’s toxicology report.”

“Dead?” Liz wriggled out of Zack’s embrace because he seemed to be in control of himself now and they still had a million things to discuss.

Or did they? Maybe there was nothing to discuss at all. The simple fact that he hadn’t wanted her dead didn’t mean he’d believed her when he should have or that she should forgive him for what he’d put her through.

“Give us the room.” Zack stared at her as everyone else filed out. Even Thomas seemed to understand Zack needed to be alone with her now.

Once the door closed behind everyone else, Liz faced the man she’d thought she would spend the rest of her life with. “Don’t worry, Zack. I’m fine. I’ll have my office cleaned out by the end of the day. Gus can pick my things up from the residence.”

“Elizabeth, I—”

“No. Don’t. I understand why you investigated me. I really do, but I don’t think I can forgive you for using me. You knew you didn’t love me, knew you thought I was capable of betraying you, and you still had sex with me. Hell, you let me think you loved me.”

“I did,” he argued. “I do. I’ve loved you from the minute I saw you.”

“You don’t treat people you love this way.”

“I don’t know how to treat people I love because I never loved a woman before I loved you,” he said, moving into her space. “Please. I’m sorry. I know I’m asking a lot. Forgive me.”

She shook her head and backed away from him. She could not go easy on him, no matter how tempted she was. “It doesn’t matter. The next time I do something Roman thinks is suspicious, all this will happen again.”

He prowled closer. “The next time Roman so much as whispers even a suggestion you’re not the angel who saved me from a ridiculously lonely life, I’ll fire him.”

Liz retreated again. This time, her back hit the wall. Zack kept coming until his chest brushed against hers and she felt the heat of his body. “Zack…”

“Elizabeth.” He braced his hands on either side of her, caging her in, and dropping his forehead to hers. “I spent my entire life preparing for one role—president. I never wanted anything else until I saw you. No woman ever loved me before, not even my mother. I can count on one hand the number of times she spent more than an hour with me. We didn’t take family vacations. I didn’t have parents who taught me how to love. What they taught me was that everyone will tear me down if I let them, so I should be pre-emptive and beat them to it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Zack. But that doesn’t make what you did to me okay.”

“I know, but it’s the truth and the only reason I can give you for being so wrong. I’m asking you—begging you—to forgive me.” He leaned even closer, his hands roaming her as if he couldn’t quite stop himself. “I’ve felt so lost and trapped. The Russians…they played me perfectly. They knew exactly where I was most vulnerable. You.”

“But you weren’t. You readily believed everything they wanted you to because it was easy.” Liz said the words with conviction, even as it was getting hard not to weaken under Zack’s touch.

He’d been terrible to her, yes. But did that erase all his years of being so good to her?

“That’s not true. I resisted at first. I resisted a lot. But the evidence kept coming, and I didn’t know what to believe. I’m an incredibly smart man, but when it comes to relationships I’m truly dumb.” He took a shuddering breath. “I know this may make me seem even guiltier in your mind, but even when I thought you might be conspiring against me, I’d already planned to cover everything so I wouldn’t even have to pardon you. I was going to force you to marry me so you wouldn’t ever get into trouble again. When I suspected you might have betrayed me, all I thought about was the ways I could keep you.”

His words made her both melt and want to slap him.

“How could you even think I would betray you?” she asked, trying so hard to resist his nearness, but their chemistry was working its magic. She could feel his heartbeat, the way his body still shuddered from the fear of losing her. The reverence in his touch.

“I don’t know what I was thinking. Everyone’s lied to me, Elizabeth. Everyone. My in-laws. My wife. Even Maddox. I know I shouldn’t be angry, but I am. I’ll get over it, but all of that had me thinking that I couldn’t possibly have someone as true and wonderful as you seemed. You’ve been the reason I wake up in the morning for so long it actually made sense in my twisted head that your devotion wouldn’t be real. How fucked up is that?”

A lot. Then again, his whole life had been fucked up. His parents had hollowed him out as a kid and refilled him with ambition. He’d married Joy to further his singular goal. Then someone had used that very drive against him.

What would Zack Hayes have been like if he’d been allowed to be his own man? Would he have been able to trust her? Would he ever truly be able to trust her if she stayed?

Was she willing to walk away from him and never even try? Or would she regret it for the rest of her life?

Liz dragged in a deep breath. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. “Zack, you have to pick me over Roman.”

Something like hope lit his eyes and he cupped her shoulders. “Absolutely. Roman is my brother. He always has been and he always will be. But…”

“But what?” She pushed him a little more. After what she’d been through, she needed reassurance. She deserved it. “What if I asked you to fire him?”

“Then you wouldn’t be my Elizabeth,” he shot back, a ghost of a smile on his face. “I was always good at tests, my love. You are the kindest, most forgiving woman I’ve ever met, and you would never ask that of me. Here is what you will ask—and you should. You need to be more important than any of my friendships. You have to be my first, best partner. You have to be the one I come to, the one I face everything with.”

Yes, he was very good at tests. He’d certainly managed to come up with the right answer. “I’ll never come between you and Roman or any of the others. Not willingly. I know the Perfect Gentlemen are only looking out for your best interests, but you have to believe that’s what I’ve always done, too.”

“You’re right. So right. Please forgive me. I don’t want to waste another moment. I want to start our lives. I’ve fucked everything up—first because I was trying to protect you and then because I was protecting myself. None of it worked. I should have done the most natural thing of all, simply love and trust you. Nothing in my life works without you, Elizabeth. Marry me.”

She smiled and cuddled against his chest. “All right.”

“Just like that?” He pulled away just enough to search her eyes.

Life was as easy or as hard as she chose to make it. That was something her mama had been fond of saying. Perhaps if they hadn’t been in such a perilous position recently, if someone hadn’t already tried to kill him today, she might have held on to her anger for a while longer. Maybe she would have even been able to cling to it long enough to choose her pride over love and walk away from him. But this man was half her soul, and denying that was futile. She couldn’t not love him.

Besides, if he’d truly never learned how to love, shouldn’t she be setting the example and teaching him so they could have an amazing life together?

“Just like that,” she replied, caressing the face she adored.

He was alive, hopefully the worst was behind them, and now they could get through anything together.

“But this mess isn’t completely over,” he warned. “I still might be Russian born, so if I have to step down…”

“Then I’ll be by your side.” She would never leave him.

“I’ll do everything I can to protect you—everything except give you up. That I can’t do, ever.” He kissed her, his arms winding around her, giving her the physical affirmation of his words.

Relief filled her. They still had things to work through, but Liz knew this was the moment she would look back on and think here was where her life had truly begun.

With a warm smile, Zack picked her up like she weighed nothing and carried her out of the room.

Roman hovered near the door, looking grim. His eyes widened as he saw Zack emerge with Liz in his arms. “Where are you going? We’re still rounding up people we need to question, and the press is going to need a statement about the assassination attempt. You can’t just carry Liz through the White House in the middle of a crisis.”

“I can,” Zack vowed. “I am the motherfucking president and she’s just agreed to be your First Lady, so we’re going to celebrate alone for a few minutes. Handle shit, Roman.”

“Congrats. What do you want me to do with the dead guy?”

“Get a shovel, buddy. Or better yet, call the police and tell them everything. Come hell or high water, we’re making every single one of those bastards pay.”

At Roman’s shocked expression, she cuddled closer to Zack and smiled. He was quickly learning to put her first.

Mad gave her a thumbs-up.

“Where are you taking me, Mr. President?” she asked, not really caring. As long as they were together, she was perfectly happy.

“Home,” he said.

It sounded like the perfect place to start their future.

 

* * * *

 

Smiling from ear to ear, Mad watched Zack walk off into the sunset. Well, he was really heading to the bedroom, since he couldn’t go anywhere right now. And in this version of Zack striding off into their happily ever after, they wouldn’t get much quality time before duty called. And Thomas and a second Secret Service agent trailed them while they ignored the mountain of reporters outside the gates of the White House.

Damn, Mad had never been happier not to wield Zack’s kind of power.

“I didn’t mean to hurt Liz,” Roman called to their retreating forms. “Sorry.”

Zack didn’t reply.

“He’ll forgive you eventually. So will Liz,” Mad promised. “Hell, if she could forgive him, then she’ll come around. Though you should expect a serious talking to from Gus.”

Roman grimaced. “Maybe Liz doesn’t have to mention this to her. It would make everything so much easier if my blushing bride-to-be never knew about the interrogation.”

“I don’t think Liz is that forgiving.” He was pretty sure Roman would be paying for a long time.

“What are we supposed to do about the body?” Roman nodded toward the second interrogation room that still held Paul Harding’s corpse.

“Can I have it?” Freddy asked, sounding far too excited.

Mad shook his damn head. “No, you cannot have it. The man’s corpse is not a toy.”

“Well, if I don’t take him the Agency will,” Freddy pointed out.

“What the hell would you do with a dead body?” Roman asked.

“Study it, of course.” Freddy shrugged like the answer was completely obvious. “He’s been exposed to a new type of poison. I know some people who would love to isolate it so we can start coming up with antidotes. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a way around this poison before the Russians really started unleashing it? I mean, we have to do it anyway. Public safety and all. You would be surprised how often someone mistakes their coffee creamer just lying around for a neurotoxin.”

“You live in a strange world, my friend.” A world Maddox Crawford was saying good-bye to. As soon as the rest of the conspirators had been dragged under an international spotlight, he was going home to New York with his wife and their baby and he was going to be the most boring dad in the world. He was already hoarding bad-dad jokes to use on his daughter. He wanted a normal, hum-drum, fabulous life where no one ever tried to murder him again. “I say we let Connor decide while Zack is…fixing things with the new First Lady.”

Roman pulled his cell phone out. “I’ll give him a call now.”

One of the remaining Secret Service agents stepped forward. “Mr. Calder, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to not do that.”

Mad looked back and the agent had a gun pointed in their direction.

Shit. It looked like his nice safe life would have to wait.