Chapter Nineteen

 

Zack carried Liz all the way up to the residence. She’d joked about his back going out, but he’d utterly refused to set her down. He’d held her in the elevator, ignored the few people who’d seen them in the hall, and kept heading toward their bedroom, despite the fact that two Secret Service agents, Thomas and Glen, kept vigil behind them.

“You know we have to do a press conference soon,” she said as he managed to open the door to the residence.

After the agents swept the interior of the residence, they fell into place on either side of the portal, standing stoic and patient.

With the door closed behind them, Zack finally set her on her feet. “I know, but I need a couple of minutes alone with you.”

And he needed to change his clothes. If he was going to start an all-out war with the enemy, he couldn’t do it in a torn T-shirt and sweat pants splattered with blood. He had to look the part of a powerful world leader.

She reached up and smoothed back his hair. “Are you really okay? You weren’t hit?”

“Fine. Thomas banged me up a bit when he covered me, but he also made sure I wasn’t hit. Mike wasn’t so lucky. Later, we’ll need to follow up and see how he’s recovering from the surgery on his arm.” Zack gripped her hips and pulled her closer. “But right now, I don’t want to deal with any of this. I want to take you to bed so we can forget the whole world.”

“I wish we could. I miss touching you. I was terrified for you.” She nuzzled closer to him, aching for the chance to spend hours connecting to him again. For now she shared him with a whole country, though. She had to be content with the fact that they would have time to themselves later. “But so are the American people. There was an attack on the president of the United States. We can put out a statement, but that’s not what the country needs. They need to see you, Zack. You have to show them you’re alive and well and utterly defiant.”

“I know. If I don’t get in front of some cameras soon, the financial markets could take a hit.” He kissed her, drugging her with arousal and intimacy. “I want you by my side.”

“Yes.” She would be with him as they faced whatever storm was coming their way. They needed to let these conspirators—and the rest of the world—know that nothing would tear them apart and that Zack would never compromise his scruples or his country. And damn it, no one would ever think she was his weak link again. From now on, she would be the woman who made him strong, the one he could always count on.

“If you’re sure…?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“I’ve been thinking… Should we tell the public about everything? If we do, I’ll have to be honest about what we know…and what we don’t,” he said with a grim face. “Baby, I realize we both want to be married as soon as possible, but maybe we should wait until you know exactly who you’re marrying.”

Because he intended to find out one way or another if he was really Zachary Hayes, son of Frank and Constance Hayes. The trouble was, she didn’t care. “I know exactly who you are, Zack. I want to marry you as soon as I can, no matter what. For better or worse. I’m not in this to be the First Lady. I’m in this to be your wife, and that means I’m beside you come what may.”

He sighed, a sound of deep satisfaction. “If we choose to expose everything, it won’t be easy. We’ll be subjected to a ton of hearings. My political opponents and enemies will use this against me, try to make me step down, paint me as dangerous, call for my impeachment.”

“If it comes to that, we’ll handle them.” Of that, she had not a single doubt. Together she and Zack could do almost anything. “We can’t back down. We have to face every adversary and every threat and stand tall. They have to realize that they won’t break us.”

“They can’t break us.” He said the words like a mantra.

“Speaking of adversaries...you weren’t in the room with Roman, Mad, and me when we figured out that the mole in our press office is Vanessa Jones.” She was almost certain Roman would have already given the order to find Vanessa, but Zack needed to know. “She’s the only one I can think of who would have access to my computer. Over the years she’s worked her way up to a position of trust. She edits all of my work. Someone should be interrogating her by now.”

“Vanessa?” He looked surprised, then paused to consider. “I suppose that makes sense. These conspirators are very careful and very smart. Of course they knew how I felt about you. They’d put someone in place both to keep a handle on all our official communications and to watch us.”

“Exactly. I hear she hits on you a lot, too. I’m sure they would have loved to put one of their own in your bed.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she winced. “Okay, so I can understand why you had some reservations about me, but I still think you should have asked me before assuming the worst.”

His lips turned up into a jaunty grin. “I assure you Vanessa Jones never got close to my bed. You’re the only woman I want there. And I promise if I’m ever worried again that you’re a foreign operative, I’ll ask you the question.”

“Deal.” She rose to her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, a sweet, slow joining of welcome and forever.

Zack sank into her, tasting her, clutching her as if he never wanted to let go. Then reluctantly he pulled away with a groan. “I’m going to step out and talk to Thomas, ask him to get me an update on Vanessa.” He pulled Liz in, holding her close. “We need to make sure they’ve brought her in for questioning. I want someone to have eyes on my father, too. I’m going to have him moved out of the White House.”

“But why? You don’t…” Liz didn’t finish her reply. Zack didn’t need an argument now, especially when neither of them knew if or how dangerous Frank might be. After all, they’d been surrounded by Judases for years. Removing anyone they suspected would be prudent until they’d separated the bad actors from the good ones. “We can move him to a hospital until we figure out where to put him and play it off as a health crisis. We’ll make it work.”

This was what she did well. She smoothed things over. She made everything run like clockwork.

“Perfect. I’ll be right back,” Zack promised. “As soon as I’ve asked Thomas to inquire about Vanessa and ensured that all of our friends are secure, I’ll come back and change. Then you and I need to prepare for this press conference. We’ll have to think about what I should say, how much to reveal about the assassination attempt. And we don’t have time to write a proper speech, merely jot a few notes. If you could stand to be around Roman…”

Because he needed to be deeply involved, too.

Liz rolled her eyes. Roman was basically her asshole brother-in-law who truly loved Zack and the sister of her heart, Augustine. Eventually, they would be okay because they all loved the same people. “He’s family and we’ve worked together for years. I’ll talk to him. We’ll create a rough draft, but I don’t want you too prepared. It will be more convincing if you look natural. You’re a man who’s faced death today and you’re still standing. After you give your statement, we’ll tell them that the police will answer questions about the shooter as they’re ready.”

He nodded. “As soon as I finish with Thomas, let’s do it.” He started to turn away but stopped himself and pulled her close again. “I love you. I can’t say that enough. I’m humbled and blessed to have you. Thank you for forgiving me.”

This was her Zack, and he was all she needed. “I love you, too.”

With a smile, she watched him leave the room before turning toward the bedroom and stepping into the massive closet. It made the sparse selection of her clothes here even more obvious. She would have to power through for now, find something presentable and get cleaned up. And she had to lay out a fresh suit for Zack, something solid with a strong tie.

As she identified a couple of possibilities and hung the garments on a nearby hook, she glanced in the mirror. Yikes, she needed to clean herself up before she faced the public. That was for sure. At the moment, all she could do was smooth her hair into place and refresh her lipstick because Zack had kissed off what little she’d had left.

Then again, Liz had a feeling Zack was going to kiss her a lot from now on and she doubted he would hide it. They were going to be a very lovey-dovey first couple.

As she set the tube aside, it hit her. She was marrying Zachary Hayes, the most amazing man she’d ever met. She was also marrying the president of the United States. Never in her wildest fantasies had she believed it could happen. Happy tears pooled in her eyes.

Liz took a moment because she couldn’t face Zack crying. He would be concerned about her, and he didn’t need that now. They had too many things to do. Later tonight she could break down and feel every bit of terror and joy the day had brought, but for now she had to be strong.

In her pocket, her cell vibrated and Liz pulled it free, glad to see it wasn’t one of the many members of the press she’d been ignoring.

She slid her finger across the screen to answer the call, putting the call on speaker as she strode back into the closet. “Hey, Gus. Is everything okay?”

“Everything is chaos,” Gus replied. “Where’s my fiancé? The Secret Service has locked down most of the press office and won’t let us go anywhere. But I can’t get hold of Roman. He’s not answering his phone.”

“He’s down in the basement, probably in the middle of an interrogation. It’s a long story but I saw him not five minutes ago and he was fine. So is Zack.”

Gus heaved a long sigh over the line. “Thank god. I was so worried.”

“Everything should be fine now. Why do they have the press office locked down?” Worry turned Liz’s smile into a frown. What if the point of the assassination attempt hadn’t been to kill Zack but to cause chaos so they could engage in other dirty work? “Where is Vanessa?”

“She’s why we’re in lockdown. Some suits came to take her in for questioning but no one can find her. So they wanted everyone tucked away safely until they do. Is she a Russian spy? I knew I never liked that bitch for a reason.”

Liz tried not to panic. Maybe Vanessa was in custody now and they just hadn’t released the press office yet out of an abundance of caution. Still, she ought to check. “Apparently she’s been using my computer, she probably duped my phone, and she set me to up to look like the bad guy, which is why Roman—and therefore Zack—suspected me. Don’t worry; it’s all okay. I didn’t kill Roman.”

“But I might. Bastard! I knew he was up to something,” Gus swore. “I’ll make him pay.”

“He had his reasons. We’re fine now. So are Zack and I. But you should know all hell is about to break loose. He’s considering telling the American public everything.”

“We should talk about that first. Has he thought about all the implications?”

“If you mean about whether he’s Russian born or not, after today, I don’t think he cares.” Liz tried not to let it, but foreboding continued to eat at her composure. “Let me call you back. I need to talk to Zack. He’s conferring with Thomas. We need to find out what’s going on with Vanessa. Then I’ll let you know. Do you have an agent with you now?”

“There’s one outside the door.”

“Be careful. We hadn’t finished vetting them all yet, so we don’t know if some are colluding with the Russians.” She walked toward the front of the residence, eager to reach Zack. “And as soon as I hang up, call Connor. Tell him we might have a situation. We need him to bring in reinforcements he trusts.” Better safe than sorry. “We have no room for error on this.”

“Liz, you sound worried. Are you okay?” Gus asked.

No. What if Vanessa was still on the loose? What if she’d used the assassination attempt to separate Zack from all his loved ones and put them all in the hands of the Secret Service, where they’d planted their own people?

Zack might still be in danger. Hell, all of them might be.

“Call Connor now.” She hung up and hurried to the bedroom door.

She had to find Zack.

The second she strode through the portal and into the living area, she realized that she wasn’t alone. Trouble had found her.

Vanessa stood in the entryway, gun in hand, right beside Zack.

Liz’s day was far from over.

 

* * * *

 

As Zack looked into Liz’s warm blue eyes, he nodded, his heart so full of emotion. Maybe it didn’t sound manly, but he couldn’t deny that he found the devotion on her face so comforting. “I love you. I can’t say that enough. I’m humbled and blessed to have you. Thank you for forgiving me.”

The guilt still sat like a boulder in his gut and probably always would. How could he have ever doubted her? He would never make that mistake again. She was steadfast and loyal and in the years to come, he would learn how to be the best husband to her.

Her chin tilted up and he could see the love on her face. “I love you, too.”

Three words that eased his soul.

With a sigh, Zack forced himself to walk away from her—for now. The next couple of hours wouldn’t be pleasant. He had to get out in front of the press and reassure the country that he was perfectly healthy and fine, and that the government was still running smoothly. Then he needed to sit down with all of his friends and figure out their next steps because he was done playing this game. If ridding the country of this insidious Russian menace cost him his presidency, then he would pay the price, but one way or the other, he would ensure these tyrants wouldn’t be able to infiltrate his country and try to corrupt it again. As far as he could tell, this had been going on for decades, and it stopped with him.

He glanced back. Elizabeth had disappeared into the residence. Already, he knew she would head for the closet and lay out his clothes because she would want him to look as polished and normal as possible. She would do what she always did—make life easy for him.

Moving beyond this conspiracy would be difficult, but Elizabeth would be by his side, so he could handle anything. Even disgrace, if it came to that.

He opened the door expecting to find Thomas there.

He did—but Thomas was on the ground, face down and eerily still.

Then Zack realized he wasn’t alone. Adrenaline blasted through his system as he saw a gun pointed directly at his head.

“I think you should go back inside the residence, Mr. President,” the Secret Service agent standing over Thomas said. Glen Warren. He’d been working with the Secret Service for years. In fact, he was one of Thomas’s best men.

Thomas. Loyal and true. Thomas had two kids and a wife he’d been married to for over twenty years. Thomas shouldn’t be lying on the ground.

He stared at the gun in the agent’s hand. There was a suppressor on the end, explaining why he hadn’t heard anything. Not surprising these criminals were prepared. The assassination attempt had been nothing more than a way to herd him here. And what else? What more had they sought? “I thought you were supposed to take a bullet for me, not put one into your boss.”

Glen shrugged. “You don’t pay as well as the others. Sorry about Thomas. He wasn’t a practical man, so I had to deal with him. Now we get to find out how practical you are, Mr. President.”

“Zachary?” a familiar voice asked.

He turned to find his father coming down the hallway. He wasn’t alone, either. Apparently his nurse wasn’t as invested in his well-being as he’d sworn because the man also held a gun, as did the woman by his side.

He was seriously outnumbered.

“Hello, Ms. Jones.” Zack tried to calm his thundering heartbeat. Violence would go down today, especially if he refused to bend about the pipeline. But he had to keep them away from Elizabeth. Hopefully, Roman would figure out something was wrong, or Connor would return. For once, he even hoped Freddy was stalking him.

Then again, Roman might decide he’d interfered enough and give him alone time with Elizabeth. Connor might still be tied up with the shooter at the police station. And Freddy…who knew?

“Hello, Zack,” she said. “I’m going to call you Zack from now on because I assume my father carried out his mission today. That means I’m running the show now. Tell me something. How will you explain his body in your White House?”

“Your father?” He glanced at his own father, who seemed equally confused.

“You still haven’t figured it out? Joy was my half sister. Both your father and mine had liberal definitions of the word faithful.” Vanessa smirked. Now that Zack really looked at her, he saw some physical resemblances between Vanessa and Joy. “Sex is such an easy way to manipulate a man.”

He could see they’d tried to handle him that way, too. “It didn’t work with me.”

The smile grew but oddly lost any amusement. “Oh, but I think it will work in the end. Get inside or I’ll kill your father right here.”

“Zachary?” His father looked around as if he wasn’t quite sure where or when he was. “What’s happening?”

And Zack simply wasn’t buying the con anymore.

In the past, he’d thought it was an ironic twist of fate that his father had developed dementia just as they’d reached the White House. In some ways, it had felt like justice. But now…it seemed a bit too coincidental.

“I think you know exactly what’s happening,” he accused. “I find it interesting that you can’t remember your name most of the time, but you fought like hell until we hired the nurse you wanted. We went through so many, then magically found the one who could handle you. Tell me something.” He turned to the nurse. “U tebya khoroshiy russkiy yazyk, moy drug?”

How is your Russian, my friend?

The nurse, who was still in his scrubs, sighed like he couldn’t care less. “U menya prekrasnyy russkiy yazuk. Takaya zhe, kak nasha zapadnya.”

My Russian is perfect. So is our trap.

His father’s demeanor changed, his shoulders straightening and the vacant look he adopted for three years suddenly leaving his eyes. “Don’t look at me like that, boy. Do you think I wanted things to happen this way? That I’m enjoying this?”

“I think you don’t really care about anyone but yourself. How long have you been a traitor?”

Zack mentally kicked himself for not realizing his own father’s perfidy. He should have immediately suspected that Frank’s illness was fishy, but again, the Russians had known exactly how to play him. His father’s mental state had appeared to be slipping the last few months of the campaign. Joy had hired his specialists—all phonies, he supposed—then unwittingly given her life to get him elected. In the first hectic year after he’d taken office, Zack hadn’t had time to think about anything except keeping his head above water…and he hadn’t tried harder to spend time with his father because of their odd, strained relationship.

God, he’d been so easy to manipulate.

“I am not a traitor,” his father snarled back. “Do you think I liked being put in this position? I fought like hell when my father told me the family’s secret loyalties. I meant to serve the US with honor in that embassy post. It was your mother who screwed everything up. She deserved what she got.”

Zack stared at his father in horror. “You arranged her death?”

Frank couldn’t look him in the face. “The Russians thought she was a liability. We all agreed she would have been an embarrassment when you began your presidential run. Before you even announced your campaign, questions were arising about her mental state. Ah, but how much more sympathetic would voters be if she died suddenly and tragically? So Joy flew to Paris for a ‘shopping trip.’ From there, she found it was easy enough to reach Constance, disguise herself with a blond wig, and check your mother out of the hospital. No one asked many questions when money talked. Krylov’s men took care of the rest.”

Vanessa put a gun to the back of his father’s head. “Thank you for the history lesson, Sergei. Now shut up and get inside the residence so we can talk. Or I’ll do what my father should have done long ago and blow your brains out.”

The Secret Service agent pressed the hard barrel of his gun against Zack’s spine. “Let’s move, Mr. President. We’ve taken control of the White House, but that doesn’t mean we won’t still have trouble.”

He bit back questions, held his hands up, and prayed Elizabeth would stay in the closet. She was smart and if she could get a message out, perhaps one of the others would call for help.

Vanessa followed them into the entryway of the residence, then looked Glen’s way. “I need a status report.”

The rogue agent closed the door behind them. “PEOC is under our control. I’ve got confirmation that we have Calder and two others in custody.”

“Two others? I thought Calder was the only one down there.” Vanessa turned to glare at Zack. “Who are your other friends? Sparks? Spencer?”

So they still didn’t know about Mad or Freddy. Thomas had been the only one in on that secret.

“I have no idea. You know it’s a big house. There’s always someone coming in and out.” He sent them a humorless smile. “Why did you call my father Sergei?”

That was the name he’d feared for months. If he could get an answer now, it might both buy him peace and Elizabeth some time.

And while they talked, he needed to figure out their play. What was their endgame? If they’d wanted to kill him, they would already have shot him. They’d had plenty of opportunity. Instead, they’d isolated him. But they couldn’t keep him here forever and they couldn’t keep the White House in lockdown. There would be too many questions.

Vanessa stared at him, as though considering whether answering was worth her time. Finally, she sighed. “Natalia hated the name Frank. She said it reminded her that he had other loyalties, including his vows to another woman. She was somewhat possessive of him.”

He was about to ask questions about his father’s affair with Nata and the baby she’d given birth to, when his worst nightmare happened. Elizabeth exited the bedroom, carrying her phone. It looked as if she’d just hung up.

When she caught sight of them, her eyes widened with fear.

“Welcome, Ms. Matthews.” Vanessa turned her gun Elizabeth’s way. “Join us. After all, you’ll soon be spending some time with friends of mine.”

Zack held a hand out to Elizabeth, and she ran to him, her heels clicking against the marble floors. Their fingers tangled. He could hear her shaky breaths. He could practically feel her fear. “Stay calm, sweetheart. I don’t think they’re planning to take us out here and now. I believe they have other arrangements to make, don’t you?”

“Well, you didn’t leave us with many choices,” his father complained. “If you had just been more reasonable, none of this would have happened.”

“What’s going on?” Elizabeth asked. “Other than your father being surprisingly lucid.”

“My father is and always has been. He’s also a part of this scheme. Apparently, he joined the merry band of Russians shortly after I was born. Is Natalia Kuilikov my mother?”

He wanted answers. He fucking deserved to know. And he had to find out now, before they made their next move. And Zack feared he knew what that was.

They needed him compliant, and he could only think of one way to ensure that: they intended to take Elizabeth with them and hold her hostage so he had little choice but to do their bidding.

Zack hoped like hell they would fail because he had friends—amazing friends who had never let him down—and there was no way they allowed the Russians to compromise their country or to break him. Roman, Mad, and Freddy might be under their control—good luck with that—but he’d heard nothing about Dax and Gabe. Or Connor, who hadn’t even been in the White House. They would find a way to rescue Elizabeth. Then, Zack swore, these Russians would feel every ounce of his wrath.

His father looked confused for a moment, but not in the vacant way he had previously. “What are you talking about?”

Zack felt Elizabeth squeeze his hand, trying to lend him her strength. It gave him the courage to keep asking the questions, despite the answers terrifying him. “I know why you institutionalized Mother. I heard the tapes. She accidently killed a child. Was that the real Zack Hayes?”

Vanessa laughed, shaking her head the nurse’s way. “I wondered if that was what he thought.”

His father frowned. “You honestly believe I would pawn off some bastard as my own?”

“He was still your son. You were having an affair with Natalia, and she was in love with you. The way I heard it, both women were pregnant at the same time. What a bad boy, Frank…” she scolded. “But Constance was upset about Natalia’s pregnancy, so you sent her back to the States to give birth under the guise of ensuring there would be no question that Zack had been born on US soil.”

“I had to. Constance didn’t understand that Natalia was a lovely convenience. Or I thought she was. She promised me she couldn’t get pregnant.” His father paced like a lion in a cage. “She lied. The whole fucking affair was a mistake. I talked to her about an abortion. She refused. Shortly after she gave birth, Krylov and a KGB officer came to me. I realized they’d plotted to shame me into working for them all along. Natalia was just the Jezebel they’d sent to trap me. But I didn’t care. I already knew my political career was going nowhere, so I laughed in their faces. After all, I had a healthy, properly born son, and I just knew that Zachary would be the Hayes who finally became president. But then your stupid bitch of a mother ruined everything by smothering Nata’s baby.”

His stomach twisted. “So my mother killed my half brother?”

“Yes,” his father croaked. “She smothered him. She was drunk, as usual. I managed to keep her from the gin until after you were born. The minute she recovered from your birth, she was right back at it. I stayed with her because her father had more money than God and she was his only heir. I knew that inheritance could fund your political career, but that damn old man stayed alive forever.”

“And your dad wasn’t around to stop Constance’s big oops because he was in bed with Natalia at the time. And so your son died, Frank.” Vanessa made a pouty face.

“My son is alive and right here in this room.” His father’s hands had fisted at his sides, face mottled as he regarded Zack. “I protected you after that. I wouldn’t allow Constance near you. But the KGB, they came after the boy’s death.” He swallowed. “You have to understand what a scandal it would have caused if anyone knew that Constance had committed infanticide, even accidentally. I couldn’t call the authorities. They would have arrested your mother. It would have ruined my career and her father would have never given you a dime. I needed his wealth for your career. We had money, but nothing like your mother’s family.”

“You chose cash over your country?”

“I chose your future over my freedom,” he argued. “You don’t think I would have wanted to be cut loose from Constance? Let them haul her away and bid good riddance? But I didn’t so that you could have a future.” He held out his hands. “This future.”

“Don’t pin this on me. You sold me out, even though you knew they would later want to use my position to compromise our country.” Zack intended to break the decades-long stranglehold Russia had on his family. “You were too weak to say no.”

He would never put his own son or daughter in such a position. Elizabeth wouldn’t allow it. Unlike his father, he’d picked a truly great partner to spend his life with. Elizabeth would always check his worst qualities. She’d been doing it for a long time, and he’d only really gotten in trouble when he’d stopped trusting her.

“If I’d had my way, you would never have known about this sordid past.”

“You’ve been giving the Russians intelligence,” Elizabeth said. “You thought if you spied on Zack and passed along classified information, they would leave Zack himself alone. You have almost unfettered access since everyone thinks you’re not lucid enough to know what you’re doing. So no one questions it when they find you in the Treaty Room, playing around your son’s desk.” She turned to Zack. “Remember I told you I found him in there two weeks ago. The Secret Service didn’t stop him. They came down to ask me what I wanted to do about it.”

So the men in black suits either hadn’t understood how to deal with the president’s crazy father or they’d wanted to set Elizabeth up to make her look guilty of spying. Zack’s money was on the latter since the nurse had hustled his father out and she’d been found in his office alone. In fact, the nurse hadn’t been honest with him about the incident. Another way to isolate him.

“I can’t believe you would be so naïve.” Vanessa tsked at Frank like he was an idiot. “We were always going to want more. Zachary Hayes is the culmination of decades of work and careful preparation.” She turned back to Zack. “Do you know how we regard you in my community? You’re a myth. A unicorn. You’re the thing we whisper about in shadows and pray for. The ultimate tool. You will do your job. Lives were sacrificed to get to this point. My half sister and father are gone, and I will not allow their sacrifices to be in vain.”

“What did Joy willingly sacrifice? Your father already told me she didn’t know she was going to die that evening in Memphis. So what did she really give up for the cause?”

“Not enough. By the time others decreed that she should give her life for Mother Russia, I believe she was corrupted and, therefore, useless. She’d spent too much time with your friends. I read through her correspondence with Roman.” She sneered. “If you weren’t elected, Joy thought she would be free. She was always naïve.”

Maybe it shouldn’t, but the idea of Joy trying to be free gave him a measure of peace. Because that meant not everything between them had been a lie. He’d reached her, affected her. If she’d found her independence from this conspiracy, she might have even become an ally someday.

Elizabeth leaned against him as though she knew what he was thinking. “If he gives in on the pipeline, what will you want next?”

“I don’t make those decisions.” Vanessa nodded toward the Secret Service agent. “But whatever it is, you will be a good boy and play along. If you do as you’re told, we might even allow you occasional access to your girlfriend. Not too much, of course, since you’ll be a newly married man.”

So they were relying on that old playbook. “I assume you’re my new bride.”

Vanessa shrugged. “Someone has to stay close to you. My sister wasn’t smart enough to handle you. I’ll be better at it. We’ll be married in a few weeks. In the meantime, your little whore will find herself enjoying Krylov’s hospitality in Moscow. Her treatment will be dependent on your behavior.”

The idea of Elizabeth under their control made Zack sick. He refused to let that happen. They would not take her out of the country. Hell, they weren’t taking her from this house.

He tightened his hold on Elizabeth. “No one will believe I’m in love with you. And Ms. Matthews is not exactly an unknown figure. She’s my damn press secretary. There will be questions when she disappears, especially since she literally talks to reporters all day. They like her. If you want to tank my presidency, piss off the reporters who love her. They’re not stupid. They know I’m involved with her.”

“I’m convinced they do,” Elizabeth affirmed. “It’s a genuine sign of their affection for me that they haven’t floated more than rumors and innuendo about our relationship. How do you think it will look if the president dumps his well-respected, beloved press secretary for a younger woman, who quite frankly most people can’t stand, and installs her as First Lady? You’ve worked in the press office long enough to know how that’s going to go.”

“I’ll make it work,” Vanessa vowed stubbornly. “And if matters here go to hell, Zack can always have a heart attack, and we’ll deal with your mealy-mouthed VP. We have him in our pocket now, too. Everyone has a weak point. That pipeline will not go through. We have a stranglehold on the European gas market and it will stay that way. And soon we’ll talk about those sanctions the US has had on Russia for years. You’re going to bring our countries closer than ever.”

“I might be amenable to a discussion, but if you so much as remove Elizabeth from this room, I promise you I will fight to the death. You want any chance of my cooperation? You leave her alone. She’ll stay with me in the residence. She’ll remain my press secretary. Anything less will raise too many questions, and we already have a ton of them to answer.”

He used his last bargaining chip, hoping he could make her see reason.

“Do you think you’re in charge here, Mr. President?” The nurse’s dark eyes narrowed. “Your will means nothing. You are a pawn and we will move you around as we please. Vanessa, take her now. Our comrades will have already secured the garage, so we can smuggle her out in secrecy.”

Elizabeth stiffened beside him. Zack held her tighter. They had not come this far and dedicated themselves to each other to simply give up now. He couldn’t choose between Elizabeth and his country. He’d made vows to both. He wasn’t so naïve as to think that they would ever return Elizabeth to him. And how much would she suffer at their hands?

But one asset in his back pocket the Russians had underestimated time and time again? His friends. He believed in them.

He stepped in front of Elizabeth. “I won’t let you take her. I’ll die before I allow you to leave with her. You think about that. You need me on camera within an hour or two or this country will start asking questions that will lead to your whole plan falling apart.”

“Or we go to plan B,” the turncoat Secret Service agent said. “Sorry, Vanessa. This looks best if there’s a scapegoat. Turns out the president was unfaithful, and Ms. Matthews took exception.”

He fired, the sound pinging through the room, and Vanessa’s eyes widened as she stared down at the hole in her chest. Bright red blood bloomed across her white shirt. The gun she carried dropped from suddenly lax fingers as she fell to the floor and blood began to pool on the tile.

The nurse simply shook his head. “You were supposed to wait to do that.”

“He’s not going to cooperate,” Glen argued. “My mission was to assess the situation and deal with it. I think our new course of action is to frame Ms. Matthews for killing her lover and her rival. Then we’ll set up the vice president in the Oval. I think he’ll be much more compliant.”

“We don’t have a choice now.” The nurse raised his gun.

That was when Zack sprang into action.

He gave Elizabeth a shove, pushing her behind a heavy couch as the nurse fired. He felt something burn against his arm, but he ignored the fiery sting and dove for the gun lying on the floor.

“No!” A masculine shout broke through the room, and suddenly someone tackled Zack as he heard another bullet ping.

His father. Frank had covered his body with his own.

Seconds later, the door to the residence crashed open. Then he heard roaring gunfire. Whoever had just entered the fight was not using a suppressor.

“Stand down!” That deep voice belonged to Thomas. “I will kill you, Glen. You’ll be just as dead as that fucking nurse and I won’t regret it.”

“Or we could question him.” A sardonic voice joined the fray. Connor. “I promise we’ll make it hurt, but we could use him to find out who the others are. Because clearly we’ve got a problem in your department, man.”

“Why do you think I’ve taken to wearing a bulletproof vest even in the White House?” Thomas replied.

“Never meant to hurt you,” his father, who was still draped over him like a blanket, muttered.

Had his father taken the bullet meant for him? Zack was scared to shift him and risk injuring him more. “Dad, are you all right? Elizabeth? Elizabeth, where are you?”

“I’m here.” She was suddenly kneeling beside him. “Connor, call an ambulance.”

His father shook his head. “No ambulance. Sparks is here? Roll me off my son.”

Suddenly, the bodily weight lifted off him, then Elizabeth was above him, her beautiful eyes sparkling with tears as she reached for him. “Don’t you ever do that again. They could have killed you.”

They would have killed him if his father hadn’t leapt in front of him. His right arm hurt where the first bullet had grazed his skin, but he clapped a hand over the wound to stem the bleeding and rose to see that Connor and Thomas had everything in hand. Connor shoved the traitorous agent on his knees while Thomas put on the cuffs.

Zack knelt next to his father, whose skin had gone a pasty white while the spreading blood quickly stained his pajamas. The man was clearly dying. “Dad, we need to get you to a hospital.”

Elizabeth was on her knees beside him. “Quickly.”

His father managed to shake his head. “No. Cover this up. Sparks will know what to do. Start over. Hide everything. None of this was your fault. I should have been stronger, but I wanted everything for you. I thought I could manage them. Thought they would leave you alone. I had no choice. No other way to protect our name.”

Shock, anger, denial—they all rolled through him at once. Had his father ever truly cared about him or merely their name and the glory he could bring to it by becoming president? Zack feared he knew the answer. He had been nothing more than the means for the Hayes family to have a sparkling legacy.

“What about protecting me? Mom? The baby—your son—who never lived to see his first birthday?”

“Only you were important. History books don’t remember pawns, only great leaders who do great things.” A nasty gleam hit his father’s eyes. “You’ve always been too soft to understand that.”

And then his father was gone.

“Damn, this is a lot of bodies,” a new voice said. Mad. “Are we planning on calling the cops or should we grab some shovels? Then again, I think someone will notice us burying a bunch of people in the Rose Garden.”

“This is not the time, babe.” Sara was with him. “Zack just lost his father.”

He stood, turned. And they were here, all his friends.

They had saved him, just like he’d believed they would.

Roman moved in, reaching for Zack’s shoulder. “You okay? Connor was already on his way back when Gus called him. Connor stealthed into the garage before the Russians could secure it, and he sent Dax to check on us. There are some bodies down there, too.”

“You didn’t answer Roman. Say something.” Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him. “Are you okay?”

Suddenly, a smile broke across his face. The danger was past. Elizabeth was in his arms. He was surrounded by his brothers. “I’m not okay. I’m great.”