At the Pleasure of the President (The Perfect Gentlemen 5)

“We’re all worried about you. We love you.”

She linked her arm with Everly’s. “And I love you. I’m good, Ev. I’m finally coming out from under the cloud, and I can’t thank you guys enough for always letting me know that I wasn’t alone. I’m going to forgive Mad. I don’t want to have this baby and hate her dad. I’ve decided to move on and face the future.”

A future without Mad. Somehow even when he’d been dating other women, she’d thought he would grow up and want to see their child. She would never have gone back to him. He’d closed that door, but she’d envisioned a future where they found a way to be good parents, maybe even friends.

Now that would never happen, and she’d finally managed to find a sad peace in that knowledge. She’d spent hours looking over the water crashing on the shore, thinking about everything that had happened, and eventually finding closure. She’d even had her own funeral for Mad on the beach one night. She’d started a fire and burned the last pictures she’d had of them together, not in anger but so she could finally let go. She’d cried and screamed and wailed out at the moonlit ocean. Afterward, she’d slept better than she had in months.

Everly squeezed her arm. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll see. In a couple of months we’ll have a baby to love and while we’ll all miss…”

“You can say his name.” Everly had lost a lot, too, and in the beginning Sara hadn’t been at all easy on her. Of course, she hadn’t understood why Mad had turned to Everly. Sara knew now that he’d been leaning on his sister, not a new lover. She often worried she’d overshadowed Everly’s mourning with her own.

“We’ll have a piece of Mad to hold on to,” Everly finished solemnly.

Sara nodded. This was what the passing of all these months had given her. “We will. God, I hope she gets her personality from me. I don’t know if I can handle a female Mad.”

Everly laughed. “Oh, she would be a terror. But regardless, she’ll be unforgettable because this baby is going to be the best of both of you.” She sniffled and shook off the emotion that had threatened to overtake the moment. “I can’t wait for you to lead Crawford. I’m literally counting down the days.”

“You might not be if our stock tanks when the announcement is made.” It was something Sara worried about. She had a business degree from an Ivy League school and she’d spent plenty of time working at Bond, but this would be her first time as a CEO, and she had no idea how the market would react.

“The board will be firmly behind you. It’s going to be great, and I’ve already talked to Liz and Gus about how to garner good press. The new onsite day care and parent-friendly work environment will be amazing. We’ll take Crawford to a whole new level,” Everly promised.

It would be a welcome challenge and a good way for her daughter to learn the value of hard work. After all, she would inherit the company one day.

The future. That was Sara’s focus now.

She and Everly had almost reached the door when a hard knock resounded through the apartment.

“Must be the car service. We’re meeting at Gus’s and taking a limo from there.” Everly glanced at her watch and frowned. “They’re a little early though.”

Sara opened the door. Immediately, she knew the man standing there wasn’t from a car service. The broad, hard-looking man in his perfect black suit wearing aviator sunglasses had never driven a bunch of partying girls around town. Nope. He was a serious man.

She reached out for Everly because sometimes men like him came bearing terrible news. What had happened to Gabe? She could actually feel her heart constricting with fear.

“I’ve been sent by the president to bring you to Camp David.”

“What?” Everly asked, her voice going breathless. “Has something happened?”

The man’s face remained stony. “Everyone is safe, but the gentlemen require your attention.”

Sara exhaled. Thank god, she could breathe again. Maybe this was some prank the boys were pulling, and she’d never been a part of that. Yes, she’d been looking forward to a night out with her friends, but it might be nice to stay home and read a good book.

She stepped back. “I’ll be fine here, Ev. Call and let me know you got there okay, will you?”

“Your presence is required, too, Ms. Bond,” the man in black said. “The others are taking a chopper, but the president felt, given your condition, that it would be more comfortable to drive you out. We need to leave in five minutes, so retrieve anything you’d like to bring with you now. I was told you shouldn’t worry about toiletries. They will be provided. And someone will bring you whatever clothes or other items you might need.”

She shook her head. “I’m not married to any of the guys, so why am I required?”

Required was such an odd word in this context…

“Ma’am, it’s my job to get you to Camp David.”

And he would do it. She looked to her sister-in-law for answers.

Everly shrugged. “No idea. Maybe it’s a surprise for Gus? Let’s go with it. I’ll grab your prenatal vitamins. Need anything else?”

“Nope. If Zack wants to kidnap me, he can pay for everything I’ll need while I’m in captivity,” she shot back with a tart smile.

Everly went to the bathroom while Sara got ready for her night to be hijacked.

Sometimes, like now, she really missed liquor.

Chapter Three

Zack sat back, taking another long drink as Mad continued to insist that he’d done what he’d done to protect them all, yadda yadda, yadda.

He sighed. Why hadn’t he punched Mad in the face? Gabe had taken a swing before asking questions. Even Roman had threatened Mad with physical violence. Zack wished now that he had a do-over.

“I’d like to discuss this whole conspiracy from top to bottom.” Connor sounded far calmer than Zack felt.

He and Dax were actually taking this whole return-from-the-dead thing pretty well. Maybe the military and the Agency taught their operatives how to handle such scenarios better than the pencil-pushers at Harvard Law.

“Yeah, but the explanation will be more complete if we include the guy I’ve been working with,” Mad explained.

Gabe frowned, watching Mad like he wasn’t sure the other man wouldn’t disappear at any moment. “I thought you were working with the Secret Service.”

Those two hadn’t hugged i

t out yet, but it was obvious Gabe was relieved Mad was no longer among the dearly departed.

“Only Thomas and Matthew Kemp.” Mad’s face grew solemn. “I can’t tell you how sad I was that the Russian agent managed to kill Matt. He was a good man. But he wasn’t the brains behind this op.”

Connor snorted. “Op? Seriously? That sounds ridiculous coming out of your mouth.”

“Hey, I’m practically a spy now, brother,” Mad quipped, going from solemn to witty in a second.

Then again, Mad had always been mercurial. In fact, he’d been properly named something close to the Mad Hatter.

“But my partner is the real thing,” his recently risen friend insisted. “I admit, he’s insane and he’s got serious issues. Despite that, I’m hoping you’ll let him join us here.”

Roman pointed out that the stranger would need clearance, then he and Mad started arguing. Zack merely watched from the sideline, taking in all his friends.

He couldn’t quite feel anything except somehow separate from them. Suddenly, he was twelve again and just meeting this group of cool kids. That’s what they’d been back then. And Zack hadn’t been at all sure about his place in their circle. After all, he’d been the nerd always fearful of not living up to expectations. His father had made him vividly aware that, because of his difficult birth, his mother couldn’t have more children. So, their every ambition fell on his shoulders. Meeting Mad, and subsequently the rest of the guys, had been the first time he’d felt any camaraderie with other kids, but it had taken years before he’d really felt as if he belonged.

Now he was back on the outside because he might be a Russian plant sent to destroy the country they all loved. His very DNA could make him a traitor. Hell, Mad had been investigating him. Zack wasn’t sure he should even be sitting here among his own pack anymore.

Equally disquieting, Elizabeth Matthews would walk through that door soon. Any moment, the chopper should arrive, and the car not long after that, depending on the traffic out of DC. All the women would be here with their men—and he wouldn’t be able to touch his. Because he wasn’t sure he could trust his.