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

How would she feel if she found out that he’d suspected her of working against him? If she knew he still had the slightest bit of doubt? That he’d simply decided he wanted her far too much to care what her true allegiance might be.

“I think it will be incredibly amusing to see how my sister handles this. I’ll feel much better knowing she’s in protective custody.” Gabe got his serious face on. “But let’s talk about how we’re going to fix this situation because she can’t stay there for too long. I think we should break up the research. Connor and I were talking. Collectively, we can handle this if we each take a piece.”

Gabe continued on, but Roman tipped his head toward the house, an obvious request for a private word.

He’d been ducking Roman and all the man’s questions since he’d walked into the kitchen with Liz to find the whole group eating lunch. Yep, they’d missed breakfast, and it had been impossible not to notice how badly their friends wanted to ask all the pertinent questions. He’d ignored their pointed stares and thanked his lucky stars that Gus had been in Sara’s cabin because she wouldn’t have been polite. He would bet Liz was getting interrogated at that very instant.

“We’ll be right back.” Zack stood because he wouldn’t be assigned to do research. He hated that his friends would have to do work that should have fallen to him. Then again, he had a very stressful day job.

Roman followed, closing the door behind them. “Are you sure this is the right move?”

“Nope, and the sad thing is that’s my answer for everything you’re asking, whether that’s pursuing the blackmailer, bringing Mad to the White House, or being with Elizabeth.”

Roman’s hands fisted on his hips, like he was squaring off for a fight. “I’m definitely talking about Elizabeth.”

Of course he was. “It’s private, and you should stay out of it.”

“It’s not private. Nothing you do is private, and we’re not sure she isn’t in on the Russians’ plans. You might be giving her the very access she’s been waiting for.”

“I don’t think she’s in on it.” He’d thought about it while he’d watched her sleep this morning. She’d cuddled close to him and he’d woken sweetly tangled up in all that honey-colored hair of hers. He hadn’t slept so well in years, and he’d felt a deep peace at seeing her look so serene lying there in his bed. He didn’t want to believe she was anything but exactly what she appeared to be. “I watched her carefully while Mad was explaining everything yesterday. She was genuinely shocked. She was hearing all of that information for the first time.”

“Or she could be an excellent actress.”

Elizabeth could play her cards close to the vest, but not when she got emotional. “No. She can handle a press conference and anyone who wants to come at her work-wise, but she’s never been able to hide her feelings in private. You know that.”

Elizabeth often told Roman exactly how she felt, and in no uncertain terms or language. She and Roman frequently faced off over how to handle important issues. They were his two closest advisors, Elizabeth being the voice of his conscience, while Roman was the voice of his ambition.

“It could all be a mask, Zack. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. If she’s a sleeper agent, her whole personality is a setup. And if you let her get too close, she’ll know how and when to play us all.” Roman glanced back out at the guys, who seemed to be giving Mad some serious shit. “I don’t think we should trust anyone who isn’t family.”

“Says the man whose fiancée is literally family.” He wasn’t giving Elizabeth up, not to feed Roman’s paranoia. Roman got to go to bed with Gus every night. It was easy for him to tell Zack to push aside the woman he wanted.

If Roman heard the hard edge to his words, he didn’t show it. He merely sent Zack the steely gaze he knew meant his chief of staff was digging in for a long fight. “I’m only trying to protect you. I know how you feel about her, but we have to be careful.”

Zack loved her. He hadn’t told her that yet. He wouldn’t. They needed time to figure a few things out, but he knew the feelings that beat in his heart for Elizabeth Matthews.

Still, his niggling suspicion played at the back of his head, twisting his thoughts. She’d been the one to bring them the blackmailer’s demands. The order to change the FAA investigation's status into Mad’s plane crash had come through her office. How could all that be merely a coincidence?

Ruthlessly, Zack pushed the thoughts aside. He couldn’t think about that now. He was going to put some faith in her, but that didn’t mean he would be a complete idiot.

“I’ll tell her about the meeting tonight.”

The day before, he and Roman had decided to set Elizabeth up with a test of sorts, some disinformation about a secret meeting with his energy director on Friday to discuss the pipeline. Only she would know about the supposed talk. Zack thought it was an excellent way to get Roman off his back because Elizabeth knew how to keep a secret. But if word somehow spread, they would have another clue. And he would know for sure that Elizabeth was a beautiful traitor.

Chapter Eight

Sara looked around the Presidential Emergency Operations Center and prayed she wouldn’t be down here for long. The White House, with all its elegant rooms and rich history, was right above her. “Is there a reason I can’t just hole up in the Lincoln Bedroom? I promise not to give birth there or anything.”

She understood that she needed to stay out of sight while everyone was investigating this global conspiracy. Yes, it was international espionage, so it was dangerous. But PEOC seemed to be nothing more than a series of sterile conference rooms and an endless collection of locked doors. It was a little intimidating.

“Ma’am, this is where President Hayes ordered me to bring you.” Thomas held out a hand, gesturing for her to continue down the hallway.

It was a crappy way to start a shitty week after the rollercoaster ride of a weekend. They’d spent all day Saturday and Sunday at Camp David going over everything they knew about the Russian plot to manipulate Zack. Not that they’d spent all their time working. There had been hours of playing cards and catching up, when she’d forced herself to not stare at Mad, to not listen to the deep timbre of his laughter and think about how long it had been since he’d held her.

This morning, they’d all come back to DC. She’d managed to avoid a long good-bye. Mad had merely told her he would see her soon. That was it. He hadn’t even tried to kiss her or sneak into her room once. He’d kept a polite distance, just as she’d asked. Why did that rankle? Apparently he wasn’t going to try terribly hard to win her back.

It was for the best.

“It’s not that bad down here.” Gus touched her elbow and led her down the long hallway. “I’ll bring you books and movies. Hopefully, you won’t be down here for long.”

“The other women aren’t being sequestered in the bunker,” Sara grumbled.

When she’d agreed to protective custody, she hadn’t imagined it would be quite this isolated. She’d hoped they might put her up at a luxury hotel with some guards or send her off to the Maldives. Nothing bad ever happened there. That was a rule; she was sure of it. But plenty of bad stuff must happen down here since the bunker was a war room of sorts.

“The other women used more effective birth control,” Gus pointed out in her matter-of-fact style. “I assure you if Lara pees on a stick this month and ends up with a plus sign, you’ll have company here. Seriously, don’t sweat this. I’ll be nearby most days. Liz, too. I promise you won’t be completely alone.”

The crappy part was, while she’d chosen to be alone for the last few months, she was finally coming out of her mourning now, feeling ready to face the real world. Being with her friends over the weekend had shown her how much she was ready to interact and smile again. And now she was stuck in a cage for the foreseeable future.

Where would Mad be?

She’d watched him climb into the car with Connor, Dax, and Freddy, but she had no idea where they’d

intended to drop him off. He would be out in the world again, fighting what he saw as the good fight. Sure, he’d changed in the last few months. He was no longer the billionaire whose only worry was whether the caviar was fresh enough. He’d come back with the heart of a warrior. But Sara still worried. These were dangerous people. Who would protect Mad?

She wasn’t going there. She couldn’t worry about him. She’d wasted months mourning his death—which hadn’t even been real—while he’d been out there playing bad guys and spies. When he’d dumped her and lied, he’d given up all rights to her consideration and care.