CHAPTER TEN
Nick
“I just can’t believe she would be so spiteful.” I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck as I absorbed Charley’s news.
When she had come back after speaking with Diana, I immediately noticed that something was wrong. We had found an empty room off the front of the church. I had always known that Heidi could be spiteful, but I was having trouble believing that someone I had once thought I loved was now determined to ruin my life.
Charley was perched on a large slab of wood that was mysteriously plopped in the middle of the room while I stood in front of her, eyes wide with disbelief.
“Did you give her the money?” she asked, trying to sound nonjudgmental.
“Christ, no I didn’t give her money to get an abortion!” Just saying those words in an old church felt sacrilegious, even for me.
She said calmly, “I know that. That’s not what I asked.”
“I did give her money,” I confessed reluctantly. “After the breakup, she moved out of the condo. For a while she was staying with friends but then she need to get her own place and I agreed to help her out.”
Charley shook her head at me. “This is why I’m never nice to people.”
“You’re making jokes right now?”
“Well, it’s either that or join your pity party.” She grabbed my suit lapels and pulled me over to her. “We’ll work through this, Nick. It’s going to be fine.”
“You’re a liar, but I’m choosing to believe you.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “Thank you for believing in me.”
“Diana wasn’t going to let me go until I did.” She skimmed a hand over my jaw line, looking deep into my eyes. “You’re a good guy, Nick. There’s no denying that.”
“I thought girls were only attracted to the bad boys,” I said with a smirk.
“Even good guys have a bad side,” she replied.
I stepped between her legs and put my hand on her thigh, sliding over smooth skin until it was under the hem of her dress.
She sounded breathless when she said, “We can’t have sex in a church, Nick.” Adding with a smile, “That would be bad.”
I returned her teasing smile before pressed my lips over hers. Her hands pulled me even closer. It would probably have surprised Charley to know that I had never done anything like that in my life. Sex in public was a little too risky for politicians, but I couldn’t resist Charley even when I knew it was a bad idea.
When we were done, Charley gave the wooden slab she was sitting on a long look and said, “Wait a minute. Is this an altar?”
“Hm. I think so.” I laughed.
She gave a small giggle. “I guess you really are a bad boy after all.”
We headed back to the party and tried not to let it show that we’d just had amazing sex. The atmosphere in the room had changed while we were gone. People were talking excitedly and some were even crying.
“What’s going on, Nick?” Charley grabbed my arm.
“I have no idea.”
Diana spotted us across the room and came running over. “Nicholas!”
“What happened?” I said. Her face was twisted in raw emotion– shock, disbelief, and a million other feelings.
“It’s the vice President. He’s been killed!”
It was then that I noticed everyone at the party was staring at us, or more accurately, at me. Several large men in suits were rushing in our direction.
“Senator Moore.” The men closed around us. “Secret Service. We need you to come with us.”
“Not this again,” Charley muttered, sounding scared.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Is it true about the VP?”
“There’s no time for this, sir. Please come with us and we’ll explain once we are in route.”
Another man pointed at Charley. “Is she with you?”
“Yes.” My phone was ringing nonstop at this point.
“Is he a target?” Diana exclaimed in alarm. None of the men answered as they began ushering us away.
We were loaded into a heavily guarded black SUV with tinted windows. The men talked into unseen microphones and responded to unheard orders as we whipped through the streets of Manhattan.
“Where are we going?” Charley asked the man next to her.
“The White House,” he replied without further explanation.
It wasn’t quite as easy as the man made it sound. Getting to the White House was an exercise in patience. First, we were driven back to the hotel so Charley could grab her belongings. Then we drove to the nearest airport. There, we boarded a plane with our new escorts and flew to Virginia where we were loaded onto helicopters that eventually landed on the White House lawn.
We were escorted to the residential wing of the White House and Charley took a seat on one of the couches while I paced in front of her.
“Why don’t you sit down?” she suggested.
When I kept pacing, she turned on the television.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered.
I turned to the television and didn’t say anything for a long time. The press was loving the fact that they had something so salacious to cover. “At least they aren’t talking about me anymore.”
“Why are we here, Nick? I don’t understand.” Charley sounded worried.
“The President wants to speak with me.” I shrugged and took a seat next to her.
We sat in silence as we watched the drama playing out on television. Journalists speculated about the motive of the assassin and the failure of the Secret Service. Nearly an hour passed before someone entered the room. Even then it was just a pair of Secret Service agents coming to take me away.
“She can stay here,” one of them said, glaring at Charley. “We’ll bring you back to her after.”
“After what?” she said.
I followed the agents from the room, too worried about my current predicament to think about what Charley must be feeling at that moment. I had been to the White House a number of times, but never under circumstances like this.
We could barely walk down the hall because so many agents were surrounding the oval office. From the furtive glances they cast in my direction, my suspicions about my presence there were confirmed. We only had to wait a few seconds before the President’s aide led us into the Oval Office.
“Senator.” President Wilkins rose from behind the Resolute desk. “I’m sorry about the chaos tonight.”
“I’m sorry about Vice President Anderson,” I said as I shook his hand. “Truly a terrible loss for the country.”
“He was a good man.” Wilkins gestured to the couch. “Please, have a seat. There are some matters we need to discuss.”
I took a seat across from the President and fought hard not to become overwhelmed by the moment. “Have they identified the shooter?”
“Yes. He was connected to the man that attempted the shooting last week.” Wilkins shook his head. “I don’t understand how this happened. We’ve been on heightened security and Anderson had extra protection.”
“Is there still a threat?” I asked.
“We don’t believe so. It appears to be a conspiracy by the two men involved who both have a history of mental issues.” Wilkins took a deep breath and leaned forward. “This isn’t why I called you here, Senator.”
I nodded. “Go ahead, Mr. President.”
Wilkins looked me dead in the eye and said, “I’m offering you the Vice Presidency of the United States.”