CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Brooke
With no job, no boyfriend, and an overwhelming sense of guilt for bringing down the top Republican candidate for state Senate, I did what any normal person would do. I spent the entire week in bed, crying. I left the curtains drawn, didn’t shower, didn’t eat, and didn’t even go out to fetch the mail from my box at the front of the building. When the phone rang, I just let it ring, and when texts came through, I didn’t even look at them.
So when the doorbell rang the following Tuesday, I’d planned not to open it.
But then it rang and rang, and Kiera’s voice started shouting, “I’m going to call 9-1-1 if you don’t answer because I’m going to assume you’re dead in there!”
I finally relented and practically crawled to the door. When I opened it, I hung on it, hardly able to see because my eyes were so puffy from crying.
She was standing there with a giant fluffy teddy bear and a balloon bouquet. I looked up as they bounced gently on the top of the doorjamb. One of them said, “Congratulations.” I definitely did not feel like there was anything to congratulate me for.
“What?” I asked, rubbing my eyes. “Shouldn’t that say ‘I’m sorry for stabbing you in the back?’”
Her face fell. “What?”
I looked at her, incredulous. “I asked you not to give those papers to your father, but you did it the very same day.”
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t.” She dug through her bag and pulled them out. “They’re right here.”
I stared at them, then remembered Jack telling me that they’d be given to the press either way. I pressed the heel of my hand in my eye, trying to understand.
Keira stared at me in horror as I moved aside to let her in. “Oh, my god. Were you bitten by a vampire? It’s hot as hell in here. And it smells.”
I shrugged and plopped down on the couch, still trying to work through the puzzle.
She leaned forward and took a sniff. “You smell.”
“Thanks.” I pointed at the balloons. “Who are those for?”
She stared at me like I was insane. “You, dummy.” She stopped. “Wait. When was the last time you checked your phone? Or your mail?”
I shook my head. It wasn’t an answer because I couldn’t actually remember.
She dropped the teddy bear on the couch beside me, then ran out into the hallway. When she came back, she was holding a large flat envelope from FedEx. It said PRIORITY LETTER. She ripped it open, pulled out a slip of paper, and inspected it. She smiled, then deposited it in my lap.
Dear Brooke Ellis,
Congratulations on your acceptance into the Federal Bureau of Investigation…
I froze.
“I made it,” I said hoarsely, but mostly because this was something I’d always dreamed of, and in my dreams, that’s what I’d always said. But truthfully, I was just frozen, my mind too numb to process.
Kiera leaned over and hugged me quickly, because yes, I smelled. “Congrats, girl. My dad said he put it through last week.”
I forced a smile. My voice was weak. “Thanks. But why?”
Her eyes narrowed. “He said you came though.”
I didn’t understand. Had Jack turned them over in my name? Why?
Then I knew… someone wanted to make certain I looked guilty.
So Cameron would hate me.
Mission accomplished.
Keira studied me with pity. I guessed Cameron’s name was still etched all over me, like a tattoo. “I saw the engagement announcement in the Inquirer. He’s marrying her.”
I nodded. I hadn’t seen that, but I knew it was just a matter of time before it became official. “And his candidacy?”
She shrugged. “He’s still running. Turns out that dirt you brought in bounced right off the legendary Brice suit of armor. I swear, some families are so wealthy, they can do no wrong. He could probably be a serial killer, and they’d be okay with it. I guess it would take another Shadygate to bring down the Brice juggernaut.”
So it had all been for nothing. I’d exposed him and ruined my chances with him for nothing. No, not nothing, I reminded myself, studying the paper in my hand. This is my dream.
Was my dream.
At least he still had his career. I hadn’t permanently damaged that. I was glad. It meant that no matter what, District One would be sending a senator who might not be perfect but who gave a damn to Harrisburg in the following year. “What about the debate?”
“It’s tonight,” she said.
Tonight. After tonight, the entire state would love him the way I did. It was inevitable. Because while Owen had done a good job as a state senator, he wasn’t Cameron. Cameron may have looked like a buttoned-up, inhuman douche, but once you heard him talk and speak what was on his mind, you couldn’t help but fall. I had no doubt of that.
“Are you going to go to support your father?”
She shook her head. “You know he never wants me with him. He gets too nervous.” She looked around. “Hey, I have an idea. Do you want to watch it together on television? Make it a girls’ night in? If you have any liquor, we’ll make it a drinking game.”
I nodded and smiled at her, thinking that I’d need to be drunk to watch Cameron and his Silver Tongue thrashing Owen Blakely. “That sounds really good.”
“Good. You have any Tito’s?” she asked, reaching into the kitchen cabinet where I kept my liquor. She smiled as she pulled down the vodka bottle and two shot glasses, then looked at me. “And please take a shower.”
I did a pit sniff and winced. “Okay. Deal.”
I stumbled into the shower as Kiera went around, opening windows and trying to air the place out. It was early June, and right now, while I stood under the spray, I knew Cameron was busy preparing for his television debut. I wondered if he was nervous. I wondered if he was happy about marrying Bernadette. I wondered if he ever thought about me.
As much as I wished I could keep him out of my head, I wondered so much, I stayed in the shower until the water ran cold.