State of Affairs

by Marie Force

  “Very nice.”

  “So we need a new communications director and spokesperson. Before I tap into my professional network, I wanted to ask if you have anyone you might wish to ask.”

  Sam immediately thought of her new friend Roni Connolly, an obituary writer at the Washington Star. “I actually do have someone I’d like to talk to about it, if that’s okay.”

  “Of course. You’re the boss, ma’am.”

  “Don’t call me ma’am.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Are you ladies bickering?” Dr. Harry Flynn asked as he put his arm around Lilia.

  Sam raised a brow. “Us? Bicker?”

  Harry laughed. “What am I saying? You two would have no reason to bicker. You’re going to be the most malleable, mild-mannered first lady in history. Lilia will have no problem managing you.”

  Sam scowled at him as Lilia hooted with laughter. “None of that is funny.”

  “Oh, yes,” Harry said, flashing his dimpled smile. “It’s all funny.”

  An hour later, after everyone had left, Sam hung out with Eli, Scotty and two happy, tired six-year-olds, who were still playing with their new toys. She realized there’d never be a better time to talk to the kids while Eli was still home. She’d given Eli and Scotty a heads-up about talking to them while the kids ate pizza for dinner.

  “Hey, guys,” she said to Alden and Aubrey. “Can you come sit with me for a minute?”

  The kids got up and ran over to her, launching themselves at her with sugar-fueled excitement. She hated that she had to tell them something that might take some of the shine off their perfect day.

  “Did you guys have fun today?” she asked when she had her arms full of the blond children who’d captured her heart from the first second she met them.

  They nodded.

  “It was so much fun,” Aubrey said. “Thank you for the party.”

  “You’re welcome, sweetheart. I wanted to talk to you about something that happened the other night. It’s nothing bad, so don’t worry. But on Thanksgiving, after you guys went to bed, Nick got a phone call from the White House. You remember he works there, right?”

  “He’s the vice president,” Alden said.

  “That’s right. Do you know what one of the most important jobs the vice president has is?”

  They shook their heads.

  “If something happens to the president, the vice president has to be ready to become the president. And the other night, when the White House called, they told Nick that President Nelson had died.” They’d been advised when the twins lost their parents to use words they’d understand. Died versus passed away, for example.

  “Like Mommy and Daddy?” Alden asked.

  “Yes, honey.”

  “Is he in heaven with them?”

  “I’m sure he is. But the thing is, because President Nelson died, Nick had to become the new president.” She watched them carefully, noting the way their little eyebrows furrowed as they tried to make sense of what she was telling them. “Do you know where the president lives?”

  “At the White House!” Alden said.

  “That’s right, and so that means Nick will have to live there.”

  “Won’t he be lonely?” Aubrey asked.

  She was the sweetest, most compassionate child.

  “Not if we’re there with him,” Sam said. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. We’re going to move to the White House to live there with him for the next three years.”

  Alden bit his lip as he thought about that. “So we won’t live here anymore?”

  “This will always be our home, but we’re going to stay at the White House most of the time. It’ll be like when you go to a hotel, but you still have your house at home.”

  “Can we come home to sleep at night?” Alden asked.

  “No, honey, we’ll sleep at the White House. You’ll have your bed and all your toys and clothes right there with you. And most important, you’ll have us—me and Nick and Scotty and Eli when he’s home from school. He’ll have his own room at the White House just like he does here.”

  Aubrey’s chin wobbled, and her eyes filled with tears.

  “We don’t want you guys to worry about anything,” Elijah said. “Sam and Nick and Scotty will be with you every day, and I’ll come home on weekends whenever I can. The most important things aren’t going to change.”

  “I don’t want to move,” Aubrey said.

  “I know you don’t, honey.” Sam hugged her close. “I don’t either, but we don’t want Nick to be lonely at the White House by himself.”

  “You know what’s really cool about the White House?” Scotty asked.

  Alden perked up. “What?”

  “We’ll have a pool, a bowling alley and our own movie theater!”

  Alden’s eyes widened. “No way.”

  “Yes way,” Scotty said. “We’re going to have so much fun.”

  Aubrey reached for Elijah, who took her from Sam.

  “Everything is going to be just fine,” Elijah assured his siblings. “I promise.”

  They spent another half hour talking about the White House and answering the kids’ questions about living there. Finally, Sam told them it was time for baths and bedtime. They went more easily than usual because they were tired after their big day. She, Eli and Scotty tucked them in, and Eli read them a birthday book he’d bought for them that had their names as part of the story.

  After the story, Sam and Scotty gave the three of them a few minutes alone.

  In the hallway, Scotty said, “I guess that went pretty well.”

  Amused as always by him, she said, “I think so. I feel for them. They just got comfortable here, and now we’re going to disrupt them again.”

  “They’ll be okay as long as we’re all there with them. That’s what’ll matter most.”

  She hooked an arm around him and kissed the top of his head. “You were great. Telling them about the fun stuff was brilliant.”

  “That’s the stuff that matters to kids, along with the people they love being there with them.”

  Elijah came out of the bedroom a few minutes later, looking a little undone.

  Sam experienced a maternal wave of love for the young man who’d become such a big part of their lives along with his siblings. She went to him and hugged him. “They’re going to be fine. Try not to worry. We’ll take good care of them.”

  He returned her embrace, seeming to need it as much as she did, and then pulled back to run a hand through his dark hair, something she’d noticed he did when he was stressed. “I’ll come home every weekend until they get settled into a new routine.”

  “I don’t want you to worry either. They’ll be fine. We’ll make sure of it.”

  The boys went downstairs to play video games while she went into her room to text Nick. Talked to the Littles. It went pretty well. A few chin wobbles and lots of questions, but Scotty was awesome and told them about the pool, bowling alley and movie theater, and that made it much more exciting. He was brilliant. And so was Eli.

  He wrote back thirty minutes later. Glad to hear it went well. Scotty to the rescue. I’m not surprised that he knew what would make them feel better. Sorry I couldn’t be there to help.

  Don’t worry. It’s all good. We told them we can’t let you be lonely at the White House, and they definitely don’t want that.

  Love those Littles so much. Wish I was there with you guys.

  We’ll be here when you get home. Xo

  Chapter Eleven

  Much later, long after she and the boys had gone to bed, Sam was struggling to sleep without Nick. Her phone rang with a call from Gonzo that had her sitting up in bed.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “We found Gigi’s ex.”

  “That’s good news.”

  “Yeah, not so much. He’s holding her mother, sister and two nephews hostage in the mother’s house in Fairfax.”

  Sam’s heart sank. “Seriously?”


  “Dead seriously. We talked to a bunch of his friends, all of whom mentioned he’s been increasingly erratic and unstable lately. And the kicker is, he wants to talk to you.”

  “To me? What the hell do I have to do with anything?”

  “I have no idea, but the Fairfax County SWAT captain asked me to get you here ASAP. Can you do it?”

  “I’m on my way.” Sam ended the call, got out of bed, crossed the hallway to the room that served as her closet and put on jeans, a sweater and running shoes. She would miss the amazing closet Nick had built for her. What kind of closets would they have at the White House? Ugh, she couldn’t think about that right now.

  Back in the bedroom, she unlocked her bedside table drawer and retrieved her service weapon, sliding it into the holster on her hip. She went up to give Elijah the monitor for the twins.

  “I don’t know how long I’ll be,” she said.

  “No worries. I’ll listen for them, but they’re probably out cold after the amazing day they had. Thank you again for that.”

  “It was entirely my pleasure and all thanks to Shelby. I’ll text you when I’m back.”

  “Okay.”

  She went back downstairs, knocked on Scotty’s door and poked her head in. “I have to go out for work. Eli is here if you need anything.”

  “I’m fine. Just watching the end of the Caps game.”

  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Are you allowed to just leave?”

  “I guess we’re gonna find out.” She dared anyone to try to stop her. The lives of Gigi’s loved ones were on the line, and if her presence would help to save them, she was going.

  Downstairs, she encountered Nate still at the door. “Good evening, Mrs. Cappuano. May I help you with something?”

  “No, thanks, I’m all set. If you could just let me out, I’d appreciate it.”

  “I’m, ah, under orders…”

  “So am I. Please step aside.”

  After a long moment of staring at each other, neither of them blinking, he finally did as she’d directed. Sam made haste down the ramp and was in her car and pulling away in a matter of seconds. She headed for the checkpoint and didn’t slow down as she zoomed through the exit lane.

  She let out a happy laugh as she made her escape and headed for the 14th Street Bridge and Northern Virginia. Maybe there’d be hell to pay with Nick and the Secret Service, but she was determined to keep her life as close to what it had looked like on Wednesday as she possibly could. With that in mind, she turned on her emergency lights and pressed the accelerator almost to the floor. Her phone rang with a call from Captain Malone that she took on the Bluetooth. “Hey.”

  “You heard about Dominguez’s family?”

  “I did, and I’m on my way.”

  “Oh, good. We were worried the Secret Service might try to stop you from leaving.”

  “They tried and failed.” Sam couldn’t think about how pissed Nick would be that she’d left without a detail. She’d contend with the fallout after she’d done what she could to stop Dominguez’s nightmare from compounding exponentially. “What’re you hearing from the scene?”

  “Fairfax County SWAT is in place and prepared to go in, but they want you to try first. Ezra specifically asked to speak to you.”

  “Any idea why?”

  “The thinking is that he’s well aware of who you are as Gigi’s boss and now the first lady. He’s wanting attention from a high-profile officer.”

  “Well, we’ll give it to him and hopefully talk him into letting his hostages go.” A memory of being held hostage herself, first by Clarence Reese and then by Lieutenant Stahl, made her break into a cold sweat. Reese had shot himself only feet away from her after a standoff in which she’d nearly talked him into handing over the gun before SWAT burst into the diner where she was being held. The situation with Stahl had been a lot worse for her, but she didn’t have the bandwidth to revisit that awful day.

  Hostage situations were the worst, and she prayed for Gigi’s sake—and that of her family members—that they’d be able to peacefully resolve this one. Sam’s cell phone rang with a call from Nick.

  “Hey, I know you’re pissed, but I got a life-or-death call—not my life or death—that I’ll tell you about later. Everything is fine, but I have to go.”

  “This isn’t cool, Samantha.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

  “See that you do.”

  When he ended the call without telling her he loved her or to be careful, her anxiety spiked the way it did anytime they were at odds. As she pulled onto the street where Gigi’s mother lived, Sam had to stay focused on the task at hand before she dealt with the consequences waiting for her at home.

  The street was full of public safety vehicles with red and blue lights flashing. She parked and pressed the button on the door to open the trunk. After retrieving her bulletproof vest, she donned it as she walked toward the epicenter of the activity.

  Gonzo saw her coming and waved her over to where he was consulting with Fairfax County SWAT team members.

  “Lieutenant Holland, this is Captain Bruce,” Gonzo said, “and Lieutenant Dorsey, the hostage negotiator.”

  “Good to meet you both.” Sam sensed instant hostility from both men. Awesome. She could never understand why some officers hated her on sight, when they’d never even met her. Apparently, her reputation preceded her.

  “Glad you could make it, Lieutenant,” Dorsey said. “We’ve been talking to the suspect, and he’s very interested in speaking to you personally.”

  “I heard. Let’s get me in there.”

  “So you’re just going to walk in there, no big deal?” Bruce asked.

  Sam gave him a perplexed look. “He wants to talk to me. I want to get my detective’s family members out of there. So yeah, I’m going to walk in there, no big deal. Is that a problem?”

  “Not for me,” Bruce said.

  “Captain, why don’t you just say what’s on your mind so we can get back to doing our jobs here?”

  “I’m just wondering what business the first lady has at a crime scene and how much of a clusterfuck it’s gonna be for me if the first lady gets herself killed on my watch.”

  Sam bit back the bitchy reply that burned on the tip of her tongue, which would’ve been something like, Mind your own fucking business. Instead, she said, “Right now, I’m not the first lady. I’m a police commander intent on saving the lives of one of my detectives’ family members. If you’re done wasting time, I’m ready to get to it.”

  Gonzo grunted under his breath, which meant he was trying not to laugh.

  Giving Sam an openly hostile look, Bruce said, “Fine. Get him on the phone, then.”

  Dorsey made the call. “Ezra, I have Lieutenant Holland here, and she’d like to talk to you.” He handed the phone to Sam.

  “Hey, Ezra. This is Sam Holland. I heard you wanted to talk to me.”

  “Why do you go by Holland when you’re married to the president?”

  That was his first question? “I’m Holland on the job. You wanted to talk to me. What can I do for you?”

  “I want you to help me.”

  “With what?”

  “I need you to talk to Gigi. She respects the hell out of you, and if you tell her she needs to listen to me, she’ll do it.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t recommend she do that while you’re holding her family and she’s in the hospital with injuries you inflicted.”

  “That wasn’t my fault! She wouldn’t listen to me. I tried to tell her…” A muffled sound that might’ve been a sob came through the phone. “I love her so much.”

  “If that’s the case, why did you hurt her?”

  “I didn’t mean to. I was so scared she would leave me. She stopped taking my calls and wouldn’t answer my texts. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “Ezra, you have to know if you hurt her family, you’ll never see her again. Tell me you unders
tand that.”

  “I don’t want to hurt them.”

  “Then let them go. They haven’t done anything to deserve being put in this position. Please let them go.”

  “I can’t do that. If they’re here with me, then Gigi will have to talk to me.”

  “She’s in the hospital, Ezra. They had to do surgery to remove her spleen because it ruptured after you punched her in the stomach. Did you know she had surgery?”

  “No,” he said, sniffling. “I love her so much. I just wish she’d listen to me.”

  “What else can I do to help you? Besides bring her here. If I got her on the phone, would you let her family go?”

  “I… I don’t know.”

  “I’d need some assurances before I reach out to her. I’ll ask you again… If I promise to get Gigi on the phone, will you release her family members?”

  “If I agree, you’re not going to fuck me over, are you?”

  “I give you my word that if you release them, I’ll get Gigi on the phone for you. But I’m not going to wait all night, Ezra. You either take the deal, or you don’t.”

  “I… I really want to talk to Gigi.”

  “Then let them go, and I’ll get her on the phone.” While she waited to see what he would do, Sam used her own phone to call Dani.

  “Hey,” Dani said.

  “Are you aware of what’s going on at the Dominguez home in Fairfax?”

  “What? No…”

  “Ezra has taken Gigi’s mother, sister and nephews hostage.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “I’m there now, and I’ve got him on another line. I think he’ll let them go if he can talk to Gigi. Are you still at the hospital?”

  “Yes, I’m with her.”

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to tell her what’s going on and ask her if she’s able to do this.”

  “Hang on.”

  In the background, Sam could hear the rumble of voices and the moan of agony from Gigi when Dani told her what was happening with her family.

  “She’ll do it,” Dani said. “Patch the call through to my phone.”

  “Stand by.” Sam ended that call and returned to the call with Ezra. “Gigi is willing to talk to you, Ezra, but only if you release her family members first.” While she waited for him to reply, she watched the house so intently that she barely blinked. Please, she thought. Please, let them go.