by Hart, Stella
“So you are worried someone might try to kill you,” I said, arching a brow. I didn’t even broach the obvious problem of a bulletproof vest doing absolutely nothing to stop a headshot.
“It’s just a security measure every president has to take at events like this,” she replied, tone turning frosty again. “You almost sound as if you want something to happen.”
I shook my head. “I’m just worried.”
“Well, as I said, there’s no need for concern. Did you know my approval ratings have actually started going up again since last week?” she said, lifting her brows. “More and more people are starting to realize this whole Rutherford thing is just a witch hunt.”
“That’s good,” I said softly.
“Yes, it is. No thanks to you, I might add,” she said. “Now, please try to stay out of trouble this afternoon. You’ve already caused enough drama for ten lifetimes.”
“You know I didn’t mean to.”
“I don’t care.” She narrowed her eyes and adjusted the pin on my lapel. “When you get out there, smile and wave, and don’t say a word to anyone who isn’t on the approved list once we get to the Ellipse.”
“Okay, Mom.”
She stalked away, and Jamie flashed a rueful smile at me. “Sorry. She’s been very stressed lately.”
“No shit. Half the country wants her in prison,” I said. “She blames me for that.”
He squeezed my arm. “She shouldn’t. It’s my fault and her fault. If we didn’t have that stupid conversation on the night Rutherford died, no one would suspect us now.”
“He didn’t just die, though. He was murdered. So I guess we can’t really blame people for wondering.”
He nodded. “Yes, it’s a horrible coincidence. But don’t worry, we’ll be vindicated soon. They’ll find the real killer.”
“I hope so.” I tilted my chin to one side. “What were you saying to my mom that night, anyway?”
“About killing Rutherford’s career?”
I nodded. “Yeah. How were you going to do it?”
Jamie rubbed his chin. “I’m not proud of this,” he said. “But we had a sex tape featuring Rutherford and two prostitutes. We were going to release it in an attempt to discredit him so people would vote for your mother when she ran against him.”
“Wow. Shady.”
“Yes. We really should’ve stayed on the high road and refused to entertain such a notion,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “But karma got us in the end, didn’t it? Like you said, half the country thinks we’re murderers now.”
I sighed. “That’s exactly why I’m worried about today.”
He squeezed my arm again. “Trust me, the security we’ve arranged is top-notch. There’s no way anyone is getting anywhere near the parade with any kind of weapon.”
“What about a sniper?”
“Not gonna happen. Every single building, rooftop, and nook in the area has been swept and cleared. No one could possibly get close enough to take a shot at your mom, even with a sniper rifle.”
I nodded. “Okay. That makes me feel a bit better.”
“Good.” He glanced at his watch and lifted his brows. “I have to go and check your mom’s speech one more time before she goes on. Will you be okay here on your own?”
“Uh-huh.”
He briskly stepped away. As I watched him go, a sudden vibration in my pocket startled me, and I drew in a sharp, anxious breath before remembering the new cellphone Logan had given me this morning.
He’d programmed the phone so that it could only text or call him, just in case I got any funny ideas again. He told me that he wanted me to have it so I could message him if I got scared at any point today, seeing as I’d spent the last few days fretting about the upcoming event. It was a kind gesture, considering his past standards for my treatment.
Despite his heartfelt apology the other day, I still didn’t entirely trust him, so while I was doing my best to get along with him for now—properly, this time—I was still mentally keeping him at arm’s length.
While I was grateful for everything he’d done lately to try and make things right between us, it didn’t change the fact that I was still his prisoner in the end. Also, he had a volatile temper, so for all I knew, he might get mad and change his mind about everything in the future, regardless of the promises he’d made. Then my brother would be in danger again.
The only way I could fully avoid that risk was to get out of the marriage contract with Logan. I was still working on it, slowly but surely, and while I did that, I had to try my best not to succumb to Stockholm syndrome.
It was harder than I thought it would be, especially when I considered the shocking but sweet way he came clean about his feelings for me the other morning, and the way he held me close and stroked my hair to comfort me during the wash of tears.
Every time I recalled those moments, my pulse picked up and all the old feelings I had for him as a teenager flooded back. I literally had to pinch myself to snap out of those moods and actively repeat my new mantra. Don’t fall for him. Don’t fall for him. For the love of god, don’t fall for him…
I swallowed hard, pulled the phone out of my pocket, and checked the message he’d just sent to me. How’s the event going? Has it started yet?
I tapped out a quick response. Not yet. I’m still pretty nervous, but the security seems good.
He replied instantly. I’m sure nothing bad will happen. Anyway, I wanted to let you know I finally had a chance to check the Caldwell servers for any information on your mom and Jamie.
Me: Did you find anything?
Logan: Yes, but it’s not exactly good news.
Me: What is it?
Logan: They have a file on the Rutherford murder case. Not much in it yet, but all of the stuff they have on your mom points to her being guilty, so it’s not going to look good if someone from the agency releases it. For example, they have her internet browsing history from her private computer. It looks like she did a Google search for aconitine two months before Rutherford was killed using that exact substance. She was using Incognito mode, presumably thinking that made the search private and untraceable, but that’s not the case. Internet history stuff is always traceable, no matter what anyone tells you.
Me: Surely she couldn’t be that stupid, though? If she wanted to look up deadly poisons to use in the murder of a president, she’d be smart enough to have some random intern do it on their computer so it couldn’t be traced back to her, right?
Logan: Agreed. I think you might actually be right about this whole thing. It reeks of a set-up. Someone could’ve sneaked onto her computer and done the search to try and make her look guilty.
Me: It’s crazy. I can’t believe someone is this desperate to get rid of her.
Logan: Yeah. By the way, this is gonna sound weird, but honestly, the whole thing has actually gotten me interested in politics again.
Me: Really? Why?
Logan: Because of how seedy and fucked up it is. It’s so crazy but so intriguing at the same time. Know what I mean?
Me: Yeah, I get it, and hey… at least your mom will be happy about the renewed interest, right?
Logan: Yeah. Speaking of that, I met with Jeremy Carlton this morning, after you left. He’s cool. I like a lot of the stuff he had to say. Mom seems pretty excited to get involved with his campaign, so I’m gonna help her out with it. I told her I’d put aside one day a week for it.
Me: That’s good. I think it’ll make her really happy. And hey, maybe you guys can actually get Carlton elected next year over my mom. Then I won’t have to deal with all this First Family bullshit anymore…
Logan: Hang in there. Remember: smile and wave.
Me: I swear, if one more person says that to me today, I’m going to strangle them with one of these giant Christmas ribbons.
Logan: At least the parade will be worth watching then.
I was about to reply again when Mom snapped her fingers at me from across the room. “W
illow, are you ready to go?”
“Yes.” I slipped the phone back in my pocket and headed over to my family.
Butterflies filled my stomach as we headed through a door that led to a long walkway with a white ceremonial porch at the end. The porch hung over the steps on the western side of the Capitol building, where thousands of supporters were currently cheering and screaming.
Beyond that, the parade floats had been set up on Pennsylvania Avenue, ready to leave when Mom finished giving her speech. Some of them were decorated with ornate Christmas decorations, and others were draped with patriotic stars and stripes. The float for my family had two flags flying at the front and a mini replica of the Statue of Liberty at the back, along with red, white and blue streamers and rosettes everywhere.
The whole thing was huge, over-the-top, and oh-so American.
As soon as we stepped onto the balcony, the crowd below started whooping and hollering even louder. My mom’s face instantly lit with a huge smile, and she waved as she stepped up to the dais. “Good afternoon, everybody!”
The cheers rose to a fever pitch. I kept a bright smile pasted on my face and tightly squeezed Jared’s hand in mine. He glanced up at me. “There’s so many people,” he whispered. “I’m scared.”
“Me too,” I admitted. “But it’ll be fine. Jamie said the security is watertight. Also, these people are our supporters. They care about us. They won’t hurt us.”
“Okay.” He smiled faintly. “I wish you still lived at home. You always make me feel better.”
My heart lurched. “Sorry.”
Mom lifted both hands behind the dais. “Thank you!” she called out. “Thank you very much. I’m so thrilled to be here. Thrilled!”
She paused for a lengthy round of applause before speaking up again. “I’m so happy to see how many people have come out to support me today,” she said. “It’s an amazing honor to see so many faces smiling back at me. Of course, the press will probably say we only had twenty people show up…”
She trailed off and grinned as the crowd laughed uproariously at her joke.
Her grin grew even wider as she went on. “Today’s parade is about love and celebration, and I can’t wait to have fun with all of you. But first, I want to address the elephant in the room.” She put one hand over her heart, expression turning serious again. “I owe it to you, my constituents, to address the news you’ve all been hearing about. I know what the media is saying. I know what my critics are saying. But you know what?”
The crowd collectively called back to her. “What?”
“They don’t have any evidence. All they have is lies and speculation,” she said, lifting her chin. “Now, I know I’ve been recorded saying a few things that haven’t made me look good, but that’s just another example of how the liberal media likes to spin everything and stir up outrage for ratings.”
“Damn right!” a man standing near the front called out, pumping his fist in the air.
Mom smiled and waved at him. “There are so many great honors that come with this job, but believe me, the rumor mill isn’t one of them!” she said.
Everyone started laughing again, and she paused for several beats to let them.
“I know in my own heart that I am completely innocent, and I trust that you will see the truth of that when all the evidence finally comes out,” she went on. “I intend to go forward, to the best of my ability, with the work entrusted to me by all of you. I also intend to do what it takes to clear my name. I will do all of this with the same spirit I’ve always approached my life’s work with—a spirit of strength, determination, and grit.”
There was another round of cheers, and my mother lifted her palms again. “I want to thank each and every one of you standing here right now. You are the people of character and integrity who make this nation so great. You are the people who serve our communities so well and uphold the sacred values of our wonderful country. You are the people who know better than to trust fake news and false accusations. Our future is bigger, brighter, and bolder than ever before, and it’s all because of you. So thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for being here today. God bless America!”
The crowd of supporters screamed and wolf-whistled, and thousands of little flags and banners rose in the air.
Mom waved her own little flag. “Let’s get this parade started!” she called out over the raucous cheers.
A band started playing Hail to the Chief as we stepped down from the porch and made our way toward the family float. I held Jared’s hand as we climbed up, and we kept bright smiles on our faces as we waved to everyone from our new vantage point.
Mom stepped right to the front of the float and held both arms in the air, waving manically at the people lining Pennsylvania Avenue. “Thank you!” she said over and over as the float slowly moved farther and farther down the road. “Thank you so much!”
She turned and beckoned for Jared to join her at the front. He ran over to her and gave her a hug, drawing an adoring sigh from the spectators.
Dad sidled up to me by the Statue of Liberty replica and put an arm around my shoulder. I tried my best not to flinch, and my jaw ached as I kept the smile plastered on my face.
“I’ve been trying to get in contact with you,” he murmured through his own fake grin.
“I know,” I said, waving at a cute kid on the edge of the road. “Logan told me about the messages.”
“You didn’t reply to any of them.”
“I didn’t want to. I’m sure you understand.”
He went silent for a moment. “Is it still bad for you with the Thornes?” he finally asked.
I looked at him. “I’m still going to be forced to marry Logan, if that’s what you’re asking. But honestly, as bad as that is, I’d rather be locked up in Wonderland than standing here on this float with you.”
His smile faded, and he leaned closer. “Darling, I know you hate me, but—”
A gunshot ripped through the air, cutting him off. My body jolted at the thundering sound, and I instinctively reached up to cover my head as a strangled cry escaped my mouth.
“Willow,” Dad muttered, pulling me closer. “It’s okay. One of the float trucks backfired somewhere up ahead.”
I opened my eyes to see that he was right. There was no gun. Everything was fine. Mom and Jared were still smiling and waving, albeit nervously as the shock of the sudden sound wore off, and the crowd was still cheering and clapping as we slowly passed them.
My heart kept pounding anyway, and I gulped down several deep breaths as I forced myself to smile again.
“I’m going to fix everything for you,” Dad said, squeezing my arm.
I sniffed. “You can’t.”
“I can. I swear, I’m going to fix this for you,” he said, his tone growing increasingly urgent.
Putting on my best fake grin yet, I glanced over at him. “You sold me, Dad. I’m never going to forgive you.”
“I know. But I’m still going to fix what I did. I promise. I’m finally going to do the right thing.”
I stopped replying and swept my gaze upward. Several military helicopters were flying above the parade, blades beating loudly in the air as they prepared to rain snowflake-shaped confetti all over the floats and crowd.
The confetti finally began to drift downward, and the people lining the street cheered even louder and lifted their arms to catch the glittering flakes. I stretched out a hand to catch one for myself, barely hearing the cries of delight from the crowd as one of the helicopters drew closer to our family float. It was hovering directly above and drowning out the other sounds with the whir of the blades and the roar of the engine.
“Why is that one so close?” I asked, looking at my father.
He looked up, and his face immediately turned ashen. He shoved me forward, shouting at everyone to get off the float. At the same time, there was an almighty crash, so loud it echoed in my ears.
I reflexively crouched down and whipped my head around to se
e that a body had just landed right next to me.
Milky eyes stared into the cold sky as the blue-tinged mouth hung open, and the limbs splayed out over the glitter-covered floor, bloodlessly white. The person wasn’t familiar, and they obviously hadn’t been alive when they were dropped from the helicopter. It was a frozen corpse, presumably taken from a morgue.
My nostrils filled with the smell of death and chemicals, and my stomach heaved as pandemonium erupted around me. I was about to flee when I spotted something in the corpse’s slack mouth. It was a rolled-up note with the Order’s red skull symbol stamped on one end.
I snatched it out before anyone noticed in all the furor, and I stashed it in my pocket as a Secret Service agent grabbed me and dragged me off the float. People were panicking all around us, screaming hysterically and sobbing.
The agent shoved me into a black car along with my mother and Jared, and my stomach pitched and rolled with terror as I struggled to fill my lungs.
“What the hell is happening?” I whispered to myself, pressing one hand to my forehead.
Mom was busy comforting Jared on the other side of the car, too caught up to notice me, so I took the opportunity to peek at the note from the corpse’s mouth. As I unrolled the paper, adrenaline flushed through my body, and the sound of my heartbeat thrashed in my ears.
The note was short and simple; just one word printed in black ink beneath another crimson Order symbol.
STOP.
12
Willow
I stashed the paper in my coat pocket and leaned back, staring into space.
It seemed clear that the note was a warning shot directed at me. Somehow, the higher members of the Order had discovered that I wanted to look into them, and they wanted me to stop before I even started. This time it was just a threat with a random dead body, but the implication was that next time, it could be mine. Or Logan’s, if he ended up helping me.
I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to figure out how they could’ve discovered my intentions so quickly. All I could think was that they must’ve somehow bugged my suite at Wonderland and heard my conversation with Logan a few days ago. Nothing else seemed possible. I hadn’t discussed it with anyone else in any other place, and I hadn’t written anything about it anywhere, either.
