“No.” Dev shook her head in wonder. “They’ve got more energy than all of us combined.” She reached out and patted her friend’s arm, waiting for him to make eye contact before saying, “Happy birthday, David.”
David gave her a genuine smile, then a hug, as much to get her wet as to show his affection. “Thanks, Devil. It’s nice to spend it with you guys. Beth is taking me out later, but this… well, this is great.” He shook his head at the sparkling water. “I can’t believe we haven’t done this before.”
“No kidding,” Dev agreed wistfully. Living in the White House was a lot like living in Disney World, but never having time go on all the really cool rides. The children enjoyed the magnificent living quarters far more than she did.
David used the towel on his ears. “Are you sure the office won’t explode without us?”
“No, but when it explodes they’ll just rebuild and there’ll be twice as much work on Monday.”
David groaned. “No kidding. Have I—?” Then he paused, distracted by Lauren’s frustrated voice.
“I don’t care!” Lauren said, clearly back in the middle of something with Wayne. “They can’t do that, can they?”
David gestured to Lauren with his chin, a crease forming on his forehead. “What’s up with her?”
Dev kicked off her shoes and adjusted the straps of her suit. “I’m not sure. But whatever it is, it’s not good.”
“If the papers would give the poor girl a break, she’d be all right,” Emma sympathized with a sigh. “She hasn’t been out of the house all week.”
“Excuse me for a second,” Dev gave David a parting pat. “I’m going to go make sure she’s okay.”
Dev could hear Wayne promising that “He’d try” and then Lauren ended the call. The smaller woman met Dev half way and, without warning, flung herself into Dev’s waiting arms.
“Whoa,” Dev squeaked, glad that she was standing on one of the few dry spots left.
“Stop the world.” Lauren buried her face in Devlyn’s neck. “I want to get off.” Long arms tightened around her and she let out a sigh of pure relief, sinking into Devlyn’s warm body.
“Tell me what’s wrong, sweetheart.” Dev pressed her lips to Lauren’s hair, breathing in the light scent of her shampoo.
Lauren whimpered. “The very first book I wrote was when I was young and incredibly stupid.”
Dev drew in a breath to speak.
“Not a word,” Lauren warned, giving Dev’s throat a playful bite and feeling the body pressed tightly to hers shake with silent laughter. “I was still in college and I signed a rotten contract with a small publisher and I pretty much forgot all about it after the book didn’t sell well.”
Dev frowned. “You’re unhappy about poor book sales 10 years after the fact?”
“Nuh uh.” Lauren shook her head. “My old publisher contacted Wayne, looking for an address for Lauren Gallagher.” It was the pen name Lauren used for her fiction and, thus far, Wayne had been successful in hiding the link between Lauren Gallagher, reclusive, moderately successful fiction writer, and Lauren Strayer, respected biographer. “Seems my old publisher has sold my story to a movie studio.”
“That’s great!” Dev grabbed Lauren by the shoulders and took a step backward to examine her face. She winced at the dour expression that met her. “Or not.”
“It’s… well…” Lauren’s face turned bright red and suddenly she couldn’t meet Dev’s gaze.
Dev blinked. “C’mon, whatever it is, it can’t be that bad,” she lied.
Lauren closed her eyes and exhaled. “The movie company that bought the book is known for its… well… for producing,” she lowered her voice, “adult films.”
Dev’s eyes widened. “Porn?” she blurted out loudly.
“Shhh! Jesus.” Lauren looked around self-consciously as Dev burst out laughing.
“Oh, God. You’re kidding?”
Lauren’s eyes flew open, then turned to dangerous slits. “Do I look like I'm kidding, Madam President?” And with a stiff push, she sent Devlyn careening backwards into the pool.
Dev shot up out of the water sputtering and coughing. “Puh. Bah.” She spat out a mouthful of water.
“Do it again! Do it again!” Aaron cried gleefully, thinking he’d never seen anything so wonderful as his mother soaking wet and her hair hanging over her eyes.
Dev thrust her chin into the air and arched a slender black eyebrow at Lauren, who returned the challenging gesture, placing her hands on her hips for good measure. She stuck her hand out to Christopher. “Weapon.” The boy dutifully handed his mother his squirt gun.
Ashley sloshed over to the edge, plucked Aaron’s gun from his hands, and tossed it up to Lauren. “I’m on your team!” she yelled.
“Hey!” Aaron, complained, shooting his big sister an evil glare.
“Me too,” Beth chorused, scurrying to put herself as far away from Devlyn as possible.
Aaron pulled his chubby body out of the pool and ran over to the bucket containing their arsenal to hunt for another weapon. “I’m with Mom!” The boy pulled out an enormous squirt gun with an empty tank nearly the size of his head. He fumbled with the big gun, his wet hands slipping on the plastic handle. “Will you help me fill it, Lauren?”
Lauren looked at Dev and smiled lovingly, her eyes glittering with happiness. Then she turned her attention back to Aaron. “Sure, honey.” She called time, took off her glasses and set them on a stack of fluffy, turquoise beach towels, then scooted over to fill her and Aaron’s guns, while those who weren’t packing heat scrambled to the bucket to remedy that problem. Even Emma joined in. She knew better than to be caught empty-handed when battle lust took over the Marlowes and company.
In the age of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons, a war to the death raged inside the White House. Only this one was filled with laughter, the occasional sloppy kiss when someone was captured by the opposing team, and chlorinated water.
CHAPTER TWO
FEBRUARY
Friday, February 11, 2022
BETH MCMILLIAN SHIFTED FROM one foot to the other as she peered around Lauren to see what she was looking at. “Dev would go bananas if she knew we were doing this,” she murmured as she waved away a sales clerk.
Lauren nodded absently as she lifted a silk robe from the rack and examined it with a discerning eye. She was ignoring the cloying, nearly overpowering scent of perfume from the counter nearby, determined not to let the budding headache she was developing from the combinations of odors ruin her time.
She and ex-husband Judd had stopped exchanging Valentine’s Day gifts after they’d married. Judd had informed her seriously that he didn’t need a made-up holiday to tell her he loved her or to buy her a gift. He wouldn’t have married her if he didn’t love her. So why should Hallmark put him on a schedule? And she’d readily agreed, mostly because she found herself with little interest in picking anything out for him.
The mixture of butterflies and anticipation that was brewing in Lauren’s belly for Valentine’s Day made it crystal clear to her that she and Judd had been full of shit.
What color? The holiday calls for red, I think. But…
“Ooo… Nice.” Lauren spied another robe pulled it off the hanger, fingering the cool silk with her fingers. With those gorgeous eyes, how can I pass up blue?
“Lauren?”
“Hmm…” Black is nice too. This robe will be short on her and that color against her skin would look so… She swallowed. Oh, my.
Beth put her hands on her ample hips. “Are you even listening to me?”
“Yes.” Lauren nodded, but her attention remained on the rack. “You’re getting ready to moan and complain about the lack of agents following my every move as I try to shop in peace.”
“Well, you have to admit you are—”
Lauren draped the blue robe over her arm and tossed the black one over the rack as she turned to face her friend. The look on her face caused Beth to blink and shuffle
her and Lauren’s jackets, which she had obligingly held so Lauren could dig through the lacy unmentionables in the store. The movement caused her brown curls to bob wildly.
“Just what exactly do I have to admit?”
Beth’s brown eyes widened a touch. Uh oh. “Umm… well—”
“That I’m here without security?” A pale brow arched.
“Now, Lauren—”
“Don’t you ‘now Lauren’ me.” Her voice was low and edged with irritation. “Just what am I to believe he is? Hmm?” Lauren shot her arm out sideways and she pointed to a Secret Service man who was standing about 15 feet away and trying quite unsuccessfully to blend into the background. “Or her.” Lauren’s arm shifted to a woman in a dark suit who visibly cringed when she realized what had just happened.
“Lauren!” Beth grabbed Lauren’s arm and forced it down. “Are you crazy or something? Don’t point them out! They’re supposed to be…”
“Hiding from me?”
Beth opened her mouth and then abruptly closed it. She had the good grace to blush when she realized that Lauren not only knew about the protection that shadowed her when she thought she was sneaking out of the White House, but she also knew that Beth knew. “Protecting you.”
“I don’t need protecting.”
“Yes, you do,” Beth shot back just as stubbornly. There was a long moment of silence that was finally broken by Beth saying, “You don’t want it, but you need it, Lauren. You do. It’s a dangerous world.”
Lauren held her breath for a moment before exhaling raggedly. She knew Beth was making a veiled reference to the assassination attempt on Dev. “You’re fighting dirty, Beth.”
“You’re too important to lose to, Lauren. I’ll fight dirty if I have to, at least on this. Besides, I’m rarely if ever wrong. Just ask David.”
Both women exchanged weak smiles, then Beth sighed. “Don’t kill Dev for this. She’s just worried for you. It’s not as though you left her much choice.”
“It’s not as though she left me any choice either.” Lauren turned around and began to replace the black robe on its hanger, her eyebrows drawn together as she thought. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I can’t be under lock and key every second, Beth. I’ll go crazy.”
“I know.” Beth put her hand on Lauren’s shoulder, feeling the warm fleece of her sweater beneath her palm. “Look, I know you and Dev have gone round and round on this, but since announcing your engagement certain things stopped being optional. Security for you is one of them. I’m sorry. This comes with the territory. You know that.”
Lauren made a face. “Knowing it and accepting it are two different things.” She squared her shoulders. “I understand that I’m more recognizable than I was a few months ago.”
Beth’s lips quirked. “No, really?” She lifted her hand and flicked her finger at the bill of the baseball cap Lauren was wearing in an effort to disguise herself.
Lauren blew out a breath and knocked away Beth’s teasing fingers. “You’re not helping.”
“Sure I am. I’m telling you the truth.” Beth, however, didn’t think it was necessary to mention the agent lurking at the entrance to the shop as well as the one hovering near her car to make sure it wasn’t tampered with that Lauren had apparently missed. She firmly believed there was such a thing as too much honesty.
“No one’s even noticed me,” Lauren asserted lamely. Like she’s gonna buy that.
Beth snorted. “Sell it to someone who’s buying, Lauren.”
See?
“We’ve been in the store for 30 minutes. Big Burly,” she gestured to the male agent, who more closely resembled a mountain than a man, “and Bad Ass,” this time she gestured to the female agent, who had a predatory expression permanently plastered on her face, “have discreetly kept at least 10 people from coming up to you. I think the poor saleswoman has nearly been shot three times without knowing it.”
“Is that really their names, ‘Burly’ and ‘Bad Ass’? They sound like characters in a buddy novel.” Her tone became speculative. “I could write that.”
“Lauren,” Beth said impatiently. “Do not make me stamp my foot. My mother stamped her foot and I refuse to go there.”
Lauren smiled. “All right. All right.” She waved a hand in surrender. “But I do understand more than you realize.” They both began walking toward the cash register, with the agents trailing discreetly. “Especially after…” she licked her lips and swallowed hard as she usually did when mentioning it, “Devlyn’s shooting.”
Beth’s gaze softened as she regarded her friend. Lauren really was trying. She’d been through an almost unimaginable life change over the past year, and Beth reluctantly gave her credit for always doing the most prudent thing when the children or Dev were involved. Her track record when it came to decisions involving herself, however, wasn’t nearly as good. And, Beth admitted, it wasn’t like she could truly relate. She didn’t know what it was like not to be able to run over to a convenience store without turning it into a major production. Or how a simple baseball game or theater tickets now took weeks of planning.
Lauren wanted to make Beth understand. “I knew we wouldn’t be alone today.” Her eyes pleaded with her friend, who she knew damn well wouldn’t give her quarter. “This was sort of private, Beth.” Her cheeks flushed pink. “It’s our first Valentine’s since… well, you know.”
Beth grinned cheekily. She most certainly did know, along with everyone else on the planet. “And you didn’t want to be watched as you bought your girlfriend sexy undies?” She gestured to the robe in Lauren’s hands. “That’s really nice, by the way.”
Lauren scowled as her temper flared. Sometimes she felt as though she was smack dab in the center of a pressure cooker. “This trip wasn’t the Secret Service’s business!”
“Do you really believe that?”
Lauren crossed her arms over her chest. “Would I have said it if I didn’t?”
Beth rolled her eyes. “Does your need for privacy overrule everyone else’s needs? Devlyn loves you and you will have protection one way or the other.” She paused and turned towards the perfume counter. “Does it have to smell like they wax the floor with cougar piss and ox musk? Yuck!” She turned back, but despite the non sequitur her face was very serious. “When those agents are forced to sneak around to protect you, they aren’t doing their job the way they are trained to. They aren’t private security, Lauren. Or even CIA or Office of Homeland Security agents, trained to fight in the shadows. They’re Secret Service, who will literally put their body between yours and a bullet if they’re able. Their lives are put in greater danger by protecting you on your terms,” she said flatly. “Stop fighting the inevitable.”
Lauren blinked. In a few short sentences Beth had distilled the issue into something she couldn’t… wouldn’t ignore and put her in her place to boot. The very thought of one of those men or women risking their lives for hers made her sick to her stomach as it was. Why isn’t she on Devlyn’s staff? “Shit.”
Beth’s expression was a little smug, knowing that she’d won this round. With Lauren, victory was rare. “Exactly.”
“Be my chief of staff,” Lauren said suddenly.
Beth stopped walking and stared. “Huh?”
“Be my chief of staff,” Lauren repeated. “Michael Oaks and Devlyn both insist that as First Lady I’ll need one. I didn’t know there was such a thing. I guess it’s the equivalent of David’s job only for the President’s other half.”
Beth blinked a few times, wondering if she could really do that.
“You’re not only my best friend, well, besides Devlyn, of course. But you’re smart and know the ropes, Beth. I’m going to need help and I trust you. That’s more than I can say for 99% of Washington.” Politics, Lauren had learned long ago, could be a very nasty business. “I could use your wisdom on a permanent basis.”
“Is that an age crack?” Beth asked with faux annoyance. At 41 she had a solid decade on her friend.
<
br /> “Basically.” Lauren laughed.
Beth’s mind was racing, and she was fast warming up to the possibility of really doing this.
Lauren recognized the gleam in the shorter woman’s eyes. It wasn’t that long ago that she herself had been offered the opportunity of a lifetime and everything had changed.
“What about my teaching position?”
Lauren chewed her lip. Beth was a respected professor of history at Georgetown and as much as she wanted her for this, believed that she’d be perfect for the position, she would never ask her to permanently give up something she loved so much.
“How about a sabbatical? Or a leave of absence? The university would have to be stupid to let you go completely if they could stop it.” She winked and offered wryly, “I could have Devlyn sic the IRS on them until they comply?”
Beth burst out laughing. “No need for that. I… well… maybe I could lighten my load to just one course a semester and still do this?”
Lauren nodded quickly. She’d take Beth on any terms she could get. “Anything.”
Now Beth was getting excited, and it was starting to bubble over. Her dark eyes twinkled, and Lauren knew she had her. “I’ll have to talk to David about it.”
“Of course.” Yes! Lauren grinned wildly. She set her purchase onto the countertop, and, after a moment’s deliberation, snagged a gold gift bag covered in tiny red hearts from the display near the register. She sucked at wrapping things. The card, however, was something she wanted to make herself. She began rooting around in her leather purse for her wallet, but Beth beat her to the punch, shoving a MasterCard at the ebony-skinned sales associate. Lauren could pay her back later.
The woman gasped as she took in Lauren. “Aren’t you—?”
“No,” Beth blurted, cutting off Lauren before she could even open her mouth. “She’s not. I know she looks like it. But look closer, you’ll see what I mean.”
First Lady Page 4
