by M Brereton
Johnathon never felt so scared in his life. The woman held his life in the palm of her hands. With Welker he knew how to placate him, with her he had nothing to offer and no cards to play. She held them all. She could’ve killed him if she wished and he would’ve been none the wiser about her knowledge or existence. If it wasn’t for the deadly show at the dinner party, he would’ve never been able to put two and two together. Both Eva and Welker gave that same deadly look to anyone who crossed them. No, he just realized she wasn’t like her father, she was way worse.
“I take it by your silence we have nothing more to discuss.” Eva finalized as she stood. “Good, you can let yourself out then. Have a good day, Senator.”
Johnathon stood and wondered if he should go to Noah and try his luck there, but as he glanced at Eva he knew he would find no help in that quarter. He was too devoted to her…but then, he was also devoted to another woman in his life. He was dancing about it for years anyway. It was time he made an honest woman out of her and with her by his side, he’d be able to put this bitch in her place. Feeling better, Johnathon straightened himself to his full height and intoned graciously, “You too, Madam.” And left with a smile.
Eva knew what the fool was about and no doubt the plan he just came up with would just confirm it. If it wasn’t for Ana he would be dead already. Eva saw how she reacted to Noah’s shooting, she couldn’t take another man she cared about dying on her, no matter how accidental she made it look.
His underhanded dealings with her father were well buried, but Eva held the shovel and the map so if he wanted to play rough, she could handle him. Perhaps she should pay him a special visit and let him know just who he was messing with. But she promised Noah…damn being good was hard, no wonder the world is in a mess!
With things better between them, she was going to tell him of Cross’s involvement with her father and his little visit today. She was done keeping secrets from him and maybe if she sweetened things in the bedroom, he’d let her go visit Cross. It was worth a try anyway. In the meantime, she’ll just do what her father did and keep spying on the goodly senator.
Eva glided softly into the Oval Office and startled Noah when she said. “I need to talk to you.”
“You really should give some warning when you approach,” Noah remarked clutching his chest.
“Usually you know I’m there.”
“Usually I’m not neck deep in dictatorship antics and gender policy. Ironically both of them don’t make sense.” Noah finished returning to work.
“We have a problem.”
“We?” Noah asked. “We’re fine, aren’t we?”
“A different sort of problem.” Eva clarified.
“Is it the kids?”
“No.”
“Then could it wait?” Noah responded, still not looking up.
“Perhaps.” Eva hedged. “But it’s best to act on these sorts of things immediately.”
Her tone made him lookup. “That sort of problem,” Noah said finally comprehending as he sat back in his chair. “Who?”
“Cross.”
“That makes sense,” Noah muttered. “You know what I don’t want, so what do you suggest?”
“A small visit. A chat about the way things stand.”
She wanted to threaten him, Noah grasped, but it was her willingness to make good on her threats was what bothered him.
“I’ll speak to him…”
“Noah it’s best you don’t get involved….”
“No, I have to,” Noah explained. “He’s a family friend…”
“And Ana’s very fond of him,” Eva stated.
“So that’s why,” Noah said, getting the answer to his internal question of why Cross was still alive. So, she had some restraint after all. “Alright, I’ll see what he wants…”
“What if it’s something you can’t give?”
“He’ll be reasonable…”
“And if he isn’t?”
God forgive him. “You two can have your chat.”
Eva didn’t smile at her small victory, just left as silently as she came. She was all business now; an assassin handed a new assignment.
“What have I done?” Noah wondered, alarmed at himself.
* * *
“I was expecting someone else.” Johnathon greeted as Noah stepped into his office.
Eva gave Noah a portable scrambler, as a precaution she said, it would detect recording devices and scramble the signal. This was tech not available to the CIA and Secret Service. It would jam even their scramblers. It scared him to think of her sources.
“It was better for you if I came,” Noah replied, ignoring his gestured offer of a seat.
“Is that so?” Jonathon smirked.
“This isn’t a joke,” Noah stated seriously. “I’m trying to keep her out of that world. You bringing up the past isn’t helping.”
“Is that how she got you?”
“No,” Noah admitted. “She got me by killing someone else close to me.”
“She’s holding you against your will!” Cross asked incredulously. “It makes sense…”
“No!” Noah strongly denied with a slash of his hand. “That’s definitely not the case here!”
“Is she watching us now?” Cross whispered.
“No!” Noah denied. “What the hell is wrong with you!” He asked, looking at Cross strangely. “I’m here to tell you to lay off Eva. She doesn’t need the temptation.”
“Temptation?”
“Yeah, just what I mean.” Noah vaguely clarified. “Eva is not her father. Leave her alone and you’ll be fine.”
“You’re here to threaten me!”
“I don’t have to,” Noah said with a sigh. “But I am warning you, don’t mess with her. It won’t end well, and she’ll have to break her promise.”
“What promise?”
“To not become what her father wanted,” Noah murmured lowly.
Cross grew silent for a minute as he glanced out the window in thought. As he did, a bullet grazed his hairline and missed Noah to bury itself in the door behind him. The Secret Service that was stationed outside the door burst into the room and covered Noah’s protesting form as Johnathon’s cell phone ring tone sounded in the room.
With a shaking hand, he answered it and went white as a sheet as he heard the voice on the other end.
“In case he wasn’t able to convince you,” Eva said then hung up.
“Who was that?” The Agent asked Cross.
“No one I want to mess with,” Johnathan stated shakily. That she would take such a shot with her husband, the President in the room, Cross knew she meant business.
At his words Noah knew who the caller was and was livid. She could let him handle this!
“Was it the shooter?” The agents interrogated.
“Yes. They weren’t aiming for the President.” Cross assured.
“The shooter told you that?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll up his detail,” Noah ordered taking charge and ending all questions. “Just investigate where the shot came from and see if the shooter left clues.”
The agents gave orders around him while Cross looked at him as though he was a mad man. But Noah wasn’t worried they’d find anything, Eva was good enough to shake Interpol’s notice, so he doubted the Secret Service was going to succeed where they had failed. Besides, he had his own brand of punishment for her.
Noah and Johnathon were escorted out of the building under heavy security and until they could corroborate Johnathon’s story, they were stationed at the Oval office. They were barely in the door five minutes when Eva showed up making a fuss over Noah while Cross’s mouth hung open in shock.
“Senator Cross.” Eva greeted as she turned towards him “You’re hurt. When she tried to touch him, he skittered away in fear. “You poor thing…” Eva murmured, “you’re in shock.” Then she ordered, “Someone get me a first aid kit! Do we need to call the doctor?” She asked into the room.
“Right here, sir,” Sam answered respectfully, not understanding what was happening.
Cross looked at him as though he had grown a second head and Eva just smiled and nodded in agreement.
“Actually, I was on my way to a luncheon when I got the call.” Glancing at her watch she continued, “I have to go now, or we’ll be late. Are you alright, love?”
Noah narrowed his eyes at her and she said, “See you later, baby and somebody take care of Johnathon’s cut.” and blew Noah a kiss and left with her detail in tow.
19
Embracing the Truth
Later when Noah got the report on the incident from the Head of the Secret Service he wasn’t surprised by the information. In fact, he was so calm the man remarked on it.
“This doesn’t surprise you, doesn’t it?”
“No.” Noah admitted. “If I was going to take potshots at someone in the presence of the President, I’d leave no trace too.”
“A professional for sure.” Hill concurred. “No evidence at the site, the call rerouted to some poor family’s home in Scotland. We’re gonna watch the house, but I feel that would be a waste of our resources. The bullet is the only thing that could have given us a lead, but that too is ….”
“A dime a dozen.”
“Worse. It’s given to our military snipers. We’d have to investigate our own men.”
“Which would lead to them hating you and more dead ends.” Noah stated.
“The shooter knew what he was doing.”
“It was a message to Cross.” Noah stated. “Are you having him investigated?”
“Obviously.”
That may not end well, Noah mused. He’d have to talk to Eva about the possible fallout from her untimely interruption.
“Whoever he crossed must be powerful. It’s never good to be involved with those types.”
“I’ll have to bench him until the investigations are complete. How bad was the press fall out?” Noah asked his uncle as he stepped in.
“Not too bad. The Secret Service did a good job of keeping you out of it.” Wayland responded as he nodded to the director.
“I’ll leave you, two gentlemen, to talk.” Hill declared as he left.
“What happened?” Wayland asked.
“Nothing you would believe.”
“They said the shooter was aiming at Johnathon. Is he involved in something?”
“Yes, but I’m not too particular with the details.” Noah evaded.
“Then you better get particular. This could affect you badly.”
“I’m thinking we should give him a little vacation. After what happened today, he shouldn’t protest the idea too much.”
“I was thinking of replacing him before the press starts digging…”
“That’s not necessary.” Noah stated.
“You seem very sure of that.”
“If there was something to find, I would’ve found it before he took his oath.” Noah stated calmly.
“Oh yeah, I forgot you had James do background checks on everyone,” Wayland said, calming. Then frowned as he asked. “What if it’s a recent development?”
“I still would’ve known,” Noah stated with alacrity.
“Are you having all of your Cabinet Members watched?” Wayland teased.
“Not exactly,” Noah hedged, but Eva was. “I let the Secret Service know any underhanded dealings were to be reported only to me before we decide on a public course of action.”
“That’s good.” Wayland praised not at all offended by the possibility he was on the watch list. He should’ve expected no less from the paranoid FBI agent. “I’ll speak to Johnathon about the vacation until all this blows over. We can tell the press he was in shock and needed the time.”
Noah nodded, and the men hugged as Noah stood. Wayland left, and Noah mused that his uncle didn’t know how true that was. His next thought was: How was he going to deal with his disobedient wife?
Eva glided into their bedroom as if she hadn’t shot off a piece of Cross’s head this morning.
“You’re looking extremely pleased with yourself.” Noah greeted sourly as he sat in the armchair.
She sashayed over to him and slid onto his lap saying, “Poor baby, you had a rough day, didn’t you?”
Noah shifted his head away from her hand and complained, “You couldn’t just let me handle that?”
“What difference does it make?” She responded flippantly. “It’s handled now, isn’t it? And now he knows better than to make threats.”
“You didn’t tell me he threatened you.”
“Are so naïve to think he came to talk without wanting something?” Eva stated sarcastically. “And once we gave in he would own us. Nobody is owning me. Ever.” Eva stated with deadly malice.
It was a constant fear of hers, Noah realized. She didn’t fear prison, but she was afraid of gaining a new puppet master as it were. She would kill anyone who attempted to hold the strings.
“Your little show today may have some fallout.”
“How?” Eva asked, unconcerned.
“The Secret Service is investigating Cross.”
“And?”
“That doesn’t worry you!”
“Do you want them to stop?”
“No!” Noah responded quickly, afraid of where that suggestion would lead. “Aren’t you afraid he’ll say something or the trail would lead to you?”
“No, it won’t.” Eva declared. “And if he talked, I wouldn’t be the only one who would kill him.”
“What the hell was he involved in?”
“If I left his trail intact, you would’ve never chosen him. Besides Welker, he was making side deals with other underhanded businessmen. Welker wasn’t even his first, he had dealings with Gambol before his arrest. It was how Welker got his claws in him. He was another one of his backup plans in case you didn’t make it. He was supposed to be your VP until I suggested Eric to Wayland. In case you didn’t do as told, well you wouldn’t be the first President to get assassinated. He’d have me arrested…One thing I can’t deny, Daddy really knew how to do his business.”
“You’ve been shielding me all this time,” Noah stated quietly. He was set up to die when she met him, and she saved him. He knew his job was dangerous, but without Eva, he would’ve never lived to see the birth of his children. “Thank you.” Noah said sincerely and at her confused look, he added, “I just realized how much you’ve done for me. You saved my life twice that I’m aware of and maybe even a third by choosing me over your father. You’ve given me three beautiful children and made me the President. I would literally be nothing without you. Without you, I wouldn’t even be alive. Thank you for loving me, Eva.”
Her response was a kiss. “There was no need to thank me. I would do anything for you.” She whispered.
“And you have. I feel like… I don’t deserve you.”
“I’m also the potential hiccup in your life, remember.” Eva teased. “You could have married a nice normal girl.”
“I would’ve forgotten she existed two weeks after the wedding.”
“You did forget my existence from time to time,” Eva recalled.
“It may have seemed that way, but I thought of you, always.”
“This is why I didn’t marry that prince.” Eva teased raining kisses on his face. “You can be so sweet.”
“You made up the prince thing, didn’t you?”
“No.” Eva admitted, “Daddy wasn’t the only one who had backup plans. I would’ve been untouchable as his wife, but that was swapping one leash for another plus I didn’t love him.”
“Ugly huh.,” Noah stated, gleefully.
“Uh-huh.” Eva agreed, looking away from him.
Ah, fuck! Noah thought. “Is he married now?”
“Of course.” Eva replied, and Noah relaxed until she added, “Of course he’s able to have more than one.
If I had married him, every week his harem would have to get a little smaller.”
“He doesn’t know?”
“Of course not. It would be to my advantage he didn’t.”
“Was that how it was with me?”
“NO!” Eva denied. “It was never that way with you. I thought about telling you a hundred times.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I…I was afraid you’d leave me at first. Then I was afraid you’d go after Daddy and get hurt and I didn’t want that, so I stayed quiet. Then after what happened with Cooper…I felt so guilty. I never felt guilty after a kill, but I did after Cooper. If it wasn’t for Amelia I would’ve let you kill me. I wish I could’ve saved him, but he was just like Daddy wanting to own me. Only in his case, he’d use a wedding ring.”
“You don’t think that way about our marriage, do you?”
“Sometimes, I did,” Eva admitted. “Especially when you kept trying to tell me what to do.”
“That because you do shit that could get you arrested or worse.”
“I know that now.” She responded with a smile. “You just want to protect me from myself.”
“Exactly.” Noah agreed and after she was silent for a while. He tucked a curl behind her ear saying. “I wanna have a baby with you.”
“Oh, sweetie we can’t. I had the procedure done, remember.”
“I know,” Noah replied dejectedly. “I just wish we could. You make great babies, Eva.”
“Well you dished them out in two the last time, so I was afraid I’d end up with another pair.”
“The boys are not that bad. They’ve calmed down.”
“I have to admit that the boot camp you built does the trick. I barely got to say goodnight before they passed out.”
“Extra energy. People thought something was wrong when I first started school because I couldn’t sit still. They were convinced I was hopped on sugar and when they found out I wasn’t they wanted to give me drugs, but Uncle Mase convinced my mother to get me boxing classes, then Dad let me do the boot camp training with them. I just had to be active that’s all.”
