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“Same. I'm beat,” I say on a yawn while stretching my arms high overhead.

I follow behind Tank as we make our way down the hall toward our rooms.

“Hey, Benson?”

My hand rests on the doorknob. “Yeah.”

“Keep it in your pants while we’re here, for fuck’s sake.”

I bark out a laugh and shove the door open. “Where's the fun in that, big buddy?”

The door swings closed behind me. Heel to the stained wood, I kick it the rest of the way, cutting off Tank’s muttered curses. I smile to myself as I work the knot of my tie loose.

Sometimes riling him up like old times is just what I need.

15

Randi

I'm a creeper.

It is not normal for a mid-thirties—okay, late thirties—mother to stare at her older daughter while she sleeps. But I can't help it. First of all, she's beautiful, a trait she got from me—obviously. And second, she's actually here, with me, when I least expected it but needed her the most. With the stress of the job, I haven’t had a chance to sit and think, to realize how badly I miss having Taeler close. Sure, I was terrified when I caught her bright blue eyes from across the room when we first arrived. But now that I know she’s safe and securely tucked in bed beside me, I'm thankful she's here.

There are a few different reasons why I’m happy she’s here, but the most prominent is that she's the one lying beside me in this plush king-size bed, not Sam. I'll admit the thought of sleeping arrangements for this overnight stay at Camp David never crossed my mind. But with Tae here, I was able to ask Sam to swap rooms with her, the one right next door to this one, without it being awkward.

I'm sure the change in plans pissed Kyle off. Why he’s so eager to push me and Sam together, I haven’t figured out yet. A nagging thought in the back of my mind tells me it has to do with his longtime running beef with Trey and nothing to do with me and Sam. Everyone can see it kills Trey when Sam and I are together, which makes Kyle want it to happen as often as possible. That's the most likely scenario I've come up with, at least.

What T and Trey think, who knows. Since the poisoning, they've kept their cards close to their chests. Which is fine, since I've got my own issues to handle at this point in my term. Eleven months in and I'm barely keeping my nose above water. But I haven't drowned yet. Nor will I.

I'll make it through all this if it takes everything I have.

“Mom, you're being weird… again,” Taeler mumbles, licking her dry lips without opening her eyes.

With a content sigh, I rake my fingers through her blonde hair, relishing in the way it slides against my skin and how it automatically calms my racing thoughts.

“I’ve missed you.”

“We covered that in detail two hours ago around several bowls of ice cream, remember?”

I snort and roll to rest my head back on the feather-stuffed pillow, focusing on the ceiling. “Yes, I remember hearing way too many details about you and Gremlin.”

“His name is Chad, Mom. But now that you mention it, you know what we didn't cover?”

The cream satin pillowcase slides beneath my hair as I roll my head to face her heavy-lidded open eyes.

“What's that?”

“The new guy, Sam. You two were acting like a couple earlier, but the past month or so, you’ve only mentioned him as a work colleague, never, like, a boyfriend.”

“I don’t remember telling you anything about him,” I say, searching her face, trying to recall our phone conversations.

Taeler smiles. “Mom, you tell me everything, which is why when I heard you introducing Sam as your boyfriend to those old guys who are here with us, I was surprised.”

“But I didn’t mention why, right?”Please tell me I haven’t spilled national security secrets to my daughter.Maybe the lasting effects of the poisoning are affecting me more than I realized.

“Nope, just that you two were working together. So tell me, why is this Sam guy in the picture and Trouble out?” I open my mouth to explain but snap it shut when she continues talking. “I saw the way you and Trouble acted in Austin. It wasn't just a fling. Why are you ignoring what you have with him for this new guy?” Black-tipped fingers slide under her cheek, propping her head up slightly. “Don't get me wrong, he's all kinds of hot, but….”

“But what?” I encourage. Now I'm curious what she sees. I agree with her, of course, but he’s no Trey.