Page 71 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

Sam gave him her foulest look. “Get in the car, and I’ll drop your asses at the Metro.”

“Don’t lump my ass in with his,” Gonzo said. “I’m not the one laughing.”

It was so good to have him back with them after months of rehab. Hearing what Eduardo Carter’s family had been through with an addict son made her doubly grateful that Gonzo had kicked his addiction to painkillers.

“What’d he say about Carter?” Gonzo asked when they were in the car.

“They were estranged since he beat up his mother when she wouldn’t give him drug money.”

“Aw, geez,” he said with a sigh. “I feel so sorry for people who lose their kids to drugs. I met a lot of those kids in rehab. My biggest fear as a father is that Alex will get into that shit.”

“You won’t let that happen.” Sam glanced in the rearview mirror so she could see him. “You know what to look for and will be vigilant.”

“I guess so.”

Sam dropped them off at L’Enfant Plaza. “See you in the morning.”

“See you then.”

She watched as the two men took off jogging toward the Metro that would deliver them back to their cars and then merged into light traffic to drive the short distance to Capitol Hill, wondering what level of shit storm awaited her at home. At the checkpoint, she was dumbstruck by the massive security presence that was easily five times what they’d had when Nick was vice president. Agents dressed in riot gear and carrying machine guns worked the perimeter of the checkpoint, where she was normally waved through. Not this time, which meant Nick was home.

Sam stopped the car and lowered the window.

“Oh, Mrs. Cappuano.” Sam didn’t recognize the female agent who had a machine gun strapped across her chest. “My apologies. Please go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

Sam drove through and parked in her assigned spot, taking note of the agents on both sides of Ninth Street and the line of black SUVs parked in the middle of the street. The Beast was parked in the middle of the line of vehicles. The neighbors probably couldn’t wait for them to move to the White House so they could have their street back.

She was about to get out of her car when an agent materialized to open the door for her. Biting her tongue against the impulse to tell them she could open her own damned door, she started to nod to the agent and then realized he was Vernon.

“Oh, hey,” she said.

“Ma’am.”

Did she know him well enough to deduce he was pissed after he said a single word to her? “How are you?”

“The person I’m assigned to slipped her detail and took off unprotected, but otherwise, everything is just great.”

Yep, definitely pissed. “Sorry. I got called into work.”

“So I heard. Are you working tomorrow?”

“I am. I caught a homicide tonight and have to be at HQ at eight.”

“We’ll be ready to accompany you.” Vernon escorted Sam up the ramp to the front door that was monitored by Nate, one of her favorite agents.

“Good evening, Mrs. Cappuano,” Nate said.

“Hi, Nate. Thanks for letting me into the doghouse.”

Nate smiled, but he didn’t reply.

She took off her coat and hung it in the closet so Nick would have one less reason to be angry with her. If she’d lived by herself, she would’ve flung it over the sofa. Why hang it up when she was going to need it again in the morning?

Brant came out of the room the Secret Service used as an office and nodded to her. “Ma’am.”

“I have a question.”