Page 65 of The Senator's Secret

I don’t want to face Angie yet. I’m not ready. Although, I know she’s been ready for the whole sordid tale for days now. All while her sweet husband, Cody, shoots me nervous glances. It’s not like a Chinook helicopter is going to materialize out of nowhere in the sky late one night full of special operators in black cargo pants to carry us all away to an unknown location and kill us for knowing their secrets. Jake doesn’t have those kinds of connections—yet. Although, in less than two weeks, he could very well be President Elect. I haven’t bothered to watch the news or pick up a paper, so I have no idea where he is in the polls now.

And then three days ago, I found out it was all a lie. A lie he had orchestrated and had his political henchman help carry out.

“GRACE!” JAKE SHOUTED MYname. He pleaded with me to come back.

“No, Jake,” I heard Rick say while he held Jake back. “Let her go. For now.”

“Ms. Sanders!” Gus shouted as he ran after me. “Grace! Dammit, stop!”

“No!” I shouted as I ran down the hall. Gus, a former Marine, caught up with me easily before I hit the doors to escape.

“Grace,” he said calmly as he shook me gently by the shoulders to get my attention. “You’re not thinking clearly.”

“I don’t want to,” I cried. “I just need to go. Let me go. Why can’t you just let me go? I have to get out of here.”

“I will,” Gus said as he held me in his arms like one would a child. “But I need to know you’re going to be safe. So clear your head right fucking now.”

Gus had never taken that tone of voice with me before, but he’s right. I have to clear my head and formulate a plan. And fast. Rick won’t hold Jake back for long. And I want to be gone before he lets go.

I let out a shaky breath to try to quell my rising panic. “You’re right. What do I do?”

“We’re going to get you to the car rental outside this town and then you’re going to drive to a private airport and board a flight back to New York, where I will have an agent waiting to meet you,” Gus explains. I nodded. I needed to get to a car rental place, but I wasn’t going back to New York, at least not then.

“Okay,” I lied to one of the few people I still respected. “I’ll follow your lead.”

“Let me radio the other agents on the premises and update them,” he said before touching his clear earpiece I never noticed with the tip of his index finger. “This is Raider. I have the Nightingale and am moving her to an alternate location. Ghost needs coverage. Monk has his hands full.”

There was so much there that I couldn’t even begin to decipher it, so I didn’t. I don’t care anymore. Jacob Chancellor had my heart, and he smashed it to pieces.

“Let’s go,” Gus said to me before loading me into one of the SUVs.

“Thank you.”

Gus got behind the wheel and drove me for forty-five minutes to just outside the town we were in, where no one would recognize me. At least, I hoped not. Gus walked me into the small car rental agency and helped me procure a car, mainly by handing me my purse so I could hand over my ID and credit card.

Once a small SUV with all the bells and whistles including GPS was brought around, I climbed in the driver’s seat. Gus stood over me like a big brother. I needed to remind myself that he works for Jake and not me. Everyone was loyal to Jake, and by way of that awful token, not a one was loyal to me. Even Cara. When the hurt has eased a bit and the fog clears, I was sure I’ll realize she was stuck in an unfortunate situation. But that’s a song for another time.

“Remember,” he said. “Go straight to the airport. I’ve plugged it into the GPS for you already.”

“Thank you,” I replied and meant it. He got me out of there when I needed it.

He shut the door, and I buckled my seatbelt before starting the engine. I waved to Gus, who stood on the curb, ready to head back to his duties to the senator, and I merged onto the highway. I drove two exits up the highway in the direction of the airport when I spotted a big warehouse store. I pulled into the parking lot, checking my mirrors the whole time. My phone rang, but I didn’t reach for it. I didn’t care anymore.

I grabbed my bag from the passenger seat and ran inside. I pulled a shopping cart from the rack, dropped my bag in the baby seat, and headed for the women’s section. I pulled leggings, tees, a ball cap, and sweatshirts from the bargain racks. A pack of cotton panties and a couple plain cotton bras like the one I had worn under my sheer engagement dress were next, my heart panging at the thought of the beautiful photo that still sits on the front page of every news site.

My phone buzzed in my bag.

I grabbed a bag of plain white socks and then pushed my cart to the shoe department. I picked a pair of cheap white sneakers and moved on to the beauty section. I loaded up a toothbrush, face wash, a comb, deodorant, and a box of tampons before heading to the register. I checked out quickly and hurried into the ladies’ room, where I don the leggings, tee, sweatshirt, and ball cap.

My phone buzzed again, and I pulled it out of my bag. I had five missed phone calls from Jules, eight from Cara, three from Rick, and forty-seven from Jake. When he didn’t get through calling, he began texting.

JAKE: Call me.

JAKE: It’s not what you think.

JAKE: Baby, I love you. Please call me.

My heart clenched at his saying he loved me. If he loved me, he wouldn’t have fucking lied to me. How could he do this to me? To us?