Hurry Up And Wait (Owens Protective Services #24)

25. Kavanaugh

25

KAVANAUGH

I stared out the window on the way to the next town hall meeting, irritated that I was back here…with the senator. Fuck, I really hated him. All I wanted was the information, but I knew he wasn’t about to give it up yet. Not when he could milk me for every second of political gain.

“Is there something wrong?” Olivia asked, squirming in her seat.

“It’s fine,” I practically barked at her.

I thought she might leave it at that, but she apparently didn’t know when to stop.

“It’s just…you left without saying anything. Your father?—”

I cut a harsh look her way. “The senator.”

She paled slightly under my threatening glare. Maybe it was too harsh, but she needed to remember to never address him as my father when we weren’t actually in front of the cameras. That tie had been severed a long time ago.

“Bradford, I know you’re upset, but…we’ve got to go out there and make this look real. You’re my fiancé?—”

“Fake fiancé,” I corrected. “Don’t forget this is all a ploy set up by the senator.”

Her nostrils flared in defiance, the first sign that she had any grit inside her. “Whether this is fake or not, we still need to show a united front or neither of us will get what we want.”

I hated to admit it, but there was truth in her words. If the senator wasn’t happy with my performance, he would simply deny me the information, and then this would all be for nothing.

“Fine, what would you like to know?”

“For starters, where did you rush off to the other day?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“No, none of it is,” she snapped. “I thought we were making progress. We talked and actually got along. All I’m asking is that you don’t shut me out when all I’m trying to do is help you.”

“And why is that?” I asked accusingly.

“Because helping you helps me. Don’t forget that I have a lot at stake too.”

She did, and I knew that, but the mood I was in…I couldn’t afford to keep pushing her away when I was in a bad mood. I needed to keep her on my side, and my piss-poor attitude wasn’t helping matters.

“I went home to see Isla,” I admitted. “I told you the senator was being difficult. So, I’ve been staying away.”

“Okay,” she hedged.

“And it was all too fast. I got to see her for one night and then I had to leave to get back here.”

“Well, that explains your shitty mood,” she grinned.

“I just needed to check on her. She’s…special, and I feel like I’m blowing this.”

“You love her,” Olivia smiled. “I think it’s sweet you wanted to check on her.”

“You’re not mad that I left you to deal with the senator on your own?”

She shot me a half grin. “Knowing that you left to check on someone you care about? I think that says a lot about you as a person.”

“I’m not sure the senator would feel the same way.”

“Well, maybe he needs to see this side of you. It would be much more effective for his campaign than flashing you around and?—”

“The senator can never know,” I snapped, cutting her off. “Olivia, you don’t know him like I do. He’s not the man you think he is. That image he puts out for everyone, it’s all a mirage. But he would do anything to win, including using the both of us in any way he can. I want my personal life left out of this.”

She gave me a jerky nod. “I understand.”

“Good.”

The car pulled to a stop and I took a deep breath, preparing for what lay ahead. I felt her hand wrap around mine and squeeze gently. “United front,” she smiled.

“Yeah.”

I would have to tread carefully with her. I could see the stars in her eyes, the way she looked at me like I could be her savior, but that wouldn’t be happening. I felt nothing for Olivia. She was just another pawn in my father’s game, and while I felt bad for her, it didn’t sway my opinion in any way.

I got out, raising my hand in a wave at the crowd before turning back to help Olivia out of the car. Play the game. Just play the game and get the answers.

Olivia stepped out and the crowd roared. They loved her, though I wasn’t sure why. I had no idea this event was going to be so crowded. Why were all these people here?

I leaned in so only Olivia could hear. “Why is this place so crowded?”

“Didn’t your father tell you?” she whispered, keeping a smile on her face.

“Bradford,” my father’s voice cut through the noise, making me stiffen instantly.

I turned and glared at his outstretched hand, reluctantly placing mine in his. “Do you want to tell me why we look like we’re at a rally for a presidential race?”

“It must have slipped my mind,” he grinned, but I saw the calculation gleaming in his eyes. He set me up. Whatever this was, I was about to be thrust into the spotlight right beside him. And I had no choice. “The polling suggests I have the numbers behind me.”

I sucked in a breath. “You’re not running for re-election.”

“I hear the White House calling my name,” he chuckled. “And it’s all thanks to you.” He started to turn, but then lowered his voice. “Oh, and thank your boss for the fantastic piece he wrote on you. It’ll be perfect for the interview.”

I felt like the whole fucking world was crashing down around me. He was using me for more than I bargained, and if what he was saying was true, Cash had helped him along the way. But that couldn’t be right. Cash would never sell me out like that. He had too much at stake. He didn’t want OPS in the spotlight any more than I did.

“It’s time to get up on stage,” the senator grinned. He held his arm out for Olivia, who gladly took it, pasting a smile on her face that felt all too real.

I caught Eli out of the corner of my eyes and he was immediately by my side. “The senator isn’t running for re-election,” I hissed.

“What?” He shook his head. “I can hardly hear you.”

“This isn’t a re-election rally. He’s running for president!”

Eli jerked back, his face paling as he looked at me, then his gaze shot to where the senator was climbing the stairs to the podium.

“Talk to Cash,” I snapped. “I want answers.”

He nodded, pressing his finger to his ear as he relayed the message to Red. I had no choice now. I had to go up on that stage and bite my tongue. Whatever the senator just dragged me into, I couldn’t make a move until I had more information.

The senator turned to me, a dark look in his eyes that quickly vanished as he looked back at the crowd with a grin on his face. “And now, let me introduce you to someone very special. A man who has fought for his country, who served with so many fallen heroes, and now valiantly protects those who cannot defend themselves here at home. Please, allow me to introduce my son, Bradford!”

The crowd cheered as if I was a hero—like they knew about me from reading my life story. I climbed the steps, each one feeling like a lead weight was pulling me down. This wasn’t what I had signed up for. I told him not to drag OPS into this. I warned him what would happen. And yet, he did it anyway, completely violating the last remaining shred of any bond between us.

But I had no choice. I couldn’t walk away now. I had to talk to Cash first and find out what was going on. I prayed he had been tricked by the senator also, that he hadn’t sold me out to get information .

A sick feeling swirled in my gut as I shook his hand and faced the crowd. Lights flashed in my eyes as my fiancée took my arm, smiling up at me like I was her hero. I took a deep breath and pushed down the feelings of panic from the last time I had been on a stage. Much like today, I had been forced to appear—to collect an honor that was bestowed upon me.

The noise grew, rattling in my mind. The lights blinded me, and the only thing rooting me in place was the grip Olivia had on me. I forced my mind not to go back there, not to remember what happened. It had been way too long since anything like this had filtered into my brain. I had become an expert at blocking out the feelings of utter devastation and helplessness.

But it seemed with a single step on the stage, all that work had been washed away, and I was back there—back in the desert. I could feel the heat crawling over me, the sand sticking to every inch of my skin. Those men who were supposed to be with me still were now lifeless corpses rotting in the heat with no escape, no chance of ever feeling the taste of freedom that I had promised them.

They were gone, along with the little pieces of my soul that still remained.

“Son,” I heard the senator say. He narrowed his eyes at me, urging me to step up and take the microphone, but I couldn’t.

I couldn’t move, let alone breathe. Every inch of me was frozen in time, watching the men I swore to help get gunned down. They were gone, and I was here, making a mockery of them with the one man who didn’t understand a thing about the military or what it was to truly serve his country.

Her hand tightened around my arm, her voice was low, whispering to me, begging me to take my place beside him. I squeezed my eyes closed, fighting against the panic, the sandstorm, and the heat that was so oppressive I couldn’t take another second of it.

I turned and fled. I barely heard the pounding of my own footsteps as I raced from the stage, from the lights and the crowd.

I didn’t stop until the only sound in my head was my inner voice telling me I had failed them.