focused on the television. “Good night, Greg.”
Greg nodded at her, still avoiding her eyes. “Good night, ma’am.”
She couldn’t go upstairs without addressing the elephant in the room. “Greg,” she started.
He looked at her. “Yes?”
“Just be happy your boss is getting laid on a regular basis. Don’t feel bad for interrupting us, given the nature of what’s transpired tonight.”
“Although you may have a reasonable gripe about us sullying the taxpayers’ office furniture,” Jack acknowledged. “I’d still prefer if you hold off on entering my office before waiting for a response first.”
“Those might be legitimate concerns,” Caroline said. “But we’re not going to deal with them right now. Other than that, no big. Okay?”
Greg reddened again. “Yes, ma’am.” He turned to Jack. “Sorry, sir.”
Jack’s expression finally softened. Apparently Greg was forgiven. “If it doesn’t bother the first lady, it’s not an issue for me. Let’s get to work.”
As Caroline walked back up the stairs toward their bedroom, she knew it would be a long time before Jack joined her. And she wouldn’t be able to sleep, either. Not while her mind was running wild.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Past
It was almost four o’clock when the door to their bedroom opened. Caroline had been laying on her side in bed for hours after watching another half hour of CNN and talking to Chrissy and Katie separately on the phone. She’d had a brief, terribly awkward conversation with Ellen, who had been scheduled to attend the event as a courtesy to the president but canceled after her daughter went into premature labor. Caroline didn’t want to think about what might have happened if Ellie had been there as well. She knew that nothing useful would start to develop until more facts started to come in. And even then, she wasn’t entirely sure that mainstream media reports would be accurate.
Jack cursed softly as he hit his knee on one of the chairs in the master bedroom, and hopped into the bathroom. He was trying to be quiet, which was cute. Caroline kept still, burying her face in the pillow to contain her giggles. He continued to curse, starting the water to cover up the sound of his voice. Poor guy. The water ran for a few minutes more before he padded slowly out of the bathroom. He slid into bed beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist, holding Caroline close to him as he nuzzled her hair. He was only wearing boxers, and she smiled. He loved curling up as close to her ass as possible.
She rubbed his hand. “How’s your knee?”
He groaned. “Thank God you’re awake. That hurt like a motherfucker.”
Caroline didn’t bother trying to hide her fit of laughter. The room wasn’t exactly dark but Jack always had a hard time adjusting his eyes when he came in from the hallway. “You could have turned the light on.”
“I was afraid I would wake you up.”
Her highly intelligent husband had impeccable manners but was often clueless. “Did you really think I’d be able to sleep?”
He kissed the back of her head. “I guess not.”
“How’d the rest of your night go?”
“Like shit. Are you prepared to go to the National Cathedral next week? I’m fairly certain we’ll be asked to attend.”
Caroline sighed. “I guess so. I really hate funerals. Especially for people I actually like.”
Jack held her tighter. “Were you okay up here by yourself?”
She turned to face him. She couldn’t keep her voice from shaking, and there was nothing to be gained by lying. “Not really.”
“You didn’t spend the entire time watching CNN, did you?”
“No. I talked to Chrissy and Katie. And I chatted with Ellen a couple of hours ago. Tried to go to sleep but I couldn’t. Ellie was supposed to be with him.” She cleared her throat. “I don’t know what I’d do if something had happened to her.”
He shuddered. “Then let’s not think about it.”
“I don’t want to think about it at all but…the president was a nice man.” She started to cry.
Jack pulled her into an embrace. “It’s okay, baby.”
Caroline wiped her eyes. “I feel guilty because I’m not even crying over him. I barely knew him.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Do we have enough security? Can our troopers be trusted?”
“I would trust them with all of our lives without reservation,” Jack said. “But Greg and I spoke with the head of our security team tonight, and we’re tightening things up to be safe. We’re sending a group of guys up to check on the safety procedures at camp.” He pressed a finger to Caroline’s