every plea for more.
My next orgasm swept them up with me, tipping me over the edge with how they swelled and then spilled into me. Our shouts of release were distorted by the water running over us, and then only harsh breaths as we untangled and leaned our exhausted bodies against the shower wall.
Reaper stood at my back, his forehead heavy against the back of my head like he might fall asleep standing up. Jandro and I faced each other, our pants mingling as our hooded gazes met.
“Sorry we didn’t get to be alone,” I whispered. “Next time.”
He shook his head, his grin spreading. “I know we will, but there aren’t many things that can top this, Mariposita.”
With a quick nudge to Reaper, we all washed off for a third and final time before leaving the now-cold shower.
Eight
GUNNER
Governor Vance’s meeting room in the City Hall building was humble compared to the grand ones I sat in at McAlister Academy, my old military college. While people like my uncle got fat and rich from their first taste of power while their citizens starved, the Four Corners governor was living lean in comparison.
Aside from when his daughter went missing, Vance wasn’t suffering, but he wasn’t draped in riches either. I met many politicians who were good at pretending to be humble, to be in touch with ordinary people’s needs and made lofty promises to be different from all the slimy puppets before them. I often hoped that they would surprise me and actually be sincere for once. But after they got done shaking hands and delivering emotional speeches, it was always the same story in private.
Even before Horus, I had a knack for seeing things most people missed. I saw leaders lying through their teeth. I heard conversations behind closed doors that contradicted everything they said in public. Reaper was one of the few leaders consistently the same person both in public and private, which was why I chose to follow him.
Governor Vance, I started to realize, might have been another one of those rare breeds. Without the suit he wore, he would have been just another guy across the room laughing at one of Jandro’s ridiculous stories.
I learned a few interesting pieces of information straight from the horse’s mouth while Reaper was catching up with his dad. Like me, Vance was born into a powerful family. Bred and groomed to be a politician from a young age, thirst for power didn’t come naturally to him. He was a helper, and reminded me of Mari in that sense. In his university years, his spare time was spent on projects to provide for the lowest income members of his community.
“You did better than me,” I had snickered over a glass of bourbon in his office. “I did well in school, but I also partied. Hard.”
“I heard the Youngbloods were known for their debaucherous ways,” he chuckled.
I spread my hands in a shrug. “My reputation precedes me.”
Vance ended up meeting his wife, Kyrie’s mother, at one of these community projects. It was a classic opposites-attract love story. She ran herself ragged working three jobs to support her disabled parents, and had come to a food bank for assistance. He was the son of a US Senator, at the same location to volunteer, and also to keep up a positive image for his family.
“I wasn’t a go-getter at that age,” he said leaning against his desk. “I was shy, nerdy.” He nodded at me. “Guys like you probably would have put my head in the toilet.”
“Probably,” I agreed.
“But when I saw Val, I just,” his eyes went misty, “I had to talk to her. Trust me, Gunner, I was not the type of guy to just strike up a conversation with a girl I’d never met before. I was terrified.”
“Yeah, can’t relate.”
“But I pulled it together, introduced myself, and well,” he smiled wistfully, “the rest is history, as they say.”
“I’m sorry you lost her,” I told him sincerely. “The thought of losing Mari, just…fuck, I can’t even handle the thought.”
“Thank you. Yes, I’m sorry too. Kyrie barely remembers her. And it’s painful because I see so much of her mother in her. They’re so much alike and our daughter has no idea.” He sighed and lifted up his glass. “To our women, eh?”
That conversation told me more about Governor Vance than what he ever said in words. I watched his mannerisms—where he looked and the tone of his voice as he spoke of his daughter