bare. He handed her a beer and she plopped down in a chair and curled her feet up under her.
Robie sat opposite on a small faux leather love seat.
Lambert said, “Nice to get out of the professional armor.”
“Until tomorrow morning, which is almost here.”
“I actually have the day off tomorrow,” she said. “Or today, as you pointed out.” She took a sip of beer. Robie did the same.
“Why’s that?”
“The president is out of town with most of his personal staff. When he gets back there’s a big White House dinner. I have to work the event. So I’m going to enjoy my day off.”
“I would too.”
She smiled resignedly. “Especially since I’ve been working weekends for the past month. And staff morale is a little low.”
“Why’s that?”
“The president isn’t doing very well in the polls. The economy is awful. The next election is not shaping up to be easy or pleasant.”
“Country’s split right down the middle. No election is easy anymore.”
“True,” she said. “I could never be a politician. It just hurts too much, you know? Every second of every day someone is judging you. And not just for your positions on issues. But for how you talk, look, walk. It’s ridiculous.”
“So have you given any more thought to what life will look like for you after the White House?”
“I’m in a phase of life right now where I just take each day as it comes.”
“Not a bad thing, actually.”
“Some would call it lazy.”
“Who cares what some think?”
“Exactly.”
“Great minds think alike, in fact.”
She reached over and clinked his beer with hers. “To great minds.”
“To great minds,” he agreed with a grin.
“So is this officially our first date?”
“Technically I wouldn’t think so,” replied Robie. “It was more spontaneous. But we can make it anything we want. It’s a free country.”
“I really enjoyed drinks at the W.”
“First time I’ve done something like that in a while.”
“Me too.”
“At your age you should be out a lot.”
“Maybe I’m older than I look,” she teased.
“I doubt that.”
“I like you, Will. I like you a lot.”
“You don’t really know me yet.”
“I’m a good and quick judge of people. Always have been.” She paused, took a swig of beer. “You make me feel, I don’t know, good about myself.”
“You have a lot of reasons independent of me to feel good about yourself, Annie.”
She set her beer down. “Sometimes I get depressed.”
“Hell, we all do.”
She rose and sat down next to him. She touched Robie’s hand with hers. “I’ve had a couple of bad experiences with guys.”
“I promise you won’t have one with me.” Robie had no way to guarantee this, but as he said it he believed it to be the truth.
At the same moment they each leaned toward the other. Their lips touched gently. Then they drew apart,
When Lambert opened her eyes he was looking at her.
“Did you not like that?” she asked.
“No, I liked it a lot, actually.”
They kissed again.
“I’m a lot older than you,” he said as they pulled apart once more.
“You don’t seem a lot older.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t do this.”
“Maybe we should do exactly what we both obviously want to do,” she murmured in his ear. They kissed once more. Not gently this time, but hungrily, both breathing hard.
Robie’s hand slipped to her thigh and he caressed it. She edged her arms around his back and squeezed. Her mouth touched his ear.
“The bedroom might be more comfortable.”
He rose, lifting her into the air as he did, and carried her to the bedroom door. She hit the door lever with her foot and pushed it open. Robie kicked the door shut behind them. They took their time disrobing each other.
She looked at his tats and scars and the wound on his arm. She lightly touched it. “Does it hurt?”
“Not anymore.”
“How did you do it?”
“It was just something stupid.” He pulled her to him.
A minute later they slid between the sheets, their clothes in a commingled pile on the floor.
CHAPTER
71
IT WAS SIX in the morning and Robie was on the move again. His rental glided down the dark street.
As soon as he left Annie Lambert still lying in her bed, he had regretted sleeping with her. The sex was wonderful. It had left him shaky and warm and completely out of sorts. It had been a liberating feeling.
And yet it still had been a mistake.
He had essentially left a man dead on the National Mall to go and screw a White House staffer. He hadn’t been thinking about the case while in bed with her. Well,