State of Affairs Read online

  State of Affairs

  First Family Series, Book 1

  Marie Force

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-FIve

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  State of Affairs

  First Family Series, Book 1

  By: Marie Force

  * * *

  Published by HTJB, Inc.

  Copyright 2021. HTJB, Inc.

  Cover Design by Kristina Brinton

  Cover photography by Regina Wamba

  Models: Robert John and Ellie Dulac

  Print Layout: E-book Formatting Fairies

  ISBN: 978-1952793165

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at [email protected].

  All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

  * * *

  MARIE FORCE is a registered trademark with the United States Patent & Trademark Office.

  marieforce.com

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  The First Family Series

  Book 1: State of Affairs

  Book 2: State of Grace

  * * *

  The Wild Widows Series

  Book 1: Someone Like You

  * * *

  The Fatal Series

  One Night With You, A Fatal Series Prequel Novella

  Book 1: Fatal Affair

  Book 2: Fatal Justice

  Book 3: Fatal Consequences

  Book 3.5: Fatal Destiny The Wedding Novella

  Book 4: Fatal Flaw

  Book 5: Fatal Deception

  Book 6: Fatal Mistake

  Book 7: Fatal Jeopardy

  Book 8: Fatal Scandal

  Book 9: Fatal Frenzy

  Book 10: Fatal Identity

  Book 11: Fatal Threat

  Book 12: Fatal Chaos

  Book 13: Fatal Invasion

  Book 14: Fatal Reckoning

  Book 15: Fatal Accusation

  Book 16: Fatal Fraud

  Chapter One

  A full minute after ending the bombshell call from the White House chief of staff, Nick Cappuano stared into the eyes of his wife, Samantha, looking to her for calm in the midst of calamity. However, he wasn’t finding calm in her lovely blue eyes. Instead he saw the same panic he felt.

  President David Nelson had been found dead in the White House residence.

  Nick was going to be president of the United States of America.

  The Secret Service was waiting to transport him and Sam to the White House so he could take the oath of office.

  Five minutes ago, they’d been in bed, commiserating after eating too much at Thanksgiving dinner. And now… Now, he needed to breathe, to remain calm, to do what needed to be done for his family and his country. “Say something.”

  Sam licked her lips and looked up at him with eyes gone wild. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

  “It’s going to be okay. You and me… We’ve got this. There’s nothing we can’t handle.”

  She laughed, but it had a maniacal edge to it. “If you say so, Mr. President.”

  Mr. President.

  She was the first to ever call him that, as it should be. She was the most important person in his life.

  He held her precious face in his hands and gazed into her light-blue eyes. “Before we leave this room and step onto the biggest stage in the world, I want you to hear me when I tell you this won’t change anything that matters. This—you and me and our family—will not change. I swear to you, Samantha.”

  She nodded and reached for him.

  He took her into his arms and held on tight to the love of his life, determined to do whatever it took to reassure her even as he tried not to freak out himself. No one needed a president who was freaking out.

  President.

  This could not be happening. But it was. David Nelson was dead. Nick couldn’t wrap his head around the last five minutes.

  Still holding Sam, he said, “We need to get up, get dressed and make ourselves presentable for pictures that’ll be in history books for the rest of time. But no pressure or anything.”

  Again, Sam’s laughter had a hysterical edge. “I… We should tell people. Like Graham, Terry, Celia, my sisters… Your dad.”

  He shook his head. “They’ll find out in the morning. For right now, we need to focus only on getting to the White House.”

  “We have to bring Scotty. He’d never forgive us if we didn’t.”

  “Agreed. I’ll go get him up and tell Elijah what’s going on so he knows he’s in charge of the Littles.” Aubrey and Alden, the twins Sam and Nick had recently taken in after their parents were murdered, would be six on Saturday. Leaving them with their older brother, who was home from Princeton for the Thanksgiving holiday, was the right thing to do.

  “Will we be allowed to come back for them?” Sam asked.

  “Of course, or we’ll have the Secret Service bring them to us. Try not to worry. We’ll figure it out one step at a time.”

  Sam looked around at the bedroom that was their private sanctuary, their calm in the storm of their crazy lives. “We’re going to have to move. This won’t be our home anymore.”

  “This will always be our home. We can come back here anytime we want to.” He pulled back to kiss her forehead and then her lips. “We have to go, Sam. Are you going to be able to do this?”

  He watched as she took a deep breath and summoned the fortitude to take this formidable next step on their journey. “I’m about to prove to you that I meant it all the times I said there was nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

  Smiling, he said, “I love you more than anything. Don’t ever forget that.”

  “Same.”

  They got out of bed, and he pulled on a T-shirt and pajama pants and grabbed the child monitor they kept in their bedroom to alert them if the twins woke up. When Nick opened the bedroom door to go wake Scotty, he found his lead agent, John Brantley Jr., waiting to speak to him.r />
  “We’re ready to transport you and Mrs. Cappuano to the White House, sir.”

  “We need a few minutes to pull ourselves together. I’m going to wake Scotty. He’ll want to be there, and I need to tell Elijah what’s happening.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “We’ll be quick.” Nick went into Scotty’s room and sat on the edge of the bed. “Scotty.” He gave his son’s shoulder a gentle shake. In the glow of the Capitals nightlight, he watched his son’s eyes open.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “President Nelson has died.”

  Scotty’s eyes went wide as the implications hit him immediately. “Holy crap.”

  “That’s putting it mildly. The Secret Service is waiting to take Mom and me to the White House. Mom said you’d never forgive us if we didn’t bring you with us.”

  “Hell yes, I want to be there.”

  “You have to hurry.”

  “Work clothes, I presume?”

  Nick smiled and nodded at their code for the clothes Scotty wore when he accompanied Nick to official events—khaki pants, navy blazer, dress shirt and tie. Nick got up and headed for the door.

  “Dad?”

  He turned back to his son.

  “Are you wigging out?”

  “Trying not to.”

  “How about Mom?”

  “Same.”

  “Are we bringing the Littles?”

  “They’re asleep, so we’re going to have them stay here with Elijah for now. I think it would be confusing and upsetting for them until we have time to explain what’s happening.”

  “That’s a good call.”

  Nick smiled at his adorable son. “Glad you agree. I’m going to tell Elijah. Hurry up and get ready, okay?”

  “I’m hurrying, and in case I forget to tell you later, I’m super proud of you, even if it’s gonna be kinda weird at first.”

  Nick grinned. “Thanks, bud. That means the world to me. We’ll get through it. Like I told Mom, nothing that really matters will change. As long as we’re all together, we can handle whatever comes our way.”

  “I guess we’re gonna find out if that’s true. Thanks for getting me up. Mom was right—I never would’ve forgiven you if you hadn’t.”

  “We had a feeling. You probably know this, but you can’t say anything to anyone about this until the White House releases the news.”

  “I never would.”

  “Thanks. Be back in a few.”

  Nick went up to the third floor, where they’d made a bedroom for Elijah across the hall from the loft Nick had put together as a sanctuary for him and Sam to get away from it all. He knocked on Elijah’s closed door.

  “Come in.”

  Nick opened the door to find Elijah stretched out on the bed watching a movie on his laptop.

  “What’s up?” Elijah asked.

  “I have to tell you something that you can’t tell anyone. I need your word.”

  “You have it.”

  “President Nelson was found dead in the residence a short time ago. Sam, Scotty and I are headed to the White House so I can be sworn in.”

  “Holy. Shit.” Elijah sat up on the bed. “I, um… Wow.”

  Nick handed the child monitor to Elijah. “We’re going to leave the twins here with you for now. I think it would scare them if we woke them to take them with us.”

  “Yes, that’s better. I’ll talk to them when they get up, and then we can figure out what’s next. But Jesus, Nick… I mean…”

  “Believe me, I know. As I said to Sam and Scotty, nothing that matters will change. We’re still a family. You and the twins are still our family, and we’re going to stick together and get through this. I promise.”

  The young man nodded, but Nick saw the same wariness, fear and uncertainty they were all feeling.

  “Try to get some sleep. It’s going to be a crazy few days.”

  “Ah, yeah, sure,” Elijah said, laughing. “Not seeing a lot of sleep in my future tonight.”

  “I don’t want you to worry about anything.”

  “I’ll try not to.”

  “We’ll be in touch as soon as we can about what’s going on.”

  “Okay.”

  Nick wasn’t sure what else he could say to reassure him, so he left it at that and returned to his room, where Sam was emerging from the shower, wrapped in a towel.

  “I’m hurrying.”

  “Thanks, love.” Nick got in the shower and ran a razor over his face, being careful not to cut himself in his haste to get ready. His thoughts swirled a mile a minute, but he concentrated only on the task at hand. Shower, shave, get dressed, get in the car, go to the White House, take the oath. If he took this one minute and one step at a time, he could hold it together to do what needed to be done.

  At least he hoped so.

  Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. That was the only thought in Sam’s head for the first ten minutes after The Call that changed their lives forever. Thankfully, she’d spent some time on her hair earlier in the day and needed only to give it a good brushing to make it presentable. After messing with it for a minute, she decided on a simple, elegant knot. Her hands trembled ever so slightly as she applied makeup and mascara. Dear God… Nick was going to be the president.

  He’d only recently told the world of his decision not to run in the next election. Her relief had been overwhelming. She hadn’t wanted him to be president, to be subjected to the scrutiny and stress that would come with the most important job in the world. She’d been thrilled to know he would become a private citizen again in three years, when his term as vice president ended and they got back to “normal,” whatever that was anymore.

  This couldn’t be happening.

  Except it was, and their lives were going to be turned upside down once again. She’d believed him when he’d said nothing that mattered would change. Their marriage was solid, and they were an awesome team.

  But this…

  She glanced in the mirror at him in the shower, seeing the tension in his shoulders that no one else would notice. But she saw it. She saw him, and as the dizzying array of implications settled on her, the weight of it threatened to crush her.

  Yes, they’d known this was possible when Nick became vice president, but David Nelson had been a healthy man in his late sixties with decades left to live, or so they’d thought. She flattened her hands on the marble vanity and hung her head, trying to relieve the tension in her neck.

  Nick had said nothing that mattered would change, but they both knew everything would.

  The scrutiny, the security, the criticism, the insanity… Panic bubbled up inside her. What would she do? They’d make her give up her career as a homicide detective, the job that had defined her adult life. The realization filled her with a pervasive sadness that only compounded the grief she’d been living with since she lost her beloved dad just over a month ago. What she wouldn’t give to talk this through with Skip Holland.

  He’d tell her to toughen up and do for Nick what he’d always done for her—support her one thousand percent. Nick deserved nothing less from her and would get everything she had to give him, no matter what she had to sacrifice.

  And then he was there, his hands on her shoulders, kneading the tension from her muscles. He kissed her neck and made her shiver. “Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. It’s you and me all the way, babe.”

  Sam turned in to his embrace and breathed in the fresh, clean scent of home, taking comfort in the familiar when everything had become uncertain in the span of one phone call.

  “We really have to go,” he said.

  “I know.” Sam gave herself another second to cling to life as she knew it before she reluctantly let him go, donned a robe and went across the hall to get dressed in the closet he’d had built for her. Thinking of photos that would last forever and in deference to the death of President Nelson, she chose a demure black dress and put on her diamond engagement ring and the diamond key necklace that’d been a wedd
ing gift from Nick.

  Taking a quick look in the full-length mirror on the back of the door, she decided she was presentable enough to be in photos that would be studied for generations to come. She stepped into the black Louboutins with the distinctive red soles that Nick had given her for Christmas last year, ran damp hands over her skirt to smooth the lines and tried not to think too far ahead of the next couple of hours.

  She took a deep breath and released it slowly, determined to be there for him the way he always was for her. So much of their life together had been about her—her job, her family, her needs. This was about Nick, and she was determined to support him in every possible way as he took on the role that would define his life—and hers, whether she wanted that or not.

  “You can do this,” she told her reflection. “You can do it for him. You will do it for him.”

  A soft knock on the door sounded.

  Sam opened the door to him dressed in a navy blue suit, a white dress shirt, a burgundy tie and an American flag pinned to his lapel. He looked handsome, sexy, competent and slightly petrified. The rest of the world would see the calm, cool, collected man he was under pressure. Only she would know how he really felt.

  “You look beautiful,” he said softly, aware of ears all around as the Secret Service hovered nearby.

  “Funny, I was just thinking the same about you.” Flattening her hands on his lapels, she looked up at him. “Is Scotty ready?”