Free Scandal: The Lies We Tell (Volume 1) by Emma J. King Page B

around me and my head was tucked close to his chest. This meant I was shielded from potential danger, but I also couldn’t see anything but the pinstripes on Senator Cooper’s shirt.
    “Someone pulled out a gun. The guards are handling the situation.”
    “Gun? Why?” It was taking me some time to catch up; it was like my brain had shut down.
    “That isn’t something I can answer presently.”
    At last my brain clicked back into the right gear. “Did they catch him? If not, we need to get out of here.” I jerked away so that I could get a better look at what was happening around me.
    To our left, dozens of well-dressed people were huddled around the room, many of them hiding behind furniture and columns. I fought back a wave of déjà vu and turned to the right. Three men in suits were pinning another man to the ground. The man wasn’t fighting them, but his head was turned toward us and his burning eyes were focused in our direction.
    “Senator, I need you to come with me.”
    Another man towered over us, a covert earpiece tucked into one ear and a gun bulging conspicuously beneath his suit jacket. He reached down to help me to my feet.
    “Where?” Senator Cooper asked as he stood, smoothing wrinkles from his dress pants.
    “We’ve secured a room.”
    “A room? Who’s we?” The well-dressed, armed man didn’t seem like a normal security guard and his grip on my arm was nearly painful.
    “Secret Service, M a’am.” His grip loosened just a bit. “I’m Agent Flynn and I need you to come with me.”
    “Why?”
    Agent Flynn was already walking away, his hand still firmly gripping my arm.
    “They are securing the area,” Senator Cooper explained. “They’ll need to take our statements about what we saw.”
    “But I didn’t see anything,” I protested in futility.
    We were ushered down a long hallway with a group of men all dressed similarly to Agent Flynn. It didn’t take a genius to realize we were in the middle of a secret service bubble. They all wore the same grim expressions. Agent Flynn finally released my arm and moved to the head of the pack.
    “Friends of yours?” I asked the senator. He seemed perfectly comfortable surrounded by a half-dozen armed men.
    “They’re good friends to have,” he quipped. “We’re alive, aren’t we?”
    I couldn’t argue with that as we followed the agents onto an elevator. It only had one button, and we sailed up to the top floor without stopping.
    Agent Flynn turned to the other agents. “The penthouse is unoccupied and this elevator is one of the two entrances onto the floor. I want two men guarding it at all times and two men at the stairwell. No one enters this floor without clearance from me, got it?”
    The elevator doors opened and everyone moved into action. Everyone but me, that is.
    “Coming?” Senator Cooper asked, looking at me questioningly.
    “I don’t think I really have a choice.”
    Agent Flynn waved me forward. “You don’t.”
    The penthouse suite was impressive, but I was too distracted to fully appreciate it. More agents milled about the main room, talking on cell phones and making plans in loud voices. Agent Flynn pointed to an oversized couch on the far side of the room.
    “Have a seat and get comfortable. You’ll be here for a while.” He hurried away without a backward glance, marching straight into the bedroom and closing the door decisively behind him.
    Senator Cooper and I didn’t speak as we crossed the room and took seats next to each other, keeping a good amount of distance between us. I turned my attention to the television in the corner which had been turned to the local news. An attractive redhead in a skin-tight blue dress was standing just outside our hotel, looking serious but still sexy as she broke the news of the almost-incident that had just occurred.
    “Why the big deal?” I wondered out loud. Sure, a few important people were at the event but it wasn’t like someone had been shot.
    Senator