State of Retribution

(First Family Series, Book 9)

Chapter One

Surrounded by Secret Service agents, President Nick Cappuano and First Lady Samantha Holland Cappuano were hustled through a ground-level door to an area of the White House she’d never seen before. Codes were punched in by agents who were as serious as they’d ever been.

“What’s this about, Brant?” Nick asked his lead agent, John Brantley Jr.

“I’m not sure yet, sir. We were given orders to get you and the first lady to a secure location, so that’s what we’re doing.”

“The kids.” Sam looked over her shoulder as they were rushed toward an elevator. “My sisters…”

“They’re right behind us,” her lead agent, Vernon Rogers, said.

“Where? I don’t see them.”

“Keep moving,” Vernon said. “I promise they’re being well cared for.”

Sam had full faith in him and the other agents, but whatever terrorist threat had been levied against the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House had the agents behaving in a way she’d seen only one other time—when someone had thrown tomatoes at her and Nick when they were out to dinner in Dewey Beach.

The elevator conveyed them several floors down to an area she hadn’t known existed.

“Have you been down here?” she asked Nick.

“Only once, when I was made aware of where it was in case I ever needed to get here on my own.”

Sam wanted to ask where his detail would be if he were on his own, but she probably didn’t want to know the answer to that question. She felt sick with fear and sweaty with nerves over when their children would be brought to them.

“Felt wrong leaving the kids,” Nick said.

“It’s not like we were given a choice.”

“Still.”

“I know.”

He put an arm around her and led her to a sofa while the agents worked secure phones in the room. “Have a seat. I’ll see if I can get you some water or something.”

“All I want is my kids and my sisters and their kids and the others.” Everyone they loved had attended the event, and now she and Nick were safely tucked away while who knew what was happening to their hundreds of guests.

Nick was huddled with his agents, his face tense, which did nothing to calm her nerves. And where was the rest of his team? Why weren’t they here with him figuring out what was happening and what they were going to do about it?

A few more minutes passed before she couldn’t take it anymore. She got up and crossed the room to where he was conferring with the agents. “Where are my children and the others?”

“We’re confirming their locations right now, ma’am,” Brant said, his tone and expression grave.

“You don’t know where they are?” Sam was on the verge of shrieking and didn’t care who was listening.

Vernon put a hand on her arm, which instantly had the effect of calming her. But only slightly. “We’re working on figuring out what’s going on. The kids are with their details, who’ll keep them safe.”

“I want them with me.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?” She blinked back tears. “I want my children with me. Right now.”

Vernon activated a radio microphone. “FLOTUS wants the kids brought to them immediately, over.”

“Add that POTUS wants them, too,” Nick said.

“Make that POTUS and FLOTUS requesting, over.”

Vernon listened for a minute. “They’re not authorized to be in this space. That’s the hangup.”

“I authorize them and the rest of our family to be in this room.” Nick’s tone offered no room for negotiation. “As of this second.”

Sam would’ve found that ridiculously sexy if she hadn’t been scared out of her mind.

Vernon pressed the button. “POTUS authorizes immediate access, over.” After a pause, he said, “They’re coming down now.”

Sam’s knees were weak and her stomach queasy as she focused on breathing.

As if he knew she needed the support, Nick put an arm around her.

She leaned into him. “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry about this.”

“It’s certainly not your fault—or theirs,” she said of their dedicated agents. “Do you know what happened?”

“Drones were spotted entering the National Capital Region’s Special Flight Rules Area, which is the restricted airspace within thirty miles of DCA.”

Sam recognized the code for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

“Unmanned aircraft, like drones, aren’t allowed within a fifteen-mile inner radius ring without FAA authorization. A dozen drones breached the inner ring and were thought to be headed for the White House.”

Sam’s mouth had gone dry as she listened to his explanation. “For what purpose?” she asked softly.

“They’re still trying to ascertain the type of drone and what the intentions were. The drones were shot down by military planes dispatched from Joint Base Andrews. A team has been sent to retrieve them so we can figure out who sent them and why.”

He hesitated, only for a second, but she saw it.

“What else?”

“That’s all I know.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“Samantha…”

“Tell me the truth.”

He sighed. “It’s being treated as a potential assassination attempt.”

Thankfully, he was standing right next to her and moved fast to grab her when her knees gave out. He moved them to chairs. “Breathe, Samantha. Everyone is okay. Whatever’s happening was thwarted. Everything worked the way it was supposed to.”

She focused on the comforting sound of his voice as she tried to force air into unreceptive lungs. Her chest felt as if it was caught in a vise that was squeezing her tighter by the second.

Someone had launched drones with the intent of assassinating her husband.

“Sam, talk to me.”

“Where’re the kids?”

“They’re coming now. We need to be ready for them so we don’t scare them any more than they already are.”

That did the trick to snap her out of the weird state she’d slipped into after hearing the dreaded word assassination. She took a series of deep breaths and fought through the panic that would stay with her long after today. That someone had gone so far as to launch weapons aiming for them… It was the stuff of nightmares.

The door opened, and Scotty pushed the twins in ahead of him.

They ran for her and Nick, who caught them up in tearful hugs.

Aubrey sobbed as she clung to Sam.

Scotty rubbed Alden’s back as the boy hugged Nick. Their fourteen-year-old wore a tense expression, which meant he’d heard rumblings about what’d happened—and what could’ve happened.

Sam reached out her hand to him, and he took it, giving it a squeeze.

“Everything is all right, guys,” Nick said.

The door opened again, admitting the twins’ older brother, Elijah, and his wife, Candace, Sam’s sisters and their children.

Sam scooped Aubrey into her arms as she stood to greet the others on legs that were still wobbly from the shock.

Her sisters hugged her and Aubrey.

“That was fun,” Tracy said with her trademark sarcasm.

“I’m so sorry, everyone,” Nick said. “I hate that our good time was interrupted by nonsense.”

“It’s okay, Uncle Nick,” their niece, Abby, said. “I got to keep my eggs, so it was still fun.”

“I’m glad to hear that, sweetie,” Nick said, forcing a smile for the child’s sake.

Eli took Aubrey from Sam, who’d begun to realize how heavy the little girl had gotten since the last time she’d lifted her. Their Littles were growing up fast, a thought that depressed her. She wanted to keep them young and innocent forever, so they’d never understand words like assassination or terrorist attack.

Sam turned to Scotty and hugged him tightly. “Are you all right?”

“As long as you guys are, I’m good.”

“Did you see my dad’s family anywhere?” Nick asked Tracy and Sam’s other sister, Angela.

“They were escorted to their car and allowed to leave the grounds, along with most of the other guests,” Angela said.

“That’s good,” Nick said, sounding relieved.

Brant came over to him. “Mr. President, you’re needed in the Situation Room. The others are free to return to the residence, but we’re asking the first family to remain indoors for now.”

“I have to go to work,” Sam said.

“That’s not going to be possible today, ma’am,” Brant said. “We need all available resources here until we have more information about what happened.”

Sam didn’t like being told she couldn’t do something, but she wasn’t about to make their jobs any more difficult than they already were. Besides, after the shock of the day’s events, she wanted—and needed—to be with her kids.

“I’m sorry.” Nick kissed her cheek. “I’ll find you guys as soon as I can.”

“We’re fine. Do what you need to.”

After Nick departed for the Situation Room, the agents escorted Sam and the others to the second-floor residence via the elevator that opened into the hallway where they lived. They trooped off the elevator like survivors of the apocalypse, a thought that would’ve made Sam laugh at her own theatrics under other circumstances.

Nothing about this was funny.

They ended up in the third-floor conservatory, their favorite place to gather. The twins climbed onto Sam’s lap, and she wrapped her arms around them while Scotty sat next to her. That they wanted to be close to her made her thankful she’d been unable to leave for work. She was still somewhat new to this motherhood gig and to realizing there was nowhere else she should be than with her children after what had occurred today.

She felt ashamed for even wanting to go to work, but the impulse was hardwired into her at this point. When her phone rang, she worked around the twins to dig it out of her jacket pocket. She wasn’t surprised to see the name of her partner, Detective Freddie Cruz, on the screen.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself. Are you okay?”

“I’ve been better. What’re you hearing?”

“I’m not sure I should tell you.”

“I already know what they think the goal was.” When Eli gestured for the twins to come see him, Sam released them, thankful she could talk more freely to her best friend with the Littles across the room and out of earshot.

“It’s unbelievable.”

“Thank goodness everything worked the way it’s supposed to.”

“For sure. But still…”

“Yeah. I hear you.”

“What can I do for you?”

“Hold down the fort there. The Secret Service has asked us to stay here. Tell Gonzo, too,” she said of her sergeant, Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales.

“I will.”

“Anything going on?”

“A homicide in Southeast. We’re on it. Don’t worry about anything.” Since she’d been signed out for the Easter weekend, Gonzo would’ve gotten the call on that.

“What? Me worry?”

“I can’t imagine how you must be feeling.”

“I know it goes with the job and all that, but when it’s your own husband…”

“I’m sorry. It’s unbelievable.”

“Everyone is okay. We’re just trying to keep calm over here and stay focused on the kids. What was supposed to have been a fun day sure as hell got messed up.”

“It’s all over the news.”

“Are they using the A word?”

“Yes. They’ve got national security experts on talking about all the various implications and who might’ve done it. They’re listing some of the more notorious terrorist groups, but so far, no one has claimed responsibility.”

It was daunting to think the whole world was talking about—and speculating about—the thwarted assassination of the U.S. president, who also happened to be Sam’s husband. “I’m sure I’ll hear about it later. Keep me posted on the new case.”

“I will. Hang in there.”

“I’m hanging. Talk to you later.”

Sam closed her phone and released another deep sigh.

“What’s the A word?” Scotty asked.

Shit.

“I thought you were talking to Tracy.”

“I was multitasking.”

Sam laughed and immediately felt better, the way she often did around him. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Sure it is. Tell me.”

“What did you hear?”

“That there were drones where they shouldn’t be, and it’s being treated as some sort of possible attack.”

“That’s right.”

“So the A word is attack, then?”

Sam wanted so badly to lie to him, to protect him, but five minutes on his phone would reveal the truth. She’d rather he hear it from her. “In this case, it stands for ‘assassination.’” She and Scotty had declared that a swear word when Nick first became president.

“So, like, they were coming for Dad?”

“We don’t know that for sure, but that’s the theory.”

He stared out the big windows at the city they called home.

“What’re you thinking?”

“At times like this, it’s better not to think.”

Smiling, Sam wrapped an arm around him and kissed the top of his head. “I love you so, so much, and you’re just what I need right now. Thank you for that.”

“You and Dad are just what I need all the time. Thank you for that.”

“Being your parents is the greatest pleasure and privilege of our lives.”