Chapter Two #2
My mother reeled back as if I’d physically reached out and slapped her.
I knew it was a low blow to bring up my father in an argument like this, but she’d been acting so out of character these past two months since I was nearly kidnapped and I was tired of it.
“That is quite enough,” Arthur cut in, his expression cooling as he stood up. “The president has several meetings this morning, Lennon, so you will have to just deal with the fact that you have a new security detail.”
“Even if that means I refuse to do any more election stops for you?” I asked, using the only carrot I had.
My mother’s blonde brows rose as she stared at me with shock.
Never before had I threatened to not help her with something political in my entire twenty-six years on this earth.
I’d always been her little helper and my role had only grown once I had become an omega and was a more valuable tool to engage the omega vote.
I did it for her because I loved her and I loved Carter who couldn’t handle the scrutiny that came with a campaign, but after nearly being kidnapped I was done being yanked around at their political whims.
“You would do that? Bow out of the campaign entirely just because I want to keep you safe?” my mother asked with a gasp, sounding almost injured.
We all have to work together to take care of your mother so she can take care of the country, my father’s voice echoed in my mind.
It was from one of the times I had been frustrated after the inauguration and my normally warm and attentive mother had changed into a stressed, almost neurotic version of herself.
She hadn’t been eating or sleeping much and we’d gotten into a screaming match at one of the few dinners she’d been able to eat with us.
Afterward my father had come to comfort me—just like always—and had made me promise to help him protect her because no one else would look out for her the way we, her family, could.
My resolve crumbled almost immediately and my shoulders sank. I’d promised him that I would. It was one of the reasons I had put my life on hold and pushed off starting any sort of career for myself.
That had only gotten worse after his sudden heart attack because someone needed to be around to take care of all of the social events at the White House and Carter definitely wasn’t in any shape to be able to handle it because he was dealing with his own struggles.
“No,” I finally said with a sigh. “I wouldn’t.”
Arthur shot me a smile of triumph and I secretly hoped that his pillow was always blazing hot and kept him from ever getting a good night of sleep from now on.
“I’m sorry, Lennie,” my mother apologized as she got up to pull me into a hug, her sweet and slightly spicy scent filling my nose and soothing my frayed nerves.
I sighed and melted into it because, at the end of the day, she was still my mother. “This is just until the election is over and then we can discuss maybe bringing back some members of your original security detail, okay?”
My eyes looked over her shoulder at Arthur and his expression told me otherwise, but it wasn’t worth fighting at this point.
“Athena,” Arthur said, cutting through the first nice moment I’d had with my mother in weeks. “The joint chiefs are waiting for you.”
My mother let go and I resisted the urge to cling to her like a little child.
“Right, I’ll be right there. Lennon, get to know your new team a bit. I promise they won’t be so bad, and can you check in on your brother before you pack for the tour?”
I nodded, knowing that she was looking for a report on my brother’s current mental state. Her words were innocuous, but we both knew what date was coming up and how it would affect my older brother the most.
Gripping Ginny’s leash, I clicked my tongue. “Come on, girl, let’s finally go on that walk.”
Leaving the office through the doors behind my mother’s desk, I stepped onto the long covered patio with Ginny happily prancing at my feet.
My new security team was following me, like a squad of silent ghosts, and I tried to push down the irritation I was feeling as I ignored them completely.
Ever since the night of my attempted kidnapping, I only ever walked Ginny on the premises of the White House because I didn’t need as much security to do that. But now I had four shadows who hadn’t seemed to have gotten that memo.
I continued to ignore their presence until we made it to the back lawn where the tennis courts were and began to work on Ginny’s training practice.
She was only six months old, but her cocker spaniel genetics had made her especially smart and I almost didn’t even need to give her verbal commands at this point as I tossed her bright pink tennis balls for her.
For a bit, I was able to forget everything as I worked with the wiggly puppy, scratching her deep red fur that almost reminded me of the hair of the two brothers still standing behind me.
The reminder of their proximity annoyed me all over again and I finally reeled around to look at them. They still stood in that ridiculous formation with Maverick at the front and I decided that, since he seemed to be the leader of their little bunch, that he would be the target for my ire today.
Throwing Ginny’s ball as far as I could manage, I fixed a glare on Maverick.
“You do know that you don’t have to follow me everywhere when I’m within White House grounds, right?” I asked, my voice sharp. “Or did they not teach you that over at the state department?”
My words were meant as an insult, but if Maverick took them as such I would never be able to tell. His face remained completely and infuriatingly neutral.
“It is a requirement for your detail to be with you at all times, Ms. Holloway,” was all he said by way of reply.
Behind him, the black-haired agent’s expression shifted, flashing into something I couldn’t read before it smoothed out like the rest of his team’s again.
“Brady and the rest of my detail didn’t feel the need to follow me around in one of the safest places in this country,” I pointed out as Ginny returned with her ball in her mouth and her long tail wagging as she stared adoringly up at me.
Maverick’s lips thinned into a line and I caught a flash of temper on his face. “With all due respect, Ms. Holloway, Agent Brady is dead which means that his way of protecting you was not exactly as effective as you think it was.”
My mouth opened and closed silently as I tried to formulate some kind of response for the alpha.
Instead, I just got mad.
“Agent Brady was a decorated member of the Secret Service,” I snapped indignantly, re-clipping Ginny’s leash to her harness. “And unless you went to his funeral and comforted his widow and children, I think it’s best if you keep your mouth shut about your opinion on how he did his job.”
With that I turned and hurried away from them, wishing I couldn’t hear the quick clip of their footsteps coming after me.
Somehow I was pretty sure that the next four months were going to be filled with much of the same and I was not looking forward to it.
“This is ridiculous!” I told Carter later as I paced the long length of his bedroom.
While I’d kept my own bedroom relatively the same when we’d moved into the White House, Carter had covered his walls with posters of rock bands and indie musicians, making sure that none of the fancy striped wallpaper underneath could peek through.
Everyone always pointed out that, despite being siblings, Carter and I were as different as night and day.
Where I took after our mother with our blonde hair and short stature, he was the spitting image of our dad. They both had willowy figures with dark, curly hair that seemed to defy gravity, sticking up in all directions.
The only trait we actually did share was our gray eyes—something we had inherited from the Holloway side of the family.
He was also a beta like our dad had been, simplifying his life in ways that I would never be able to understand.
Carter sat where he usually did: at the bench of his electric piano, his fingers resting on the keys like he was waiting for me to finish my rant so he could go back to whatever concerto he was conjuring up in his mind.
“What’s ridiculous, Lennie? That they are going to be following you around… which is their literal job, or that they won’t let you sweet talk them into going off their set routine? Well, welcome to my world, little sister, it sucks.”
I wanted to tell him that there was a reason he was watched so closely by his team, but I also didn’t want to start a fight and that would definitely start a fight. I could talk circles around my brother, but he wasn’t opposed to putting me in a headlock no matter how old we were getting.
Instead, I ignored his words and continued my tirade. “It’s just silly that they even felt the need to split up and follow me around the residence, like the kidnappers will come snatch me from the kitchen or something!”
Carter just shrugged as he looked away from me and jotted something down on one of the half-blank music sheets in front of him.
Despite my irritation, I couldn’t help the flush of warmth that I felt watching him work. It was nice to see him finally getting back into music again after not touching it for so long after his last relapse.
Especially to see him actually writing it this time—something he had rarely done since our dad died. Carter seemed to stay more in the classical sphere than our father did, but I knew it made him feel closer to him anyways.
It was the main hobby they had shared, Carter learning the piano on our dad’s knee and eventually outpacing his talent and growing from there.
Then they had started to go to our father’s beloved heavy metal concerts—a hold over from his younger years when he had played in a rock band during the nineties.
Ashton “Ash” Carter had been the last man my grandfather would have ever picked for his daughter, but even I knew that he had loved the cheerful beta who seemed to light up every room he walked into.