Rook (Political Royalty Book 2) by Evelyn Adams Page A

her. Her eyes were shadowed, but some of the color had come back to her cheeks, and she didn’t look as haunted as she had when he found her in the lab the day before. If anything, watching the news seemed to pull her more completely into the present. He’d take whatever small steps he could get and be grateful for them. Even if they came at the expense of some other poor fucks.
    “You better get back to work. Your guy is going to have to react to this, right?” She gazed up at him, shrinking into herself a little. “You can’t afford to hang out here with me any longer.”
    “I’m not leaving you alone,” he said, more sure of that decision than he’d been of any he’d ever made.
    “You’ll lose your job. I won’t let you do that. That fucker’s not taking that too.” She smacked his arm hard enough to sting, and if he hadn’t seen the pain in her eyes, he would have been grateful she felt up to bossing him around.
    But she wasn’t up to doing anything. He knew her well enough to tell she was putting on a brave face and muscling through. There were other papers and there’d be other campaigns. He had a tiny nest egg he could live on until he got Becca settled and got back on his feet. Her student loans would take care of her tuition and when he found another job, he could pick up the slack again. Not ideal but doable.
    “You don’t get to make that decision for me,” he said, rubbing his arm. “I’m not leaving you alone.”
    The newscaster announced that Governor Jenson would be holding a press conference in a few hours and Matt bit back a groan. If Jenson was making a statement, Walker was sure to follow, and if he didn’t cover it, he really would lose his job. His editor wouldn’t give a fuck why he wasn’t there—not that he’d ever tell her—she’d just replace him first chance she got. He didn’t have any illusions about her affections. She let him get away with crap because it suited her, not because of anything to do with him. Maybe he could persuade Jess to send him updates on Walker’s next move. Maybe hell would freeze over too.
    “What are you going to do? Follow me around campus? Sit next to me in the computer lab? No way. Get your ass back to the campaign and do your job. I know how much you like this Walker guy. Personally, I don’t know why, but I could tell when you talked about him that you believed whatever he’s selling. Don’t use me as an excuse to screw things up.”
    He wasn’t using what happened to her to justify anything, but he could appreciate the nice little bit of psychology she used on him. Even as kids, she’d been able to twist him around her finger and get him to do what she wanted. All while he believed it had been his idea in the first place. It had taken him years to catch on to her tactics and learn to use them himself.
    “Nice try, but no. It’s a nonnegotiable, Becs,” he said, taking her hand and cradling it in his.
    Her fingers were so small and white next to his larger rougher ones. His whole life, he’d been holding her smaller hand. From the first time she grabbed his finger with her chubby little baby fist when his mom and dad brought her home from the hospital until he helped move her into her dorm room freshman year. He didn’t need a push, but if he had, seeing her hand in his would have been more than enough. He’d take care of her. Because if he was honest with himself, it was the only good thing about him. The rest of the time he was pretty much a selfish pig and comfortable with it.
    “I’m not leaving you.”
    “You dumb shit.”
    She bumped her shoulder with his, but he could tell by the smile catching the corner of her lips that she was grateful. Even if she couldn’t say it out loud. They sat side by side on the polyester bedspread and watched the news unfold on the television as the death toll continued to tick upwards.
    “It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it?” she said and he nodded.
    A small image of an empty podium