Page 59 of Locked Down

“Jesus, Cal, what the fuck was that all about?”Davis snarled.

The mother shot a worried look in their direction and then took her boys by the hands and herded them down the walkway, away from the two men.

“Bill is part of a small inner circle that is the power behind the Presidency. Pissing him off is not a smart move, Austin.”

“He’s an old man with old man views. You and I are the new way of doing things.”Davis heaved a sigh,“But I will do my best to follow along and not piss anyone else off. When does the vote happen?”

Wallingford shrugged.“I don’t know. I’m not privy to it. I assume by the night of the party, they’ll let you know if you can announce or not.”

“Fine. What about that other thing?”Davis demanded.

Cal glared at the man and shook his head. He put his hand out, and one of his security guards came over and handed him a large misshapen manilla envelope. Wallingford handed the envelope to Davis.“Please be sure to use this the right way.”

Davis smiled. As he took the envelope, he looked inside. His smile disappeared.“It’s not enough.”

Wallingford’s entire body froze. Any pretense that he was happy with Davis disappeared.“What do you mean it’s not enough?”

“I mean I have to throw a thirtieth birthday party for my niece. I need more. The Jasmine Door is not cheap.”

Annoyance flashed across Wallingford’s face.“Tread carefully, Austin. Your fan club isn’t as big as you seem to think. If you do something stupid or keep pushing, all of this can be undone. This is all you’re getting. Make it work.”

Davis scoffed.“They need me. They won’t undo anything.”He snapped his fingers and Lazlo came over with the satchel. Davis tucked the large envelope of money inside.“I’m going. Let me know if there’s any change. Otherwise, I will proceed full speed ahead with my plan.”

Wallingford just nodded.

Davis stomped back to his SUV.

Wallingford watched him go and then made a call.“It’s me,”he said.“Not so good. Davis is heavy-handed. Parsons does not seem to be a fan, and I agree.”There was silence and then Wallingford said,“We’ll have to see how it goes, but if he does run, then we’re going to be stuck with him for a while. Let’s just be sure we can all live with that first.”There was more silence and then Wallingford hung up and headed back to his vehicle with his security team. Two minutes later, the park was empty once more.

“Is anyone else confused as hell?”Cash asked.“What the fuck just went down?”

“That’s a good question.”Ryker was as mystified as his teammate.

* * *

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Ryker sent Rush and the others to brief Archer and then Ryker went back to ferrying Davis around. He just couldn’t get his head clear. Archer had no explanation as to why Cal Wallingford would support Davis either. The whole thing was mind-blowing, and it was making Ryker’s head spin.

He finally left the senator’s house a little after eleven. He needed some time to unwind, and he desperately needed sleep. He got in his Porsche and headed out. Twenty minutes later he found himself in front of Vic’s apartment. He didn’t question it. He just parked his car and went up to her place.

As he knocked on her door, part of him hoped she wouldn’t be there. He knew this was a bad idea and he should go home but when the door swung open, the burst of joy that filled his chest at the sight of her drove any thoughts of leaving from his head.

“What are you doing here?”she asked as she stepped back to let him in.

“I…wanted to see how today went. I heard you spent it with Marilee planning the party. How did that go?”

She frowned at him as she flopped down on the couch and dragged a throw blanket over her legs.“Honestly, I feel bad for her. She has her heart set on being the Second Lady. I don’t think it even matters to her that my uncle hasn’t proposed yet or anything. I think she thinks it’s a foregone conclusion.”

Ryker sat down on the other end of the couch.“With any luck, it won’t happen at all so it’s a moot point.”

Vic rubbed her face.“I know that’s what you want but that’s not what she wants. And honestly, if my uncle does become VP, he’s not going to ask her anyway. She’ll serve as a de facto Second Lady but get none of the benefits because my uncle is just that much of an SOB.”

“Sorry, Vic. I know it must have been hard sitting there listening to her.”The edge of her blanket was soft where he twisted his fingers into it.

Vic shrugged.“It just brought it all home to me. This is real. My uncle wants to be VP. It’s scary as hell.”

“Yes, it is.”He knew that wasn’t helpful to hear but it was the truth. It was too late now to start pulling punches with Vic. She deserved the truth.

Vic looked as tired as he felt. He should go. They both needed rest.

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