Page 162 of Bona Fide

If this is a joke, I’m going to put her on a plane right the fuck now because Em has more issues than I thought she did.

Everything she is stating is fucking ludacris. But this Demi coming back eight times thing, I’m here for that.

“Threatened her with what?” I press. “She cares about nothing but herself.”

“Exactly. I have the DNA results of her son, Daxton, to confirm he is your father’s along with the birth certificate. We obviously know you’re not the father.”

“But she’s here...right now,” I assert. “Why?”

“Because if you won the Democratic delegate, which you would because we’d make it happen, then—” I shoot up from the couch.

“Wait, what?!” Em stops pacing and aligns herself straight towards me. Lacing her fingers together, she drops them in front of her.

“You were the best candidate. Your competitors were as corrupt as the day is long. Johnson McGregg was into child pornography. Lee Robinton helps fund a meth lab in Arizona because he watched Breaking Bad and thought it’d be a good idea, I guess. Janice Walters...well, she was just a cunt.”

“Em…”

“Then there was my favorite, Tom Vincent. He beat his wife and liked to hold a gun to her head when he was upset about something. Once, he pointed it at his three-year-old daughter because she had an accident and he didn’t want to deal with the mess.”

“He’s dead,” I convey through knitted brows. She blinks. “Em.”

She shrugs nonchalantly. “I didn’t do it.”

“What the fuck is going on right now?”

“A plan,” she replies softly. “One that would rid you of Demi and the hold she has on you. All the secrets and manipulation, you were the best candidate to run the country.”

“I’m the biggest asshole that ran for—”

“So we shouldn’t be afraid of North Korea trying to bomb us then.” I shake my head and take a step back.

I need some air.

I think...was I poisoned? Am I imagining this whole shit up?

“No,” Em states. “You’re not.” My eyes flick back to her, realizing that I spoke out loud.

“Why—” I bring my fingers to the bridge of my nose. “—why would you do this?”

“Because...you were the best fit. Demi is baggage. There was a vote to bring her back in to keep it as normal as possible. Then when she was killed, you’d be liberated.”

“So, this whole time...you knew she was going to come back?”

You didn’t tell me, and I lost Reagan over it.

“Yes.” She lifts her chin, however, I still see the regret in her eyes. “But not without a cost. I was going to kill her after your first year of the presidency.”

“Do you know what you’re saying right now?”

“Absolutely. I volunteered for it.”

“Have you ever...have you ever killed someone before?”

“Yes.” I snap out of my zombie-like state and into her space, my hand gripping her biceps.

“Stop it, Em,” I chide, giving her a small shake. “You won’t kill a spider in your office, let alone a person.”

“People are evil, spiders are creatures.”