Page 161 of Bona Fide

Okayyy…

“Sounds great,” I reply, giving her one last shake so she lets go of me. She gives Em a nod then takes off.

I never saw her again.

“That was a joke,” I reply, turning back to face her. “Some crazy woman told me—”

“It’s not,” Em quips.

I close the distance between us. “What aren’t you telling me?”

I have no clue what that means. What blue represents. Is fucking Superman going to show up if I call, or if I shine the Batlight, am I going to come in contact with the Caped Cruisader?

“Em,” I urge. “It’s you and me. It’s always been you and me. We’ve always been in this together.”

“The word is blue,” she remarks, jaw tightening as her tiny frame straightens. “It’s the word when someone needs to be terminated with no questions asked. It’s what I do.”

“It’s what you do...I don’t get it, Em.”

“I’m not who you think I am.”

I lift a brow. “I mean...your words, not mine.”

“Wade,” she seizes through flared nostrils. “This is serious.” I take a steady inhale, ready for her to continue. I have a feeling I’m not going to like this. Her seriousness is starting to wreck my nerves a tad, and she’s all I’ve got.

I can’t take anymore bullshit right now.

“I was brought in to be your assistant from a group of trained assassins and special forces called B723. We’re a secret government program that is only known by the president, the White House chief of staff, and a few elite others. I was sent in to protect you, keep you grounded, and make sure you became President of the United States.”

I gape at her then blink. Em is five-foot-nothing and weighs about a buck ten with the amount of weight she’s lost. She couldn’t kill a damn kid if she wanted to. A large gust of wind would blow her ass over then turn her into a tumbleweed.

So, her standing in front of me, telling me that she’s part of this elite force that I was vaguely “briefed” about when I swore myself into this title of president, it’s not computing.

“I’m here to protect and serve the President of the United States and keep all threats to his security and persona protected. You are my first and only priority, always have been.”

“Uh...Emmy, you’re a girl who grew up in the state of Kansas with a rottweiler and a single dad.”

“I am.”

“But you…” A mirthless chuckle breaks from my lips, which draws Em’s brows together. “You’re messing with me right now, aren’t you? You haven’t seen me laugh or something in a few days so you had to pull me in here to do your thing.”

“It’s not a thing, I promise.” She places a hand on my forearm. “I’m absolutely dead-serious. I’ve kept Demi out of your life about eight times now before she came in this last time.”

I glare at her. “What are you talking about?”

“Sit down.” I don’t, I remain standing while towering over her like she’s an ant. We don’t keep things from each other.

Actually, I do.

She never knew the full extent of Reagan until I became immobile on my couch.

Em holds her impassive expression to mine, and I concede, taking a step back to sit down.

“We almost had her killed three times,” Em starts while she begins to pace the floor in front of me. “But I didn’t want you to be a suspect. I didn’t want it to be something that loomed over your head and put the thought in the minds of Americans that you are a possible wife killer. It would’ve wiped out your ratings and fucked everything else up. So we stopped, but she wouldn’t quit trying to come back into your life. So we threatened her.”

“Who is ‘we’?”

“B723, like I said.” I grip the fabric of my pants, ready to kick this fucking coffee table over.

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