Page 166 of GAF Factor

“Or,” I said, really fucking dragging out the word. “You could just stop them from coming over and buy me some fucking time. You know, text me and let me know someone’s there.”

He frowned. “Well, I guess I could do that.”

I slapped him on the shoulder and walked past him, crossing the street to the bar. Ten minutes later, I was in a booth, waiting for the senator. I was beginning to think he wasn’t going to show when he finally slid into the booth across from me.

His obvious distaste for the place was clear as soon as he looked at the table, refusing to put his hands anywhere near it. I took the second beer I ordered and slid it across to him, though I was pretty sure he wouldn’t drink it.

“Why did you ask me to meet you here?”

“Why didn’t you want to discuss things in your office?” I shot back. “Who do you think is spying on you?”

His eyes wandered around the bar nervously before returning to me. “I told you it wasn’t safe to pursue the people behind The Syndicate,” he hissed, leaning forward, forgetting about his disgust for the table. “I told you I needed protection.”

“Worried already?” I smirked. “Who did you piss off now?”

He leaned back, wiping a hand over his mouth nervously. He was serious. I’d never seen him so riled up before.

“Who are they?”

“You don’t get it,” he shook his head. “I’ve suspected since you walked out the door that they were onto me. And then—things started happening. Things I couldn’t explain. Storiesended up in the news that could only come from inside my campaign. From my most trusted advisors.”

“Maybe they leaked?—”

“No,” he snapped. “They had nothing to gain and everything to lose by leaking that intel. This was someone else.”

“Okay, so someone running against you. Someone who wants to discredit you. That’s not uncommon.”

He huffed out a laugh. “You don’t get it, son. It’s too early in the campaign. Hardly anyone’s in the race yet. This isn’t someone trying to take me out politically. This is a threat of something more.”

I could tell he really believed that. The fear in his eyes was unmistakable. But then why hadn’t he kicked up security? Why was he wandering around at night without any protection? What about Mom?

“If you really believe that, then you need to tell me.”

“They’ll kill me,” he said vehemently. “Your mother?—”

“Will be protected.”

“No one is safe when it comes to them. There is nowhere you can run. Nowhere you can hide.”

“If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for Spencer.”

His gaze snapped to mine and something like betrayal slashed across his face. “How dare you bring him up.”

“Really? How dare I? He’s your son. Don’t you think he would want to know you did something right? That not everything about our lives was a fucking lie? That’s what this is,” I said, waving my hand around. “This whole world you’ve created is one gigantic lie. The only thing that has ever been real is when I’m at OPS working with my real family. Those are the people who truly care about me. And I know it’s real because bullets fly past my head and people die. There’s no changing the headlines to make things better or burying the truth. Whatever happens, I have to live with that. So, I’m asking you for once inyour goddamn life to live in that with me. Take a fucking stand and be the man I thought you were when I was a kid. Show me something that resembles anything other than the dirtbag I see in the campaign ads. Otherwise, we’re done. It’s over. Because I can’t live one more fucking minute as the son of a slimy, two-faced senator.”

He flinched slightly at my words. It was the first time in my life I had ever seen any reaction from him in which my words affected him. I stared at him, hoping he would open his mouth and say something. Anything. But then he looked down and I knew the illusion was broken.

“Son—”

“Don’t.”

I started to get up, but he grabbed my hand and held tight. His eyes bore into mine with an intensity I had never seen before. “Shadow?—”

He never got to finish what he was saying. A sharp noise cut through the air and then his eyes went dead. The grip on my hand slowly loosened and then he was falling sideways, slipping out of the booth. I watched it happen in slow motion, not even sure what was happening until I saw the blood spray on the floor.

I leapt out of the booth, falling to my knees, just barely catching him before he hit the ground. “Down! Everybody down!” I shouted. “Shooter outside!”

Screaming erupted around us, chaos unfolded and I heard FNG working in the background to control the situation. I finally looked down at the senator’s face—or what was left of it. The right side of his head was missing—blown off from the sniper shot. I looked up at the window, seeing the small hole piercing the window. Whoever was out there was long gone.

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