Out of the Box 7 - Sea Change (44 page)

I tossed around like that for hours, my insides roiling like a storm. The only real job I’d ever had, the only one I thought I was any good at, was about to be yanked out of my hands.

I stared at the ceiling like I was a kid again, feeling like I was trapped in my room, trapped in my own house … trapped in my own life, with no way to escape.

On second thought…the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Ugh, change.

President Gerry Harmon could not recall the last time Amanda Brackett had smiled before this week, but it had been a while. His Chief of Staff’s moods changed with the polls, and so naturally, she’d been sour for a bit before now.

“You’ve got your speech?” Brackett asked, the faint trace of a smile playing over her lips.

“I do,” Harmon said with a smile. He felt just as mellow now as he had while losing, but then, he’d been in a good mood for a little while before the shift in polls.

“Know it by heart?”

“I know the sentiments by heart,” Harmon said, waving a hand. “It’s mostly … let’s face it, it’s a puff speech, not a policy speech.” Those would come later.

“Mmhmm.” Brackett gave him a little of that no-nonsense frown, which was something she employed quite a bit in her capacity as Chief of Staff. “You came within a whisker’s edge. You know that, right?”

“Of losing?” Harmon looked in the mirror and straightened his bow tie. He always went with the classics, and his tux was a perfect representation of that. “It wasn’t as close as you think.”

“If not for that Nealon girl—”

“Who you wanted me to fire,” Harmon said with a satisfied smile. It wasn’t smug the way he did it, more like a polite reminder to Amanda that he wasn’t an idiot, that he had some idea of what he was doing.

“Hm,” Brackett said. “And what about Brock?” She fixed her gaze on him. “That could have been a disaster.”

“And yet it all turned out in our favor,” he said, turning away from the mirror, his bowtie straight. She didn’t think it was, he could tell, but it was.

“Because of an anonymous tip,” Brackett said. “A sudden, fortuitous anonymous tip.” She stared right at him. “And an untraceable one, as I understand it.”

“Yes,” Harmon said, nodding along, “indeed. Fortune smiles.” He arched his eyebrows and started for the door, knowing she’d hit him with it before he made it out.

“Did you tip them off?” Brackett asked.

Harmon paused before the door to the Oval Office and turned smoothly back to her. “Why, Amanda, are you asking me if I personally sent an email regarding one of our … greedier, less ethical donors, unearthing one of his less savory schemes that involved the slaughter of our constituents in order to make a whole oodle of money?” He straightened. “Why, if I had known, it was certainly my duty to inform the duly constituted authorities.”

“You are the duly constituted authorities,” she said, impassive. “It was a good play. Especially distancing yourself from him in public before it came out.”

“Buck Brock was an easy target,” Harmon said. “He was only connected to us because he wanted power and influence, and he confused money with that. A common error.”

“Still,” she said, playing it a little cool, “I’d pay folding money to know how you figured that one out.”

Gerry Harmon smiled at his Chief of Staff. “The thing about people and secrets is … everybody thinks they’ve got secrets, and nobody realizes that … nothing is secret. The world has changed in the last five years, and the biggest secret ever kept was exposed … there are gods among us. Some piker idiot with a land scheme that hinges on mass murder? That’s a petty secret. There are bigger ones still out there.” He stopped theatrically. His eyes danced; he was natural speech-giver, and loved playing to an audience.

“Yes?” Amanda Brackett was nothing if not a game audience for him. That was part of the reason he kept her on, even in spite of her dour and sour self. “What are they?”

“They don’t call them secrets for nothing, Amanda,” Harmon said. He held the door open for his Chief of Staff. “Oh, and now that we’re done with Nealon … get her out. She knows it’s coming. Preferably wait until after inauguration, just to give the press some room to forget, but before we have any more … incidents.”

Brackett nodded. “Will do, sir. How do you want it handled?”

Harmon smiled. “She called me a dick. Handle it … however you think appropriate. Use your imagination.” And with a parting smile, he left to go address his crowd, to give the speech he had in his pocket, and to celebrate his third—and final—term.

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Editorial/Literary Janitorial duties performed by Sarah Barbour and Jeffrey Bryan. Final proofing was handle by Jo Evans. Any errors you see in the text, however, are the result of me rejecting changes.

The cover was masterfully designed by Karri Klawiter.

Jennifer Ellison, who provided excellent feedback as both a first reader and an LA resident so I (hopefully) didn't make too much of an ass of myself in trying to get a feel for the locale.

As always, thanks to my parents, my kids and my wife, for helping me keep things together.

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Champion: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Three

Crusader: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Four

Sanctuary Tales, Volume One - A Short Story Collection

Thy Father's Shadow: The Sanctuary Series, Volume 4.5

Master: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Five

Fated in Darkness: The Sanctuary Series, Volume 5.5

Warlord: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Six

Heretic: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Seven* (Coming March 15, 2016!)

Legend: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Eight* (Coming June 14, 2016!)

Alone: The Girl in the Box, Book 1

Untouched: The Girl in the Box, Book 2

Soulless: The Girl in the Box, Book 3

Family: The Girl in the Box, Book 4

Omega: The Girl in the Box, Book 5

Broken: The Girl in the Box, Book 6

Enemies: The Girl in the Box, Book 7

Legacy: The Girl in the Box, Book 8

Destiny: The Girl in the Box, Book 9

Power: The Girl in the Box, Book 10

Limitless: Out of the Box, Book 1

In the Wind: Out of the Box, Book 2

Ruthless: Out of the Box, Book 3

Grounded: Out of the Box, Book 4

Tormented: Out of the Box, Book 5

Vengeful: Out of the Box, Book 6

Sea Change: Out of the Box, Book 7

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Masks: Out of the Box, Book 9* (Coming July 12, 2016!)

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Corrupted: Southern Watch, Book 3

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*Forthcoming and subject to change