near jumped out of his shoes. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and he released a shuddering breath before taking a handkerchief from his suit pocket and dabbing at his face. Either he was on the verge of a heart attack or something had him genuinely spooked. Though Harper’s journalistic Spidey sense was tingling all over the place, she couldn’t help but be a little concerned.
“Are you all right, Senator? You look like you should sit down.”
As though he expected someone else to jump out from behind a car at any second, Ellis grabbed Harper by the arm and dragged her behind his car, his back to the concrete wall. He let her go and jammed his fists into his pockets before leaning in, way too close to Harper’s face. The scent of alcohol lingered on his breath and Harper quirked a brow. Drinking on the job, eh, Senator?
“When I ran for office, I meant everything I said in my campaign.” His words were rushed, urgent. “I don’t like secrets, never have. They’re too much work. Sure, I made mistakes. So does everyone. It’s called being human. But rather than go through the trouble and backlash of covering up my imperfections, I embraced them. Voters appreciated that.” He ducked his head closer to hers, and Harper got another nasty whiff of alcohol. A few more minutes and she’d have a contact buzz. “But the truth is, no one wants to fix the system. They like things the way they are. The more broken the better. The more secrets someone keeps, the easier they are to control. I did the best I could with what I had to work with, but . . .” His voice broke, “I’m not as strong as I thought I was.”
Harper clutched the voice recorder in her palm, and tried to keep from getting too excited. She’d come here tonight, prepared to browbeat the senator into some kind of shocking confession, but here he was, confiding in her without so much as a nudge. Awesome . Sam was going to shit a solid-gold brick when she told him. “Senator Ellis, maybe we could go somewhere. Sit down and talk.”
“You look young enough to still hold onto some of your convictions,” Ellis said absently. “Wide-eyed, determined, out to make a name for yourself and change the world. Am I right?” Well, yeah. Of course she was, but this wasn’t about her. Harper opened her mouth to speak, and Ellis cut her off before she could redirect the conversation. “Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe there are too many selfish, outdated, underhanded assholes like me trying to run this country. You’re still young enough to have convictions. Mine died long before I swore my oath of office. So, you want to change the world? You want to make a point? Show everyone just how broken the machine is? I’ll give you a story that’ll make your career, Miss Allen.”
“Does this have anything to do with the OLCV?”
“Not even close,” Ellis said with a snort. “Listen to me—”
A resounding crack echoed through the parking garage like a clap of thunder. Harper jumped, but the echoing of sound was nothing compared to her shock when Ellis gripped onto the strap of her bag and pulled her down on top of him as he crumpled to the ground. The voice recorder flew from her grip, skidding to a stop several feet away, but Harper didn’t have time to worry about the damage it might have sustained. “Mobile hazard assessment. Bl—L-Lake. Swa—Lake,” he murmured in a thick, strangled voice. Mobile what? And was he trying to say Blake? Or maybe Blue Lake? What was he talking about? He sounded like he was talking through a mouthful of sludge. She looked down to find a deep red stain blossoming over his white dress shirt slowly spreading across his chest. Harper scrambled away, his fist catching on her bag, and Ellis’s arms went limp at his sides, his eyes staring blankly ahead. A last shuddering breath gurgled in his chest and a panic so intense washed over Harper that she couldn’t form a coherent thought.
“H-he-lp.” It took a
“Are you all right, Senator? You look like you should sit down.”
As though he expected someone else to jump out from behind a car at any second, Ellis grabbed Harper by the arm and dragged her behind his car, his back to the concrete wall. He let her go and jammed his fists into his pockets before leaning in, way too close to Harper’s face. The scent of alcohol lingered on his breath and Harper quirked a brow. Drinking on the job, eh, Senator?
“When I ran for office, I meant everything I said in my campaign.” His words were rushed, urgent. “I don’t like secrets, never have. They’re too much work. Sure, I made mistakes. So does everyone. It’s called being human. But rather than go through the trouble and backlash of covering up my imperfections, I embraced them. Voters appreciated that.” He ducked his head closer to hers, and Harper got another nasty whiff of alcohol. A few more minutes and she’d have a contact buzz. “But the truth is, no one wants to fix the system. They like things the way they are. The more broken the better. The more secrets someone keeps, the easier they are to control. I did the best I could with what I had to work with, but . . .” His voice broke, “I’m not as strong as I thought I was.”
Harper clutched the voice recorder in her palm, and tried to keep from getting too excited. She’d come here tonight, prepared to browbeat the senator into some kind of shocking confession, but here he was, confiding in her without so much as a nudge. Awesome . Sam was going to shit a solid-gold brick when she told him. “Senator Ellis, maybe we could go somewhere. Sit down and talk.”
“You look young enough to still hold onto some of your convictions,” Ellis said absently. “Wide-eyed, determined, out to make a name for yourself and change the world. Am I right?” Well, yeah. Of course she was, but this wasn’t about her. Harper opened her mouth to speak, and Ellis cut her off before she could redirect the conversation. “Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe there are too many selfish, outdated, underhanded assholes like me trying to run this country. You’re still young enough to have convictions. Mine died long before I swore my oath of office. So, you want to change the world? You want to make a point? Show everyone just how broken the machine is? I’ll give you a story that’ll make your career, Miss Allen.”
“Does this have anything to do with the OLCV?”
“Not even close,” Ellis said with a snort. “Listen to me—”
A resounding crack echoed through the parking garage like a clap of thunder. Harper jumped, but the echoing of sound was nothing compared to her shock when Ellis gripped onto the strap of her bag and pulled her down on top of him as he crumpled to the ground. The voice recorder flew from her grip, skidding to a stop several feet away, but Harper didn’t have time to worry about the damage it might have sustained. “Mobile hazard assessment. Bl—L-Lake. Swa—Lake,” he murmured in a thick, strangled voice. Mobile what? And was he trying to say Blake? Or maybe Blue Lake? What was he talking about? He sounded like he was talking through a mouthful of sludge. She looked down to find a deep red stain blossoming over his white dress shirt slowly spreading across his chest. Harper scrambled away, his fist catching on her bag, and Ellis’s arms went limp at his sides, his eyes staring blankly ahead. A last shuddering breath gurgled in his chest and a panic so intense washed over Harper that she couldn’t form a coherent thought.
“H-he-lp.” It took a
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