Rook (Political Royalty Book 2) by Evelyn Adams Page A

to the presidency, the higher the price became and they wouldn’t be the only ones paying it.
    The senator thanked his supporters but she slipped out before he thanked his staff. She couldn’t be standing there when his gaze searched the shadows for her.

“D ID HE JUST SAY WHAT I think he did?” Walker glanced up from the policy notes Abby gathered for him on health care to the Estevan press conference on the television.
    Simpson never managed to get any real momentum with the Evangelicals, and after Super Tuesday there had been rumblings that the money dried up. He’d suspended a few days later. Estevan’s poll numbers since Super Tuesday had been abysmal. Walker had been half expecting the crazy fuck to throw in the towel as well, but unlike Simpson, Estevan could rely on his publishing fortune to keep his campaign afloat. He also had access to free press even if it was with the gossip rags he owned instead of trusted news outlets.
    He’d been floating a new conspiracy theory almost every day, trying to make enough waves to gain some momentum. So far none of it had gotten play with anyone other than the fringe. Walker had been expecting today’s press conference to be more of the same. He’d only been half paying attention to the TV in the background but then he’d heard Estevan say something about welfare and his attention shifted.
    “Back it up, please,” he said, and Abby grabbed the remote and hurried to comply. “Haven, I need you to listen to this.”
    She turned to face him and the guarded expression on her face lanced through him. He hadn’t touched her since before Super Tuesday. With the campaign gaining more attention, Sandra had taken to spending more time on the road with him, but it was more than that. The few times when he thought they’d be able to steal a moment alone together, she managed to put distance between them.
    He understood why. He was sleeping with his wife, playing the happily married family man in her face, and there wasn’t a damn thing either of them could do about it. If he’d been in her position, he’d have lost his mind long ago. He couldn’t stand the idea of anyone else touching her, but she couldn’t avoid watching him with Sandra. It was a fucked-up situation with no good solutions except the one he wasn’t willing to consider—giving Haven up. He’d find a way to be with her again, even if it tore both of them apart.
    “Interesting tie choice,” said Justin, preceding Haven.
    He positioned himself between her and Walker, and Shep couldn’t help but wonder if it was deliberate. As if Justin realized what he wanted and took it upon himself to run interference for his boss. He couldn’t blame the other man. Shep knew exactly how dangerous this game was and how badly Haven could get hurt. He could even admire Justin’s efforts. He’d do the same thing in his place, not that Shep had any intention of letting it deter him. He could protect her from everyone but him.
    “Lavender,” said Haven and he could hear the smile in her voice without seeing her.
    “It’s a step back from his pre-campaign look.”
    Estevan had been photographed on more than one occasion wearing a purple crushed velvet suit, like he was Prince or something. A lavender tie paled in comparison. Literally.
    “It’s getting harder and harder for working families to make ends meet. Both parents have to work to survive and we’re farming out raising our children to paid workers, many of whom are here illegally, instead of the loving mothers and grandmothers who raised us,” said Estevan, pausing to hit the cameras with a stare that might be meant to look penetrating but ended up reading as slightly nuts. “Our way of life is changing—and not for the better—and our families are fracturing under the stress.”
    “Do you think the farming thing is a deliberate dig?” asked Travis, coming to stand on the other side of Shep.
    “Without a doubt,” said Haven. “He might be a nut bar,