A lot. Then again, his whole life had been fucked up. His parents had hollowed him out as a kid and refilled him with ambition. He’d married Joy to further his singular goal. Then someone had used that very drive against him.
What would Zack Hayes have been like if he’d been allowed to be his own man? Would he have been able to trust her? Would he ever truly be able to trust her if she stayed?
Was she willing to walk away from him and never even try? Or would she regret it for the rest of her life?
Liz dragged in a deep breath. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. “Zack, you have to pick me over Roman.”
Something like hope lit his eyes and he cupped her shoulders. “Absolutely. Roman is my brother. He always has been and he always will be. But…”
“But what?” She pushed him a little more. After what she’d been through, she needed reassurance. She deserved it. “What if I asked you to fire him?”
“Then you wouldn’t be my Elizabeth,” he shot back, a ghost of a smile on his face. “I was always good at tests, my love. You are the kindest, most forgiving woman I’ve ever met, and you would never ask that of me. Here is what you will ask—and you should. You need to be more important than any of my friendships. You have to be my first, best partner. You have to be the one I come to, the one I face everything with.”
Yes, he was very good at tests. He’d certainly managed to come up with the right answer. “I’ll never come between you and Roman or any of the others. Not willingly. I know the Perfect Gentlemen are only looking out for your best interests, but you have to believe that’s what I’ve always done, too.”
“You’re right. So right. Please forgive me. I don’t want to waste another moment. I want to start our lives. I’ve fucked everything up—first because I was trying to protect you and then because I was protecting myself. None of it worked. I should have done the most natural thing of all, simply love and trust you. Nothing in my life works without you, Elizabeth. Marry me.”
She smiled and cuddled against his chest. “All right.”
“Just like that?” He pulled away just enough to search her eyes.
Life was as easy or as hard as she chose to make it. That was something her mama had been fond of saying. Perhaps if they hadn’t been in such a perilous position recently, if someone hadn’t already tried to kill him today, she might have held on to her anger for a while longer. Maybe she would have even been able to cling to it long enough to choose her pride over love and walk away from him. But this man was half her soul, and denying that was futile. She couldn’t not love him.
Besides, if he’d truly never learned how to love, shouldn’t she be setting the example and teaching him so they could have an amazing life together?
“Just like that,” she replied, caressing the face she adored.
He was alive, hopefully the worst was behind them, and now they could get through anything together.
“But this mess isn’t completely over,” he warned. “I still might be Russian born, so if I have to step down…”
“Then I’ll be by your side.” She would never leave him.
“I’ll do everything I can to protect you—everything except give you up. That I can’t do, ever.” He kissed her, his arms winding around her, giving her the physical affirmation of his words.
Relief filled her. They still had things to work through, but Liz knew this was the moment she would look back on and think here was where her life had truly begun.
With a warm smile, Zack picked her up like she weighed nothing and carried her out of the room.
Roman hovered near the door, looking grim. His eyes widened as he saw Zack emerge with Liz in his arms. “Where are you going? We’re still rounding up people we need to question, and the press is going to need a statement about the assassination attempt. You can’t just carry Liz through the White House in the middle of a crisis.”
“I can,” Zack vowed. “I am the motherfucking president and she’s just agreed to be your First Lady, so we’re going to celebrate alone for a few minutes. Handle shit, Roman.”
“Congrats. What do you want me to do with the dead guy?”
“Get a shovel, buddy. Or better yet, call the police and tell them everything. Come hell or high water, we’re making every single one of those bastards pay.”
At Roman’s shocked expression, she cuddled closer to Zack and smiled. He was quickly learning to put her first.
Mad gave her a thumbs-up.
“Where are you taking me, Mr. President?” she asked, not really caring. As long as they were together, she was perfectly happy.
“Home,” he said.
It sounded like the perfect place to start their future.
* * * *
Smiling from ear to ear, Mad watched Zack walk off into the sunset. Well, he was really heading to the bedroom, since he couldn’t go anywhere right now. And in this version of Zack striding off into their happily ever after, they wouldn’t get much quality time before duty called. And Thomas and a second Secret Service agent trailed them while they ignored the mountain of reporters outside the gates of the White House.
Damn, Mad had never been happier not to wield Zack’s kind of power.
“I didn’t mean to hurt Liz,” Roman called to their retreating forms. “Sorry.”
Zack didn’t reply.
“He’ll forgive you eventually. So will Liz,” Mad promised. “Hell, if she could forgive him, then she’ll come around. Though you should expect a serious talking to from Gus.”
Roman grimaced. “Maybe Liz doesn’t have to mention this to her. It would make everything so much easier if my blushing bride-to-be never knew about the interrogation.”
“I don’t think Liz is that forgiving.” He was pretty sure Roman would be paying for a long time.
“What are we supposed to do about the body?” Roman nodded toward the second interrogation room that still held Paul Harding’s corpse.
“Can I have it?” Freddy asked, sounding far too excited.
Mad shook his damn head. “No, you cannot have it. The man’s corpse is not a toy.”
“Well, if I don’t take him the Agency will,” Freddy pointed out.
“What the hell would you do with a dead body?” Roman asked.
“Study it, of course.” Freddy shrugged like the answer was completely obvious. “He’s been exposed to a new type of poison. I know some people who would love to isolate it so we can start coming up with antidotes. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a way around this poison before the Russians really started unleashing it? I mean, we have to do it anyway. Public safety and all. You would be surprised how often someone mistakes their coffee creamer just lying around for a neurotoxin.”
“You live in a strange world, my friend.” A world Maddox Crawford was saying good-bye to. As soon as the rest of the conspirators had been dragged under an international spotlight, he was going home to New York with his wife and their baby and he was going to be the most boring dad in the world. He was already hoarding bad-dad jokes to use on his daughter. He wanted a normal, hum-drum, fabulous life where no one ever tried to murder him again. “I say we let Connor decide while Zack is…fixing things with the new First Lady.”
Roman pulled his cell phone out. “I’ll give him a call now.”