Kelsey stopped him. “Don’t forget her purse. And her shoes. Here!” She handed them off to Braden, before he and the staffer teleported out with the girl. They landed next to the Camry, located by the first staffer, as the three men placed her in the car, behind the driver’s seat. Jessica moaned as she was jostled into position and draped over the steering wheel of the car. Braden threw her shoes on the floor and left her purse in the passenger seat. They inserted the keys into the ignition. As a last step, Braden tossed in the empty wine bottles, closed the car door and hoped for the best.
“Okay, good job. Now get back to your rooms. Get packed and check out. Don’t rush. Don’t do anything to draw attention. Then get the fuck out of here.”
“You want us on the bus today, boss?”
Braden shook his head. “Don’t think so. Go home. I’ll be in touch.”
Kelsey was making a last minute inspection of the suite when Alec exited the bathroom, showered and clean shaven. He scanned the room and saw the girl was gone. Walking to his closet, he started to get dressed for the day. “See, crisis averted. No big deal.”
Kelsey glared at him. He put them all at risk with his reckless antics. She was too angry to speak. Braden reappeared in the room, grabbed the TV remote, and turned on the TV. There was no change in the coverage, still the same story of Jessica Broch as a missing person. Turning to Alec, he could barely control his anger.
“We’re done here, Alec. I mean it. I’ve had enough of this shit. First Rissa, now this? There are only so many missteps I can clean up, brother. Find yourself another campaign manager if you plan to continue with this farce.”
Alec sat down hard on the side of the bed, placing his head in his hands. “Wait.”
Braden was about to leave with Kelsey when he paused. “Wait for what? You got any other secrets I need to know about?”
Alec shook his head, defeated. “Just end it, Braden. Not today, and not in this town. I don’t want there to be any ties to the girl. Let’s go to the next rally, and I want you to announce that it’s over. Announce that I’m withdrawing from the race. Please. It is the last thing I’ll ask of you.”
Braden closed his eyes. He’d known Alec a long time, he’d helped him win his Senate seat, and he felt he owed him that much. “Okay, but that’s it. I’m done, Alec, I mean it.”
Alec answered in a whisper, “I know.”
Braden grabbed Kelsey’s hand as they turned to leave. “Get packed and check out, Alec. We need to put some distance between us and this city.”
Within an hour, all of them were gone, back on the bus, moving on to Columbus, where Braden would break the news.
***
In the dimly lit garage, Jessica Broch lifted her aching head and looked around confused. She was in a parking garage, but she wasn’t sure which one, or why. Her head was pounding, and she saw the empty wine bottles in the car. She wasn’t a heavy drinker, so it only compounded her confusion. She dug in her purse and found her cell phone. It had been turned off. She had a vague memory of turning off her phone but couldn’t remember why. Turning on the phone, she saw a lot of texts and unanswered phone calls, as well as news alerts. She tapped the news alert pop-up first and was startled to read she was the news. She scanned the missing person story and was even more confused. She remembered the rally, she remembered talking to Alec Canton, as she watched herself in the video, but she had no memory of anything after that.
Looking down at her clothes, she knew they weren’t hers. Her feet were bare, but her expensive heels were lying on the floor on the passenger side of the car. She read a few texts, all of which were some version of ‘where are you’, or ‘call me!’ She had no explanation for why she was in the car, or why she was parked here, or what happened in the last twelve hours. Did she get drunk? Was she in a bar? If that’s the case, and the whole city was looking for her, she was afraid she could lose her job. She was already on probation for showing up late.
She quickly hit dial on her phone. “Mom? It’s Jessica. I’m okay.”
103
The bus pulled into the parking lot of the arena in Columbus. Braden had sent out a notice to the press that they’d make a special announcement there, so he knew the event would have more press than usual. He’d been monitoring the situation in Dayton, where the news reported the missing reporter had been found, and it appeared she’d simply fallen asleep in her car overnight. Braden was glad the potential scandal was behind him, but still angry they’d had to deal with it in the first place. It was extremely irresponsible on Alec’s part, and Braden felt like the decision for him to exit the campaign was a sound one. He couldn’t fathom the damage it would do to the vampire community if they were all to be exposed while Alec was President. It would probably mean the end of all of them. They walked such a fine line, living in the mortal world.
He’d been writing Alec’s speech for him, and Alec had practiced it and was ready. Braden had sent the speech ahead by email to be loaded on the teleprompter, but he kept a folded paper copy in his pocket, just in case.
As they exited the bus, the press was already surrounding them, and Braden pushed them back, telling them the announcement would be made inside. Alec walked stoically through the crowd, barely acknowledging their presence. Once inside, his supporters started to clap and cheer, as he and Braden made their way to the stage. Standing behind the podium, Alec raised his hand to quiet the crowd.
“I want to thank you all for coming and for standing behind me throughout this long campaign. As you’re all aware, I lost my dear wife a few months ago. I took some time to heal, and I thought I was ready to resume this fight. But I’ve found I don’t have the drive to continue.”
He paused as he heard a collective moan from the crowd, and a few people yelled out, “We love you, Alec!”
“Thank you, sincerely. But the dream of occupying the White House was not just my dream, it was our dream, and I’m afraid I don’t have the same will to pursue it without her. For that reason, I am suspending my campaign for the President of the United States.”
As he stepped away from the podium, the press was shouting questions. “Alec, will you resume your Senate seat?” “Senator Canton, where will you go now?” “Do you think you’ll run again next election?”
He waved at the crowd, nodded, and with Braden’s help, made his way back outside the rally. As they climbed back on the bus, Braden instructed their driver to take them to the airport.
“I’m flying back to Connecticut, Alec. You’re on your own from here. The press is going to be climbing up your ass, so you might want to lay low for a while.”
At the airport, Braden booked a commercial flight home, and Alec booked a private jet. Braden told him he’d settle up the final paychecks for the paid staffers and close all the campaign headquarters in the other States and would send him a bill for his services when it was done.
Alec thanked him, and with little fanfare, turned and headed toward the private terminals. Braden shook his head before leaving to catch his own flight. As Alec was walking to the terminal, he was mentally calculating how long it would take him to get back to D.C., and knew when he did, there would be a throng of press coverage to greet him. In an instant, he made his decision. “Fuck it.”