The Last Protector(Clayton White #1)(34)

He didn’t know what he would have done if he had survived and she had not. Cold shivers ran up and down his spine, and he almost dropped his coffee mug. He put it down and opened the bottle of water, tilting it to his lips.

His phone vibrated against the scuffed wood of the table. Veronica’s number showed on the screen.

“Veronica?” he asked. “Are you all right?”

“Hey, baby. I’m okay,” she said. “Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. My phone was off. Where are you?”

Relief flooded through him. “Don’t worry about it. It’s so good to hear your voice,” he replied. “I’m still in San Francisco. And you?”

“Fort Worth,” she said. “My dad’s here too. I think that’s why they diverted the plane here. He wanted to see me.”

White knew the place well. “Until we know what’s going on, it’s the right move. You’ll be safe there.”

“Yeah, I guess,” she said. “They put me in a house on base. Half of my dad’s protective detail is here with me. They’re on four-hour shifts, I think. They’re using the guest bedroom as their break room.”

“They’ll take care of you,” White said. “They’ll even cook for you if you ask them.”

“Really?”

“No, but I would.”

He heard her laugh, which was good news. But he still worried about her.

“How are you doing, Vonnie? Really.”

He heard her take a deep breath. “I don’t know, Clay. It’s weird. I feel like I should be shaken, and I am, but not as much as I thought I would be, or should be. Does that make any sense?”

“Not everyone has the same reaction to traumatic events, especially like the one we’ve been through together,” White said. “And nobody recovers the same way either.”

“I . . . I feel fine, but my mind . . . my mind has a really hard time accepting we’ve lost so many. Every time I close my eyes, even if it’s only for a second, I . . . I see them. And I feel the weight, Clay. And it’s fucking crushing me,” she said, her voice breaking in a sob.

He hated not being with her. He felt completely powerless. He wished there was something he could do to make her feel better, but listening was all he could offer her for the time being.

“What you’ve been through tonight is way outside the range of normal human experience,” White said, remembering saying exactly the same thing to a marine he had rescued in Iraq. The young marine had been the only survivor of a helicopter crash that had killed his entire squad. “It’s normal to be confused, Vonnie.”

“I’m just . . . so damn angry.”

“Whoever did this, I swear I will do everything in my power to make them pay. I know the Secret Service and the FBI will talk to the surviving member of the assault team the minute he wakes up,” White said.

“The man I stabbed in the back?”

“Yes,” White confirmed. “He’ll talk. We’ll know the truth soon enough.”

They remained silent for a while, and then they both started to say something at the same time and laughed.

“You go ahead,” Veronica said, sniffing.

“Listen, Vonnie, I have to tell you something,” White started. “The Secret Service—”

“I already know,” she replied, cutting him off. “My dad told me. You’re suspended, aren’t you?”

White cocked his head. Veronica’s mood had suddenly flipped, sounding almost happy at this unfortunate turn of events. “You don’t seem too upset about it,” he said.

“Well, are you?”

White wasn’t mad at the Secret Service. They were within their rights to suspend him. He would have done the same if he’d been in charge. “I think we both knew this could happen,” he said.

“My dad thinks you’ll get fired, Clay.”

“I won’t fight them if it comes to that.”

“Good,” she said.

“Good? You’re serious?” White chuckled.

“You do know that if you aren’t a Secret Service special agent anymore, it means we get married sooner, right?”

Of course he knew. But until a couple of minutes ago, he hadn’t been convinced that their somewhat uncanny engagement was valid. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d decided to give him back the ring. What would they say to their friends, and even to their future children, about how their engagement went down? It would be a crazy story, and one that wouldn’t necessarily bring back joyful memories.

“I think I’ll need to speak to your dad first,” White said. “And I’d love to propose to you again, if you don’t mind. Properly this time.”

“Maybe it could be a bit more romantic too?”

“I’ll try, but no promises.”

“Deal,” Veronica said.

“Your turn. What was it you wanted to say?” White asked.

“I just wanted to put you on speaker as I grabbed my laptop. But I have it now.”

“I thought you’d want to go to bed by now,” White said.

“I already slept on the plane. I need to link up with SkyCU’s servers for a minute or two. I need to check a few things before tomorrow’s meeting.”