“I’m not sure we have a position for an ex–security guard.”

“Find one. I’m a multitalented guy, Vic—but I don’t need to tell you that. The fact is, I wasn’t really hired because of my security guard skills, now was I? At least that wasn’t the only reason.”

Victoria stared at him for a long time before she spoke again. “All right—I’ll see what I can do. You’ll have to go through the same personnel process as everyone else; we’ll need a financial disclosure form from you, and the FBI will have to run a background check.”

“Sure. Whatever you say.”

“One more thing, Chris. You’re right, I didn’t hire you because of your ‘security guard skills’—I hired you because you’re pretty, and I like pretty things. But times have changed; I’ve changed. I’ve got a future now, and you’re just a part of my past—a part I’d like to forget. I’ll find you a job, but it won’t be like your old one—that job is gone forever. Am I making myself clear?”

“Too bad,” Riddick said. “I really enjoyed that job.”

“Never mention it again—I mean it, Chris. Now get out.”

Riddick slapped the arms of his chair and stood; Victoria returned to her desk without looking back. He shut the office door quietly behind him and stepped out into the foyer.

It worked—he had a job now—but Riddick was not a fool, and he knew exactly what would happen next. Few men knew Victoria Braden better than he did—maybe no one did, including her husband. No doubt about it, she was one of the world’s most beautiful women—but inside that pretty head was a set of microprocessors ticking off zeros and ones, estimating angles and calculating odds. Of course she had offered him a job—it was a simple matter of “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” She would keep him securely within the Braden family until the election—but the day after the election he would find his suitcase out on the sidewalk and there would be no retirement party. And sure, he could tell his story to the press about his steamy affair with the new First Lady in her younger days—and he would just sound like a thousand other disgruntled ex-employees trying to settle a score or make a buck. Yes, he had a job—but not for long. He had bought himself four extra months, nothing more. Worst of all, he had made an enemy out of Victoria Braden— and that was a dangerous thing to do.

But Riddick had learned a lot from Victoria in the last three years, and he was calculating a few odds of his own. In four months his threat would lose all power. He needed something else, something more—and he needed it soon.

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