“How so?” he asked warily. The topic of his mother always had that effect on him.

“It seems she’s running some sort of high-end escort service in Ohio for the over-sixty crowd.”

His face went flat with shock. “What?”

“Avery said they don’t have all the info yet, but it’s not looking good for her, and he thought I ought to let you know before the shit hits the fan in the form of a possible indictment.”

Nick exhaled and sat back against the sofa. “This is just great. My mother is going to be indicted on prostitution charges—by my Justice Department.”

“I’m sorry. I never expected anything like that when I asked Avery to investigate her.”

The look he gave her was one she’d never seen directed her way before—pure fury. “What did you expect when you asked the FBI to investigate my mother without telling me?”

Sam was so surprised by his outrage that she was speechless for a full minute. “You… You weren’t president then, and—”

“I was vice president, which would still make it a huge story. Jesus, Sam. What the fuck were you thinking?”

For the first time in their otherwise blissful relationship, she was afraid she’d gone too far. “I wanted her out of your life so she couldn’t hurt you anymore.”

“Which I totally understand, but do you have any idea what a massive scandal this will be?”

“I’ll ask Avery to drop it.”

“They’ve uncovered a crime and taken it to a grand jury. It’s too late to drop it.” Nick got up and went to use the phone. “I need to see you. Yes, right now. Thank you.”

“Who was that?”

“Terry. We need to figure out how we’re going to get in front of this, so it doesn’t derail our entire agenda.”

“I’m sorry, Nick. I should’ve told you about this when I did it.”

“Yes, you absolutely should have.”

“I thought you’d be glad to hear that she’d done something that would get her out of our lives once and for all.”

“Well, I’m not. I know your intentions were good, but this will be a shitstorm of epic proportions—and right when I’ve finally convinced the country that I can handle the job I wasn’t elected to do.”

Sam swallowed around the lump of fear in her throat. He’d never been this angry with her, and she’d given him lots of reason to be before now.

He headed for the door. “I’ve got to go meet Terry and figure out a plan to deal with this.”

“Nick, wait. Don’t leave like this.”

For the first time ever, he walked away from her and slammed the door on the way out.

Sam’s entire body trembled with anxiety and another thing she’d never experienced when it came to him and their relationship—fear.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Nick went downstairs and headed for the West Wing in a rage of disbelief directed at both his wife and his mother. How could Sam have done something like that and not even told him about it? What the hell was she thinking sending the FBI after his mother? Talk about crossing the lines of personal and professional with Avery Hill.