“Goddamn it. Seriously?”

“It’s fine. Let’s get busy. I need some freaking threads to pull, and I need them now.”

Gonzo gave her a big chunk of pages and a highlighter while he took another chunk and saved a third stack for Freddie, who joined them ten minutes later.

“Report submitted.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

It made her feel better to know someone was checking her work since the dyslexia made her insecure about anything written. “Was it okay?”

“A perfect description of an asshole who belongs in jail.”

Sam hoped the incident would finally get Ramsey out of her life once and for all.

Nick arrived at the reception area outside the Oval Office to find Terry, Derek, Christina and Trevor waiting for him. “What brings out the brain trust?” he asked as they followed him into the most famous office in the world.

“A little thing called GoFundMe,” Terry said.

Nick turned to face them. “What about it?”

“The press is going wild over you promoting the fundraiser for your sister-in-law,” Terry said.

“How so?”

“Abuse of power, ethical lapses and other such things,” Trevor said.

“Okay,” Nick replied as he sat behind his desk.

“Just okay?” Terry asked.

“I used my personal accounts.”

“Mr. President, this could blow up into a big deal and a big distraction,” Terry said.

“That’s fine. She needs the money.”

“It’s up to four million dollars, Mr. President,” Derek said.

“We think you need to end the fundraiser and issue a statement thanking everyone who generously donated,” Christina said.

Nick thought about that for a second before reaching for the BlackBerry he used to communicate with Sam, making a call to her.

“Hi there,” she said. “Didn’t I just see you?”

“You did, but I’m here with Terry, Derek, Christina and Trevor who think we need to take down the fundraiser. It’s hit four million, and there’s some pushback from the press about me promoting it. We’re thinking we should take it down, thank everyone and hope the controversy goes away.”

“I’ll tell Freddie to take it down with a note of thanks from Angela and her family.”

“Can he do it now?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, babe.”

“Four million, though. Wow.”

“I know. It’s amazing. Angela will be astounded. I’ve got to run. Have a great day.”

“You, too. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Nick ended the call. “They’re taking it down with a note of thanks from Angela and her family.”

“When?” Derek asked, checking his phone. “It’s up to four point five million.”

“Sam said she’d ask Freddie to do it now.”

They waited in silence until Derek said, “It’s been paused, and the note added.” He sounded relieved.

“Hopefully, that’ll get people off our backs,” Terry said.

“They’re always going to be on our backs about something,” Nick said. “We can’t overreact every time they come for us. I did what I did, and I’d do it again to help my family. The media can’t have it both ways—a days-long feeding frenzy over my brother-in-law’s death and then outrage when we try to help his widow and children.”