Rook (Political Royalty Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

was in a pretty serious relationship. At least that was the talk on the bus, for what it was worth. Mat had never gotten an inkling that the guy swung both ways or that he was anything other than happily committed to the dude waiting at home for him. Campaign buses were tight quarters. He’d have known if the aide was getting something on the side and regardless of his predilection, the pregnant woman would be a supremely odd choice.
    He’d held the woman’s arm like it was something unpleasant. Combined with his demeanor, it made it unlikely she was a sister or even a friend. Which brought up the original question. What was Senator Walker’s campaign aide doing in an expensive hotel with a pregnant chick?
    He hated the direction the story took him. His editor would go nuts. She had a hard-on for catching Walker in a sex scandal, but Matt didn’t have the stomach for it. Given his own loose sexual mores, the last thing he wanted to do was bring the hammer down on a fellow indulger. People got so twisted up about sex. It didn’t matter if they all did it; if a politician got caught, the public lost its collective shit.
    Of course, Walker was married. That put a different spin on things, especially if the pregnant woman was his mistress and the baby in her belly his bastard. The family values voters loved that in their chosen ones. Walker was already struggling against Collins. He’d win South Carolina, but that was a gimme. If he couldn’t pull together Nevada, any momentum he had would be gone and Super Tuesday would likely be a bloodbath. An illegitimate love child would put a fistful of nails in his coffin.
    It would also mean Matt’s easy gig would be gone and he’d be back to beating the bushes looking for news along with all the other poor bastards. He might get a brief bump from being the one to break the story, but it wouldn’t have coattails long enough for him to ride anywhere. And there wouldn’t be a book deal and morning talk show appearances in his future.
    Jess would go nuts for a lead like this. Of course, the only way she’d find out about it was if she read it in his article. An article he still wasn’t sure he wanted to write. Honestly, what did he really have? A blurry picture of someone from the Walker campaign with an unidentified pregnant woman. There were still a lot of dots to connect before he had anything resembling a story he could print. He’d just about convinced himself he was making something out of nothing and he could get out of the damn closet when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. He ducked back just in time to see the senator and his campaign manager heading for the elevator like they were trying to outrun something. She wasn’t looking at him and Matt could feel the arctic blast from his hiding place.
    Fuck . Someone needed to start a remedial course for politicians on those safe sex and abstinence programs they were always pushing. It was like none of them had a clue how to use a condom. Put a fucking raincoat on it, man. They were all stupid enough or arrogant enough to think they wouldn’t get caught. Matt clenched his jaw and watched the doors slide closed behind the senator and the campaign manager who couldn’t even look at him. He was mad at himself for needing the story and even angrier at Walker for getting caught.
    Shaking his head, he closed the closet door behind him and headed for the stairs. On the off chance they were still in the lobby, he didn’t want them to see him. The exercise wouldn’t hurt either. Matt could sit on the story for now. If Walker won Nevada and it looked like he still had a chance, he didn’t have to dig any further. If he lost, Matt could kick him while he was down and make the best of it.
    ––––––––
    “H E WAS TELLING the truth,” said Justin, following Haven out of the small auditorium they’d been using for debate prep.
    Walker was still inside with Abby and Travis, going over the questions she’d put