Vernon listened for a minute.“They’re not authorized to be in this space.That’s the hangup.”
“I authorize them and the rest of our family to be in this room.”Nick’s tone offered no room for negotiation.“As of this second.”
Sam would’ve found that ridiculously sexy if she hadn’t been scared out of her mind.
Vernon pressed the button.“POTUS authorizes immediate access, over.”After a pause, he said, “They’re coming down now.”
Sam’s knees were weak and her stomach queasy as she focused on breathing.
As if he knew she needed the support, Nick put an arm around her.
She leaned into him.“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry about this.”
“It’s certainly not your fault—or theirs,” she said of their dedicated agents.“Do you know what happened?”
“Drones were spotted entering the National Capital Region’s Special Flight Rules Area, which is the restricted airspace within thirty miles of DCA.”
Sam recognized the code for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
“Unmanned aircraft, like drones, aren’t allowed within a fifteen-mile inner radius ring without FAA authorization.A dozen drones breached the inner ring and were thought to be headed for the White House.”
Sam’s mouth had gone dry as she listened to his explanation.“For what purpose?”she asked softly.
“They’re still trying to ascertain the type of drone and what the intentions were.The drones were shot down by military planes dispatched from Joint Base Andrews.A team has been sent to retrieve them so we can figure out who sent them and why.”
He hesitated, only for a second, but she saw it.
“What else?”
“That’s all I know.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“Samantha…”
“Tell me the truth.”
He sighed.“It’s being treated as a potential assassination attempt.”
Thankfully, he was standing right next to her and moved fast to grab her when her knees gave out.He moved them to chairs.“Breathe, Samantha.Everyone is okay.Whatever’s happening was thwarted.Everything worked the way it was supposed to.”
She focused on the comforting sound of his voice as she tried to force air into unreceptive lungs.Her chest felt as if it was caught in a vise that was squeezing her tighter by the second.
Someone had launched drones with the intent ofassassinatingher husband.
“Sam, talk to me.”
“Where’re the kids?”
“They’re coming now.We need to be ready for them so we don’t scare them any more than they already are.”
That did the trick to snap her out of the weird state she’d slipped into after hearing the dreaded wordassassination.She took a series of deep breaths and fought through the panic that would stay with her long after today.That someone had gone so far as to launch weapons aiming for them… It was the stuff of nightmares.
The door opened, and Scotty pushed the twins in ahead of him.
They ran for her and Nick, who caught them up in tearful hugs.
