'All of them.'
'All of them?'
Jim Bob pondered on that for a moment then looked back up at Bode.
'They're gonna come after you.'
'They're all married by now.'
'Not the cheerleaders-the liberal media. They're playing Indiana Jones, digging all over Texas trying to find some dirt on you. They find out you're screwing a twenty-seven-year-old gal, they'll crucify you. All this-'
He gestured at the stack of magazines and newspapers with Bode's image on the covers and front pages now piled high on the corner of his desk.
— 'ends. You won't be the wave-the wave'll be drowning you. You went from nobody to somebody in twenty-four hours. You can go back to nobody just as fast.'
'No more sex. That'll really disappoint Mandy.'
'Don't give yourself too much credit, cowboy.'
'The entire varsity cheerleading squad, Jim Bob. When I was fifteen.'
The thought of those sexual encounters made him feel guilty. Sinful. He was a religious man now. A man who could rise above desires of the flesh. Perhaps being celibate for a few years would be a good thing. Allow him to focus his mind on spiritual matters. Put his energy to work for God.
Still, he hated to see his year's supply of Viagra go to waste.
She had been seventeen and a virgin when she had first had sex with Bode Bonner. It had been a sweaty affair on a summer night in the front seat of his pickup truck. She prayed for forgiveness the next morning at Mass, but she did not stop having sex with Bode, not for twenty-five years, until he vetoed the CHIPS funding two years ago. The Children's Health Insurance Program. He knew how much that program meant to her, but he chose Jim Bob's opinion over hers, his political advice over her pleading for the children. Because of her husband, hundreds of thousands of poor children in Texas were thrown off the health insurance rolls.
How could she share a bed with a man who could do that to children?
She began sleeping on the day bed. She wished she hadn't. Once she had left their bed, she didn't know how to go back; once he had taken up with Mandy, she couldn't go back. Without their bedtime conversations when she had unimpeded access to his conscience, his transformation from a good man to a successful politician accelerated. She no longer recognized her husband. He had become a stranger to her. She couldn't have sex with a stranger, even if she were married to him.
But she missed sex.
She had never had sex with another man. On a few occasions, she had wondered what it would be like, if it would be better or worse or just different, but Lindsay Bonner had never been tempted to stray.
Until now.
TWO MONTHS BEFORE
TWENTY-EIGHT
'He's not gay. The Mexican doctor.'
Jim Bob raised his eyes to Eddie Jones standing in the doorway holding a large envelope.
'How do you know?'
'He's got a woman. A married woman. Nice looking broad.'
'How do you know she's married?'
'Wedding ring.'
Jim Bob gestured at the envelope.
'You got photos?'
Eddie stepped forward and dropped the envelope on the desk. Jim Bob opened the clasp and removed a stack of photos. He stared at the images a long moment. He blinked hard then stared again. They were photos of the doctor and a redheaded woman; they were drinking wine, holding hands, and dancing in each other's arms. A man and a woman who looked very much in love.
'Shit.'
'What's wrong?'
'She's working for Jesse Rincon.'
'Who?'
'You don't recognize this woman?'
'No.'
'That's the governor's wife.'
'You're kidding?'
'Do I look like I'm kidding?'
'You look like you're passing a kidney stone.'
'I might be.'
'The boss's wife, she ain't been around much since I hired on.'
'She's been down on the border.'
'Those unforeseen, unexpected, unpleasant things are starting to pile up, Professor. Figure I'm gonna start earning my pay pretty soon. Where's the boss?'
'At the Capitol, for his press conference.'
On the fifth day of July, the governor of Texas stood alone in his office on the first floor of the State Capitol. He never actually worked there; it was just a convenient place to meet legislators and lobbyists and give interviews to the press. The national press. They had all journeyed to Austin, Texas, to meet Bode Bonner, American hero. The man who would be president.
One big play.
A game changer.
And it had changed his game. Three months before, he couldn't pay the press to attend his weekly press conferences. Now his office had to issue credentials, so many media outlets wanted in on the action. No less than one hundred reporters and two dozen cameras awaited him in the press room. He was the most popular, most admired, most handsome, and most followed man in America. His favorable rating exceeded ninety percent and his negative was less than five percent. The world was waiting for him to announce his run for the presidency. He was waiting for the best moment to announce. But announce he would. His Super PAC now held pledges totaling $750 million. The Professor was hiring a campaign staff.
President William Bode Bonner.
Three months before, he wore Armani suits and French-cuffed shirts. Today, he wore what had become his trademark attire: buttoned-down, long-sleeved, starched shirts-white, blue, yellow, green, ecru, and even pink on Breast Cancer Awareness Day-jeans, always creased to perfection, a black silver-tipped cowboy belt, and black handmade cowboy boots.
No hair spray.
Two months before, three Mexican sicarios had attempted to assassinate him. No second attempt had come. El Diablo had apparently given up on killing the governor of Texas. Of course, he now traveled with a half dozen Texas Ranger bodyguards. Mandy still served as his aide, but not as his mistress. He had expected tears when he broke the news that Jim Bob had ended their affair, but she had only said, 'We can wait.' He wanted to ask, 'For what?', but she had already exited his office. Becca still slept in the Mansion, but she had returned to volleyball practice at UT. And the governor's wife had returned to the border. She had been gone forty-six days.
'Governor, we're ready.'
A young man stood where Mandy should be standing.
'Where's Mandy?'
The man shrugged. 'I don't know, sir.'
'Jim Bob here?'
