Commander (Politics of Love) Read online

  Commander

  Politics of Love

  Sienna Snow

  Contents

  Books by Sienna Snow

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Celebrity

  About the Author

  Copyright Page

  Copyright © 2018 by Sienna Snow

  Published by Sienna Snow

  All rights reserved.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Cover Design: Pink Ink Designs

  Editor: Jennifer Haymore

  www.siennasnow.com

  ISBN - eBook - 978-1-948756-04-4

  ISBN - Print - 978-1-948756-05-1

  Created with Vellum

  Books by Sienna Snow

  Rules of Engagement

  Rule Breaker

  Rule Master

  Rule Changer

  Politics of Love

  Celebrity

  Senator

  Commander

  Club Chaos

  Chaos Renewed (2019)

  Chaos Found (2019)

  Chaos Cherished (2019)

  Chapter One

  Fifteen years ago

  “What do you mean it’s over?” The devastation on Ashur Kumar’s face ripped my heart to shreds.

  He stood against the shadow of the setting sun in Houston’s Memorial Park. The trees protected us from the sweltering August heat, but my body shook as if chilled to the bone.

  Wrapping my arms around myself, I continued with the words that would damn me for the rest of my life. The words that would irrevocably break two hearts forever.

  “Exactly what I said. You had to know this wouldn’t last beyond the summer. I leave for Boston in a matter of days. You are going to take over your father’s company. Long-distance relationships are destined to fail.”

  My throat burned as if were coated with acid.

  If only I could tell him the truth. But if Ashur got one inkling that his father, Minesh Kumar, was forcing me to leave him, I wouldn’t have a future. My family wouldn’t have a future. And no matter how much I loved Ashur, I couldn’t sacrifice my parents. They were good people who worked hard but hadn’t been born with a silver spoon.

  Men with money and power held all the cards, and those of us without means had no choice but to follow along or get demolished. It had no bearing that I had scholarships for academic success. A few choice words from a wealthy donor and all my future ambitions would disappear.

  I wiped the tears streaming down my cheeks.

  “So, in other words, you used me. Just like Papa said you’d use me.”

  What? That bastard had told Ashur this. I should have known something was up when I’d felt Ashur pulling away from me.

  How could he believe I’d do that?

  “No. It’s nothing like what he said.”

  “Bullshit,” he snapped. “Then why are you doing this?”

  “Ashu, I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

  “Did you ever love me, or was everything you ever said a lie?”

  “I never lied to you.” I wrung my hands together.

  “You found someone else. Admit it and make it easier on us.”

  How could he believe there was anyone else in my life? He was the one and only man I’d ever loved or would ever love.

  I shook my head. “No, it has nothing to do with anyone, but…”

  “Papa says he has proof. I refused to see it, but now I wonder.”

  Proof? What proof?

  When I wasn’t working as a clerk at a local pharmacy, I was taking core curriculum classes at the local university so I could save on tuition when I went to Harvard. When the hell would I have had time to cheat on Ashur?

  God, I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t lie to him this way. I had to tell him the truth.

  There had to be a way to figure out how to make it through the fallout.

  Dad had told me he didn’t care about the job, that he and Mom would survive without the high-salaried position. He’d said they’d move anywhere, as long as no one interfered with my dreams.

  I’d been so scared about the future that I hadn’t doubted that Minesh Kumar would do something to jeopardize my enrollment at Harvard.

  You are such an idiot, Tara. You walked right into his web.

  “Ashu, please listen to me.”

  “The person I should have listened to was Papa.”

  “No, that’s not true. It’s all a lie. I don’t want to do this.” I clenched my fists, not knowing how to fix this.

  “Do what? Make me feel like I mattered? Make me believe it was about me and not my money? I’m done.”

  “Please,” I begged. “Look past the facade he’s created. He isn’t the man you think he is. He told me if—”

  “Go, Tara.” Ashur cut me off. “I hope the new fish you’ve found makes you happy.”

  “Please let me explain.” I grabbed his arm, but he shook me off.

  “I don’t want to hear another word,” he bit out. “I would have given you the world. You were my everything. Damn you. I’ll never forgive you for this.”

  He turned, leaving me at the edge of the park.

  I closed my eyes and slid to the ground, trying to hold in pain like I’d never felt before.

  Present Day

  “You have your instructions. After this last mission, I am no longer in charge of Solon-North America,” I said to the men and women around the conference table.

  I’d led this group of agents for the past five years, and to them my word was law. Soon, they’d take directions from someone else, a person just as capable, if not more. But for me, it meant my life was forever changed.

  No going back now, Tara. You knew what you were getting into. Now you have to live with it.

  “Will you be returning to your role or is this a permanent leave?”

  I expected this question, and I wasn’t sure how to answer it. Should I give the politically correct response a woman in my situation would relay by saying I was permanently retired, or give them the one that they expected, knowing the type of person I was?

  “My future role is one that will have many restrictions, limiting my usefulness in any capacity for the time being.”

  I knew my response wasn’t satisfying to anyone, but it was the only one I could give. I couldn’t predict what the future held for me or what I would be able to do once I left Washington. But for the next I-didn’t-know-how-many years, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. was my home, and my life would be
in the public eye. As if it wasn’t already. But if it meant I could save countless lives, so be it.

  A beep from my smartwatch sounded, telling me my security detail would be arriving any moment and to wrap up the meeting.

  “Thank you, everyone. It has been a pleasure working with all of you.”

  With those last words, the room emptied with the exception of one person, Tyler Camden. He was the current Secretary of State and the new director of Solon, a secret organization focused on stopping human trafficking throughout the world.

  He leaned against a wall while watching me.

  Ignoring him, I walked over to the third-story windows of my building and stared out at the unobstructed view of the White House.

  The countdown to the moment that would seal the course of the rest of my life was now in its final stage, and I had less than seventy-two hours of freedom left. After which, my existence would become even more confined than it had been for the last year and a half.

  “Commander Zain. Are you sure you want to do this? It isn’t too late to back out of the wedding.”

  I turned from the view and glared at Tyler.

  “What? Did I say something wrong, Commander?”

  Tyler and I had developed a friendship as young college graduates recruited into Solon while going through our initial training in the organization. Later we’d worked as partners in various assignments before parting ways and pursuing vastly different public careers. He’d gone the way of politics as any conservative third-generation Louisiana politician would go, and I’d gone the route of human rights attorney, taking on every controversial case that brought light to the plague of so many people in the world.

  His blondish brown hair was a bit messy, and the sleeves of his button-down shirt were rolled up to the elbow. He looked like an ad for some expensive menswear catalog. Tyler was one of the most handsome men I had ever met, second only to the one I’d wed in a matter of days. Aside from his looks, Tyler possessed an uncanny intellect that allowed him to move between the worlds of the polite elite and underground societies.

  “That isn’t funny, Mr. Secretary,” I responded. “I thought you’d leave with the team.”

  Tyler smirked as he came around the table to stand next to me. He enjoyed reminding me daily that I could change my mind about stepping down. As far as he knew, I had never been the marrying type, and whatever my fiancé was offering me to marry him wasn’t worth it. Tyler wanted me to marry for love.

  What Tyler couldn’t understand was that I’d loved once before and I’d never risk my heart again. And the best way to prevent another heartbreak was to marry the very man who’d shattered my belief in fairy tales and happily ever after.

  “But Commander, the troops will never be the same without you.”

  “Stop saying that or I’ll punch you,” I growled. “You know how much I hate that title?”

  I was never going to live down the name a combatant had given me during a contentious negotiation. The man had tried his hardest to intimidate me, thinking that pointing a gun in my face would scare me into complying with his demands.

  Well, it had scared me, but I’d trained myself not to react. After all, I had a habit of walking into situations that had a potential to cause an international incident.

  When I’d calmly informed the man that his compound was surrounded by my army of hired guns who wouldn’t hesitate to protect me, he laughed and said I was a worthy opponent even if I was a woman.

  “What title?”

  “Tyler,” I warned. “Can it with the Commander shit. I have enough on my mind as it is. Let me have these last moments in my office without thinking about the circus that has become my life.”

  I turned my gaze to the flawless diamond surrounded by sapphires adorning the ring finger of my left hand and shuddered.

  Could I do this? Could I be with Ashur Minesh Kumar, the most powerful man in the nation? Could I become first lady without fucking it up? Could I sleep with a man who made me remember the past but didn’t love me? Could never love me?

  My gaze moved to the cover of a news magazine. A polished couple stared out from the pages. The man with rich chocolate eyes, breathtaking good looks, and impeccably groomed style stood with a petite woman who barely came up to his shoulder. There was a headline that read, “First comes an election, then comes marriage, will babies be next?”

  A prickle of goosebumps broke out over my skin.

  “If you agree to marry me and start a new political dynasty, I will happily sign over half my fortune.”

  “What do you mean, start a political dynasty?”

  “Exactly what I said. I want children. Help me win the election, give me two children, and you can save the world with your endeavors without ever worrying about funding again.”

  “So, you want me to give you petri dish children? That doesn’t sound too bad.”

  “No, Tara. I want them the old-fashioned way.”

  Tyler set a hand on my shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts. “Commander is who you are, Tara. The agent who will take down an assailant before they knew what hit them. The negotiator who will face off against the scum of the earth to save one life. The woman who is willing to move heaven and earth to help a friend. Just in case you’ve forgotten, with all the chaos of the election and now the wedding, I thought I’d remind you of who you are.”

  If Tyler only knew that my marriage would allow me to continue my public human rights work until the day I died. Then again, he couldn’t know. That clause was part of the deal—no one outside of my fiancé and his best friend, Veer George, the current vice president, would ever have any inkling of the details of my relationship.

  Eighteen months ago, when we’d agreed to the bargain, love was the last thing on our minds.

  Ashur needed a wife, one who would balance his very conservative-leaning tendencies and make him appeal to the voters the then-sitting ultra-conservative president, Henry Edgar, had alienated.

  According to Ashur, I was the perfect candidate as an uber-left-wing save-the-world liberal. Especially since I’d navigated a situation where I’d gone toe to toe with Edgar and come out the hero and more internationally renowned than ever. Then there was the fact that we had been childhood sweethearts. This part of our history would give the storybook second-chance romantic solidification to our relationship.

  Ashur had offered me fifty percent of his net worth in exchange for marrying him. What he hadn’t known was that I was fully funded by Solon and could do my various humanitarian projects without a second thought.

  I’d agreed to his proposal because I needed power. Especially the power that came with a high net worth and allowed me into circles only the elite could ever hope of being included. Among this group of people hid the financiers of the operations that I’d made my life goal to stop.

  “You’re one to talk, Mr. Secretary of State. Last I checked, your position as my eyes and ears on the ground disappeared the day you accepted your new job.”

  “What was I supposed to say? Ashur is the first president in history to truly fill all high-level positions with people from all political associations and not just his. I’m more useful now than I ever was before.”

  “So am I.” I lifted my chin in challenge but knew the lie for what it was. I’d become the pretty face behind the man. A role I’d never ever thought I’d fill.

  “That is the furthest thing from the truth, and you know it.” He dropped his arm and turned his gaze to the ominous building down the street from us. “No one will question why I’m meeting with leaders of international organizations or heads of state. It will be a requirement of my job. You, on the other hand, live under a microscope. You are the American version of rags-to-riches to first lady. Everything and anything you do will forever be scrutinized.”

  “I know.” I sighed. “The days of making midnight runs for pizza and ice cream are things of the past.”

  “I’m sure you could still do those things. Albeit with an audie
nce.”

  “The last thing I’ll want to do is to put on a full face of makeup and look pristine to go get some comfort food. I’d need a ringmaster to control the chaos.”

  “You do realize, your marriage would have been less of a media circus if you’d decided to tie the knot before he took office?” He rubbed a thumb under my eye. “You look exhausted.”

  “If I’d done that then this last assignment wouldn’t be feasible. With the American people focused on me and the ‘American wedding of the century’—” I air quoted, “—the team can implement our plan.”

  A slight tremor ran up my spine as I peeked toward the Secret Service agents discreetly positioned outside my door. My privacy had become all but nonexistent the second the election results had come in last fall.

  At least the head of my security was an agent in Solon and understood my need for discretion. Whenever I “worked,” he’d make sure I was given enough space so I wouldn’t break attorney-client privilege. Well, that was the excuse given to the rest of my protection detail.

  “It’s dangerous and could place all of us in the middle of a scandal bigger than anything we’ve ever faced. Are you sure it’s worth it? There are other ways.”

  “There are no other ways,” I countered. “Ameera Kamini sacrificed her safety countless times to help us. The least we can do is help her escape the web she was caught in because of us.”

  Three months ago, my best friend and fellow Solon agent had been kidnapped by a terrorist organization known for human trafficking. They’d assumed she was an American spy and decided to auction her for the information she knew. I’d entered the auction as a potential bidder under an assumed name I’d used during various operations. The only stipulation I had to meet was to show a net worth of over one hundred million. With the money I’d get from Ashur I qualified. Now we were in a wait-and-see mode. The date was set for two weeks from now, but the place and exact time of the bidding was still unknown.