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throat suddenly achy. “Having an affair? I hope not. Rumors have been circulating for years, though. I guess I always assumed it was better if I didn’t know.”
    He pointed to her phone, compassion warming his eyes. “There could be an explanation for that photo.”
    She shrugged. “Could be. I won’t know until I talk to my dad. I have to say, family issues aside, this is one of the worst things that could happen for his reelection campaign.”
    “How about for you?”
    She grimaced. “Yeah, I’ll deal with how it affects me after I process how it affects everything else. I wonder if my mom has seen this yet.”
    “Will she be devastated?”
    Her mom flashed through her mind. “Sadly, probably not. Their marriage has seen better days. Sometimes I think staying together is a political move more than anything else.” Elle shook her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you all of that. I don’t know what got into me. I always try so hard to be careful what I say, to be ‘politically correct,’ I suppose. Sometimes it feels good just to be honest.”
    “Whatever you say is safe with me.”
    Something about his words caused her cheeks to flush. She believed him. And Elle hardly ever believed anyone. Broken promises seemed to be a theme in her life. Yet here she was being protected by a man she hardly knew, and somehow innately she felt certain she could trust him.
    It had been a long time since she’d felt that way. The last time she’d let her guard down, she’d ended up devastated. Would it be the same with Denton?
    It didn’t matter. Denton would be out of her life soon. Once these bank robbers were behind bars, she’d have her freedom back. And with the local police working the case, certainly an arrest would be made before long.
    She prayed an arrest would be made before long.
    In the meantime, it would be best not to get too close to Denton. His revelation that he’d been married had shocked her enough and showed her a different side of the man. She’d never, ever guessed him to be the family-man type. But maybe that first impression was wrong.
    Her phone rang again. Her dad. She sighed before answering. This was one conversation she didn’t want to have.

SIX
    D enton tried to give Elle some privacy but that wasn’t the easiest thing to do in the confined quarters of a moving SUV. He at least had the decency to look out the window as Elle spoke into the phone.
    “Dad, this is one of those times I wished I wasn’t working for you because I don’t want to ask you these hard questions. But I have to. Who is she, Dad?” Elle’s voice sounded sharp, tight.
    As it should. His own parents had divorced when he was a teenager, and he remembered the agony of watching his family fall apart. No one—whatever the age—should have to experience that. It was one of the reasons he’d always vowed to make his marriage his priority.
    Denton couldn’t hear her father’s response. The man did have a reputation for being a womanizer. Denton knew that much from the time he’d briefly been hired by the senator. It was a shame that so many men who had power abused it by treating those around them so poorly. He’d seen it time and time again.
    “Why would you let yourself be alone with her, Dad? Even if nothing happened, you know how gossip can start. We’re going to have to do some major damage control. As soon as I get home, I’ll call all the TV stations—if they haven’t already called me on my office line. We’ll write up a statement and put you in front of the camera. I need to talk to this Nancy Green, also, before the press gets to her.”
    Silence lingered as Senator Philips responded.
    “I’ll talk to you about it back at the house.” A moment later, Elle snapped her phone shut and closed her eyes. “This just gets better and better. That woman in the picture? She lives in the apartment beside him up in D.C.”
    Though Denton would never wish this situation on anyone, at least it