“They know who you are. That wouldn’t have been necessary.”
My jaw is clenched when I face her. “They know who Aubrey is, too. Does that mean you would have been safe if they had lethim waltz through those doors? Because the last time I saw you two in a room together?—”
“Beck.”
There’s no mistaking the warning Cal has just turned my name into or the cracks spreading across Selene’s face thanks to my callous words. My heart twists in on itself.
“I’m sorry, gorgeous.” I hold out a hand as I start to close the distance between us, hoping she’ll meet me halfway. She does. Our fingers lock together, and I use the connection to pull her into me, sliding my free hand through the hair at the nape of her neck and kneading her scalp.
She rests her head on my chest, wrapping her arms around my waist. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not. I could have made my point without bringing Aubrey into it.”
“You’re right. You could have, or you could have considered that you didn’t need to make the point at all.”
Cal laughs softly at that, and I glare at him, only cutting the death stare short when Selene tilts her head back to see my face. “I’ll have Monique talk to security about consistent protocols as it relates to visitors, even the ones they know. It won’t happen again.”
My brow furrows. “Why would Monique need to have that conversation?”
“That would be more Shaw’s wheelhouse,” Cal adds.
I already knew. When we pulled up and saw no agents in or around the building, when Shaw went quiet on her work phone, when I walked in here and saw Selene alone, unattended,abandoned. I knew. And still, it doesn’t feel real until her gaze slides away from mine and lands on the ceiling the way it does when she has something uncomfortable to say.
“Agent Shaw is no longer a part of my detail,” she explains, lips twisting into a ball that only stays for a second before itsmooths out and she continues. “Actually, I don’t have a detail anymore. Aubrey took them away.”
The last thing I want to do is let her go, but I’m left with no choice when she starts to pull away. I follow her anxious steps as she walks the length of floor between me and Cal. He’s finally parted with any notion of calm and positivity. Thick brows drawn together to form a harsh, angry line that matches the fury boiling inside of me.
“He didwhat?” Cal growls.
“He recalled them,” Selene says, panic evident in her voice and in the flicking of her fingers. “He just took them away. No one even notified me. I spent the entire morning searching for someone on the team, but they were all gone. Sam Granger finally took pity on me and explained that a memo went out saying I was refusing protection. Shaw and Morgan were fired, and the rest of their team was reassigned.”
I want to hit something. No, I need to hit someone. Suddenly, I’m filled with the strongest sense of regret for not having caved Aubrey’s skull in when I had the chance. Even with dark figures lingering in the shadows around him and unknown entities spending mind-boggling amounts of money to infiltrate his inner circle, he’s still carving out time to fuck with Selene.
I should have known she’d bear the brunt of it. Firing us was pretty much all he could do to Cal and me without risking dragging his own shit out into the streets, but with Selene there are so many more options. And because he thinks he owns her, because he resents her for having the audacity to disobey him by going to Kentucky and still being involved with us, it appears he’s hellbent on exploring them all, starting with mental warfare.
“He’s punishing you, taking away your only source of comfort and support, so you’re vulnerable and afraid.”
Her chin wobbles as she nods. “I know.”
“But what’s the goal?” Cal asks, wrapping an arm around Selene. She leans into his embrace, soothed by the touch. “Does he want her too afraid to leave the White House? Is he hoping she’ll get desperate enough out here on her own to try to come back into the fold?”
Selene scoffs. “I would never do that. I know too much about that depraved bastard.”
My gaze snaps to Cal’s, and we fall into one of those exchanges where no words are spoken but understanding is easily found. What we’ve both come to understand over the course of our careers is that knowledge isn’t just power, sometimes it’s a death sentence.
The icy, skeletal fingers of fear pierce my chest as I replay every accusation Selene launched at Aubrey in the sitting hall that day. Each word was wrapped in conviction, drenched in certainty, delivered with the kind of authority that could shape minds and sway juries. Her knowing is more than enough on its own, but when you pair the allegations with a violent attempt to silence the person making them, it’s as good as an admission of guilt. I know. Cal knows it. And Aubrey does too, which is why he can’t risk Selene standing in front of a camera or sitting down with a reporter to share a theory that, by the time she’s done, will be accepted as fact.
“He wants you dead.”
Bile rises in my throat. The first time Valinsky made a threat against Diana, I heard the distant thunk of metal grooves sliding into place. Cogs groaning as gears began turning, marching us slowly toward death. I’d done everything I could to stop it, but Valinsky’s machine was bigger than I could ever be, built with fail safes and auxiliary power sources I couldn’t find or kill fast enough. It was insurmountable. He was insurmountable, and he didn’t have a fraction of Aubrey’s power or influence. I stare atSelene, this urgent need to take her, to hold her, to hide her building inside of me so fast, I can’t stop the words from coming.
“We need to run.”
Cal and Selene both look at me like I’ve lost it, and maybe I have. Maybe I’m doing the thing Dr. Payne says I shouldn’t do and obsessing over things outside of my control. Or maybe I’m just the only one who hears the churning of gears and the ticking of a clock counting down the hours until we lose everything.
“I’m not running, Beck,” Selene says, her chin lifted in defiance.
“Why not? You have done everything you set out to do, Selene. Your promise to AJ has been fulfilled, and the work will continue to happen well after you’ve left the White House. You can walk away. You can be free. You can be with us.”
