“He will be,” Andi said. “He’ll twist this around, make it a part of his story, and his business will thrive.”
“Did anyone hear how he was grabbed?” Mariella asked.
“Jack called him—on the hotel phone so it wouldn’t be traceable,” Duke explained. “Said there was a problem with one of the vans. Rupert went behind the building to check it out. When he did, Jack knocked him out and put him in the back of Crystal’s car. They drove him to the trailer—she’d secured the place earlier and set things up there. Then Jack came back to the hotel, and Crystal waited for instructions. Jack met up with herlater, after he was sure everyone had seen him during the fire alarm.”
“I’ve got it!”
Everyone turned their attention to Matthew.
“There was nothing on Jack’s credit cards.” Matthew’s words came fast. “Then I checked Crystal’s. She put a deposit on a cabin between San Francisco and LA. That has to be where Kate’s being held.”
Andi already began dialing Alverez with the FBI. “I need to let him know. We’re too far away to get there in time.”
He answered, and she gave him the update.
Then she began praying that her friend was okay.
CHAPTER
SIXTY-NINE
Andi and Dukestill hadn’t had their talk.
Too much had happened.
The good news was that, thanks to Matthew’s computer skills, Kate had been found—and she was okay. A little malnourished and dehydrated, but nothing she wouldn’t recover from. It could have been much worse. Andi had even chatted with her on the phone for a few minutes.
After all that happened, they still had the Barstow event the next morning.
This had become so routine, Andi’s body moved on muscle memory alone.
Then they left to head to Vegas, arriving at the hotel well after dark.
She was halfway through kicking off her shoes when her phone buzzed. It was Duke.
Can we talk?
She stared at the message for a long moment. This was it. The moment he’d tell her the truth. The moment she’d learn what his secret was.
She typed back:
Yes. Meet in the lobby in ten minutes?
He agreed. She quickly freshened up and then headed downstairs.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him waiting for her. He wore a suit—and looked dashing—with his barely there beard, clean hair, and bright eyes.
In his hands, he held a bouquet of white roses.
The two of them had bonded so quickly, so deeply.
She couldn’t imagine her future without him.
Tension filled her at the thought. What if this talk devastated her? What if it changed the course of their future?
Would he be wearing a suit and holding flowers if that were the case?
Most likely not.
