I stared at the first one, which had to have been taken in Fargo at Christmas. Alex and Chase building a snowman.
The next was of my brother playing hockey with my son.
The third was me alongside Seraphina, watching Ryder, Reed, and Alex in a snowball fight with Chase.
Oh my God.
Another photo came through, this one of us at the edge of the woods with Alex at the lodge.
Unknown:Don’t tell me you’re falling for another man in uniform. Delta. Really?
Unknown:I’m still your husband, Audi. Till death do us part. You better remember that. You’re mine. We’re in this together. For better or worse.
Unable to stop myself, I pulled the phone back to my lap, about to fire off a reply, but Alex rested a hand over mine. I looked up at him, and he shook his head, mouthing,Don’t.
I gave him the phone before I did something stupid.
That fragile feeling that maybe everything would be okay vanished in an instant. I started shaking, unable to stop my body from responding in such a way.
“That text came from Mitch, I’m sure of it,” I whispered as I shifted my gaze to Ryder. “He’s the only one who called me Audi, and I just feel it deep in my bones. He’s alive.” My voice cracked. “And that means he’s right. I’m still that man’s wife whether I like it or not.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Alejandro
“Leverage. Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. I don’t give a damn how many people you have to pull in to—” Ryder stopped talking over the phone, shoulders falling. Rage still simmering, same as me. “Everyone, yes. I don’t care if they’re second or fifth cousins. I mean every-damn-one.”
I sat back in the seat, glancing at Audrey, who was quiet next to me. Hands wrung together. Eyes out the side window. Fragile, but not broken.
“He knows our names. He has photos of us—including my fiancée—he took at my mother’s house at Christmas. Mentioned Alex is Delta. So, yeah, everyone close to us, too, not just Audrey and Trevor.” Ryder paused, a low hiss leaving his lips. He wasn’t hearing what he wanted to. “Well then, find the resources. I don’t give a flying fuck if you have to shake a tree on the White House lawn and make it rain cash. Make it happen. Everyone gets protection.” Ryder ended the call, not taking shit from anyone, and dropped his phone onto the center console between the front seats.
“Go that well, huh?” I muttered, doing my best not to reach over to Audrey again. Let her hold my hand instead of squeezing hers togetherlike she was both praying and trying to break something between her palms.
“That was President Bennett’s guy, the one he sent to Wyoming.” Ryder twisted around to look at me. “He thinks asking for protection for all of our families is overkill, and all I’m trying to do is keep everyone from getting killed.”
Audrey spoke up for the first time in thirty minutes. “Used as leverage to get to me.”
Ryder’s gaze dipped to her palms, and he shifted his seat belt aside, stretched out his arm, and placed a hand on top of both of hers. “We won’t let that happen.”
“But if Mitch is capable of having a drone that went unnoticed up over Trevor’s lodge to take photos, and he can find out Alex is Delta, then does that mean he has someone on the inside?” she asked as I swapped a quick look with Ryder.
He sent me a concerned expression back that readThis isn’t good.
“We may need to call in a favor. Who do we know and trust who can protect our people?” Reed quickly added, “I might not like my parents, but I’d prefer for them to continue breathing.” One of these days, maybe the man would tell us more about himself other than slipping in clues that didn’t bode well for his upbringing.
“We already have Hudson and the Costas keeping an eye on Seraphina in New York. I don’t want to ask them to do more.” Ryder let go of Audrey and faced forward.
“Don’t those SEALs that work for POTUS run a security company as a cover story?” I asked at the memory. “They take on legit jobs on the side as well, right? They have retired SEALs working for them in a couple locations.”
“If POTUS won’t pull protection in for everyone, then I’ll make the call. I can see what Gray and his people can do for us, too. They might already be stretched thin, but it’s worth a shot.” Ryder grabbed his phone and wasted no time in sending texts.
I checked on Audrey, finding her hands no longer clenched together but now gripping her legs. “You okay?” I asked her, not sure what answer I expected to hear other thanno.
“Trying to be,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry I’ve pulled you all into this mess.”
“We’re family. Don’t apologize,” Ryder responded. “By the way, that friend of yours, Hollis ... she’s something else, huh? She demanded I send her updates three times a day about your safety, but she doesn’t seem to be concerned about her own.”
“Yeah, well, that’s Hollis for ya.” Something told me there was more to her best friend’s story than that, but no one in the vehicle pressed since we’d made it to our destination.
