“Audrey,” was all I managed, unsure what to say after that.
“Mitch sees you as a threat,” she continued anyway. “And if he’s had people watching me, he probably figured out Ryder’s my brother after I visited our dad and was rejected. That’s why he didn’t accuse me of anything with him. But you? He saw something. Maybe at Christmas. The way I was looking at you, perhaps.”
I stared at her in shock. Did she realize what she just admitted? And did I hear her right? “Are you saying you felt something for me when we first met?”
She let go of her sweatshirt, nodding. “I didn’t want to. I told myself no more falling for anyone, but being around you ...”
I removed what was left of the space between us and gently held her chin, needing to look her in the eyes.
“Who knows, Mitch may have even tapped my phone. He’d have learned a lot about my feelings for you if he read the texts with my best friend.”
I’m really going to kill that man.
“But I’m starting to think this isn’t just about revenge or a payday. I think he wants more than just for me to open that vault.”
Yeah, me too.And it was destroying me to think about.
“Mitch wants to take me away. From Chase. From everyone. So he can keep me for himself. In his mind, I still belong to him like a piece of property he owns.”
“I’ll never let him near you.” I brushed my thumb along the line of her lips. “You hear me?”
She didn’t acknowledge me, only let go of a strangled breath. “He’s obsessed with me, isn’t he? I think he has been since the moment we met.” She hesitated, then added, “Something tells me he’s the reason Hobbs sent Trevor on that mission. He wanted Trevor out of the picture.” She paused before whispering what I felt in my bones to be true: “He did it so he could make me his wife instead.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Alejandro
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. My jaw was locked so tight that it ached as I kept hold of her chin. The woman in front of me had survived a quiet war.
If Mitch had been pulling the strings in her life for that long, then we weren’t just up against a rogue pilot with a bruised ego. We were up against something much darker and more sinister. More calculated.
I swallowed down the burn-like pain in my throat, forcing my emotions into a box to deal with later. I didn’t let go of her chin until I noticed Reed hovering in the doorway.
“Trevor would like a word alone with you.” He gave a nod of apology for interrupting, and she turned away from us, probably trying to hide the evidence of her tears with her sleeves.
“Okay, um, thanks,” she said, sniffling while turning back to face us.
“I should talk to Ryder and see where we’re at on getting Beth on the phone.” I started for the door, sidestepping Reed to make my exit, knowing he’d keep an eye on Audrey while she talked to Trevor, to a man who ...
Well, to a man who might wind up back together with the woman I’d fallen for.
I did my best to shove my personal thoughts and feelings to the side when I joined Ryder in the living room. He was on one knee, leaning forward to start up the fireplace.
Great, setting the mood for my own personal hell with Beth. Flames and all. Makes sense.
“Chandler’s working on getting Beth on the line,” he said while standing. “And without any get-out-of-jail-free card, don’t worry.” He cleaned his hands off on his jeans. “How are you? How’s my sister? I, uh, saw her go to your room.”
“We’re about as good as can be expected, given who we married and what they did,” I admitted, then quickly laid the theory on him about Mitch being obsessed with her, possibly since they’d first met.
Ryder blinked a few times, dragging his hand over his mouth, processing.
“Talk to me as Delta One, not as her brother. You think that’s the case?” I asked before giving him time to digest everything I’d shared. “Has Mitch been sabotaging their relationship since day one?”
Ryder’s gaze slowly cut to my face. Ready to kill. I’d seen that look before, and I was right there with him.
“A man obsessed with someone is never an enemy I want to have.”
I was with him on that, but there we were, more than likely dealing with that problem now. “The man’s patient and dangerous. He could’ve made up his mind about Audrey and stalked her all that time while Trevor was still in the picture.”
