“She’s still working on retracing his last steps and confirming he was in New Zealand, but her and Natasha do have some working theoriesabout Stratos 2.0 and who’s running it.” He rested his forearm on the mantel. “They believe it’s one of the major security companies that are awarded contracts on the regular, who have high-level security clearance and access to a lot of military ops. They’re narrowing down the list by cross-referencing flights Arlo and Mitch piloted where those companies hitched a ride or joined the op as well.”
“And one of those flights Beth was also on,” I said at the memory of what I’d read back at the lodge that felt like a decade ago. “There was a PMC attached to that op. I think their name was redacted in the file I saw.”
“Well, we have the unredacted copies now, so Gwen should be able to find it fast,” Reed said as he looked down at his phone. “A text from the secretary. One hour. Then it’s time.”
“Time for what?” Audrey asked, voice as fragile sounding as my current mental state.
“To face my demons,” I said under my breath. “To talk to Beth.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Audrey
“I’m alone now, unlike earlier when you called.” I sat upright against the headboard for support, balancing the phone in front of me as I FaceTimed Trevor. “So talk to me. Please. You called before, then said nothing.”
Trevor was sitting on the floor of Michael’s office, his back against the wall. He held the phone in one hand, the other resting at the side of his neck where three crosses were inked into his skin.
The same silence from earlier blanketed the call. And like before, it brought a cold wave of chills over my skin.
“This is my fault.” His jaw tightened as he bowed his head, fingers pressing over the tattoos like he could draw strength from them. “Mitch was probably watching you. Studying you. Obsessing over you while I was deployed. Before we were married and after. What kind of sick piece of shit does that?”
“I agree with every word. Except the part where you blame yourself.” I grabbed one of the throw pillows and set it on my lap, propping my elbow against it as I held the phone. “The only one at fault is thatman.” Something Ryder had helped me understand earlier when I’d tried to blame myself.
He finally met my gaze. “When you two started dating, something in my gut told me he’d always wanted you. But I told myself it was just jealousy. And I had no right to be jealous when I was the one who asked for the divorce.”
Ohh.My stomach was already pretzeled beyond reason, but that? That somehow managed to twist it tighter.
“I convinced myself not to dig into his background when you two dated because I didn’t want to violate your privacy, but I should’ve. I should’ve done it when he was still alive, not just after he died.” He scoffed. “Well, faked his death.”
“Would you have found anything?”
He grimaced, knowing I was right. There’d have been nothing. Mitch clearly knew how to cover his tracks and keep a low profile.
“Still,” was his best defense. Like that one word would convince me to convict him, so he could freely shoulder the guilt.
“Trevor.” His name came out as a warning and a plea as I tried to pack everything into those two syllables. All the grief, the truth, and the desperate need for him to stop blaming himself. “Not. Your. Fault.”
“You won’t ever convince me otherwise, sorry. I trusted Beth. Trusted Will. Trusted Mitch to be in your life and our son’s. I only did a basic background check of the fucker instead of stalking his ass like we now know he was doing to you. I trusted all the wrong people.”
“I repeat, and say it with me ...you didn’t know.”
“Exactly. I should have.”
“Noooo, that’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“If I’d never come into your life, then maybe—”
“Chase wouldn’t exist, and Mitch may have been in my life even longer.” I tossed the pillow, needing to be on my feet. “You’re the one always saying everything happens for a reason. God’s plans, not ours. To just trust. You’re the one who has to remind me of those things, notthe other way around. Don’t let evil win. Don’t let this man get in your head. Don’t doubt yourself and your beliefs.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but I may have to be the man I was before again soon.” I lost his eyes to his lap. “I have to do something I promised I wouldn’t do again.”
“Do what? Promised who?”
He slowly looked up at me. “Kill in cold blood.”
I blinked, confused. “When did you do that the first time?”
“You don’t want to know all my secrets, trust me. I have every intention of killing Mitch. I don’t care if he waves a white flag; I’m taking the son of a bitch down.”
