A sense of awe stole over her.She’d been infatuated plenty of times—case in point, Jason Chin—but love?She’d never feltthis.Four years ago Ford had been more of a crush, an unattainable challenge, a distraction.Now though…
She rolled to her back and squeezed her eyes shut.
Could her timing suck more?Or her sense of self-preservation?Jesus.
Slowly, she sat up.Now shehadto leave by Friday.She couldn’t let Ford continue risking his life and livelihood for her.Not for a woman he’d never love, who’d already endangered him too many times.Once she revealed her not-dead status to the world, he’d be even more at risk if he tagged along.Besides, Henri still needed him.More than she did.
She wasn’t above asking for help, but going forward, she’d find it elsewhere.
Ford wouldn’t like that.At all.He’d insist that she was being reckless, that she needed him at her side.Somehow, she had to convince him to let her go.
Dammit.Heart sagging, she took a deep breath against the prickling sensation behind her eyes.
Ideally, she’d leave immediately, sneak out while he slept, not give him a chance to protest.But eleven p.m.was too late to put anything in motion, and this wasn’t a situation where she could simply wing it.Instead, taking advantage of his slumber, she grabbed her burner phone, slipped out of bed, and carefully descended the creaky spiral staircase.
Once on her computer, seeing that there were no messages from Dallas, she looked up information about the consulate in Marseille, and what she’d need to do to get her identity back.The whole process sounded exhausting.Or maybe her body had finally given in to the need for sleep.
A soft chime drew her attention to the burner phone she carried everywhere now, just in case.She didn’t recognize the number, but that was to be expected.
“Oui.”
“It’s me,” Dallas said.
Her stomach clenched, and she stood, bracing herself.“What’s wrong?”He wouldn’t risk waking her forgoodnews.
“Shit, I’m sorry, but someone’s taken your brother.”
“What?”That couldn’t be right.“Didn’t he have security?”
Dallas sighed heavily.“Yes, but someone created a distraction at his gym and hustled him out a back door.By the time the guard got through the crowd Erik was gone.”
Noooo.She doubled over, feeling as if someone had socked her in the gut.Nonononono.Oh, God, she couldn’t breathe.Shit shit shit.This was her worst fear come true, and exactly what she’d hoped to prevent by taking the first train to Marseille tomorrow.Goddammit.
She punched her thigh several times, and then forced herself to stop and take several deep breaths.You’re no good to him like this.Pull it together.Swiping away tears, she asked, “You’re sure he was taken?”
“Your partner received an email.I’m working with my hacker friend to trace it, but it says to tell you they have your brother and that you have forty-eight hours to come out of hiding.”
She swallowed hard.“Is there a picture?”
“Video, actually.No deep-fake markers.He’s holding this morning’s newspaper.”
“Is…” Nat took a shaky breath and swiped at her wet cheeks.“Does—”
“He looks okay.No serious injuries that I could see.Appeared to be standing on his own.”
She nodded even though Dallas couldn’t see her.“Thank God.”Hand trembling where she gripped the edge of the table, she lowered herself onto the dining chair, no longer sure her legs were trustworthy.“What about my parents?”
“Upset, obviously, but secure.Mama Bird talked them into moving to a safe house.”
“Thank you.”That last bit only slightly calmed her overactive pulse, but seriously ramped up the waterworks.“I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.”
“The feeling is mutual, you know.We recently learned what life would look like without you, and it sucked.Hard.I’ve never seen Money Guy so grim.We love you—” Dallas cut himself off before saying her name.
She swiped at her eyes and cheeks with the edge of her shirt and sniffled.“Love you.”
“I didn’t want to drop this news through a message, but I think we should move to a more secure comms channel to discuss next steps.”
“See you there in a few minutes.I need a short break.”
