Chapter Ten Alejandro
Chapter Ten
Alejandro
“As opposed to . . . ?”
I waved him off, letting him know to ignore me and my shit mood.
After that, he gave me five minutes of silence to stew. I’d have preferred all twelve the GPS said we had for the drive.
“You, uh, okay after what you saw back there?” His hesitant tone was on point with the question.
I sat taller, caught off guard that Jason “Doesn’t Do Feelings” Reed had even asked me that.
“No clue what you’re talking about.” My fingers dug into my palms where they rested on my legs. “Just tell me about the visit with POTUS’s guy yesterday. No one’s filled me in.”
“First tell me if you’re—”
“I’m not okay,” I snapped. “You know that, dammit.” I shut my eyes, cursed in English, then Spanish. “I can’t escape that woman. Every time I think I’m done with her, she comes back from the dead.”
“If only she did die.” His flat tone had me parting my eyelids. “Sorry,” he quickly added, “but you know how we all feel about her.”
“I know, I know.” I couldn’t argue there. “Fate is cruel, though.”
“Or the world’s just small when it comes to who works with whom in the Tier One community.”
I glanced at him. “Is that you, Mr. Doom and Gloom, being optimistic?”
“Just realistic.” He shrugged. “Beth was CIA. And from what we saw in those case files, Mitch worked with the Agency more than once in the last two decades. Just a coincidence he piloted an op your ex was also on. A security company was attached to that mission, too. Doesn’t mean anything.”
I wanted to believe that. Because the idea that my ex—currently rotting in a black site halfway around the world—might’ve crossed paths with Audrey’s dead husband? That had me ready to jump from the damn truck.
“Don’t forget,” he went on, “Beth was busy being a traitor and running that drug operation here the last few years. No reason for her—”
“To be in the Middle East on that plane,” I said, cutting him off. “Exactly my concern.”
So no, I wasn’t ready to rule out that my ex was somehow up to no fucking good right alongside Audrey’s ex. Because, as I’d stated moments ago, fate was cruel. Not the slap-in-the-face kind of cruel, but the knife-in-the-heart (and in-the-back) kind.
And now fate was doing a number on Audrey, too. She’d lost her husband twice. First to death, now to dishonor. Well, that was still an unsubstantiated claim made by Trevor, but something told me he wasn’t wrong.
It’d been unbearable to not wrap Audrey in my arms when she broke down and started to cry. And to walk away from her with tears cutting down her face had gutted me even more. But she had Trevor and Ryder to hold her up, and who was I to do it?
“Talk to me about Wyoming now that we’re away from civilian ears.” I needed to shift gears before I unraveled. “Tell me you two convinced the president’s new point man we’re good as we are. No more recruits.”
“Fine,” he grunted, thankfully giving in.
“Ryder reminded them our unit’s purpose is to track enemies and create target packages for the government.
We don’t need more than three of us to do that.
” There was a note of irritation edging his tone.
“But they insisted we need backup in case things go sideways like they did with Seraphina’s case. ”
Also known as the op where we took down my ex-wife. “Everything worked out okay.”
“Well, you did die on us. So, not totally okay.”
“For five seconds. Doesn’t count. Didn’t even see the other side. I was joking about the whole near-death-experience thing.” I shook my head. “Please tell me you hit them back with a good argument.”
“We told them if we need backup, we’ll call President Bennett’s dark money SEAL teams again, like last time.”
I couldn’t believe we were now one of those off-the-books teams, too. I’d always heard rumors over the years that there were different clandestine units working for different presidents and a select few high-up cabinet members, but to now be one of them? It was wild.
The op that had brought Seraphina and Ryder together last fall was the one to change us back to active-duty status and have us report directly to President Bennett and the secretary of defense, Admiral Chandler.
“But apparently,” Reed continued, “getting an assist from POTUS’s SEALs ‘might not always be an option,’ yada-fucking-yada.”
I reached back to rub the knots forming at the base of my neck.
“So I pitched the idea of standbys.” He flipped on the blinker as we approached Audrey’s neighborhood.
“Vets who don’t want to operate full-time but miss getting their hands dirty.
They’d be ready to roll on short notice when needed.
Decent payday, too. We’d get them classified status like we have, dot the i’s and cross the t’s and all that, then we’d be good to go.
” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Hell, I could see Trevor doing that.”
Trevor? “No, I’m not operating with him.”
“There something we need to know about him? He another Mitch?” His tone edged into protective mode, like Audrey was suddenly his little sister, too.
Too bad I don’t see her that way. “No, it’s not that.” I stared at the cab’s ceiling, jaw tight. “I just . . .”
“You just what?” When I didn’t answer, he filled the silence. “I thought you were done with all that. Thought Beth screwed you up for good. You seriously catching feelings for the boss’s sister?”
“No, of course not,” I said a little too fast, too defensively. “And yeah, I am done. With vows, marriage, and all that nonsense. Good for Ryder, he found the real deal. But me? Never again.”
We pulled onto Audrey’s street, and I silently thanked God this conversation was about to die.
“Standbys,” I muttered, dragging us back on track. “POTUS bite?”
“Not sure yet. He’s—”
“In the Middle East in a meeting, right.” I shook my head.
“But I think he will. We’ll have a two- or three-man team we can call in as needed.”
“Not a bad idea.” As long as Trevor’s name never comes up again.
We passed the cruiser the sheriff had outside Audrey’s house; the deputy inside gave us a nod as we rolled by. I tipped my head in return. Beau must’ve given him a heads-up that we were coming over to check the place out.
Reed parked in front of the one-car garage, and I was out before the engine ever cut off. I glanced up at the small two-story house with pale shutters. Something about it reminded me of my childhood home in Vegas.
“Let’s just get this over with. I don’t want to be away from her long.” Shit. Freudian slip. “I mean, from everyone,” I added quickly and ignored the what-the-hell look he shot me.
Reed unlocked the front door and disabled the alarm once we were inside. We cleared the house room by room, ensuring no one had slipped by the deputy.
Once we confirmed it was clean, we began looking around. For what? Hell if we knew. Just something. Something someone had broken in to get if it wasn’t a random break-in. Unless they were here for Audrey. Not an idea I wanted to entertain.
By the time we reached the primary bedroom, we still hadn’t stumbled upon anything helpful. So this was our last shot.
I paused in the doorway, feeling awkward about invading her personal space.
Reed didn’t hesitate and strode right in.
Better you than me.
“Trevor said they didn’t have a chance to go through her room before he showed up, right?” Reed asked. “Room looks untouched.”
“Yeah,” I murmured, still stuck near the threshold. “That’s what he told Ryder.”
“Well, are you just gonna stand there like a depressing shadow?” he muttered before disappearing into the closet.
Right. I forced myself to move farther into the room, though every step felt like I was trespassing.
I spotted a box tucked away in front of the window. Scissors had been discarded on the floor beside it. Half a glass of wine waited on her dresser with an open record player nearby.
What were you doing before they showed up? Unpacking?
I crossed to the dresser and picked up a framed photo, and I couldn’t stop the grin from forming at the sight.
You have a photo of me in your bedroom. Okay, technically it was a picture of my team, with Ryder and Chase front and center. But there I was in the background, profile visible.
I’d spent maybe five days in total around Audrey since we met at Christmas, but never one-on-one. No deep talks. No personal confessions. Just casual hangouts, light and easy.
Nothing feels remotely light or easy now.
The second Reed stepped out of the closet, I returned the photo to its place, careful not to knock over the wine, then turned toward him.
He went straight for the box on the floor and lifted it onto the bed.
“I think she was going through that when they showed up.” I nodded toward the wineglass, then the record player. “That box feels personal. Something she’d been putting off.”
“How do you know?” Reed asked, peeling back the flaps as I joined him by her bed.
“Just a hunch.” But in truth, as someone who had a box or three myself, I could relate. Mine were in a storage unit in DC, and unlike Audrey, I had no plans to ever take a look at what was inside.
“Mitch’s stuff. Maybe it’s in here,” Reed said while picking up an envelope. “Shit.”
“What is it?”
“Divorce papers,” he shared, and the pressure in my chest built. “Only her signature. Dated shortly before his plane went down last year.”
You were going to leave him? What’d the bastard do to you?
And no, I didn’t feel guilty calling him that.
Not now. Not if he was a traitor like Beth.
And especially not if Audrey had wanted out of her marriage.
This changes things. I erected a mental wall before I let that thought take root and grow.
No, it doesn’t change things, because I’m not allowed to feel anything for her.
“Ryder never mentioned this.” He slid the papers into the envelope and picked up a small ring-size box and opened it next, revealing a plain wedding band. “You think Mitch was the guy Trevor’s made him out to be?”
“The divorce papers don’t help his case. From the looks of it, she filed, not him. Still, the timing of this whole thing is off.”
I removed the band from the box and turned the weight of it between my fingers.
A symbol of commitment. Of promises. Something I’d lost faith in and, clearly, Audrey had as well.
We really did have more in common than I could process right now.
I closed my eyes and let the wedding band drop fully into my palm, then curled my fingers around it.
“What are you doing?”
“Something’s not right.” I opened my eyes to take a closer look at it.
There was a subtle ridge along the inside. Muscle memory kicked in, and my fingers moved on instinct. A narrow groove slid open, revealing a laser-etched strip of numbers, thin and precise. A sliver of code was hidden within the band.
“What in the magic shit did you just do?”
“My dad had stuff like this. And I think we just found what they were after.”
Reed and I locked eyes, the weight of that realization settling between us. It would be impossible to view the break-in as random now, which meant Trevor was right.
“It could be GPS coordinates or an alphanumeric cipher. A decryption key. I’ll examine it under a microscope back at the lodge.”
“Here.” I handed him the band. “Take the whole box just in case.” My gaze flicked to the envelope.
“But having this stuff at the lodge does paint a target on it. Call Ryder. Tell him to have Trevor clear out the guests. Send them packing until we know more. We need to turn the place into a fortress to protect Audrey and Chase, and whatever the hell we just found.”
“Guests’ll be pissed, but better that than dead.” He slid the ring box into his pocket and put the envelope back in its place.
“I’ll be right out,” I said, needing a second.
“I’ll make the call. Meet you outside.” He grabbed the box and headed for the door. “Don’t be long. Pretty sure these assholes still have eyes on the place and the lodge. They tried to be discreet last time, but I doubt they’ll bother next time.”
“Why haven’t they hit the house again while it’s been empty?” I asked, that bad feeling clawing its way up my spine. “They had all day yesterday. They were pros—these guys don’t strike me as the type who’d be deterred by a cruiser out front.”
Reed’s jaw tensed. “Because they’re regrouping. Possibly bringing in more people now that Audrey’s at Trevor’s. And, uh . . .”
I nodded. “They want Audrey. Friday’s break-in wasn’t just a search; they were here to take her, too, which is why they’d need to bring in more people to hit Trevor’s place.”
“And I’m sure they know we’re here now, too.”
“Not just that. They knew if they hit her house again, it’d put us on alert at the lodge and we’d go into full lockdown mode before taking her somewhere else. They need us to think it was random so we keep our guard lowered. And then they’ll hit the lodge and her place here again at once.”
“I’m calling Ryder,” he said on his way out the door.
I stayed behind, glancing around her room, acting as if I had all the time in the world for some reason.
My gaze landed on the dresser, and then came the stupidest idea of the day.
I told myself it was for her. To give her a sense of normality and familiarity in the chaos of all this. That was the only reason I went and found a duffel bag and opened her top drawer.
God help me, I packed this woman’s lingerie.
Silk. Satin. And lace.
So much lace, too. Black. Red. Pink. Purple. She didn’t discriminate. Lace in every damn color. How the hell would I stop myself from wondering what shade of lace she was wearing on any given day we spent together?
Shit, what was wrong with me to be thinking about that right now? Trevor’s name flashed through my mind like an electric jolt, serving as another reminder to get my head on right.
Trevor is Chase’s dad. He and Audrey will end up back together, the perfect family unit. I don’t belong in that picture. I’m not screwing anything up for them.
I had to stay away. For Chase. For Audrey. And yeah, selfishly, for my own heart.
Because the only way to protect everyone was by not falling in love.