Chapter Fifty-Nine Audrey
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Audrey
Fort Collins, Colorado
“Coffee?”
I looked over at my future sister-in-law, who was nudging an oversize mug my way. I must’ve been in a daze—and I was also burning the eggs, wasn’t I?
Lowering the heat on the stove, I accepted the java with a quiet “Thank you.”
Seraphina didn’t say anything right away, just took a sip of her own and watched me, the way people do when they’re making sure you’re still breathing.
We hadn’t originally come to this place by choice, but now that we were being told we could leave tomorrow, I found myself not wanting to go.
Secretary Chandler had ordered us to lie low. This was day seven in our temporary hideout, a much bigger home than Wyatt’s.
We were tucked away deep in the woods with a security system just as advanced as his—though, sadly, it had no piano. But it was safe, and I’d spent a week surrounded by people I love.
After we flew back to the States last week, Ryder went straight to New York to bring Seraphina here. He refused to spend another day without her. Having her steady presence made this place feel less like a safe house and more like a refuge.
“You okay?” she finally asked.
“Just . . . Is it really over over? Because it feels too good to be true.”
“You know Ryder wouldn’t let us leave tomorrow if he had any doubts or worries. The man puts the word over in overprotective.”
“A man after my own heart,” I said with a light, nervous laugh.
“And Chandler’s just as stubborn, so he wouldn’t give us the green light to leave if every last bad guy wasn’t confirmed dead or locked up.”
Also true. “I’ll still probably need some reminding of that a few more times before it sinks in.” I turned off the burner and slid the pan to the side. The eggs were burnt, but Chase liked them overdone anyway.
“Well, I can do that.” She gently squeezed my arm. “Too bad Rhett and Beau are still alive,” she added, her voice dipping into the factual. “But at least they’re in a CIA black site now. They can’t hurt anyone again.”
I wasn’t so sure about Rhett. That man had one too many tricks up his sleeve. I guess that was my issue now. I was worried he wasn’t done yet. Maybe not now. But one, two, or even ten years from now . . . no telling.
“And although we found out Rhett didn’t start up Helix, only took control from the owners four years ago, at least we know they’re officially out of business. Forever forever,” she continued with reassurance.
“This is all good, I know. Case closed. Time to move on.” I set aside my coffee. “So why do I still feel stuck?”
She mirrored my movement, abandoning her mug and fully facing me.
“That’s a normal feeling. After everything you’ve been through, it’s your brain trying to protect you.
You’re stepping into a new life with Alex, with your son.
And you’re scared something from the past might come back and rip it away. ”
I nodded, my breath hitching as the words hit home. “This week’s been perfect. Everyone here. Safe. Together. Now we have to leave the bubble and face the real world again, and that terrifies me.”
She pulled me in for a hug, wrapping her arms around me like armor. “Do you want real?” she whispered. “Or do you want the illusion of it?”
Ugh, I was done with illusions forever.
“Because as nice as it’s been, this isn’t forever. It was never meant to be.”
“You’re right,” I murmured. “I guess I need to let the bubble pop, even if Eden’s not ready to go to their lodge yet.
” A lodge she and Trevor now planned to sell, and I didn’t blame them.
“And Chase is dreading school.” Also didn’t blame him.
“And as for me? My new house that never really had a chance to become a home . . . I’m not looking forward to returning. ”
“Have you considered moving to Charleston? We’re in a new-construction neighborhood.” She stepped back, brushing my hair behind my shoulder. “Move in with Alex. Trevor and Eden could live together for now down the street, too. She needs to be around family after what Beau did to her.”
Was she serious?
“Ryder would love it. Chase would freak. You know, in a good way.”
She was right about that. “All of us in the same neighborhood? I like how that sounds.” And it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, especially not after what had happened last night.
One minute, we’d all been playing a board game together, and the next, Chase had looked back and forth between me and Alex, asking when we were getting married and could he be the best man instead of the ring bearer. He wanted a “cooler role” in our wedding that we were apparently having.
I’d choked on my wine. Alex, his bourbon.
And Ryder had, shockingly, laughed. “Gonna have to fight me on that spot, little man.”
As for Trevor? He’d grinned and commented, “Not weird if I come, too, right?”
In the blink of an eye, I’d gone from a woman never wanting to date, to falling in love and having both my son and his father welcoming another man into the family.
Seraphina pointed to the eternity band on my finger. “You haven’t taken off that ring, I see.”
“It’s stuck. I can’t get it over my knuckle. Guess my fingers swelled up.”
“Or maybe God’s trying to tell you something?” She casually winked, then picked up her coffee.
“Tell you what?” Ryder’s deep voice filtered through the air, and he walked into the kitchen and over to his fiancée to kiss her. “Everything okay?” he asked after popping a pod in the Nespresso machine and starting it up.
Seraphina shared her neighborhood plan, and his eyes lit up.
“That’d be amazing.” He leaned forward and lightly squeezed my shoulder. “Reed could get a place, too. He’s a man without a home. Wandering from place to place. Could get a dog to live with,” he added with a laugh.
“After spending time with that team dog, Bear, Chase will beg for a pet, too,” I said at the memory.
“And hell, Hollis could probably just buy out every house there and it could be our private safe haven,” Seraphina teased.
“Don’t give that woman any ideas,” a new voice cut in. “And did I really just hear you all planning to start a compound?”
I turned to find Reed in the doorway, arms folded. Classic brooding stance. Honestly, the man could scowl in his sleep.
“Should sound like heaven to you. No chance of strangers and small talk. Just people you like,” Ryder joked.
“Who says I like you?” he responded with a tight voice while also clearly fighting a smirk.
I waved a finger at him. “We need to find someone for you that’ll turn that frown upside down for good.”
I focused back on the pan. Eggs were now not just burnt but also cold. Oh well. Frozen pancakes it is. I tossed the egg disaster into the trash. “Where’s everyone else?”
Reed shrugged. “Trevor and Alex are in the office, talking about something.”
Something? That was vague enough to concern me.
“And my nephew is trying to lift Eden’s spirits by performing a magic trick for her that Alex taught him,” Ryder said with a smile after I retrieved the pancakes. “You raised a good kid. He’s going to be okay.”
I could hear Chase’s muffled laughter down the hall as he performed that trick. He sounded light and free. And I wanted to keep it that way.
“Mind if I steal a word?” Ryder tipped his head to the side, seemingly forgetting about the coffee machine he’d started up.
Seraphina took the pancake box from me. “Here, let me. Go ahead.”
“No, no. I’ll cook. Don’t eat that garbage,” Reed grumbled, pushing away from the wall before I followed my brother from the room, curious what kind of sidebar conversation he wanted to have with me.
Any chance it was similar to the one happening between Trevor and Alejandro?
“What’s up?” I asked once we were in the library, rolling ladder and all.
Ryder closed the door and slowly faced me.
Was he about to lecture me on the make-out session he’d witnessed in the laundry room? We’d tried to behave. Really, we had. No shared room. No PDA. But we were also human.
And maybe this morning’s shared shower wasn’t our most innocent moment.
Okay, definitely not innocent. Thankfully, the door had been locked, for no interruptions.
“What are your thoughts on Trevor working with us?”
Talk about a way to pull my head from the shower and back into the room. “What?”
“Not active duty. Not all the time. Maybe a job here and there twice a month? Quick in-and-out things. Two, three days, tops, each time. Would pay well enough he’d have free time to be a stay-at-home dad all the other days of the month.
” He let that idea sink in before continuing, “And that would give you a chance to do something you gave up.”
I walked backward, processing, trying to wrap my head around his words, worried this wasn’t real. Maybe Seraphina was right and I had a little PTS after what had happened, too. I might need some counseling, along with Chase and Eden.
“Perform again?” I lifted my hands, staring at my fingers, which were aching to touch piano keys again.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m suggesting.” He stopped in front of me. “If that’s what you want, of course.”
“First, Seraphina offers me the dream idea of us all living down the street from one another. Now you’re suggesting offering Trevor the chance to do something that I know will fulfill him, and . . . this too?”
“I’m saying that one thing I’ve learned since meeting Seraphina is that the sky’s the limit on what we can have if we believe it’s possible.”
He opened his arms, and I accepted the offer and hugged him.
“Well, you’re going to make an excellent father one day,” I said against his chest.
“And speaking of dads . . .”
My heart flatlined at that. “Yeah?” I lifted my chin to look up at him.
“You’re never going to ask me to confront and forgive him, are you?” His brows slanted. “Because if I face that man, I’ll probably clock him across the jaw.”
I laugh-cried. “I might pay good money to see that.” I let the moment sit between us for a second before sighing.
“No, I think we leave him in the past, where he wants to stay.” I swallowed.
“And since you were kind enough to FaceTime my mom this week and virtually meet her and forgive her—motivating me to also forgive her—I think that’s enough forgiveness for now. ”
“You can’t forgive someone who doesn’t even think they were wrong.” He paused. “That goes for Rhett, too.” He let go of me. “I don’t know how I feel about him continuing to do the whole living thing.”
I pulled away, curious where he was going with this.
“Chandler got what he needed from him. Maybe Rhett should do what he had his girlfriend threaten Beth he’d do to her? A slip on wet concrete. A blown fuse. A glitch in the cameras to hide the truth of what happened.”
He gave me his back and went over and set his hands on the spines of the books on a shelf, hanging his head.
“Will Hobbs pulled off some wild shit while in a black site himself. Echo Team put him down, but . . . can we really take the risk that someone like Rhett won’t do the same?”
“So that’s what this is.” My eyes drifted to the ceiling. “You’re asking me to green-light an execution.”
He pushed away from the bookshelf, returning his attention to me.
“I’m asking to send a dead man back to his grave.
” His jaw clenched, eyes on me. “To protect you. Chase. Protect our future kids.” His gaze dropped to my stomach as if he knew one day I might have more, and with his best friend.
“That neighborhood dream of ours . . .” His words trailed off, emotion catching in his throat.
The knock on the door yanked me out of the morally gray zone Ryder had just dragged me into. Had he forgotten he was talking to me, not Hollis?
I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or the over in overwhelmed about all this as Alejandro joined us.
He shut the door, eyes sharp on Ryder. “You talk about it yet?”
Just like that, I was being asked to approve both a murder and a move all before breakfast. “Does Trevor know about this?”
“No, he doesn’t need this decision on his shoulders.
” Alejandro approached me. “But I did mention the idea of working with us.” He took my hand inside his big one, standing next to us.
“POTUS agreed to have a team on standby for us like that. Three other guys, a new unit, and they don’t have to be Delta. ”
This was all moving so fast.
“I’d love for y’all to work together. You did a great job last time.” I forced a smile, still uneasy over the other part of this conversation.
“Take your time and think about what else I asked you. Though the sooner, the better. I’d like to get this wrapped up so we can focus on moving you to South Carolina.
” Ryder lifted his chin Alejandro’s way.
“Seems to me you have some moving to do yourself.” He patted my shoulder.
“I’ll leave you two to chat.” He left without another word and closed the door behind him.
“I don’t want you getting blood on your hands.” I pulled my hand free of his to rest it on his chest.
“If I promise blood won’t literally end up on my hands or Ryder’s?”
Yeah, I read between the lines on that one.
“What’d Trevor say about the job offer?”
“On board. He said he already got your okay about operating in Queenstown.” He smiled. “You plan on taking that piano out of storage and playing again?”
I brought my hands up to his scruffy jawline and held his face. “Maybeee.”
“Any chance you’ll play for me again? Just you, the piano, and lace?” he asked before slanting his mouth over mine.
“Mmm,” I murmured against his lips. “I think that can be arranged.”