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“Yeah. You wouldn’t have known that, obviously, since we only found out last night.”
“So you thought maybe she was behind it?”
“We thought it was a possibility,” he says. “But then your tracker came back online, and we discovered it was Holmes instead.”
Wait, what? “My tracker wasn’t working?” My voice pitches up. “When did it start working again?”
Rylan exhales heavily. “When he got you to the house. Leo discovered afterwards that there was a GPS jammer in the van. So we—”
He stops, closing his eyes. After a second, he sucks in a deep breath and continues, voice shaking, “I didn’t know where you were, Charlie. When I found out you were missing, and your tracker was just gone—I’ve never been more scared in my life.”
I’m cold all over. What if there had been a jammer at Peter’s house, too? How would they have found me?
“Charlie, hey, it’s okay. We found you. You’re safe.”
I believed the earring was working the entire time. I was counting on it. But it was so close.
Rylan lifts me into his lap, his hand gently stroking my arm, soothing me as I shake.
Then another terrifying thought hits me. I can barely speak over the fear squeezing my chest. “Ry.”
“What, love?” His tone is soft, soothing. “You’re okay. I promise.”
“What if someone else comes after me? He found me because someone posted a picture of me online at the Hop-less Horseman. That’s why he went there. And you guys scared him away. But then he knew to watch for me. What if it happens again?”
“It won’t.” He’s adamant. “I’m not going to let it. We’re not going to let it.”
“How?”
“I talked to Cole about it this morning. We’re going to continue your protection for at least a few more months.”
Before I can speak, Rylan cups my nape, tilting my head up to meet his gaze. “I know it’s not ideal, Charlie. And it won’t be forever. The web crawler will pull down any videos that get reshared. Morgan is in prison and she has no access to computers. Over time, all the attention will die down.”
“But in the meantime, we’re going to have one of the team with you whenever you go out. As long as I’m not on a job, it’ll be me.” He kisses my forehead. “And I’m not complaining about that.”
“So, I won’t go anywhere alone? At all?”
“You’ll be safe here,” Rylan reminds me softly. “And I promise we’ll do whatever we can to keep things as normal as possible. If you want to buy sexy lingerie, I’ll be right outside the dressing room waiting for you.”
The reminder tugs at me. My lacy things. All gone. My lip pouts out. “I lost all the lacy things I was going to show you.”
“Ah, love.” His eyes go a soft, mossy green. “I’ll take you to get more. As soon as you’re feeling up to it, we’ll buy out the entire store.”
Oh. Oh. “Well.” New images fill my head—sneaking him in the dressing room, Rylan picking out lingerie for me—and suddenly the idea holds a whole new appeal. And spending more time with the man I love?
Stretching up, pressing my lips to his, I kiss him softly. “I think that’s a really good idea.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
RYLAN
She doesn’t look upset about this trip.
I keep sneaking glances at Charlie, searching for any sign of distress.
She told me it was fine, that she liked the idea, but I’m still nervous. So I keep searching for small tells—her eyes darkening, tiny lines etching across her forehead, her leg nervously jumping.
The absolute last thing I want to do is upset Charlie. With everything she’s been through, if I get the slightest hint that this could hurt her, I’m turning around and coming up with a new plan.
