Chapter 15
More hard truths
“Cara!” Grace says, rushing toward me. My spine stiffens. I’m not sure what’s going to happen next, and then she envelops me in a fierce hug. “I was so worried!”
“It’s okay,” I say softly.
“It’s not okay!” she’s still yelling. One thing I’ve noticed about Grace is that the normally cool, calm, and collected former attorney is kind of a livewire now that pregnancy hormones are coursing through her body.
“Let’s all move this into the living room,” Rick suggests. “Then we can brief you guys on the situation.”
Jake lets out a frustrated sigh. “We might as well wait. Ryan is bringing Jules. As much as I want all the info right now, you should wait to brief us all at once.”
“Is it a good idea to bring Black into the fold?” Rick asks, and I wonder what the fuck they’re talking about.
“It is,” Jake says. “You can trust him.”
Rick clenches his jaw and then releases it. “Fine.”
“I know you don’t like him—” Jake starts.
“I don’t know him,” Rick interrupts. “He’s too private.”
We all file into the living room and take our seats. Jake pulls Grace in to share an oversized armchair with him, and I look away. My cheeks heat at their public display. They may have started as enemy sharks swimming in the same big, New York pond, but now they are the real deal. I love Grace, and I’m so happy she’s found her forever. And so very sorry I played a part in hurting her before they figured it all out. She’s long since forgiven me, but I haven’t. Not yet.
Gus, Jake’s main Secret Service agent, and Joe, his driver plus, file in and flank the room, always at the ready. It must be hard not having any privacy at all. Although it doesn’t seem to bother Jake and Grace much. Rick, for the most part, has always been on the fringes and out of the limelight. I wonder how he straddles the line.
I’m distracted by my thoughts when Jules barrels into the room spitting mad, with the president’s aide-de-camp hot on her heels.
“Would you kindly get your paws off me!” she snaps before coming to a halt as she notices the full room. “What’s going on here?”
“Sit down, Jules,” Jake says quietly. “This is serious.”
“What’s happened?” she asks, her demeanor instantly changing from pissed off lioness to alert as she drops to the arm of the sofa farthest away from me. I notice the captain stands with his back against the wall. His limbs hang loose, giving the impression he is relaxed, but the marine is anything but.
“Rachel has been taken,” Rick says to the room.
Jake closes his eyes for a second before opening them again, and when he does, they burn bright with determination and retribution.
“Is there any connection between her kidnapping and this morning’s revelations?” Jake asks.
“I think so,” Rick says.
“Is this place even secure?” Captain Black bites out.
“Yes,” Jake replies calmly, his voice even when I can tell he feels anything but. “This property is secure and off public records. Rick and I meet here often.”
The captain nods once before yielding the floor. “All right.”
“What makes you think the two events are connected?” Jake asks.
Rick wraps his arm around my shoulders from where he sits on the arm of the sofa next to me. He squeezes my shoulder once, a signal to be brave and hang tight while we get through all this, and then he lets go before answering his best friend and boss.
“Nine years ago, Cara and I were married,” Rick says to those in the room who did not know. Grace and Jake’s faces are both carefully blank.
“What?” Jules asks.
“And nine years ago, Cara left me when Jake and I were deployed.”
