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Furthermore, Diana had actually committed the crimes and had admitted as much. It wasn’t like they had to work hard to gather evidence against her. The arrest of Rafiq would have tempered her actions for both countries, but even then, she’d have faced the same scrutiny.
She stared at the replica store across the busy roadway and felt the prick of tears. Dammit. She was supposed to be all cried out at this point. She took a deep breath and listened to the thumping on the roof of the car as Chris tied on the eight-foot fir tree.
What was Gardner’s role in all this? She dug through her purse to find Ian Boyd’s business card. She hadn’t even glanced at it when she’d tossed it in her purse before leaving the bar yesterday afternoon, and now she was curious. At last, she found it and stared at the sharp-beaked bird logo next to the company name: Raptor.
Ian Boyd didn’t have a fancy title. He didn’t have any kind of job title or description at all. Just his first and last name and phone number with DC area code. She imagined James Bond’s card would be similar, except the company name would be Universal Exports.
She’d wonder if Raptor was real, but she was a Maryland resident, and the company owner, Alec Ravissant, was one of her senators. She remembered the headlines when there was an explosion on his estate and it was related to the company.
The driver’s side door opened at the same time as she flipped Ian’s card over. She gasped after reading the handwritten note.
“What’s that?” Chris asked.
She showed him the back of the card.
Tell Freya to call me
“Ian Boyd knew I was a Valkyrie.”
“That’s…interesting. Did you tell Freya about the interview?”
“Never had a chance. I saw Jamal on the Metro and forgot about everything related to Boyd and Gardner. I changed trains a few times to be certain he wasn’t following me, then went to your hotel.”
“I’ve been trying to figure out how we can contact Freya. Maybe we can use Boyd.”
“He might turn me in.”
“It’s a risk, but I won’t be direct. I think I know someone who knows his boss.”
“The senator?”
“Yes. Him and Raptor’s CEO. I can make a call—it will be totally safe. He’s one of my closest friends in the world.” He started the engine. “Now, let’s get this tree home. I was able to buy a stand, so we can get it set up and put lights on it. Might not need to go to the store tonight at all.”
“You promised me eggnog.”
He smiled. “We’ll stop at a convenience store on the way home.”
She dropped a hand on his knee, leaned over, and kissed his cheek. “Okay, then. Let’s go home, set up our tree, and see if we can find a way to get in touch with Freya.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
This was not how Chris had imagined spending the first Saturday night of his vacation, and yet it was the most vacation-like thing he’d done since…last Christmas.
He also could now see how big the cracks had been in his marriage last year, as he and Pam had bickered over every detail. He’d been unaware Pam had been cheating on him for over a year at that point, but in hindsight, it was obvious.
Diana oohed and aahed over the few ornaments he had—all ones that he’d had since childhood. His mom had gifted him with the box the first Christmas he shared with Pam as a married couple, and they’d always been packed separately, which was the only reason he had them now.
He’d probably made a mistake in letting Pam keep all the ornaments they’d collected together, but right now, he didn’t care as he watched Diana carefully place on the tree the popsicle stick ornaments he’d made when he was in kindergarten.
She treated them like they were made of blown glass. The shadows had left her eyes, and she flushed with pleasure as she asked him to give the detailed origin story of each ornament she unwrapped.
He hadn’t realized how personal, even intimate, decorating the tree was. At least, that was how it felt doing it with her.
He absolutely wanted her back in his bed. And he wanted her to stay there when this was behind them, which was an even wilder thought.
She pulled a Lego fire engine ornament from bubble wrap. He remembered gluing the red bricks together after he broke his mom’s glass fire engine ornament when he was nine. It wasn’t a bad replica. He shared the story.
“That is ridiculously sweet.” She held it out to him. “You want to hang it?”
