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Ryker grabbed her favorite cherry danish off the plate and handed it to her along with her usual “drop of coffee with my creamer” coffee. She smiled at him with sleepy appreciation.
“I went to the gym. Let me take a shower real quick. Be right back. I love you.”
“Love you, too. Thanks for breakfast.”
“Anytime.” He kissed her forehead then grabbed some clean clothes, made sure windows and doors to the room were secured, and headed into the bathroom.
He fired off a quick text to Roark requesting a status update, then stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower. He cranked up the heat and let the stinging water run over him, but for once the hot water did little to soothe his nerves.
He felt like they were missing a key piece to this puzzle. But what?
The stalker had been with the band at every stop since the beginning. Plus, Rosé had enough behind the scenes access to get into secured areas that only people with proper clearance should be able to access.
Nelson and Rutherford were the obvious candidates, especially due to the missing security footage — but they’d been under surveillance the entire break and nothing indicated foul play. Additionally, their internet and phone histories contained nothing unusual — though that didn’t eliminate the possibility of a burner phone with mobile internet.
Still, someone abducted Lyra. The team had eyes on Nelson and Rutherford so if one of them was behind it, they had a partner. But that didn’t feel right to Ryker. They were overlooking something.
Ryker heard his phone chime.
He finished washing, grabbed a towel, and stepped out of the shower onto the cool tile floor.
His heart sank when he read the message from Roark.
“Operative H is DOA. One to the chest and two to the head. No sign of the ward.”
Fuck. Rosé was armed and willing to kill. This made him even more dangerous than anticipated. And now he had Lyra.
“Thx. Keep me posted.”
Ryker dried off and dressed quickly.
He walked out of the bathroom to find Jade propped up against the pillows on the bed, watching cartoons and munching pastries.
She smiled at him and patted the bed beside her. She looked so content.
God, he loved this woman so much.
He didn’t want to upset her, but he knew he had to tell her.
He crossed the room and climbed on the bed beside her.
Her smile faded. “What’s wrong, Ry? And don’t say ‘nothing.’ I can see it on your face. Something’s wrong.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. He pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Lyra is missing.”
“Like wandered off without telling her bodyguard missing? She does that all the time. Start your search on 5th Avenue.”
Ryker shook his head. “No. We don’t know where... I mean...”
He sighed. Nothing would make this easier on Jade.
“Baby, there’s not an easy way to say this so I’m just going to say it. Lyra’s bodyguard is dead. Her phone is off, we don’t know where she is, and we can’t track her. I have the team working on finding her, but right now she’s off our grid.”
Panic crossed Jade’s face. She bolted out of his arms and off the bed, then darted naked across the room to rifle through her suitcase.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
