Page 24 of Holiday Hijinks

“What’d you find out?” Jett barked.

Slate pushed the button to put Ace on speaker.

“I think they know who both women are,” Ace said quietly. “The double the fun comment makes me think they have both of them and know exactly whose women they took.”

“They’ve been tracking me again,” Slate said. “If they know my name, they can easily find out yours. They know who we both are.”

“It wasn’t just the hotel reservation in Seattle with Slate’s name that they had,” Ace said urgently. “They had the marriage license.”

“I know,” Slate said, puzzled. “Why does that matter?”

“Ms. Moore’s name was on there as well. It listed her first and last name. She might live with you in San Diego, but you’re the only one listed as the homeowner. They used that to discover her full name.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Jett asked, frowning.

“Bentley never changed her last name. Both Bentley and her husband’s names are listed at their home address if you look them up online. Ashleigh and Bentley have the same last name.”

Slate’s mind whirled, working through the possibilities. “They tracked her to her sister’s house,” he said, his voice rising. “They were lying in wait. But how’d they know Ashleigh would be heading there today? That doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.”

“They must have gained access to more than we realized,” Ace said over the speaker phone. “Maybe they got into our phone records or text messages.”

Slate frowned, mulling that over. He had two-step authentication on everything, making it more difficult to hack into his personal information. He doubted they’d have gotten in so easily.

“The wedding planner,” Jett said, looking alarmed. “They found your marriage license online and probably called around the San Diego area on a hunch. We might be in Seattle right now, but you hired someone local. If they had her name and knew she was working with you, they could’ve easily hacked into her emails. I doubt she takes the same security measures we do. They knew exactly where Ashleigh and Anna would be headed today.”

“That means they know the name of the venue, too,” Slate said, grabbing his phone again. “I’m notifying my SEAL team.”

“They’re here?” Ford asked as he looked up from the laptop. He frowned as a news alert popped up, clicking on the link. “There was a shooting earlier outside the city. I think it’s the neighborhood where Ashleigh’s sister lives,” he said in disbelief.

Slate’s stomach dropped as he rushed over and looked at Ford’s laptop. “That’s Bentley’s neighborhood,” he said, his voice grave. “But who was shot?”

Suddenly, Ford’s phone buzzed. “That’s Lena!” he exclaimed. He read over the text message, looking back at Slate with determination in his eyes. “I’ve got the name of the limo company. West can track the GPS for us, and then we’ll find both women.”

Chapter 11

“I’m scared,” Ashleigh said from the back of the limo, clutching onto Anna’s hand as the vehicle swerved around a corner. Her head thumped against the glass window, despite the fact that she was wearing a seatbelt, and Anna let out a small cry.

They’d been driving for fifteen minutes, speeding away from the Seattle suburbs where Bentley lived with her family.

“Are we heading to the airport?” Anna asked, looking at a sign on the highway.

“I don’t know,” Ashleigh replied, her voice shaky. “It seems like it. I still can’t get a cell signal,” she said in frustration, trying her phone once again. “I wanted to call Slate or 911. I can’t even get a text to go through.”

“They must be using a jammer,” Anna said in a hushed tone.

The two women exchanged a look. “My sister is expecting us,” Ashleigh pointed out. “If we don’t show up within a reasonable amount of time, she’ll try to reach me. After that, she’ll be calling Slate.”

“They’ll find us,” Anna assured her, worrying her lip. She clutched her hands together, her bracelets jangling with the movement. Her eyes went to the partition and then back to Ashleigh. “We can’t go wherever they’re taking us,” she whispered. “If they try to move us into another vehicle or put us on an airplane, we fight. Scream. Kick them in the balls. We are not letting them take us.”

“How did they even find us in the limousine?” Ashleigh asked in wonder. “Do you think they knew who we were? That we’re connected to Slate and Jett? I can’t believe this is random.”

“It’s not,” Anna agreed. “Both of them are in positions of power. They’ve both made enemies in their careers, both near and far. Someone took us to get to them.”

Ashleigh swallowed, knowing Anna was right. “We need a plan.”

Anna looked around the back of the limousine. “We could hit the driver over the head with the bucket the champagne was chilling in. We should use the bottle, too. It’s heavy. We can each hold onto one and fight when we eventually stop. They’re not going to leave us back here forever.”

“How many men got in the vehicle?” Ashleigh asked. “I couldn’t see much aside from the driver.”

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