Page 49 of The Art of You

Hudson

Takingmy phone from my pocket, I gave Alessandro the six-digit code, which was my mother’s birthdate, then held it out. “Call Adelina for me. Tell her to look into a man named Alfred Anthony Andrews. See where he’s living now and what he’s up to. Find out if he’s been in New York recently.”

“His parents must’ve had a sense of humor,” Alessandro remarked while accepting my phone.

“We used to refer to Alfie as Triple A whenever we were Stateside. He was the man you called when you got yourself into trouble. He always came in for an assist.”

“Sounds like a good guy. Why am I looking him up? You don’t really think he’s this reporter’s source, do you?”

“I could’ve sworn I saw him at the party Friday night. It was just for a second, but it’s hard to miss a six-foot, redheaded, bearded man in a tux. I thought I’d hallucinated him. He wasn’t on the list, and I haven’t seen or heard from him in years. So why would he be there, you know?” I set my hands on my hips, trying to wrap my head around everything. “Given Kit’sviral story today, and the fact I was photoshopped out of that photo sent to Bella, maybe he was there.”Or maybe it was Pablo who sent the photo, hell if I know.

“If Alfie made it through security without being a guest, then someone helped get him in,” he said as if it were a fact. “As a Teamguy, he’d know how to avoid the security cameras. Probably could kill the footage after to hide the fact he was there, too.”

I wasn’t even close to being ready to believe Alfie was connected to any of this, but I had to rule out every possibility, especially since it meant keeping Bella safe.

When I kept quiet, stewing in my thoughts, Alessandro suggested, “I’ll get some up-to-date photos of him as well. See if I can find him in the background of anyone’s posts from the party.”

“You won’t find him in any,” I said after an exhausted sigh. “He’d never make that mistake.”

“But you saw him. Well,ifit was him there.”

I swallowed. “Then he wanted me to see him. Probably screwing with my head, the same way someone screwed with Bella’s by sending her that photo.”

“I guess my question is why would he be coming after you now? Why not a long time ago? You think Kit found out who was on your team? Sought some of the guys out looking for a story, and he gave her one? Or someone reached out to her, and you were the target all along?”

“Why sendthatphoto to Bella, though? What’s the point other than hoping to stir up trouble with Kit before we bumped into her? It doesn’t add up. Why not send something to me instead?”

“Because messing with her, especially with something tied to such a sensitive topic, would piss you off a hellof a lot more.” He tapped at his chest with my phone. “People can come after me all day long, but they go near my wife, they’ve issued themselves a death wish.”

“Well, Bella’s not mine.”So I have to keep telling myself.

“But whoever did it knows she’s like family, and you’d do anything for family.”

When I didn’t reply to that, he killed me with his next words. “I won’t suggest the possibility your SEAL brother was working with the kidnappers, but we can’t exactlynotthrow the idea at the wall to see if it sticks.”

“No.” I shook my head. “He’d never. If Alfie’s involved in this, I think it was just his bad luck he and Kit picked this weekend to screw with me.” I blew out a deep breath, and with it the pain in my chest from the accident resurfaced. “I don’t know what to think. Nothing makes sense anymore,” I admitted, trying not to let my voice break. “My head’s all over the place.” I stole a look at the theater room, assuming she’d be waking anytime. “I gotta get out of here for a second. Go for a walk on the beach. That’s why I need you to handle the call to Adelina for me. And when my father gets wind of this?—”

“I’ll handle him, too.”

One thing I could rely on with the Costas was they’d never ask me questions about my service time. I knew Alessandro wouldn’t press to learn why my old team may hate me. He’d let me share if, and only if, I wanted to.

“Take it easy on the walk. You were just in a car accident.”

The pain would be worth the fresh air and the chance to clear my head. “Copy that. Just get me when the guys are here.”

He continued to study me. “You sure you’re going to be okay?”

I gave him the only answer that made sense to me. “IfBella’s good, I’m good.” I started past him, then hesitated and shot a backward glance. “We won’t be able to protect her from those headlines and reading that garbage, will we?”

“No.” He frowned. “Best we can do is damage control.”

Chapter 19

Isabella

An hour had goneby since I’d woken in the theater room, discovering Alessandro working on his laptop instead of Hudson next to me.

After I’d rubbed the sleep from my eyes, he’d sucker-punched me with the news. He ripped the Band-Aid off quick and dirty, letting me know I’d need a bottle of antacids the second I went online.

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