Page 112 of The Bodyguard

Roman pulled out of the horseshoe driveway. “That depends.”

Cash turned and faced them in the back seat. “The Feds were notified of a weird call.”

Sawyer’s eyebrow arched. “About?”

Cash tilted his head toward Angela. “Our bulletproof princess.”

Roman’s phone rang. The center console display read Titan HQ. He punched the button on the dash to answer the call.

“Got everyone yet?” Parker said through the car speakers.

“That’s affirmative; we’re all here.”

“How you feeling, Angela?” Parker asked.

“Like I was run over by a water buffalo.”

The corners of Sawyer’s lips quirked.

“Are you up for a few hours’ drive?” Parker asked. “Because the tables have turned, and I think your girl might be trying to find you this time.”

“Mylene is looking for me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Parker said. “There’s a recording of a call made to your mother’s office. The caller sounds like they might be in the midst of a mental health crisis, but—there’s a Fed named John Patterson. You remember him, right?”

“Yeah, I remember him,” she grumbled. “Who could forget?”

“Yeah, well, they sent the call to Patterson, and he thinks it’s your girl.”

Angela reached for Sawyer’s hand. “Why would he think that?”

“I don’t know. I heard the call. The call’s pretty gibberishy, but it’s clearly about you.”

“Did they trace the call? Do they know where Mylene might be?” Angela asked.

“They have the location the call originated from and are going in shortly.”

The black cup of hospital coffee churned in Sawyer’s stomach. He hated unknowns and didn’t love that Parker had called with so many. If Angela’s doctors had kept her another day, they wouldn’t be in this vehicle traveling toward all those unanswered questions. The operation would have been completed, and a report of findings could have been safely handed to Angela instead.

“If they find Mylene, are you game to see her?” Parker asked.

“Absolutely.”

Sawyer made sure to keep his hands to himself. He wanted to tuck her protectively to his side. That wouldn’t fly near their colleagues.

“All right, then,” Parker said. “Roman will head this way. When we have confirmation that it’s Mylene, we’ll find out where to take you to see her. If it’s not her, then I don’t know. We’ll come up with a Plan B.”

Sawyer wanted Plan B to have a much more robust security component than what they’d discussed thus far: locate a new safe house and, until it was found, keep an eye on Angela at all times.

“Can I hear the call?” she asked.

“Yeah. Sure. Give me a minute.”

Then the recording started with white noise and a standard congressional office greeting. The caller’s voice was hoarse. At times, it rushed. Other times, it was stilted and garbled.

“Does that sound like Mylene Hathaway?” Cash asked.

“I never spoke to her. I only saw her.”

---