Page 21 of Undefeated Love
Fuck. He wasn’t thinking clearly.
Moving on, Alex wanted to clarify. “Are all the Ladies of Black Swan still at the beach?”
“Let me check the security cameras.” A few clicks later, Nate confirmed. “Yes, sir. They’re all in their own condos. No one has entered the big one on the top floor since Katlin left early yesterday morning.”
Hell, was it only yesterday when his world fell apart?
“Sir, do you need something from us here in Miami?” Nate offered. “Do I need to contact Griffin and have him call you?”
“No, thank you, Nate.” Alex pulled himself together. “I’ll call him if I need him.” He hung up the phone without asking about the Miami office, if they needed anything. Alex was way off his game. His head wasn’t on the job.
He stared at the blinking dot in Hong Kong and debated catching a flight there. No. She was working and he didn’t want to blow her cover. His appearance in China could draw her attention away from the op and possibly get her killed.
Alex took advantage of her overseas mission, and the opportunity to escape the paparazzi, by dropping in on the San Francisco and Denver offices. It had been far too long since he’d toured those two. Not since he and Kat spent a few months together visiting all their offices while she was recovering from her TBI.
* * *
Two weeks later, Katlin’s tracker went on the fritz again before stopping in D.C. Alex skipped Chicago and flew straight to Washington, hoping she was there. If not, he needed to visit his center there anyway.
He was surprised when he walked into his D.C. office to find Griffin behind his desk.
His Miami manager immediately stood. “Alex.” He glanced at the files spread out on the large oak desk and immediately started gathering them. “Give me just a minute and I’ll be out of here.”
Alex shut the door. “No. We need to talk.” He took the visitor seat across the desk.
“As my boss?” Griffin remained standing.
“No, as my friend.” Griffin’s hard face made Alex wonder if they were still friends.
“I’ll be honest with you, I’m not feeling very friendly right now.” Unease filled his eyes as Griffin gingerly sat down in the executive chair on the far side of the desk.
“Nothing has changed.” Alex hoped to dispel any of Griffin’s fears. “At least I hope not,” he added under his breath. He inhaled deeply and let it out slowly while Griffin waited patiently. “I’mnotengaged to JJ and have never been engaged to her.”
The former SEAL’s eyebrows almost hit his hairline. “That’s not what Grace and I saw on the news.”
Alex once again told the story of how the ring in JJ’s purse popped out, he picked it up, and she ran with him on his knee. “It all went from an innocent retrieval to a publicity stunt in a second.” Alex looked at his friend beseechingly, silently praying he’d believe him.
“You’re fucked.” Griffin said aloud what Alex already knew.
“No shit. I’ve tried to call Katlin dozens of times and I’ve texted her constantly. I think she may have blocked my number.” Alex threw his hands in the air. “What the hell am I going to do? I love Katlin. She’s the woman I want to marry.She’swearing my ring, not JJ.”
“You have four other women who are pissed as hell at you as well. They’ve offered to do everything from castrate to kill you.” Griffin gave him a wry grin. “If Katlin says the word, you’d better watch out. They’ll do it.”
“Fuck. More women to worry about.”
“Not just women. Daniel was ready to hop on a plane and kill you. Shakespeare was ready to provide the jet and offer backup.” Griffin shook his head. “I was ready to take you out with my bare hands.”
“Thank you for not attacking me when I walked in here.” He’d been so concerned about Katlin, he hadn’t thought about his friends and how they’d react to the news. “What the fuck am I going to do?”
Griffin stared at him a long minute. “You have to prove it…without a doubt. To her teammates. And all of us men. Hopefully, they’ll convince her. Eventually. Maybe. She’ll listen to them.”
“Are the Ladies here?”
Griffin nodded. “Why the hell do you think I’m here?”
“I figured as much.” Alex wondered if all the women had shared their tracker information with their significant others. “I tracked her here. Do you know how long they’ll be here?”
Griffin stared at Alex for one heartbeat. Two. Three. “They’re wheels up tomorrow night. They’re briefing the mission and from what Grace said, it isn’t going well. She hasn’t told me who they’re after, yet.”
