Page 17 of Call Sign: King
Ryder hung his head in his hands, willing his heart rate to slow enough to allow him to think clearly. Hearing Aunt Ginny’s gasp as she walked in with his breakfast only made him feel worse. The tray she was carrying clanked as she dropped it onto his desk.
She was able to do what Ryder couldn’t — get the sound turned up. As soon as she did, he wished she hadn’t.
“…we won’t be resting until we solve the puzzle of who Khloe Monroe’s mystery man might be, John.”
The photo from Thursday night’s premier changed to a new picture — this one taken by telephoto lens of a smiling Ryder and Khloe in the front seat of their SUV, pulling out of their Malibu property. Based on the small glimpse of his wife’s outfit, it had been taken Saturday night as they’d left for dinner at their friends Jaxson, Chase, and Emma’s home before spending a few hours playing at the infamous trio’s private BDSM club in Beverly Hills.
As the report continued, Ryder recognized the guest being interviewed. It was the damn reporter who’d pressured Khloe on the red carpet.
“I’ve reached out to Ms. Monroe’s agent and publicist for comment but haven’t heard back yet. She won’t be able to hide from me forever, though, as I have a sit-down interview scheduled with her soon.”
“Turn the fucking thing off,” Ryder said, barely containing the urge to throw something at the wall of monitors.
“Shouldn’t you hear what they know?” Ginny asked.
“It doesn’t matter. They won’t stop digging until they know what color her fucking underwear is today. I knew this would happen. I never should have agreed to go last week.”
“I know this scares you, but honestly, you aren’t going to be able to keep your relationship hidden forever. At some point the press would figure out she was seeing someone.”
“Khloe was right. That woman,” Ryder groused, pointing in the direction of Kathleen O’Malley, “is the fucking Rita Skeeter of Hollywood. She’s like a fucking dog with a bone. I never should have allowed her to do that interview, and I’ll be damned if she’s going to spend even one more minute with that bitch.”
“I understand you’re not happy, but if it wasn’t her, wouldn’t it have just been some other reporter?” Ginny asked trying to manage her nephew’s anger.
“Not if we played it right. She could have stayed happily single in the public eye forever.”
“Oh?” Ginny smiled a sly smile that felt out of place in the heavy moment. “I kinda think they’re gonna get curious when she shows up pregnant on the red carpet.”
Ryder’s panicked look must have shocked his old boss.
Brandon almost shouted. “You’re going to be a father? Holy shit!”
“No!” Ryder held out his hands like stop signs, trying to defuse the conversation. Throwing a dirty look at his aunt, he added. “We’ve just started talking about maybe… possibly… one day. I obviously should have kept that little tidbit from my aunt here. I didn’t realize she was such a blabber mouth.”
“For your information, Khloe told me because she’s so excited just thinking about it. And you know I keep your secrets, but I also know this is a secure call with Brandon, so your secret is safe with both of us.”
Waving wildly at the TV, Ryder shouted. “None of my secrets are safe anymore! Hell, we might as well take out a billboard in downtown Moscow letting my enemies know where to find Nicolai Romanovski.”
“For Christ’s sake, are you even still the same man I used to work with? Not even getting shot got you riled up like this back in the day.”
“Yeah, well I wasn’t in love back in the day. The second I’m identified by my old enemies, the target I’ve gladly carried on my back moves squarely onto Khloe and you fucking know I’m right. You also know what kind of fucked up shit they do to their enemies.”
Brandon at least didn’t insult him by arguing otherwise.
“I need to get the fuck out of here and get home to Khloe,” Ryder said desperate to hold her in his arms where no one could hurt her. Only after the words left did he remember she was in the air on her way to Toronto for the week.
“No, you need to stay the fuck away from her,” Brandon ordered. “The sharks are going to be circling. You’ll only make things worse being seen with her now. You need to call the Royal Guard and move your entire organization on high alert.
“As soon as we hang up, I’ll do the same with your old team still active in Europe. We’ll keep our ear to the ground for any rumblings from your old enemies. I’ll call if I hear anything.”
Brandon didn’t even wait for Ryder to say goodbye, closing their video chat down and leaving Ryder to stew in his panic.
What have I done?
Chapter Six
KHLOE
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we’re approaching Toronto Pearson International Airport and will be landing shortly. The captain has turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. We ask that you please secure all baggage under your seat or in an overhead compartment and take your seats with your belt fastened. All tray tables should be returned to the upright and locked position for landing.”
