Page 21 of Call Sign: King
Code Orange.
The only thing worse was a Code Red — something they’d discussed and planned for ad nauseam in those first years of their relationship. Ryder’s BSO team and Trevor still reviewed the plans periodically, but she never really dreamed it would become a reality.
The first real tendril of fear broke through, reminding her of how terrified she’d been when she her stalker had broken into her apartment in NYC or when she’d found one of the many threatening letters they’d left behind before Ryder and Trevor had solved the mystery. Things had been going so well since, she’d almost forgotten the paralyzing anxiety she’d felt back then. She hated the idea of being thrown back into that level of alarm.
“I love you. Be a good girl and listen to Trevor. Do exactly what he says, do you hear me?”
“Yes, sir,” she said, knowing now was not the time to argue.
“I’ll call you later, after I get everything in motion. Now put Trevor back on the line.”
So bossy.
The problem was, she loved her bossy husband just as he was. As much as his protectiveness annoyed her at times, it was just another way he showed how much he loved her.
And today, that meant letting him send an entire Black Sky Ops squadron to Toronto to help Trevor and Michael with her close-body protection.
At least he isn’t making me fly back to California… yet.
Chapter Seven
RYDER
“You get the package I overnighted to the hotel?” Axel asked the following Monday.
“Yeah, it was waiting in the suite when I got here. It gave me a heart attack. I thought someone had left a bomb,” Ryder admitted, on edge.
“Christ, you need to chill out. You’re gonna give yourself a heart attack like your old man.”
Axel was the only member of the BSO team to know Ryder’s father was alive, let alone his medical history.
“Yeah, well, bringing up my father right now is not going to help me relax,” he warned his friend before trying to change the subject. “What’s the latest report from Drago?”
Ryder had his linguistics experts back in D.C. working overtime since Rita Skeeter had broken the story of his existence one eternally long week ago.
Keeping his distance from his wife had never been harder. With each day the salacious story had gained momentum as the bitch Kathleen O’Malley dug deeper and deeper into Khloe’s life. Even threats from multiple lawyers hadn’t slowed her down.
“Drago and Polly have been focusing on Russian and European news outlets and social media. As expected, the UK is covering the story extensively, but the good news is they haven’t picked up on anything to worry about… yet.
“This last weekend, Ice and his team were able to bug the security huts of several of your oldest enemies in Belarus, Syria, and Russia, so Drago will have a lot more relevant data to translate. I’m confident he’ll let us know the second he hears anything concerning,” Axel tried to reassure him.
“That’s good,” Ryder said, pacing around the Presidential Suite of the Park Hyatt Toronto. He glanced down at his watch for the hundredth time that afternoon.
Where the fuck are they?
“You’re doing all you can do.”
His friend’s voice broke through the constant hum of anxiety he’d felt for the last seven days. There’d been a time in his life he’d lived with this low-level hum of danger every minute of every day. It had kept him alive. Only since the pressure on his chest had returned did he recognize how much it drained him.
“Am I?” Ryder countered. “I never should have come to Toronto,” he said, second guessing his decision. Maybe he should leave before Khloe even knew he’d come?
“Bullshit,” Axel groused. “We’ve moved hotels. Changed up her routine daily. We’ve locked down access to her to the bare minimum. We’ve got our ear to the ground and our eyes on the sky.”
Intellectually, Ryder knew Axel was right, but that would never stop him from being worried about Khloe’s safety.
“Unfortunately, Kathleen O’Malley has also been busy. Did you see her one-hour special last night? She interviewed a fucking eyewitness from Black Light that’s watched us playing at the club. She’s pushing the sexual deviance angle of our relationship big time because that only amps up interest. Not to mention, she has several others getting their fifteen minutes of fame by blabbing how Khloe and I often eat dinner at Runway with the Cartwright-Davidsons.”
“I saw, and I also know Jaxson is probably more upset about that than you are. He was pissed enough just knowing what a pain in the ass the reporter was being. Mark my words, now that she’s dragged his clubs and his family into the spotlight, he’s gonna unleash his stable of lawyers on her and those club members and they won’t know what hit them,” Axel replied.
