Page 27 of Call Sign: King
Blinding rage invaded as Khloe internalized the level of this betrayal. She trusted so few people. Never in a million years would she have thought Sandra would burn her.
“Why would she do this?” Khloe’s voice cracked with emotion.
Trevor filled in the gaps. “Her husband divorced her after finding out she’d cheated on him. Axel dug into her financials, and she’s got a hot mess going on. Her house is in foreclosure, and she’s got over forty thousand in credit card debt. He also found a recent deposit for a hundred grand.”
“That’s what my life is worth to her? A hundred grand? Christ, if she’d come to me, I’d have paid her ten times that much to keep her fucking mouth closed!” Khloe shouted.
Chase tried to make her feel better. “As furious as he is, Jaxson is convinced she had no idea she was putting your life in danger by talking. She just thought she was selling insider secrets about your love life. In her own twisted way, she thought she’d be bringing you additional exposure.”
Reaper got into the mix. “Unfortunately, she was working with you when Ryder rode his Harley up the red carpet four years ago and stole you away during the whole stalker fiasco. That’s given the press a pretty accurate timeline for your relationship. They may not know you’re married yet, but they certainly know you’ve been together for at least four years, which in Hollywood years is a lifetime. And unfortunately, he was still active CIA back then.”
Just thinking about all the secrets Sandra could be blabbing to the press made Khloe’s stomach churn. She’d been betrayed by so-called friends in the past, but nothing on this scale. This breach of trust felt even worse than what her old publicists, the Kaplans, had done to her years before.
“Khloe?” Chase called into her ear. “Did I lose you?”
“I’m here.”
“It’s gonna be okay,” he reassured.
“Is it?” She wasn’t sure anymore.
An old fear gripped her. What if Ryder decided it was too dangerous to stay together? She hadn’t thought much about the possibility since they’d gotten married, but she had absolutely no doubt that if Ryder got it in his head that he had to leave her in order to keep her safe, he would disappear in a heartbeat.
The limo pulling up to the entrance of the Park Hyatt only made things worse. The hotel had put up stanchions to hold the throng of photographers back from the main entrance. But like sharks smelling blood in the water, they had already started shouting her name even before she’d exited the car.
Khloe felt the panic rising up — her tears making the other occupants of the car start to swim in front of her. The small lunch she’d forced herself to eat hours before was threatening to reappear.
When the shouting got louder Reaper suggested, “Let’s have the driver take us to the delivery entrance.”
“It won’t do any good. They’ll be covering that too,” Trevor answered before talking to Khloe. “Tell Chase you’ll call him later. Let’s get you upstairs.”
Her best friend’s voice was strong… confident. Not unlike Ryder’s. How lucky she was to have two men in her life who understood her so well.
“I’ll call you later, Chase.” she said blindly following Trevor’s directions. Ending the call, she handed the phone back to Ricky as she took a deep breath, trying to convince herself not to throw up.
Like a choreographed dance, Ricky held out her large sunglasses just as Trevor opened one door and Reaper opened the other. Both men got out and took several long seconds to assess the location before Trevor reached into the back seat.
Khloe took his hand, letting him assist her in standing. Normally, she’d plaster on a smile and give the cameras a small wave, but she didn’t have it in her today. Instead, she tucked her hand into Trevor’s arm while keeping her gaze trained on the brick driveway, waiting for the rest of her entourage to surround her.
As they approached, two doormen opened the double doors, allowing them to stay together as they entered the busy lobby. Even without looking around, Khloe felt the gazes of those around her — watching her… judging her. It was something she’d thought she’d gotten used to, but today her fame felt different. Today it felt dangerous, like a target. Reporters and star-struck fans she could handle, but she couldn’t help but wonder if one of Ryder’s enemies had finally figured out that she considered her most important role in life that of his wife and lover.
Willing her panic to hold off until they were behind closed doors, Khloe heard Reaper instructing Michael and Hawkeye to take up guard in the lobby and make sure no one unexpected followed them upstairs. Arrow and MacGyver had already peeled off to make the security rounds throughout the entire property, something the BSO team had been taking turns doing every few hours since their arrival in Toronto the week before.
Khloe forced herself to take a cleansing breath once the elevator doors closed, giving her a second of privacy with Trevor, Ricky, Reaper, and Tank. In a moment of clarity, she realized how ridiculous it was that being with only four men instead of eight was about the most privacy she would be getting in the foreseeable future.
Tank unlocked the door when they arrived at the suite. Trevor led her inside but held them in the foyer until Tank and Reaper did a sweep of their rooms. By the time they came back with the all-clear, Khloe was starting to feel lightheaded.
She was relieved when Trevor led her to a plush chair in the living room. After plopping down, she let her friend take care of her — propping her feet up on the ottoman and slipping her stiletto heels off, letting them fall to the carpet.
“Look at me,” Trevor said softly, massaging her feet.
He swam in front of her as she let the tears she been desperately holding back finally fall down her cheeks. She was grateful her panic was receding but it was replaced with a numbness that somehow felt worse.
“We’re gonna get through this,” he promised.
“You don’t know that. You know him.”
She didn’t need to say more. Even with her life in danger, Trevor would know what her biggest fear was in that moment.
