Power Switch (Power Play #3) - Kennedy L. Mitchell Page 0,102
all safe call should come through any minute now, but I’ve yet to hear either man’s phone ring or beep with an incoming text. My phone sits eerily quiet atop my lap, all focus absorbed on its blank screen.
“They'll get there, Randi.” I welcome the comforting warmth that seeps from Trey’s hand into my tight shoulder and the strengthening squeeze. “She’s surrounded by trained agents, and they were only an hour outside Paris when we called.”
Those details should offer comfort, but until she's safe in that embassy surrounded by deadly marines protecting her, I can’t stop freaking out.
No one has said it out loud, but without a doubt we’re all thinking the same thing: Kyle had a contingency plan in place in case Sam didn't drop the investigation against him.
The bushes farther down the wraparound porch rustle. Everyone tenses, Trey's hand tightening in a protective grip, ready to toss me to safety if needed. Tearing my focus from the phone, I scan the darkened backyard, peering through the shadows for the perceived threat. A shadow shifts as a man steps into the porch light.
Trey's grip loosens as the agent continues his patrol along the border of the property.
Geez, we're all strung tight.
Nine more hours of this breath stealing worry. Nine hours until the deadline I presented Kyle expires. If we can keep our loved ones safe over these next several hours we will be in the clear. There’s not a single doubt in my mind that my guys will keep me safe, and the protection we've put in place for everyone else will hold against any threat.
Just one final piece needs to fall into place. The most valuable and vulnerable piece of them all.
Taeler.
Time slinks by, the minutes like hours and the hours feeling like years as we wait.
And wait.
And wait.
The call that changes everything comes through around one in the morning. Call it motherly instinct, but the moment T's phone rings, I know deep in my gut it isn’t the news we’ve been hoping for. The fact that I remain calm is a testament to the way the VP role has molded me into a somewhat leader. The wicker creaks as I stand, continuing to rock as I step around it to face T. Phone to his ear, his features fall, his dark eyes refusing to meet mine.
Too wrapped up in trying to hear what’s being said on the other side of T’s conversation, I fail to feel the vibrations from my own ringing phone, my body too numb to notice.
“You need to get that,” Trey says, his voice tight.
Fog coats my brain, jumbling his words. Eyes wide, I just blink as a visual sign of my confusion. His lips purse as he searches my face. Careful fingers loosen my grip on the thin metal, peeling it from my hand. After swiping the screen, he presses it to my ear and nods.
Closing my eyes, I focus on Kyle’s voice slithering through the speaker. “You thought you would outplay me. I've been a step ahead in this game, and now you're in a fucking corner. Erase all the evidence, you step down from the VP seat, and your daughter goes free. If you don't, well, what happens next is on you. Checkmate, Walmart.”
The line goes dead.
The sliver of strength I've clung to the past few hours wastes away. My knees buckle, the stained slats of the porch quickly approaching as I fall until I'm caught midair. Legs dangling over one arm, the other secured against my back, Trey holds me close against his heaving chest.
My vision blurs as my eyes dry out from not blinking. Shapes move. My body bounces with each of Trey’s steps, the breeze from the movement brushing along my clammy cheek.
With an almost reverent touch, I'm lowered to the couch. I try to move, but the orders from my brain don't seem to make it to my limbs. A burst of cold settles over my legs and chest before slow warmth cuddles around me. I gaze down at the flannel blanket that was laid over me, hoping it will have the answers I need.
“Did you hear what he wanted?” I hear T ask.
“Her to forget this whole thing happened and step down. Fucking hell, Davis. What have we done?”
Maybe if I just ignore everything and everyone around me, everything will go back to the way it was this morning. If I just close my eyes, I'll wake up and find all this was a dream.