your husband. BBI is loaning him to us at a most excellent rate.”
“How the hell did Ted end up working for Bad Boy Inc?”
He knew that answer. “I was in a prison camp with one of their agents for a few weeks. You might know him. Ben?”
She pursed her lips.
“Do you know Devon and Mason and the gang?” he asked.
“I know them.” She rubbed her forehead. “This world is starting to feel mighty small. Too small.”
He understood that feeling. What were the chances she’d run into one let alone two people from her past in such a short time and in the same place?
“Would you feel better if I said, as far as I know, Ronin knows nothing yet?” Mother stated.
“Not really. Has anyone located Chunk yet?”
“Chunk?” Ted asked before he clued in. “You mean Ralph?”
Macey turned a sharp gaze on him. “What do you know about him? Where can he be found?”
“With Taotie, usually.” But Taotie was dead in a trunk of a car that had been cleaned. Remembering it all meant that Ted was only more determined to help—and nag Macey. He preferred her angry to worried. “Given he smells like fried chicken a lot, maybe a restaurant?”
“That’s not helpful,” she snapped. “If you can’t help, then keep that mouth of yours shut.”
“Be nice, or people won’t believe that you and your old flame are married,” Mother interjected.
“We never dated,” Macey growled.
“Nope, which is why we moved so quickly when we reconnected.” Ted put a hand to his chest.
“I can’t work with him,” Macey declared. “He’s already getting the story wrong. We are supposed to be married, not reuniting.”
“The married couple with adopted children will be your primary cover story,” Marie declared. “But if you do, in fact, run into someone you know from your current life, then the secondary tale, which is the one the girls are most likely to believe, is that you reconnected, and when Ted mentioned he had free tickets, you decided to be impulsive and go on a trip.”
“I don’t see why we can’t just pretend that Daddy got sick so just the girls and me could go.”
“He’s going, and that’s final. Or have you forgotten that if Ronin is aware of everything that’s happened, then Ted is in as much trouble as you?”
Ted could have explained that he’d be fine. It wouldn’t be hard for him to uproot and start over elsewhere, and yet the more Macey fought to send him away, the more determined he was to remain.
“This is only temporary,” Macey growled.
“Break my heart.” He clutched his chest. “And here I thought our make-believe family would live happily ever after.” He deserved the dark look she tossed him.
He smiled.
“I want him gone by the end of this cruise.”
“If we’re lucky, by the end of the cruise, Ronin won’t be a problem anymore,” Mother stated.
“As if we’ll have any better luck this time. You know he’s too well guarded.” Macey slumped in a chair that rolled slightly on the wood floor.
“If you can’t get close, why not hire a sniper?” he asked.
“Gee, why didn’t we think of that?” she snapped.
“Surely, he’s not that well guarded.”
The way Macey turned from him told him just how stupid the remark was. Obviously, he must be, or she wouldn’t live in fear like this.
Knock, knock.
It was Joanna. “It’s time to go. I’ll drive.”
Exiting the den, he noticed the girls standing solemnly by Joanna’s side. Lin clutched a book, while Mae looked around before saying, “Our next house shouldn’t have the staircase facing the front door. It’s bad feng shui.”
With those words, the girls marched off, and he could see the devastation in Macey’s face.
They knew they weren’t coming home.
Chapter Eight
Ted got to ride shotgun in the front of the van with Joanna behind the wheel, while Portia took the very back row, leaving the girls in the middle, each in their own captain’s seat, headphones on, watching documentaries on their tablets. Lin was into pyramids these days, while Mae chose something on hunting. Odd. She’d never shown an interest in the outdoors before.
Only pure strength of will held Portia together. A screaming panic beat within her as the day she’d dreaded finally arrived. Ronin might, at this very moment, be sending people looking for her. If Ralph had spoken, he’d have feelers out at the very least, digging for tidbits. A good thing she’d kept her presence as innocuous as possible. Lived in a neighborhood where no one spoke to each other. The hedges kept