Chapter 10

“I’m getting really suspicious as to what this is all about,” Ashleigh said, shooting Anna a look as their driver maneuvered through the streets of Seattle. They’d spent a relaxing several hours getting pampered at the spa, and now they each had freshly done hair, makeup, and nails.

Anna briefly touched her up-do, smiling. “I know. But hun, it’s going to be amazing. Wait until you see the dress!”

“What’s it look like?”

“Nuh-uh,” Anna said, waggling her finger. “You’ll see it shortly. I’m sure you’ll understand it all then.”

“But I can’t see Slate until tonight?”

“Let’s have some champagne!” Anna declared, popping open the bottle of bubbly. “Wasn’t that food at the spa to-die-for? Wait until you see what we’re eating tonight,” she added. Her phone buzzed, and she quickly exchanged a few texts, smiling.

“Is that Jett?” Ashleigh asked.

“Nope. Just your future hubby. I mean—”

“Anna.”

Her bestie ignored her, sending another message, and Ashleigh’s heart began to pound. She recalled the gifts that Slate had given her during this trip—the sexy white lingerie, the beautiful diamond necklace that he’d said would be for their wedding. She was wearing it now, the delicate chain of diamonds lying flush against her skin.

Even the damn stockings that had been hung from the mantle said bride and groom on them. But….

“Anna,” she said again, her voice rising. “Am I getting married today?” She looked at her best friend with wide eyes, her palms suddenly beginning to sweat.

Anna set down her cell phone, pouring them each a glass of bubbly, then flashed her a victorious look as she handed her an elegant flute of champagne. “Congratulations, soon-to-be Mrs. Hutchinson!” Anna declared, holding up her own glass. “Today you’re becoming my sister—oh, and marrying the man of your dreams!”

She clinked her glass against Ashleigh’s, beaming. “Cheers!”

“Oh my God!” Ashleigh shrieked, nearly spilling her flute of champagne. “I’m getting married today? Who planned this? You? Slate? Oh my God,” she said again, her hands beginning to shake. “I can’t get married today. What about my parents? My sister?”

“We’re headed to Bentley’s place now,” Anna reminded her. “Your parents already flew in to town. Our other friends have arrived. Slate’s SEAL team is here—at least one of the teams, at any rate. Some of Jett’s Shadow Ops Team guys are here providing security—just in case,” Anna added.

“Holy shit.” Ashleigh immediately covered her mouth and giggled. “I never swear. I just can’t believe this.”

“Believe it, sister,” Anna said with a wink.

“But how is this even happening? My dress—the cake—the flowers—there’s a million details to work out!”

“All taken care of,” Anna assured her. “Slate and I have been working with a wedding planner for the past few months. He wanted to surprise you since you’ve both been too busy to actually plan a wedding. Isn’t that romantic?” she added dreamily. “Who would’ve thought such a gruff, hard-ass like him would surprise his fiancée with her own wedding?”

Ashleigh took a sip of the champagne, suddenly feeling light-headed. “Should I call him? Tell him I figured it out?”

“No! Let him think he pulled this one off. Stroke his male ego a bit. I think your man is dying to see you walk down the aisle in a white wedding gown.”

The limousine they were riding in exited the city, heading toward the suburbs where Bentley lived. Realization suddenly dawned on Ashleigh. “Everyone knows about this. Every single guest. Did they all know Slate was surprising me? No one told me a thing!”

“They were sworn to secrecy.”

Ashleigh shook her head, smiling despite herself. Now that the shock was slightly wearing off, she was getting excited. She was getting married. Tonight! There was no need to stress over planning or invitations. No need to get RSVPs from guests or select appetizers and cocktails. Everything was ready.

“I’m getting married today,” she said, slowly looking over at Anna.

“You’re getting married today,” Anna confirmed.

“But what about our time at the cabin? Our honeymoon?”

“Slate’s got some more surprises in store. You will eventually go back to the cabin for some cozy, romantic nights together. But once you’re back in San Diego, he’s whisking you off to Hawaii.”

“That’s why he’s taking two weeks off,” Ashleigh said. “I couldn’t believe he’d take so much time just for the holidays. Oh my gosh. He planned this entire thing. I can still hardly believe this is real.”

“You’re going to love the dress,” Anna gushed. “I also picked up some sexy come-fuck-me heels for you to wear.”

Ashleigh nearly choked on her champagne.

“And the lingerie to go beneath the gown. It’ll look great with just the heels,” Anna teased. “You’ll stay at your hotel tonight. Didn’t you notice it’s the honeymoon suite?”

“Is Slate getting ready there now?” Ashleigh asked.

“I assume so. The wedding planner is handling the last-minute details at the venue. Jett’s there at the hotel with Slate, too.”

Ashleigh frowned as the limo unexpectedly began slowing down when they turned into her sister’s neighborhood.

“Why are we stopping here?” she asked in confusion.

Anna glanced outside, not seeming worried in the least. The privacy partition was up, and Anna leaned forward, pushing the button to lower it. Nothing happened, so she began rapping on it with her knuckles. “Excuse me! Why are we stopping? The house isn’t on this street!”

Ashleigh peered through the window, knowing anyone out there wouldn’t be able to see her through the tinted glass. The street was calm, the houses decorated for the holidays. Most people were probably still at home given it was the day after Christmas. It was a time for celebrating, spending the day with your family, and apparently, having a wedding. Did Bentley know she was coming? No doubt. Ashleigh was the only one in the dark.

A weird feeling suddenly washed over her, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. She gripped the stem of her champagne flute tighter, her heart beginning to pound. Something was wrong. She didn’t know how she knew; she just did.

“Excuse me!” Anna said again, knocking louder on the partition. “Is everything okay?”

Suddenly, a gunshot sounded, the women screaming as the limousine they were riding in lurched forward before rolling into some trashcans at the bottom of a driveway. Ashleigh looked at Anna in alarm, and then they heard male voices shouting. There was a thump, and Ashleigh gasped as the driver was dragged out of the vehicle, bleeding. She frantically tried yanking on the handle, but the door wouldn’t open.

The driver side door slammed shut, and then someone was rapidly backing up the vehicle, crashing into some trash cans behind them.

“No!” Anna yelled, reaching for her phone. She stared at it in surprise. “I can’t get a signal!”

Ashleigh tried the door again, yelling, and then the tires squealed as the limo sped away with both women still inside.

***

Slate exchanged a look with Jett, tension rising within him. “I can’t get hold of either of them. Ashleigh was texting me earlier after they left the spa, and Anna’s been giving me updates all day. Neither of them are responding now.”

“I’ll call Ford,” Jett said, swiping the screen on his phone.

There was a sudden knocking on the hotel room door, and Slate quickly crossed to open it. Ford was standing in the hallway, looking concerned as his gaze swept over Slate’s shoulder into the hotel room. Slate had met him at Jett and Anna’s wedding but didn’t know the man well. He did, however, know that Ford was supposed to be with the women, not standing in front of him alone right now.

“Did they come back to the room?” Ford asked with a frown.

“Negative,” Slate said, narrowing his gaze. “We can’t reach either of them.”

“I thought you were shadowing them,” Jett said as he quickly hurried to the door. “Why are you here without Anna and Ashleigh?”

“I was with them at the spa, waiting outside in the parking lot. Anna texted and said they just needed a few minutes before they’d be ready to leave. The limo driver must’ve met them on the other side of the building. When I realized they were gone, I went looking for them. I tried calling Anna, but she never responded.”

“They were heading to Ashleigh’s sister’s home,” Slate told him.

Ford looked grave. “They never made it. I drove there myself and then circled back to the spa and finally your hotel when I couldn’t reach them. Anna must’ve forgotten to text me when they left.”

“God damn it,” Jett said, shooting him a look of ire. “I didn’t let her know of the potential danger, only that you’d be with them today. This has happened before,” he said, pointing a finger at Ford. “My wife is always trying to give me a heart attack.”

“I should’ve told Ashleigh there might be trouble,” Slate said. “She had no idea anything was wrong or that someone was still tracking me.”

Jett was already calling Anna, leaving her a message as it went right to voicemail. “Sweetness, I don’t appreciate you leaving the spa without Ford. Are you at Bentley’s house? Ford is under the impression you never made it there. Call me as soon as you get this message.” He hung up then sent her a text message as well, a flash of worry crossing his normally calm demeanor.

Slate was already setting his own phone down. “I tried Ashleigh again. No answer. Her phone is going straight to voicemail.” Hope flooded through him as his phone buzzed with an incoming call, but then he frowned. “It’s the wedding planner.” He lifted his phone to his ear to speak with her, Jett already calling some of his team.

“Sam’s still at the original hotel,” Jett said a few minutes later. “There’s nothing going on there as we can see from the feed. He’s been there since the two men were spotted this morning, but no one else suspicious has returned.”

“The women aren’t there,” Ford confirmed. “Sam would’ve seen them.”

“I don’t like this,” Slate said, striding across the room. “They should’ve arrived at Bentley’s long ago. Get the name of that limo company. Don’t they have GPS in those damn things? We can track where they went. Maybe they got a flat tire or something,” he muttered, knowing that wasn’t the case. There was no reason neither woman would be unreachable if it was a simple flat tire or mechanical problem with the limousine.

“On it,” Ford said, calling Jett’s assistant Lena to find out what company the limo had been booked through.

“I’m supposed to be getting married in a matter of hours,” Slate said, his voice grim. “How can the bride be missing? Something happened.” His phone buzzed again, and he saw Ace’s name on the screen.

“We’ve got a problem,” Slate said as he answered.

“That’s what I was calling about, sir. We’ve been monitoring the chat rooms on the dark web as discussed. A cryptic message was just posted online.”

“What does it say?” Slate asked, every muscle in his body tense.

“We have the bait. Double the fun this time.”

“God damn it!” Slate roared, Jett’s and Ford’s heads swiveling toward him. “They took her again. I just fucking know it! They took Ashleigh to get to me!”

“What’d you find out?” Jett barked.

Slate pushed the button to put Ace on speaker.

“I think they know who both women are,” Ace said quietly. “The double the fun comment makes me think they have both of them and know exactly whose women they took.”

“They’ve been tracking me again,” Slate said. “If they know my name, they can easily find out yours. They know who we both are.”

“It wasn’t just the hotel reservation in Seattle with Slate’s name that they had,” Ace said urgently. “They had the marriage license.”

“I know,” Slate said, puzzled. “Why does that matter?”

“Ms. Moore’s name was on there as well. It listed her first and last name. She might live with you in San Diego, but you’re the only one listed as the homeowner. They used that to discover her full name.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Jett asked, frowning.

“Bentley never changed her last name. Both Bentley and her husband’s names are listed at their home address if you look them up online. Ashleigh and Bentley have the same last name.”

Slate’s mind whirled, working through the possibilities. “They tracked her to her sister’s house,” he said, his voice rising. “They were lying in wait. But how’d they know Ashleigh would be heading there today? That doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.”

“They must have gained access to more than we realized,” Ace said over the speaker phone. “Maybe they got into our phone records or text messages.”

Slate frowned, mulling that over. He had two-step authentication on everything, making it more difficult to hack into his personal information. He doubted they’d have gotten in so easily.

“The wedding planner,” Jett said, looking alarmed. “They found your marriage license online and probably called around the San Diego area on a hunch. We might be in Seattle right now, but you hired someone local. If they had her name and knew she was working with you, they could’ve easily hacked into her emails. I doubt she takes the same security measures we do. They knew exactly where Ashleigh and Anna would be headed today.”

“That means they know the name of the venue, too,” Slate said, grabbing his phone again. “I’m notifying my SEAL team.”

“They’re here?” Ford asked as he looked up from the laptop. He frowned as a news alert popped up, clicking on the link. “There was a shooting earlier outside the city. I think it’s the neighborhood where Ashleigh’s sister lives,” he said in disbelief.

Slate’s stomach dropped as he rushed over and looked at Ford’s laptop. “That’s Bentley’s neighborhood,” he said, his voice grave. “But who was shot?”

Suddenly, Ford’s phone buzzed. “That’s Lena!” he exclaimed. He read over the text message, looking back at Slate with determination in his eyes. “I’ve got the name of the limo company. West can track the GPS for us, and then we’ll find both women.”