Chapter 8

Langley shimmied her upper body, trying to buy herself another inch of space. She felt stuffed between Ryder and Finn because both had broad shoulders and they were wearing tactical vests. Immediately, Finn shifted, trying to give her more room, but of course, Ryder didn't move. She jabbed him with her elbow, but he didn't relinquish so much as a millimeter. She wished she could lean into him and let him comfort her. It saddened her that she couldn't, but she pushed that aside.

No one had responded to her question. "My dad didn't know I was kidnapped when you left Tampa, did he? In fact, you didn't know either until you couldn't find me, right?" More silence. "How am I doing so far? "

It remained quiet until Finn said, "Damn good."

Ryder shot a glare at him that didn't seem to faze the other man. "For God's sake," he muttered.

"It's not like it's a fucking secret," Griff chimed in from the front seat.

"Don't drop the f-bomb in front of Langley," Ryder said with a growl to his voice. "She doesn't like it."

"I don't like it directed at me. I'm fine when it's directed at you."

Nevada chuckled, Jonah turned in his seat and grinned at her, and even Finn's lips curved. Only Ryder was unamused.

"Someone start talking."

Ryder shifted, allowing him to look at her face—for all the good that did him in the weak glow from the freeway lights. "Your father received a letter yesterday, threatening you. The FBI didn't believe it held water, but he asked me to come out to San Diego and protect you until the feds find who wrote it. This kidnapper wasn't the person who made the threat against you, if I'm reading your questions right?"

Langley nodded. "The man wanted Sarah. I was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You know this for a fact?"

"When he burst into the bride's room at the wedding center, he said he was taking Sarah hostage because her fiancé owed him money. She was his leverage and he took me as well because ‘two broads is better than one.'" Langley deepened her voice, trying to mimic the kidnapper as she repeated what he'd said.

"There was only one man?"

"I never saw anyone else."

After a moment of quiet, Finn said, "It makes sense he was after Sarah, considering what we heard at the wedding center."

"Yeah," Ryder said slowly, dragging out the word. "The only reason anyone thought it might have something to do with the ambassador is because we showed up."

Langley tuned the men out as they discussed what she'd told them. When she'd let her parents know she'd arrived in California, she should have mentioned that she'd broken up with Ryder. It could take a couple of days for the FBI to clear the threat, and until that happened, she'd have to spend time with the man who'd ripped out her heart.

The letter itself didn't concern her. It wasn't the first her family had received, and she felt confident that this one would end up being nothing more than someone blowing off steam over some imagined injustice, just as the others had been.

Her dad and mom did take threats seriously, though, and if they hadn't sent her ex-lover and his buddies, they would have hired bodyguards for her. A frisson of unease traveled down her spine, an instinctive response she couldn't control. She'd rather deal with Ryder. Langley trusted him completely. But what about his friends? What did she know about them?

She'd met them in Puerto Jardin. Ryder had caught up with her within an hour of when she'd knocked him out, and he'd told her again that he was US Army Special Forces, that he was taking her to meet up with some of his team. From there, they'd ensure she reached her parents in Rio Blanco. This time, she'd been more inclined to believe him. A mercenary wouldn't have been as calm about being blindsided with a rock as Ryder had been when he'd found her.

He'd been as good as his word, and when they'd reached the rendezvous point, five of his teammates had been there, including these three men. Langley had spent hours with them hiking through the rainforest, but she didn't feel as if she knew any of them. They'd been professional in South America, intent on their mission to get her back to the capital city, and none of them had talked much during that trek.

She'd started dating Ryder shortly after the team returned to Tampa, but he'd done his best to ensure she never socialized with his friends. They'd run into them a handful of times while they'd been out, but he'd always ended the conversations quickly.

So what did she know?

Finn Rowland was enigmatic. His dark blond hair was nearly shoulder-length and that confirmed her suspicion of an upcoming mission. He wore a mask that hid his thoughts and feelings, and his ability to conceal his emotions had earned him the nickname Stone Man. Maybe if she knew him better, she'd be able to read him, but maybe not. Ryder was closer to Finn than any of the other guys, though, and that counted for a lot.

Nevada Bryce was driving. His nickname was Mako, and he'd claimed he'd earned it because he was silent, deadly, and the enemy never saw him coming. According to Ryder, he'd gotten the moniker because he'd eat anything. By conventional standards, he was the most handsome of the three men, with a strong jaw and light blond hair that was nearly as long as Finn's. The only other thing she knew about him was that Nevada was from Las Vegas, which said a lot about how successfully Ryder had shut her out of his life.

Jonah Griffin rode shotgun. He went by Griff or JT, but allowed her to use his first name. He was from Boston, though he didn't have an accent. Langley would wager they'd trained it out of him in Special Forces, though she couldn't know for certain. He had nearly-black hair that went past the collar of his shirt and blue eyes. Griff also tended to be rude and abrasive. He was the team medic and had been the one to stitch up the gash she'd left near Ryder's temple.

Langley wracked her brain, but she couldn't think of another fact about any of the men. That meant she had to trust them solely because Ryder trusted them. She wanted a more concrete reason than that.

She slumped back in her seat, hit a male shoulder on either side, and shimmied again to get space. Adrenaline was supposed to leave a person exhausted when it stopped flowing, but she remained wired. With the threat against her, the men weren't going to allow her to go for a run, but there was a chance she could talk them into taking her to a gym. A quiet gym without a lot of people for them to worry about. She needed to burn off this energy or she wouldn't sleep.

Langley straightened, earning a sigh from Ryder when he had to shift his shoulders again. She ignored that. "This isn't the way to Sarah's house."

"We're not going to her house," Ryder said.

Her body stiffened. "Are we meeting Sarah and the SEALs at another location?"

"No."

Turning her head, she scowled at him. She hated it when he gave her one-word responses with zero explanation. "Why not?"

More silence.

Ambassadors' daughters did not make scenes . "Is it because you don't want to put Sarah at risk?"

Before he could reply, Ryder's phone vibrated in his pocket—she could feel it against her side. Reaching across his body with his right hand, he pulled it out, looked at the caller ID, and muttered a curse. It vibrated again, and he hovered a thumb over the decline button before tapping accept. "Yeah?"

Because he held the phone to his right ear, Langley couldn't overhear the other side of the conversation, but Ryder wasn't happy, she could feel it in the tension of his body where it pressed into hers. "We're on our way to a safe house out of town right now."

Who was he talking to? And they were leaving town? Why?

The call remained cryptic until he growled, "I know it's a fucking felony, but we're not taking her to the police station. You want to interview Langley, you come to us."

Langley perked up. "Tell the police officer to bring my purse and the bag I left at the Wedding Knot. And if he goes to Sarah's place first, to bring my suitcase and carry-on bag. Everything is packed. "

Ryder grimaced, but asked, "Did you hear her? Yeah." He looked down at her. "He'll do what he can." His gaze shifted back to the road in front of them. "I don't know. You have a safe house in San Diego we can hole up in until you can interview her?"

Safe house? He'd said that twice and Langley couldn't help but wonder if the threat was more serious than she believed. Wouldn't it make more sense to simply go to a hotel and then board the plane back to Florida after she told the police what she knew about the kidnapping?

"What's Russo's number?"

That question had Finn pulling out his phone and as Ryder repeated it, his friend entered it into his contacts list.

"Got it," Ryder said after Finn nodded. "Yeah, I'll call you back when I know where we're going." After ending the call, he brought up the keypad. "Shoot me the number, Stony."

This conversation was brief, but Langley heard enough to know the address where they were going to spend the night and that the house belonged to someone named Mac who wasn't living there any longer. Nevada exited the freeway, crossed the bridge, and headed back the way they'd come.

Langley tuned out the return call Ryder made to the police officer. A house meant she'd be able to have a shower. She was covered in dust and dirt and cobwebs—and whatever else she'd picked up while held hostage. And removing these shoes? That would be heavenly. She could soak her feet, wash her hair, take off her makeup, and perhaps there'd be antibiotic cream to put on her wrists.

Ryder put the phone away and said, "Rio—that's the detective—will be over tonight to talk to you."

"Tonight?" She kept her tone level, but it took effort. There went any chance of convincing Ryder to take her to the gym and it meant she'd have to delay her shower as well.

"I tried to convince him to come in the morning instead, but he was insistent." Ryder took her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. "The kidnapper died."

Her grip tightened around his, an involuntary gesture she couldn't stop. "What happened?"

Ryder shook his head. "I don't know. The cop wouldn't tell me and I was with you, remember?"

The urge to say something sarcastic was strong, but Langley subdued it. Adrenaline was looking for an outlet and she wasn't going to allow it to start an argument. Leaning back in the seat, she stared straight ahead. She should pull her hand free, but couldn't make herself do it. Ryder's palm was warm against hers and she needed his touch too much to deprive herself of it. That was weak. Only for a few minutes, she promised herself.

The first time he'd held her hand had been in Puerto Jardin and there'd been nothing romantic or comforting about it. Ryder had admitted that he wanted to make sure she didn't hit him and run off again. Even so, there'd been something about the feeling of palm against palm that had left her breathless and looking at him as a man.

That tingling feeling that developed had been why she'd given him her mobile number when he'd asked. It had been why she'd said yes a couple of weeks later when he'd called and asked her out.

He'd arrived in the lobby of her condo with his hair cut shorter than regulation. Her lips curved. It had been cute—he'd wanted to impress upon her that he was a soldier and not a mercenary. And after dinner that night, as they'd walked back to his car, their hands had brushed, and it had been natural for their fingers to link. Just as they were now.

Tears began to build and Langley impatiently blinked them away. She'd cried over him enough already, and yet, Langley was afraid she'd never be able to shed enough tears to wash him from her heart.