Page 81 of The Bodyguard

There was a long pause. Then Coop said, “What do you want to do?”

Mitch didn’t answer right away. He stared at the monitor as the plan formed. It was time to end this. But not with another ambush. Not with blood on the floor or a press leak about retaliation.

Andi didn’t need to disappear into silence. She needed to stand up—once more. But this time on her terms.

“I want her to speak,” Mitch said finally. “One more time. Not as a target. Not even as a candidate. I want her standing in front of the people who tried to erase her and making damn sure they know they failed.”

“You’re going to let her go public?” Coop asked, carefully.

“I’m not letting her do anything,” Mitch said. “I’m giving her the stage.”

Another pause. This one less surprised, more accepting.

“I’ll get the location secured,” Coop said. “Private venue. Invite-only, but press-friendly. If the museum will give us the atrium, we can control it, including the perimeter.”

“Do you think they will?”

“Absolutely. They owe us a favor.”

“Good, then do it,” Mitch said. “And make sure Faulkner’s people hear about it.”

“Understood.”

The comm went dead. Mitch stood slowly and walked back into the bedroom.

Andi was still curled where he’d left her, the sheet rising and falling with every breath. But when he sat beside her, brushing a hand over her hair, her eyes opened.

“You’re tense,” she murmured, voice rough with sleep.

“We found him,” Mitch said.

That woke her up. She sat up, pulling the sheet with her. “Who?”

“Faulkner. Developer. Been working through Wexler since the beginning. Every attack, every leak, every smear—he funded it, and we’ve got it documented. He tried to make you disappear before you ever hit the debate stage.”

Andi didn’t look surprised. She looked… tired. But not broken.

“So what now?” she asked.

Mitch held her gaze. “Now you speak.”

Her brows lifted.

“One more time,” he said. “One more speech. Not about zoning. Not about recovery. About you. About surviving. About refusing to go quiet. You don’t owe them anything, Andi. But if you want to burn it all down—politically—I’ll make damn sure they watch it happen.”

Andi was silent for a moment. Then: “Where?”

“The museum—where they made their first really public attempt,” Mitch said. “They’re going to open the atrium for us.”

“Sniper?” she asked cooly.

“Maybe, but we’ll have people watching any potential places they could get a good angle on you, and we’ll have Miley and Reyna positioned.”

“Miley and Reyna? Your snipers are women?”

Mitch grinned. “Yes, and also collared submissives. But more importantly, they are two of the best snipers that ever lived. Coop is locking down the location and details. Invite-only. Controlled optics. No surprises.”

A beat passed. Then another.

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