Page 34 of Protecting Andie

Ellis nodded. “Yes.”

Rider asked. “What kind of list?”

“We were talking about what to do about the holidays, and instead of making all the food and cookies and trying to make everything perfect, we decided to coordinate together. So I’m making pumpkin pies, Ellis is making cookies, and Talia is making cheesecakes.”

“That’s awesome,” Trip said. “More food for me.”

They all laughed, and Andie made sure Ellis, Talia, and Vera had her information. She’d said she wanted to stay for a month, but now she didn’t want to leave.

21

The picnic had been a great idea. Not even an hour later he started receiving texts from the guys on his team telling him how much they liked Andie. It made him feel even better about his buddies.

When they’d arrived home after the picnic they couldn’t keep their hands off each other and ended up having sex in the hall beside the bedroom. After, they’d showered and he was sitting on the couch reading an article he needed to catch up on when Andie stepped out of the bedroom, staring at her phone, a deep frown on her face.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Tony is out on bail, but he somehow removed his ankle monitor. They don’t know where he is.”

Rider stood and moved to her. “Where do you think he is?”

She shook her head. “He has no reason to think I’m here. I mean, he shouldn’t know where you live.”

Rider felt his stomach twist tight. The jerk shouldn’t have shown up at the hotel where Emily was getting married, but he had. He shouldn’t know anything about where Andie was, but Rider couldn’t chance it. He would need to search and figure out where the asshole was.

“I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Do you think you can find him?”

Rider shrugged. “I have friends who are skilled at looking for people.”

“Oh. What do they do?”

“They know how to find people. They have contacts.”

“That sounds expensive.”

He shook his head. “Not with this guy. He got medical retirement from the Navy, and now he spends his days tracking down people.”

“Surely he doesn’t do that for free?”

Rider shrugged. “He charges some people, but his friends, he does for free. He’s been out of town for a few weeks. That’s why he wasn’t at the picnic. I think he gets home on Monday. I’ll text him and see what time his plane arrives. Maybe we can pick him up from the airport.”

“Oh, sure. I’d love to meet him.”

“He used to be an incurable flirt, but he’s changed since he was blown up.”

“Wait, what? He was blown up?”

“He was on a team with Sharp, and they didn’t get clear of a bomb. It destroyed most of the team. Only Sharp and Thario are still around.”

“Oh no, that’s awful.”

He pulled her close and held on tight. “It was bad. But Thario is still here and making the best of things. I think you’ll like him. Sharp is with Danika now.”

“Have I met them?”

He shook his head. “No, not yet.”

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