Page 14 of Kissing Kayley
“What the fuck’s going on?” I struggled not to cry out of fear and anxiety, because I knew if I did Leo and Vic both would immediately order a battalion of helicopters, or a horde of dragons, or whatever the fuck they used to come scoop me up, and I didnotwant to be robbed of my precious time with Vic.
“I don’t have answers, honey. I’m sorry your vacation plans got borked.”
“You won’t have me locked up in a missile silo or something, will you?”
Leo tensely laughed. “No, but if you were with anyone but Vic you would have already been scooped up and moved by your detail.”
“Why did you call from a different number?”
“Long story. Change my contact to this number, though. The other phone’s done.” That didn’t surprise me, because it wasn’t unusual for him to change burner phones, although he usually warned me first.
“Mom and Dad are safe?”
“Yeah, they’re fine. I had their detail move them to the resort you were heading to. Once Mom realized where, she was happy about the last-minute change of plans. They’ll either stay thereuntil I know I need to bring them in, or you’ll be seeing them because we have to haul all of you to a secure facility.”
“Mom’s still salty I wouldn’t let her throw me a birthday party, isn’t she?”
This time Leo laughed. “She is, but don’t worry about it.”
It’d been a minor point of contention between us over the past few months. I love my parents, don’t get me wrong, but unlike Leo, I literally saw them nearly every week because we didn’t live far from each other, and I didn’t want to spend time away from Vic just because my mother had a fixation with me managing to keep myself alive for an entire half-century.
I rarely spent alone time with Vic, especially such a long, uninterrupted stretch of it. I honestly didn’t care it was my fiftieth birthday—the only gift I wanted was Vic.
Leo’s tone grew solemn. “Listen to Vic and do what he says, please? Normally, I would have already had airships and agents on top of you to fly you to the nearest base for transport to Cheyenne Mountain, but I know Vic. I trust him. He won’t take chances with your safety.”
I glanced over at him. “I trust him, too.”
“Good. Just do exactly what he says.” Another sigh. “Look, try to have fun, okay? If you end up where I’m certain you’re headed, it’s safe. I know people who stay there and enjoy themselves. We have absolutely no intel indicating you or Mom and Dad are targets. But stay off social media, run any outside phone or text contact through Vic first, and try to stay away from the news because there’s not a damned thing you can do about any of it. And happy birthday in advance.”
“Thanks. Love you.”
“Love you, too, kiddo. Let me speak to Vic again, please.”
I handed him the phone and tuned out while watching the landscape pass. The irony did not escape me that if I wasn’tconnected by marriage to the most powerful man on the planet, I would feel more scared than I currently did.
I felt badly for all the people who’d lost loved ones, or whose lives were otherwise severely impacted by the results of the attacks. I was lucky that I was merely inconvenienced and not cowering in my basement and worried nukes could start flying at any minute.
“Can we check on the people in my department?” I asked Vic several minutes after he ended the call with Leo. “And can I call my old office and check in with them?” I didn’t work there now, but I was still close friends with my former coworkers and sometimes used space there for sessions with a couple of my long-term patients.
“Sorry, baby, no. I can send word through your detail to get that info, but I can’t let you do anything that might alert others to where you are.”
“How is calling them letting them know where I am?”
He glanced at me. “Your burner number will be associated with any number you call. Meaning we’d have to get you a new one. Worse, bad actors could triangulate your position with the burner number.”
“Oh.”
“I know it’s a lot, and not very likely, but I appreciate you putting up with the precautions. At the next gas stop I’ll call Maxwell and have him find out. Deal?”
I nodded. “Deal.”
All I could do was settle back, hold Vic’s hand, and stare at unfamiliar landscape passing by outside.
Then again, this whole trip had originally been meant to explore the unfamiliar landscape in our relationship, so I guess that was apropos.
CHAPTER 6
Kayley
