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I exhaled an unsteady breath. “I know. But who are they after, then?”

“They might have assumed the motorcade contained the president or the first lady. It did originate from the White House after all.”

“That’s probably what the Secret Service are going to think.” My head was about to explode from a massive stress and adrenaline headache. “But I have a feeling you’re going to tell me you no longer agree with that theory.”

“You’re right. But I don’t know what theory to go with now. However, there’s one thing I’m certain of.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m no longer sitting around reacting to whatever they’re planning…whoevertheyare.” His jaw tightened. “I may not know who they are, or who they’re after, but it’s time to start hunting.”

I shifted in the seat. “I’m in. What’s the plan?”

“I’m not sure yet. We need some time to think. But someone out there has earned some significant payback.”

“Yes. That also means if we capture them, Mom gets first crack for messing with her perfect wedding.”

“Herwedding?”

“Well, you know what I mean.” I leaned my head back, willing the pounding in my head to settle. “She’s going to be beyond furious now. Believe me, you don’teverwant to see her when she’s angry.”

Slash raised an eyebrow. “You’re scaring me now.”

“Good. That being said, I’ll limit her to fifteen minutes with whoever is behind this, once we catch them.”

“That would undoubtedly be enough.”

I cracked open an eye and gave him a small smile. “It would, wouldn’t it?”

TWENTY-EIGHT

Lexi

When we finally arrived at the Capital Hilton, security escorted us through the lobby to the ballroom where we were left once again. Everyone collapsed into chairs, while Slash, Hands, Tito, and I walked around trying to update everyone on what had happened.

Bonnie touched my arm at one point. “I can’t believe this stuff happens to you, Lexi. It’s insane.”

“Tell me about it,” I said. “Better keep that in mind now that you’re dating my brother.”

Everyone seemed to still be in a bit of shock except for my dad, who was getting angrier by the minute. “What’s wrong with people? Can’t two people just get married anymore? If I find out who did this, I will insist on prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law.”

“You’re hired, Dad,” I said, patting his shoulder.

This was so far beyond a worse-case scenario for a wedding, I didn’t even know how to process it. These deadly attacks were taking wedding stress to a whole new level.

The crazy thing was no one except me seemed inclined to cancel the wedding. Instead, the whole thing had turned into a personal challenge to every one of my family, friends and even the nation. Now, everyone seemed more determined than ever to see us married. I doubted the pope, president and first lady would be willing to back down regardless of this latest attack.

Apparently, we were getting married even if it killed us.

How was this fair? Getting married in a major weeklong social event was hard enough for me, and now some lunatics decided it would be fun to add another layer of anxiety? And not just any layer, either—we were talking life or death.

It was a totally unacceptable situation.

“Did you learn anything useful from the Secret Service?” I asked Slash after he finished talking to his parents and sat down in an empty chair next to me.

“Unfortunately, no. The Secret Service are as confused as we are by this second attack. Clearly neither the first lady nor the president were at risk, so why attack? Did they think the first family might have been in the motorcade or does it mean that someone else was the target? The actions of the drones clearly indicated they were looking for someone specific. But who? The Secret Service don’t think any of us are worthy of this kind of risk or investment except for the president, first lady, or perhaps later, the Holy Father.”

“So, you think the Secret Service will assume this was another attack on the first lady?” I asked.