Say It Again (First Wives, #5)(85)

They both laughed.



“I can’t protect you out there,” Linette scolded Brigitte behind the closed door of her office. “These walls are secure, your cottage is a target.”

“No one knows about us,” Brigitte argued.

“Much as I would like to believe that, there are no guarantees. Sasha’s taking too long. I’m reaching out to her tonight.”

“What makes you think she’s going to come? You drove her away, introducing her to Pohl.”

Linette didn’t appreciate her tone. “I did what I had to do. She fell into our lap, Brigitte. All we ever needed was one strong student to stand up to that man. When she walked back through that door, it was our way out. Our way of ending the decade-long harvest of our students. He has chosen an enemy he cannot win the war with. Not Sasha. Not her new friends and family.” She crossed to her lover and grasped her hands. “The board is meeting tomorrow night. If I don’t have something to hold over them, they will remove me from my position and put someone in my place that will continue the cycle.”

“Most of the board has already removed their students.”

“That doesn’t mean they won’t toss me out with them. I can’t do it anymore.”

“If Geoff learns what you’ve done . . .”

“Who is going to tell him, you? Come now. Everything is in motion. The time is now. Stay on campus, please. Give me a few more days.”

Brigitte agreed and squeezed her hands.



Music blared in Claire’s ears, compliments of a set of headphones Cooper had loaned her. Music. Who knew she’d want to hear it until her eardrums bled? It wasn’t like Richter said they couldn’t listen to it, but the stations they had access to were so politically correct she wanted to puke.

She reached for the packet of Oreos, her new favorite, and popped one in her mouth.

Cooper tapped her on the shoulder.

She pulled the headphones off. “What?”

“That’s not how you eat them.”

Wiping crumbs with the back of her hand, she talked with a mouthful of chocolaty goodness. “It’s a cookie.”

He took one from the bag and proceeded to remove the two halves and lick the cream from the center. “Middle stuff first.” He put the two cookies back together and ate them both in one bite.

“No, no, no . . .” Isaac took one, opened it up, licked the cream, and then ate one cookie at a time.

The two men sat in debate over the art of eating an Oreo for the next few minutes.

When Claire turned her attention back to her computer, the video game app running on the side said she had a message. “Looks like Jax is at the computer.”

Noise in the room settled.

Claire read the message, moved the words around in her head and put them together.

She started to respond and then stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Sasha leaned over, looked at the screen.

“She asked if I was still with you,” Claire told her.

Sasha peered closer. “What language is that?”

“She’s probably just worried about you being alone,” AJ suggested.

Claire shook her head. “She didn’t start with our code.”

“What code?” Sasha asked.

“A joke, snark . . . something we both know we know but no one else does. You know, like her first kiss was Fredrick in the stacks. Something like that.” Claire read the message a second time. “‘Is Sasha still with you,’” Claire read aloud.

Sasha read alongside her. “You’re using German and Russian . . . only different.”

Claire looked at Cooper. “Told you she’d crack it.”

He put two thumbs up in the air.

“What does it mean if she isn’t using her code?” Isaac asked.

“That she’s not alone,” Claire muttered.

“Someone found the computer room. How do we know this is even Jax talking?”

“We don’t.”

Neil placed both hands on the far end of the table. “Call them out. Tell them you know it’s not your friend and ask them what they want.”

“You sure?”

Neil narrowed his eyes.

“Okay, okay. Pull your knickers out of your ass.”

Isaac cleared his throat, reached for his water.

She started typing. This isn’t Jax. Who are you and what do you want?

It took a minute, but the response was in English, no decoder ring needed.

Very clever encryption, Claire. But it’s exhausting my brain. Is Sasha with you?

Cooper sat back. “Okay, even I can read that.”

“Why are they asking?” Neil dictated.

Claire typed the question, waited for the response.

If she wants her freedom and yours, too, she might consider using some of her influence to alleviate the pressure from a certain benefactor. Otherwise business will continue as normal with the new administration.

Sasha grabbed the keyboard and started typing. When is this new administration taking over?

Neil moved around the desk to see what Sasha was typing.

Sasha looked at him, waited for his nod, and pressed send.

Twenty-one hours. It takes a large quorum for this kind of change. The meeting of the minds, past and present, need to approve.