I’ve faced much more powerful, violent, and smarter opponents than you, Aiden, and I always come out on top. Keep the things most precious to you close, because this isn’t over until I’ve won. Send “Amelia” my regards.

Happy Birthday, son.

Aiden leans against the desk and crosses his arms. “It came this morning.”

“Have you shown anyone?” I read the card again, the words truly sinking in.

“Just you.”

“‘Keep the things most precious to you close,’” I read aloud. “He’s threatening the twins?”

His gaze burns as he looks at me. “And you.”

I freeze, staring at him as his words sink in.

“Anyone who looks at me knows I’m in love with you,” he continues. “He already went after you once.”

My eyes snag on my name and the quotes that are around it. Why are those quotes there? What is Andrew implying? And there’s the thing about him saying my name all weird and suspicious at the fundraiser. What does he know? What is he going to do with that information?

I slump into the big office chair as I set the card on the desk. I already had to worry about keeping my identity a secret to stay hidden from Tony, but now Andrew is specifically going after me to get to Aiden.

At this moment in time, I wonder which one is going to get to kill me first.

“Hey.” In one fluid motion, Aiden scoops me up as if I weigh nothing and sits down in the office chair, setting me down on his lap. “You know I won’t let anything happen to you, right?”

He’s reassured me of this countless times since New Year’s Eve, when everything went down. I rest my head on his solid chest and think back on all the times that Aiden’s been there for me. When he got Ethan Moore to take down the video he posted of me on the internet. When he dealt with my car after Kaitlyn and Ryan slashed my tires. When he drove an extra four hours so I could get my sleeping pills. When he pulled me out of an upside-down car and then saved me from being shot.

“He’s trying to get you to stop talking to the media and ruining his ‘good name.’ I can’t believe he’s not above trying to kill a teenage girl to get the message across.”

“He’s always been a crooked guy, and he’s finally gotten what he wanted most in the world: wealth and power. He’s not going to let me take that away from him like I did when he got my mom pregnant and was forced to have a shotgun wedding. So far, he’s tried to bribe me, pay me off, and then kill me. I don’t know if he’ll ever stop. But I won’t let him hurt you or my brothers.”

It’s impossible to be frightened here with Aiden, his muscled arms around me, my ear against his chest, the steady beat of his heart calming my own. “We’re not going to let him win. He’s in the spotlight now, I don’t think he’ll try anything.”