Salt Kiss – Episode 43
The motel photograph had been taken from across the road. The angle captured longing more clearly than any kiss would have, and the anonymous sender knew it.
A demand accompanied the image: dissolve the alliance with the Laurence family or the photographs would reach the press before sunrise.
“They expect shame to do their work,” Isolde said.
Mark ordered his legal team to prepare for publication. “If we appear frightened, they control the story.”
Tristan felt the old instinct to sacrifice himself. “Say I acted alone. Fire me publicly and remove the leverage.”
“No,” Mark and Isolde answered together.
Their united refusal startled all three of them. Mark recovered first. “I will not hand an enemy the person protecting us.”
“And I will not let you turn me into another casualty of duty,” Isolde added.
Tristan looked away, unprepared for two people to value him beyond usefulness.
They traced the upload to a disposable device near the gala venue. The blackmailer had followed them since before Isolde’s retrieval, confirming one continuous operation.
Mark suggested releasing a controlled statement that Tristan had rescued Isolde and remained assigned to her protection. Proximity would appear professional rather than secret.
“Which means I stay with her,” Tristan said.
Jealousy flickered across Mark’s face, but he nodded. Strategy required the very closeness he feared.
Isolde moved into a secured suite adjoining Tristan’s post. Mark personally reviewed the locks and cameras, avoiding both of their eyes.
At the door, Isolde stopped him. “You are angry with Tristan for wanting me. Are you angry with me for wanting him?”
Mark answered carefully. “I am angry that wanting either of you makes you vulnerable.”
“That was not my question.”
Mark left without answering. Tristan watched him go and understood that Mark’s jealousy concealed a more frightening possibility: he might want them both close and have no idea how to survive it.