Happenstance(88)

“Listen to me, Elise isn’t even a reporter. She isn’t employed by the Times—”

“That makes her more of a liability. Not less. She could take it to another paper.”

Karina sighs. “I said, I’ve got her under control.”

I’m already backing up as slowly as possible, but it’s hard to focus on my steps when my mind has turned into a wind funnel. “Me Plus Three” wasn’t good enough to be printed. It was all about placating me. So I would drop the mole story. And worst of all, I’ve been played by Karina. That’s what I’ve been missing.

I can’t believe I didn’t see it.

Karina tried to find out where I was staying. Why? So Alexander could…come get me?

Thank goodness he didn’t recognize me from the gala. If he’d known who I was, he could have connected me to Gabe. I would have been putting my men in danger simply by hiding out at Gabe’s house. My God. My pulse is going so fast, it’s making me dizzy. I’m in danger of tripping over my own feet. I need to get out of here now— My back runs into something soft. Soft on top of hard.

I turn around and find a suited man smirking down at me.

It’s Jameson Crouch.

“Excuse me,” I whisper, trying to go around him.

He grabs my arm. Holds on tight when I try to pull it free. “Not so fast, girly.”

My temples pound. Mouth goes dry. “Let me go. Please, let me go.”

“Hey, Alexander,” Crouch shouts. “I found what we’re looking for.”

Karina and the deputy mayor step into view on the other side of the server. Alexander looks nonplussed, but it slowly gives way to amusement. Karina is stunned, but she can only look me in the eye for a moment, before horror takes over and she looks away.

The suited man starts to drag me toward the back of the basement. Where are they taking me? Is there a rear exit?

“Karina, please,” I say in a strangled scream, my vocal cords pinched shut from fear.

“I couldn’t let the Post continue to scoop us. My job was at stake.” Eyes closed, she shakes her head. “I told you to stick to delivering sandwiches, Elise.”





Banks





* * *



To put it mildly, I’m losing my shit.

Elise is not answering her phone. We know she is enroute to the Times. We are most likely going to find her there safe and probably a little closed off—and frankly, I can’t blame her. The four of us are mere days into this relationship and her faith is already being shaken. Believe me, I would love nothing more than to blame Tobias. It is very difficult to be angry with him, however, when he is continuously banging his head off the passenger side window.

“I’ve never understood those macho Americans who ask people to punch them in the stomach as hard as they can, but I completely get it now. They are emotional shite piles like me and they just want to relocate the suffering.”

“You need to take a deep breath,” I mutter, weaving in and out of traffic as fast as possible without running the risk of being pulled over. Every car we pass with an Uber decal in the window, I glance into the backseat in case Elise is the passenger. “I can’t deal with your hysterics right now.”

“Please know that I’m holding back!”

Another purposeful bang of his head against the window.

“I can’t believe we let her walk out and close the door,” Gabe is saying, though it’s hard to discern whether he’s talking to us or himself. “We should never let her walk out when things are up in the air. She has to stay. She has to hear everything we’re saying. Didn’t we decide that in the escape room? Everyone on the same page.”

Tobias clutches at his chest like he’s been stabbed and howls at the ceiling.

“I take responsibility for that, too, Gabe,” I say, finding it necessary to clear my throat. It is very difficult to remain calm right now, but I can’t lose it when I am the designated stable one of the group. Today, at least. That being said, it’s taking every drop of my willpower not to floor the gas pedal and bellow like a wounded beast at the top of my lungs.

I saw on her face that something was wrong. I saw that she was crumbling and I didn’t properly take control of the situation. Now I’m paying. I’m paying in fear and regret. This woman has completely transformed my world since we met. I’m in love with her. I want her to be a part of every moment of my life. God help me, I want these two shitheads there, too.

Anyone who threatens what we’ve made here is going to regret it. I don’t care if that someone is one of the most influential men in the city—what we have is more powerful.

Finally, I’m off the bridge. Unfortunately, crosstown traffic this close to rush hour is abominably slow and lights seem to be taking forever.

“Okay,” I say, trying unsuccessfully to calm my own nerves. “Unless Elise told someone where she was going, no one knew she was leaving the house besides us. We have no evidence that someone is actively looking for her. I could be having a panic attack for nothing.”

“You’re having a panic attack?” Tobias temporarily stops abusing his cranium against the glass to shift around and face me. “You’re supposed to be the calm one.”

“I’m not calm at all. I’ll be calm when we find her at the Times.”