Somewhere Only We Know(64)

Oh my God.

I couldn’t breathe.

Jack’s been moonlighting as—

I couldn’t think, my senses overwhelmed by the pounding music, the stifling heat of the club, the lights flashing in sync to the music. From everything finally clicking into place.

I couldn’t be here.





CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR


JACK


The cold water felt good as I splashed it on my face. I’d felt overheated for hours. I turned off the rusty faucet with a screech and stared at myself in the bathroom mirror.

Up until a few hours ago, I had been very okay with who I was. And then … then it all changed. Not only because we kissed and because she was lighting me on fire every time she looked at me. But because I had been justifying lying to her with this job opportunity.

But now? The job felt so insignificant next to my feelings for Lucky.

What is a quality life?

Stability? Passion? I still wasn’t sure about all the details. But I knew one thing: A quality life involved caring for people. Being good to them. Being a good person for them in addition to yourself. Like your family. Friends.

Girlfriend.

I dropped my head into my hands, ruffled my hair, and looked up.

Figure it out. You’ve gotten out of every kind of sticky situation.

When I headed back to our table, I didn’t see her. I looked around; maybe this wasn’t the right table. But she wasn’t anywhere in sight. Was she on the dance floor? I made my way over there, trying to find that lavender sweatshirt in the throngs of dancers. The crowd had thinned and I still didn’t see her.

My palms got sweaty, my breathing shallow. Did someone recognize her? Did her security find her?

That’s when I saw it. My phone. Sitting on a table.

No.

Shit, shit, shit.

I grabbed it and saw that there were no unread messages, but when I looked at my texts, there were a ton of new ones from Trevor. And they were read. The last one had said: Lucky’s management has been in touch with us—wondering if we’ve spotted her. If I don’t hear back from you soon I might tell them. GET BACK TO ME ASAP JACK.

The world stopped moving.

She knew. She knew and she had run away.

A fear gripped me that made me break out into a cold sweat. She not only knew, but she had bolted. By herself. Distressed.

In the city. By herself and without her disguise. I had a mental image of her being mobbed and the fear grew, tightening in my chest.

I had to find her.

I tucked my phone into my pocket and tried to get out of the club, getting stuck in large groups of people dancing or drinking. The dark sweaty room that had been so hypnotic and full of possibilities minutes earlier turned into a nightmarish maze. Bodies kept pushing and the music was so loud I couldn’t think.

But I had to think. Fast. I was only gone for a short while, so she couldn’t have gone far. I thought about cats—how if you gave them thirty seconds to get away from you, they found some obscure location to hide in, usually very close but near-impossible to find.

Look close.

When I managed to get out of the club, a chill gust of wind hit me and I took a deep breath. My brain flipped through all the possibilities of where she could be, whirring into different directions for each one.

I scanned the crowds in front of me—mostly hipsters and young professionals.

Food was always a possibility. There were small cafés open up and down the hillside streets. I ran and checked each street near the club—but no sign of that sweatshirt.

There was a chance she was walking back to the hotel. God, there were so many places she could be.

I needed help. I pulled out my phone.

“Stop being so obsessed with me,” Charlie said when he picked up.

“Charlie. I can’t find Lucky.” I tried to keep my voice steady but it came out high-pitched and desperate.

“Did you lose her at the club?” he asked, voice loud as he turned down the volume of the music in the background.

“Yeah, she … she saw something and freaked out. When I was in the bathroom. It was only a few minutes ago but she could be anywhere and I don’t know—”

“Where are you?” he asked.

Within minutes, the cab appeared in front of me. I jumped into the front seat.

“Well, you’re a mess,” he said cheerfully.

I dragged my hands down my face. “Thanks. I looked everywhere around the club. I can’t find her.”

I could feel his stare and sighed. “What?”

“How did she get lost?”

A crowd of people ran out in front of us, one of the girls wiggling her fingers at us through the windshield as she passed. Charlie didn’t even notice, he was so fixated on me. I watched the girl strut down the street in a high pair of boots. Like the kind Lucky wore onstage.

“She found out something and … left me. Upset, I think.”

I could barely hear Charlie’s low-muttered curses. “I told you to stop what you were doing, Jack.”

“Are you seriously lecturing me right now?” I smacked my hand on the dashboard. “She could be lost, or maybe mobbed again. She could be hurt!”

“Hurt by you.”

What in the world! I looked at him in shock. Charlie and I never fought. He never got riled up enough to instigate anything with me.