Chapter 30

“So, how’d you sleep?”

I yawn, stretching as I pad my way into the ‘living room’ of Mia’s penthouse, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. “Hard,” I admit, smiling as I see Mia looking cute in black pants and a T-shirt from a band she sent me the link to. She calls it ‘recommended listening’. I call it ‘have an opinion by the next time I see her or she’ll shove earbuds in my ears.’ Tomato, tomahto. “Cute shirt. And yes, I listened. Starlight was okay, but I liked the older stuff better. And who names their band Babymetal anyway?”

Mia grins, giving a light golf-style clap. “Well done. There’s hope for you yet. We’ll see if Charlotte does as well on her musical pop quiz too.” She’s half-joking but mostly telling the truth. I can already foresee an in-depth musical analysis in my future.

For now, she’s distracted by bigger fish though. “Gabe’s already gone?”

I nod. Letting him go had been hard, knowing that he was walking into a potentially deadly situation. But he’d taken every precaution, leaving extra-early to decrease the chances he’d been seen at Goldstone Tower, carefully tailoring his windbreaker to conceal his gun, and even letting me check everything too, carefully following the steps Saul at the range showed me in an attempt to ease my worries.

It’d worked for a minute, but as soon as he’d left, I’d curled up in bed, terror gripping my stomach in its icy fist. I basically chewed my lip off and picked at my cuticles with nerves, wishing I had a phone to at least check in with him by text message if nothing else.

But the anxiety had worn me out, especially given the stress of the last few days, and somewhere along the way, I’d fallen asleep. It’s almost lunch now, and still no word from Gabe. I knew he wouldn’t be able to call for a bit in an attempt to make sure everything is clear before we make contact again, but that doesn’t assuage my worries.

“When is Charlotte coming over?” I ask Mia, eager for any sort of distraction.

“She should be here any minute. She’s bringing a bag to stay too, so we can keep the whole gang safe together. I gave her the bare bones of what’s happening but kept it pretty generic since we were on the phone. And I told her to look frantic, scared, and basically freaked the fuck out as she left work, rushed home, and came over. She’s no actress, but I think she can fake the tears she’d cry if something had actually happened to you.”

I nod, glad we’d gone over including Char, and we’d put together something for her last night in our strategy plan. With Gabe telling Blackwell I had a protective detail, the guards would realize I’m missing in action pretty quickly and report to Thomas. So my girls should be losing their shit and circling the wagons.

And now, my part of the plan is basically to stay in hiding. It’s a pretty vital part of the whole scenario, since I’m supposed to be dead and all.

The elevator dings, and Mia shoots me a look. I hop into the pantry, closing the door, just in case. But a second later, the elevator opens and Charlotte comes barreling in. “Someone had better tell me what is going on immediately.”

I come out and am swept up in Charlotte’s arms for a hug. “Fuck, girl. We always worry about you, but Mia said you’re in some real trouble. Not that Russell isn’t real, or your school stuff isn’t important, but this is like next-level. You okay?”

I smile as much as I can, hugging her back. “Yeah, for now. Though this is all way above my paygrade. I’m having to trust Gabe and Thomas to figure some shit out and set all this right. And you know how much I love to depend on other people to handle my life.”

The sarcasm stings, but it’s the truth. I do wish I could just stomp my way into the Blackwell building, tell him to fuck off in an epic mic drop, and go on with my life.

But it’s not that easy, and I have to admit that someone else is probably better equipped to address this strategically. In the meantime, while I stay hidden, I need distraction. I need my besties.

Mia and Char glance at each other and then take action. “Lunch and rom-com movie, stat. We’ve got you, girl.” And then like whirling dervishes, Charlotte pulls plates and glasses from the cabinets and Mia disappears to the media room to get the movie set up.

Char opens the fridge, and I happen to catch a glimpse of the inside. It’s stocked full, and I do mean full, of what looks to be the entirety of a grocery store. “Damn, I wish my fridge looked like that! Is that a whole container of raspberries?”

I must sound more desperate than the awe I was aiming for because Charlotte turns around, a frown on her face. “Izzy.”

But I cut her off with a hand extended, shaking my head. “Nope. I’m fine.”

She presses her lips into a thin line, holding back the argument she wants to make, settling for grabbing the berries and setting the whole bowl in front of me. “Eat.”

I don’t argue, popping one of the bright fruits into my mouth and moaning at the explosion of sour sweetness on my tongue.

Mia chooses that moment to walk back into the kitchen, grinning. “I’ll have what she’s having if it’ll make me sound like that.”

I laugh around a mouthful. “Ha-ha, Sally, but we’re not watching you fake an orgasm over lunch.”

The movie reference makes them both smile, reassuring them in a small way that I’m okay.

“Apparently, we’re listening to you moan and groan, so what’s the difference?” Mia teases back. “Speaking of moaning and groaning, I want every dirty detail of your weekend away. And don’t you dare tell me that you two holed up in a safe house and didn’t get any action.”

I shake my head, protesting. “We were scared for my life, on the run. Sex was the last thing on our minds while we tried to figure out a way out of this mess.”

My girls look at one another, using each other as a barometer, then simultaneously reach behind their backs and toss invisible flags into the air, Mia whistling loudly. “Calling bullshit on that. Flag on the conversation.”

I laugh and give in. “Fine, there was action. But those dirty details are all mine.”

Charlotte gives me a friendly pop on the shoulder, making a mock-angry face. “Spoil sport! I’m living vicariously through you.”

I rub my shoulder, even though she didn’t hurt me. It’s just part of the game, and I’m willing to immerse myself in it for a bit to keep myself sane. “Well, I’m just trying to see tomorrow, so you’ll have to find your own dick for entertaining stories.”

She smirks, weaving her head back and forth. “Fine, no dick tales from you and definitely none from me, then what about the rest of all this? Are you sure about Gabe, about hiding out, about Blackwell not coming after you? What about Russell?”

“I changed my mind, let’s talk about the awesome sex,” I reply, my forced levity dissolving as I find myself torn between my friends’ attempts at cheering me up and the worry about where Gabe is and whether he’s safe.

But I realize that right now, I need a deeper conversation than how much meat my man’s packing between his legs.

“Actually, I don’t know what’s up with Russell. He definitely saw Gabe and me together, and Gabe definitely put him in the hospital based on the beating he gave him, so that could come back to haunt us. But I feel like Russell is small potatoes compared to everything else.”

“After Gabe told us what happened with Russell, I did a little research online using the town’s arrest records, and more importantly, the Roseboro rumor mill,” Mia shares, sitting down on a stool. “So word is, Russell doesn’t remember getting a beatdown. He woke up, or I guess regained consciousness is more accurate, and got himself to the hospital. Right now, he’s claiming he doesn’t remember who, but everyone thinks he pissed off the wrong rock slinger.”

“Wait, so Gabe’s totally in the clear there?” I ask, shocked. Did Russell get hit in the head, or was he really that scared by what happened? No cops, no pissed off Russell? “That’s awesome, better than we’d hoped.”

“We?” Charlotte says, busting me and returning our focus to the topic she wants most. Gabe.

“Yeah, we,” I say, blushing just a little bit. “We might’ve gotten a weird start—actually, we’re still mid-weirdness—but we’ve got something. He’s something... special.”

Mia coughs, not subtle at all as she says, “Tell her everything.”

And for the second time in just over twelve hours, I’m running through everything that’s happened in the last few weeks, from both my perspective and Gabe’s point of view. It’s harder not having Gabe to fill in the parts that he did last night, when he gave me an out in the difficult areas, but I power through it, knowing I need to toughen up and be strong if I’m going to get through this. And that means facing my best friends and admitting that I’m falling for Gabe.

As I wrap it up, Char looks like she’s about to be sick. “How in the world am I supposed to go to work in that building, work for that monster, when he put out a hit on my best friend?”

I give her a hug, patting her on the back. “With a smile, that’s how. We don’t know what Thomas and Gabe are finding out or what we’re going to do yet, so in the meantime, you’re going to play along. Act like I’m missing, be worried, but try to carry on, and if it gets to the point that you have to pretend I’m gone, we’ll put in a plan to cover that. Start with taking a few days off, like you’re poking around and worried, also known as laying low and staying safe. Because if he targeted me, he could target you.”

She nods, though she looks uncertain. I understand. She doesn’t really recognize just how much danger she’s in. Until I saw Gabe and Rusty, I didn’t understand either.

After a long moment, Charlotte says, “Okay, movie time. Let’s do this because I don’t think my brain can take any more. I need a fluffy comedy with a guaranteed happily ever after. And then, I’m making us cupcakes. I’m trying a new recipe and I need testers.”

“Deal,” I say, and Mia echoes my sentiment a half-beat later.

I love these girls. My best friends, who would support me through just about anything, up to and including fake deaths and conspiracies, apparently.