Chapter Twenty-Two

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Jade

The ride wasn’t long from my neck of the woods to the much nicer area that Teddy called home, an area full of high-rises with windows that were likely painful to look at when the sun was hitting them all.

Still, on the short drive, it seemed like each second made my throat hurt more and more, making me take constant sips of the slushee Rynn had gotten me to ease the burn.

“Here we are,” Rynn said. “Wait ‘till you see this place,” she added as the door opened at my side, and I started to slide out so Rynn could get out as well.

She grabbed my bag as we went, then walked confidently toward the doorman, telling him that Teddy was expecting us.

While, yes, I’d grown up in a comfortable suburb, I’d never been anywhere that dripped wealth like the lobby of this place did.

“I’m pretty sure Teddy actually bought the building a while back,” Rynn told me as we climbed into a private elevator.

“He’s like… ultra-rich, I’m guessing,” I said, thinking of the hotel he was in the process of renovating.

“Old money,” Rynn said, nodding. “The kind of people who host dinner parties and attend charity galas. Have hospital wings and college libraries named after them. I miss the days when the wealthy used their money for the common good,” she said.

“Teddy still does,” I insisted, not even knowing the man but feeling like he deserved to be defended. “He helped a friend of mine get out of jail on a case he should never have been arrested for.”

“Oh, Teddy is the salt of the earth. I mean, he practically singlehandedly funds Ama’s clinic too,” Rynn told me as the doors opened and we made our way into an absolutely massive space.

The kitchen was to the far left was all sleek stainless steel with an enormous island.

Directly in the center of the space was the living area with a big fireplace that I imagined was just for ambiance, given the hot climate, and several large couches around a coffee table.

Toward the back wall under the windows was a bar cart.

Closer to the entrance was what seemed to be a bedroom.

“Nice, right?” Rynn asked, nodding as she toed out of her shoes and moved toward the living room, curling up on the couch, making herself at home.

I toed out of my shoes and followed her to the living room, feeling weird at being in someone’s home when they weren’t around.

My gaze caught on a small wooden two-stair step stool near the couch.

“Does Teddy have pets?” I asked.

“Teddy? No. He’s not home enough,” Rynn said as she picked up the tablet from the coffee table, turning on the TV above the fireplace. “Do you have objections to campy Halloween movies?” she asked as she scrolled through the options.

“If they’re not too violent,” I agreed, swallowing more glass, then taking the last sip of my slushee to ease the sensation.

“ Addams Family then,” Rynn decided. “But the second one. It’s clearly the superior one,” she went on, talking about the summer camp and the serial killer nanny. I wasn’t sure if she was that passionate about the movie or if she was just trying to make me comfortable.

Either way, it did manage to put me more at ease as the movie started to play.

We were only maybe twenty minutes into it when we suddenly weren’t alone anymore.

My heart leaped, hoping it was Levee, that he was going to curl up with me and make me feel better.

“Teddy, I bought a movie,” Rynn told him, shooting someone behind me a smile.

“Another slasher?” a man’s voice called back.

Before I could turn, the owner of the penthouse came into view.

Teddy was a little person in a finely-tailored suit and a black bowler hat that I was pretty sure would look absurd on anyone else, but he somehow managed to pull off.

“This is Jade,” Rynn said, waving toward me as she laughed at something on the TV.

“Jade, it’s a pleasure,” Teddy said, that old-fashioned charm just oozing off of him. “Though I wish we could have met under better circumstances,” he added, his gaze going to my throat.

“Oh, you know these club old ladies,” Rynn piped in. “There’s some kind of rule that the guys can’t meet us if there aren’t life-or-death things going on.”

There was a rustling sound behind me, making me turn to find the man from the limo moving into the penthouse with several bags in his hands.

“I took the initiative to get several types of ice cream, ice pops, cough drops, tea for if warm is better, and throat spray,” Teddy told me. “Don’t,” he called to Rynn, his lips twitching, seeming to know she was about to say something untoward.

“That was really nice,” I said, hearing how raspy my voice sounded.

“Which can I get for you?” Teddy asked.

“I can—“ I started.

“Nope,” Rynn cut me off. “He won’t let you. Might as well settle in, Jade. He’s all about the pamper.”

“She’s not wrong,” Teddy agreed, reaching to remove his hat.

“An ice pop would be great. I can eat it in the kitchen, though,” I said, moving to stand.

“No, stay,” Teddy insisted. “Rest.”

“How is he single?” I whispered to Rynn when Teddy was out of earshot.

“I know, right?” she asked. “One of life’s many mysteries.”

Teddy was back just two minutes later, bringing not only an ice pop in a fine china bowl, but two thick white paper bags with their names scrawled on the fronts.

He dropped one besides Rynn before handing me my ice pop and placing the bag beside me.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Goodies,” Rynn explained, pulling out a pair of fuzzy socks with a skull pattern on them. “How’d you get skulls this time of year?” she asked, beaming at Teddy.

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” I insisted after taking a small bite of the ice pop.

Despite my objection, I reached for the bag. Inside, I found socks featuring paint splatters, a face mask, a bath bomb, a weighted sleep mask, silk pajamas, and a tub of face cream.

“This shit is six- hundred dollars a tub,” Rynn whispered, mouth falling open.

“No way,” I said, untwisting the top. “I didn’t know face cream that expensive existed.”

“Right? But Teddy is in a different tax bracket than we are. Right, Teddy?” she called.

“I’m afraid to agree,” Teddy said, making Rynn smile.

“I was just saying you’re stupid rich.”

“I’m… comfortable.”

“That’s what the super-rich say,” Rynn said, making me let out a little laugh.

The evening went on much the same way, with me trying ice pops, tea, and, finally, the throat spray for some relief.

The condo was the lap of luxury.

Teddy was the most gracious of hosts.

And Rynn was surprisingly good company.

But I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering to Levee, wondering if he was okay, if he might get himself into some sort of trouble because of me, if he was going to come and get me before the night was through.

Eventually, though, once the conversation died down and the movie I’d seen many times before started to play, the adrenaline crash left me too tired to even try to hold my heavy lids open any longer.

I woke up to whisper-soft fingers teasing over my forehead, making me swat at the intrusion. Until I heard a soft chuckle.

“Whoa, it’s alright,” Levee said, placing a hand on my shoulder and pushing me back down when I tried to shoot up. “Just me,” he said, voice low.

He put a finger to his lips, then pointed to the side. And then there was Cato, leaning down to lift Rynn into his arms.

She woke immediately, though, pointing toward her bag on the coffee table. “If you leave that face cream here, I’m leaving you,” she told him.

To that, Cato smiled, but leaned down to grab the bag with his pinkie finger before carrying the very much awake Rynn out the door.

“Where’s Teddy?” I asked, not wanting to leave without thanking him for everything.

“Right here,” Teddy said as I sat up, making me search to find him standing in the kitchen holding a small plastic cooler. “I was just packing up your ice pops.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said, even if the pain in my throat had a different tale to tell. I gave him a grateful smile, though, knowing he would insist I take them. “Thank you so much for every—“

“Sweetheart,” Teddy cut her off, holding up a hand. “Save your voice. I can hear how much it’s hurting to talk.”

I did manage to give him a quiet thank-you before following Levee into the elevator.

“Scale of one-to-ten, how disappointed are you not to spend the night in one of Teddy’s luxe-ass guest rooms?”

“Okay. Maybe a five,” I admitted, reaching to open the lid of the cooler Levee was holding, suddenly needing another ice pop to numb my throat. It was right then that I finally noticed Levee’s hands. “Your knuckles.”

Levee waited for my gaze to lift to his.

“You’re not gonna have to worry about getting hurt again,” he said.

I wanted to say I felt torn about that. Because, as a whole, I’d been a pacifist my whole life. In my mind, there was always a solution to a problem that didn’t involve violence.

That said, my throat felt like I was gargling glass each time I swallowed. And I knew down to my bones that, if not for William coming to my rescue, I wouldn’t be able to standing there with Levee again.

“Does that bother you?” Levee asked, reading my mind.

“It should,” I said.

“But?”

“But… I don’t know. I think maybe in this case, it’s karmic.”

“There you go,” he said, giving me that boyish smile I was starting to love so much. “Now, do you want cherry-limeade, or blackberry lemonade? Just so you know, there is a right answer.”

“Cherry-limeade. Obviously,” I said, holding out a hand until he dropped the wrapped pop in my palm.

“You passed the test.”

“Without even studying,” I agreed, taking a bite of the ice pop and enjoying the way the cold immediately soothed my sore throat. “So, what now?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“What you want.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re safe now. If you want, you can go back to your place. Alone. Or with me.” Even just the thought of that made my stomach clench. “Or you can come back to the clubhouse with me.”

“Is that even a question?” I asked. “But I do need to feed the fish before we go. And get some things.”

“Think you’re gonna need to set up a tank at the clubhouse for those fish,” he said, wrapping an arm casually around me as we walked through the lobby of Teddy’s building before making our way out onto the street.

“Or I need to move closer,” I said, letting myself lean into him as we walked.

We could work on that,” Levee said, turning to press a kiss to the side of my head.

And something about the way he said it made me hope he was thinking the same thing I was.

Which was something like forever.

And a white picket fence.