Page 43 of Before

“Can’t fucking help you.”

Each word was enunciated a little stronger than the last. Then a click echoed in the speaker before the dial tone sounded.

He hung up on her.

Asshole.

What could she do now?

• • •

“Miss Gigi, I reallydon’t think we have time—”

“It’ll only take a couple of minutes,” Gigi replied, already pushing open the rear passenger door of the black town car sent by the agency to ensure she made it to the airport on time.

Ha.

She was really pushing that now. Besides, those damn flights never took off on time, and she was sure she had at least a half-hour of cushion to make this work.

“We only have an hour, and you need to go through security!”

“Just two minutes!”

She headed for the familiar apartment building waiting across the street as the driver called out behind her, “It’ll take that long for you to ... get inside!”

Oh, well.

It was too late now.

She was already halfway there.

Over the night as she finished packing her bags, Gigi decided she did have one last chance to say goodbye to Lev before flying out of the country. Going to him—or his place, rather. Was it a long shot?

Probably.

If he’d recently quit, or lost, his job then he was likely out trying to get another. She really was going through more effort than was needed to see the man one more time considering their time together had been mostly spent in bed, but it felt right.

Like she should at least try. After all, he did say they would meet up again.

Right?

Gigi climbed the cement stairs at the front entrance of the building and expected she would have to buzz in. Instead, she found the front door to the place propped open by a plastic crate filled with bricks. Giving it, and the stack of packing boxes inside the entrance hallway near the mailboxes, a look she sent up a silent thanks to whoever was looking out for her that day. Probably saved her some time.

She didn’t waste time, since she couldn’t afford to, and headed straight down the steps to the basement level of apartments. Again, another plastic crate filled with bricks held the metal fire-safety door open down there. Another three packing boxes, stacked one on top of the other, waited a few feet inside the hallway. Right beside the apartment door she knew to be Lev’s.

The door to the apartment was open, but Gigi didn’t have to go inside to see what was going on from where she stood out in the hallway. The place was mostly empty. All the way back, she could see ... nothing.

No furniture.

No people.

No Lev.

“Hey, you need something?”

Gigi spun on her heel at the unfamiliar, young voice. In the doorway of the apartment down the hall that she’d passed on her way to Lev’s stood a black-haired, dark-eyed girl that looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, if that. In her arms, sitting on her hip, was a curly-haired, babbling baby with the biggest, bluest eyes she had ever seen.

Cute kid, she thought.

“Uh, I was just looking for—”

“Lev? He moved out today. Just missed him. He’s got a little bit of stuff left to take to his new place, though, if you wanna wait.”

Dammit.

So much for luck.

“I have to head out, actually. Could you let—”

“Nessa, come help me reach this bowl!”

The teenager glanced over her shoulder at the voice calling from within the apartment. As she stepped back into the shadows of the doorway, grabbing the door to close it as she went, the girl said, “Sorry, gotta go. He’ll be back in like an hour.”

She shut the door before Gigi could explain that wouldn’t do any good. And now, those two minutes were up.

Paris was waiting.