Page 50 of The Truth of Us

Jesus Christ.

Several minutes?

"What happened after that?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.

"She exited the elevator area and left the building."

Left.

The call ended, and I stood in the middle of my penthouse. Completely alone.

The city stretched beyond the glass. The contract sat waiting in my office; the ring waiting for me to pick it up from the jeweler…And suddenly none of it looked like a future.

Panic clawed at my throat, and I started to sweat. My phone was already dialling before I thought better of it. Rowan answered on the third ring. "What?"

"Find Harper."

Silence.

Then I heard a heavy exhale and, "What did you do?"

The question made the panicked, anxious feeling spike.

"Nothing." I said defensively.

Rowan laughed, a short, humourless sound. "Elliot."

"I didn't do anything."

"You don’t call me at this hour frantic unless you fucked up. So I will ask again… What did you do?"

Something in me snapped. "I called because I need information."

"And I asked a question," he retorted.

I dragged a hand through my hair, trying to push the panic down. "This isn't about me… I need you to look into Harper… I need…"

"You already have her file, and I am done with this conversation."

My temper flared. "Just find out where she was and where she is."

"No," the answer came immediately.

"What?" I gasped.

"No," Rowan repeated.

I stared at the phone, certain I'd heard him wrong.

"I am not chasing after Harper to help you clean up whatever mess you just made."

"Rowan… I need you to do your job!" I snarled.

"What did you do?" He asked again.

The third time somehow sounded worse. Because Rowan already knew. Somehow…

The line went dead.