Page 48

“I gave you a phone,” Andrej stated flatly, showing no sign that he was willing to give him his.

“P-please, I … need to call Leaf. Now!”

Andrej glared in suspicion, while Carol made a casual gesture, indicating to give Tristan the phone. Andrej took it out of his pocket, unlocked it, and dialed Leaf’s number. Tristan felt like a ghost as he held the phone to his ear and moved away from the others. It rang a few times until Leaf picked up.

“Andrej? What’s up?”

“It’s me.” Tristan stood by the pool, looking at the opposite high-rise where several people were working out on elliptical machines.

“Hey.” Leaf’s voice softened. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you at the interview?”

Tristan’s breathing was heavy and uneven, too loud for Leaf to ignore.

“What happened?” he asked, his tone serious.

“T-this reporter, Clint. He said … hhh …” Tristan grimaced and massaged his forehead.

“What did he say?”

“He’s going to talk about … Native Americans soon.” Just saying the words made his heart race again. “Damn it, Leaf! What’s going on here?”

“Where are you?” From the sound of it, Leaf had just left the cabin and was locking the door.

“At the Standard Hotel, in the Rooftop Bar.”

“I’m on my way as fast as I can. Just stay calm. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, okay?”

“I have no clue how to do that,” he replied. “I feel like I can’t even breathe right now.”

“Take deep breaths. You’ve got this.”

He heard Leaf turn the ignition on and drive off. As Tristan hung up, Carol stepped beside him, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

“Everything okay? We’re about to continue.”

Nothing was okay. Panic gripped Tristan, and he couldn’t just run away. What if he was wrong? What if this was about something completely different and not about the Frank Chelsea thing? With trembling hands, he handed Carol the phone back.

“It’s not mine,” she stated. “That’s Andrej’s phone.”

“Right.”

“Tristan, is there something we should know?”

Probably too late for that now.

Dazed, he retreated to the table and gave the phone to Andrej. Tristan felt as if it was his own fault—he should have known that the bomb would eventually explode. It’s not like he had made a big secret out of it, but he had chosen not to tell anyone. It was his way of dealing with it. Even Leaf had found out about it from Milo.

“Everything okay?” Andrej asked.

Tristan managed a nod. “Could you pour me some more water?”

“Of course.”

If I’d been open about my past, I could have counted on Andrej for his support.

Hope flared up within him.

Maybe it’s about something else. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.