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But it all rode on the feelings of two people we had no true control over.
I realized Mrs. Glass was still talking. She’d changed the subject to something about the Callie Rose deal, and I smiled, nodding along.
Once I was finally able to escape the conversation, I went searching for a restroom upstairs in Mrs. Glass’ cabin. The noise of the party died out behind me, and I found myself in a private wing of the house. I tried a door and saw a home office with filing cabinets along the back wall. I almost shut the door and left, but I hesitated.
I had the flash drive Noah had given Travis at the meeting, didn’t I? Travis hated carrying things in his pockets if they weren’t edible, so he was always asking me to tote his keys, phones, and anything else in my purse when he could manage it. He’d given me the flash drive when we arrived. Noah said all I’d need to do was plug it into her computer.
I chewed my lip. The idea of Travis and his friends using this thing had scared me at the time. I didn’t trust that Adrian Terranova guy not to use whatever he could, even if it meant twisting facts to screw over Mrs. Glass or blackmail her into oblivion. If she was forcefully removed from the company, there was no guarantee she’d have a say in who replaced her. Some boring executive who is technically second on the food chain might be elevated by default.
So there was no good reason for me to do this. I should just wait for Travis to figure out the thing with Enzo. I should make sure this flash drive didn’t end up in the hands of someone who would be willing to use it, no matter the cost.
Except as I stood there in the doorway, my mind flashed with images of Travis smiling at me. I saw us kissing at the elephant encounter. I saw him proudly showing me the helicopter landing on the roof of our building and him slapping the little electric car before our date. I remembered the look on my mother’s face when she thought we were moving in together and how good it felt to be part of his family for that dinner. Then I thought of him behind bars—I thought of losing him.
I gripped the flash drive, looked down the hallway to make sure nobody was around, and I crept toward Mrs. Glass’ computer.
33
TRAVIS
Enzo was in his backyard when I jumped the fence. The crazy bastard was watering his plants in the middle of the night, but that matched up with what my guys had gathered when I had him followed. He apparently had quite the green thumb and spent most of his time out here.
Enzo flinched, let out a little girlish scream, and then lifted his watering can in warning towards me. “Wh—what do you want?”
“Sorry,” I said. “I tried ringing the doorbell, but nobody came.”
“Who are you?”
“You don’t remember me? I’m Barry Boulders—the guy from the gym. I was the one who told you Mrs. Glass was talking about you.”
His expression darkened. “Ah.” He lowered the watering can. “Yes, I remember you. You’re the liar.”
Better to brush past that one. “There’s a party tonight. A company thing. I heard Mrs. Glass talking about how she was bummed you didn’t come. I guess it took a lot of courage for her to invite you out of the blue like that.”
He angrily shook his head. “Mrs. Glass is married. She’s wealthy. She’s educated. I’m just a nobody. I don’t know what you are trying to do, but you should stop. I accepted the way things were a long time ago.”
“Mrs. Glass’ husband is in prison, and people change. You should come to the party. Or do you want to be ninety and still talking to your plants?”
“I wasn’t—”
“I waited for a few minutes before I came over the fence,” I said flatly.
Enzo hesitated, then cleared his throat. “I’m not going.”
“I’m not above picking your ass up and carrying you. You’re going. The question is just whether you go over my shoulder or if you’ll be walking with dignity.”
He set down his watering can and approached me.
I smiled. “See? This wasn’t so—”
I never saw the punch coming. One second, I was smiling and patting myself on the back for my skills of persuasion. The next, I was laying on my back with an explosion of pain in my jaw. I blinked a few times, grunted, then rubbed my jaw. “Did you just punch me? Are you insane?”
Enzo and all five foot nothing of his bald height stood over me. “There’s more where that came from, asshole.”
I sighed. I could get up and show him a thing or two about what would happen when he didn’t catch me off guard. Instead, I crossed my ankles and threaded my fingers over my stomach, getting comfortable. “Let’s go back to talking this through like rational adults. Also, I should mention I’m not above offering you a lucrative bribe if you’ll come to the party.”
