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“Okay great,” I reply, feeling a small sense of relief. “Where is it?”
“Oh, I’m afraid the mailman’s already come in for it,” she informs me. “It’s gone. I’m sorry, is there a problem?”
I hear Pete behind me stifle a guffaw. I turn and see his face is red from holding in his laughter. You know, for a guy who was completely freaked out about the possibility of me being married just a few minutes ago, he sure has turned a corner to finding this funny pretty fucking quickly.
“What?” I snap at him.
“I was just thinking that you might have the shittiest luck of anybody I’ve ever met.”
I sigh and run a hand through my hair, trying to force myself to think this through. But what he said isn’t wrong – if not for shit luck, I’d have no luck.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Emily
I see the call is coming from Aaron, so I hit the end button to send it to voicemail. He’s the last person I want to talk to right now. I pace around the living room of Aaron’s company condo, reeling from everything that’s happened. Reeling from what I heard him say.
The condo is large and bright. Floor-to-ceiling windows make up the entire back wall of the place. The building overlooks the beach of Venice, and I stand there for a long time, arms crossed over my chest, staring out at the sunlight sparkling off the Pacific.
Stepping through the back doors, I stand on the balcony. I turn my face up to the sun and breathe deeply of the salt-scented air. Leaning against the railing, I look out toward the ocean again, watching the waves crash against the shore. It’s a beautiful day, and yet, I take no comfort in it. Not when my entire world feels like it’s being turned inside out.
I walk back inside, starting to pace around the living room. I feel trapped. Like I’m suffocating. Even though the condo is large and luxurious, I can’t help but feel like I’m in a prison and I’m crawling out of my skin. I need to get out of here, if only for a little while.
Grabbing my bag, I head out of the condo. The large man in the hallway – a different large man than the one who’d been keeping an eye on me all morning – stands up from his chair and turns to me.
“Where would you like to go, Ms. Hall?” he asks, his voice deep and rumbling.
“I don’t suppose there’s any chance of convincing you to stay here while I step out for a bit?”
His lips flicker in something that looks like a smile, but it’s gone again a moment later. “I’m afraid not.”
I sigh. “Figured as much,” I grouse. “I’m going to see my friend.”
The man pulls his phone out of his pocket and calls the driver, telling him to bring the car around. I trudge down the hallway to the elevators, the hulking man shadowing me every step of the way, only adding to the feeling of being a prisoner.
We step out onto the sidewalk in front of the building and the car is already there, the driver holding the door. I slip into the backseat as my bodyguard-slash-babysitter gets into the front. When the driver gets behind the wheel, I tell him where we’re going. He punches it in on the car’s GPS before pulling away from the curb.
Twenty minutes or so later, I slip out of the back and walk quickly into the hospital, Godzilla trailing close behind. Pulling out my phone, I call Olivia’s number. She answers on the second ring.
“Hey, what’s up?” she asks brightly.
“I’m actually here at the hospital,” I tell her. “I was hoping you had a little time to have a cup of coffee or something?”
She pauses for a second before speaking. “Yeah, I’m about due for my lunch break anyway. Just give me ten minutes and meet me in the courtyard.”
“It’s a date.”
I click off the line and head for the courtyard. Having visited Olivia often, I’m familiar with where it is. I know there’s a coffee cart out there. I order us a couple of drinks and sit down at the table to wait for her. A few minutes later, she strolls out and gives me a wide smile. It’s then she notices the large, hulking shadow about ten feet behind me and her smile slips as a trace of uncertainty crosses her face.
“Is he with you?” she asks once she sits down.
I roll my eyes. “Yes.”
“Okay spill, what’s going on?”
I lay out the entire story for her end to end – everything from Vegas to this morning. She listens to the whole thing, her expression alternating between horrified and bemused – which is not the expression I expected to see on her face. As my best friend in the world, I expect her to be every bit as horrified, angry, and frustrated as I am.
“Wow, that’s a lot to digest,” she says once I’m finished with my tale of woe.
