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“What’s her name?” Marin quietly asked. “I want to pray for her.”
The detective looked from Marin to Griffin. He brought his hand to the back of Marin’s neck and gently rubbed. The detective cleared her throat before looking down at her notes.
“Anika,” she said. “She suffered injuries to the liver and spleen. Doctors are operating now. They’re optimistic.” She looked at Marin and smiled kindly. “But prayers are always good, too.”
Two men who seemed to know Griffin joined them. One man looked vaguely familiar to Marin.
“Our ride is here,” Griffin announced.
He helped her to her feet. She was grateful for his arm, as well as his presence of mind to get them a ride home. Her legs felt too unsteady to walk farther than the elevator. Marin gathered up her backpack, but she felt as though she was forgetting something. She glanced around at the table they’d been sitting at for the past hour.
“You gave your chef’s coat to me,” Griffin reminded her gently. “It must have gotten left in the metro station.”
Marin nodded. The entire evening felt like one of those dreams where she was supposed to know what was going on but didn’t.
“Yeah,” she said. “I don’t know why I’m so confused about everything.”
“Shock will do that to you,” one of Griffin’s friends said. “I’m Ben, by the way. I brought you some water and peanut butter crackers. Hydrating and getting some food in you will help.” He handed her a brown bag.
“Ben’s a perpetual Boy Scout,” the one who looked familiar to Marin said as he pushed the button for the elevator. “Which makes me Adam, the chauffeur.” He bowed deeply just as the elevator doors opened. “At your service.”
“Ignore these two jokers.” Griffin guided her onto the elevator. “They would have never gotten through West Point without my help.”
Their humorous bantering helped to chase some of the fog in her brain away. Griffin kept his hand at the small of her back and her body relaxed into it. She took a few swallows from the water bottle, suddenly realizing how hungry she was. Lunch had been nine hours earlier.
Adam led them to a small SUV parked out front. Griffin handed her into the back seat. Adam and Ben got in front while Griffin walked around the car and slid in beside her. His warm body felt comforting next to hers as she munched on the crackers. The sense of calm that had been absent for the past couple of hours slowly returned. When they pulled up outside her apartment building, she was surprised, however.
“I didn’t tell you where I lived.”
She met Adam’s bottle green eyes in the rearview mirror.
“It’s the Secret Service’s job to know where all the White House employee’s live,” Adam informed her.
That explained why he looked so familiar. Griffin had gotten out and was opening her door. “Well then, I’m glad you were the ones who came to pick Griffin up. Thanks so much for the ride.”
“Oh, trust me,” Adam replied. “If there wasn’t the promise of meeting a beautiful woman, Griffin would have been taking the metro home.”
Marin blushed at his words as she slid out of the car.
“I’m going to walk Marin inside,” Griffin told is friends. “Just drive around the block a few times until I get back.”
“Sure thing, Miss Daisy,” Adam called out before Griffin shut the door.
Arnold, the weekend doorman, jumped from his seat at the concierge desk when Marin and Griffin entered.
“What’s cookin’ tonight, Chef?” he asked, reciting one of his frequent quips.
Marin smiled graciously, even though the doorman was always the only one who thought his line was funny.
“Easter eggs,” she replied. “Thousands of them.”
“My grandbabies are looking forward to it, Chef Marin.” Arnold beamed as he buzzed them through the secure gate leading to the elevators. “Thanks so much for those tickets.”
“It was my pleasure.”
Griffin steered her toward the bank of elevators. He’d likely already taken in the opulent lobby. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see his reaction when they rode up to the penthouse. It was no secret that the Chevalier family was wealthy and Marin made no apologies for how she lived. But something about giving Griffin a glimpse into this part of her life made her uncomfortable.
“You don’t have to come up,” she said.
