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“I am so scared,” she said, her eyes flicking from one of us to the other. “I love him! I really do! I know that everyone thinks I am nothing more than his trophy wife, but they know nothing! I love him!”
More wailing, more crying. Kellan and I shared a look, one that made it clear that neither of us knew quite what to do with her.
“Go on,” Kellan said. “I’ll stay with her; you make whatever calls you need to with the rest of the crew. I’ll keep you posted.” Kellan put his hand on Moche’s shoulder, saying, “there, there,” as he led her away from the center of the waiting room and toward some seats off to the side.
I slipped my phone out of my pocket, trying to figure out even where to begin with everything that had happened over the last few hours. I needed to tell the crew about Eddie, about the new danger that the cartel presented. And that for the time being, I was the man on top. Even if I still had designs on leaving, at that moment I was in charge.
Strangely, I found myself watching Moche and Kellan. He sat next to her, keeping his hand on her back as he tried his best to calm her down. Moche had been right about what she’d said, how everyone viewed her as a trophy wife, as yet another of Eddie’s expensive acquisitions.
But that wasn’t the case. The way she cried, the fear in her eyes; only someone who truly loved another could act in that manner. It made me consider my plans to leave, how getting away from my life didn’t mean a thing if there wasn’t someone to share it with.
I pushed the thoughts out of my mind, turning my attention back to the phone.
It was time to get to work.
Chapter 19
Claire
Iopened the door just a bit to peek in on Kat. She was fine, just like she had been the last half-dozen times I’d checked. I was being silly and I knew it, almost like an overprotective mother. All the same, it did me a world of good to look into my bedroom and see her sleeping soundly, knowing she was safe and having the first restful night’s sleep since she’d been kidnapped.
I’d been a bundle of nerves since I’d arrived home with her, and after spending an hour or so tossing and turning on the couch, I’d finally accepted that I wouldn’t be getting a damn wink of sleep that night.
So, I’d made one cup in the Keurig after another, trying to figure out the next steps. Kat was safe, but only for now. The fact of the matter was that the people who’d kidnapped her were still out there. No doubt that by now they’d realized she was gone. If they wanted her back badly enough and had the resources to track her down, they’d be able to find me and my home address.
My building was safe, but would it be safe enough? Not to mention that I couldn’t keep her in there forever. There were so many things to consider, so many ways things could quickly go wrong.
I spent the rest of the night taking care of work. When the morning rolled around, I fired off an email to Stan Silver, one of the partners, letting him know that I’d be taking care of business from home that day.
The morning ticked by with Kat still sleeping. Then the afternoon came and went. It was around five in the evening that I finally heard signs of her moving around in the bedroom, followed by the shower turning on again. I smiled, content knowing she was OK, safe and sound for now.
My phone buzzed on the kitchen counter and I stepped over to see that it was a call from Trevor.
“Shit.” I clapped my hand onto my forehead as I realized that I hadn’t told Trev that I’d found Kat.
“Hey!” I cradled the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I stuck another cup into the Keurig, the lack of sleep from the night before taking its toll.
“Hey. Listen, I just realized that you’re at work; sorry for bothering you.”
“No bother at all, took the day off.”
“Oh, good. Anyway, I just wanted to check in and see if you’d heard anything new about Kat.”
My stomach tensed with excitement.
“I have, actually. In fact… she’s here with me.”
Silence followed. “She’s what?”
“She’s here with me. Well, in the shower right now, actually.”
Another few beats of silence. “You’re not screwing around with me or anything like that, are you? Because if you are, it’s not funny.”
“Trust me, I would never joke around about something like this. Kat’s here, I brought her over last night.”
“My God. That’s… I don’t even know what to say.”
I filled him in on the events of the previous day, telling him about the phone call and the meeting with Kat, and her daring escape from the people who’d taken her. I told him that she’d been at my place ever since, sleeping for nearly an entire day.
