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“Your guess is correct.” All I can do after that is stare out the window, chewing my lip, hoping this isn’t the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. Maybe even worse than going to the hotel in the first place. I did that for my brother, too, didn’t I?
And there it is, just as unremarkable as it was when I first visited. Instead of stopping out in front and letting me out of the car, Griffin pulls around the corner and steers the car into an underground garage that empties onto an alley just wide enough for a car to turn left or right when it pulls out. I wouldn’t know it was here otherwise—there’s no evidence of it from the street. My heart hammers loud enough that I wonder if he can hear it as we roll down a short ramp and come to a stop in the first empty space. The handful of used spots are inhabited by cars that probably cost more than a small house.
It shouldn’t surprise me to find a familiar figure standing next to our space, hands clasped behind his back like he was waiting for us all this time. And I thought my heart pounded hard before this? It beats so loud I can barely hear the click of my belt when I unlock it.
“Thank you, Griffin,” Mason murmurs as we approach, but his attention is focused on me. His expression is unreadable, so I can’t tell if the sight of me is a good thing or not. I wish he would give me a clue. It’s pretty unnerving not knowing if he hates me or not. Or why I’m here in the first place. Or who gave him permission to fill out a pair of slacks the way he does.
“Did that text come from you?” I don’t know where this sudden bravado is coming from or what gives me the nerve to come out and ask him like that. The man towers over me and could probably snap me in half without hardly trying. I should probably watch what I say.
I guess there’s something about being pushed around that gives me an attitude.
The only response I get is the slight tic of his jaw. He raises an eyebrow ever so slightly but says nothing, only nodding toward a pair of doors embedded in the concrete wall before walking that way. I guess I’m supposed to follow him. I’m too afraid to do anything else. It’s an elevator, and within moments, the doors open again on a dark, sleek hallway that reminds me of the lobby with its black walls and gold trim. Something about it makes me walk softly, like I’m afraid to make too much noise. We pass one door, then another. There’s no sound coming from behind them.
I’m so busy taking in my surroundings that I don’t notice Mason coming to a stop until it’s too late to avoid bumping into his arm. Or is that a steel beam inside his sleeve? Either way, I rebound off it like a tennis ball. “Sorry,” I mumble.
He doesn’t react. He only opens the door in front of us and steps inside a beautiful suite before motioning for me to follow him. Everything about it screams wealth and opulence—from the shining floors to the sleek furniture and the impressive view on the other side of the floor-to-ceiling windows lining the outer wall. And here I am, in the jeans and sneakers I wore to work. One of these things doesn’t belong.
I’ve barely had time to take it all in before Mason clears his throat. “You’ll be safe here.”
He’s already on his way back to the hall before I’ve turned away from the window to gape at him in shock. “Wait a second. That’s it? You’re leaving me here? Why?”
“For your safety.”
Because that answers my question, it’s not like it doesn’t set off another ten questions that I know will also go unanswered. “What about my brother? That’s the only reason I’m here. What are you going to do to him?”
Mason pauses in the doorway, turning slowly to face me. His wide shoulders practically fill the doorframe. “Jase is safe. That’s all you need to know. Stay here. I’ll be back in a while.” The door is closed before I have the chance to ask exactly how long a while is, along with roughly a hundred other issues he’s causing. Does Jase know where I am? Was it one of Mason’s people who broke into the house? If Griffin could find me at work and just happened to know I’d be on my way to the hotel, it wouldn’t surprise me. At this point, nothing will surprise me again.
What am I thinking? I’m alone. And I have my phone. I pull it from my pocket, sighing with relief—it’s almost fully charged since I can’t really use it while I’m working. I don’t have to worry about it dying while I’m here. I pull up Jase’s number first since he’s probably going out of his mind worrying over my sudden disappearance.
