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“Yeah.” Ethan pressed his face to the glass as he looked inside, cupping his hands over his eyes to get a better view. “Everything is dark. It looks completely closed up for the evening.”
The tension in my stomach didn’t let up. I glanced at my friends. “She has to be somewhere.”
The modeling studio looked like the best place to start since it was where her car was located.
“Let’s walk around to the other side of the building,” Caleb suggested. “Maybe we’ll find another entrance?”
I exchanged a glance with Ethan, who nodded. “That sounds like a viable option to me,” he said.
We jogged to the side of the building and, sure enough, we found another door. “Good job.” I slapped Caleb on the back, but we were nowhere closer to finding Geneva.
I didn’t even want to broach the subject in my mind of her being in distress, hurt or suffering somewhere. The sooner we found her, the lower I hoped my anxiety would go.
I jiggled the door handle, fully preparing myself for it to be locked, but it wasn’t. The knob gave way, granting us access inside.
“Come on,” I whispered, carefully stepping into the building. I had no idea what kind of threat we might run into behind the door.
As soon as I walked inside, I halted my tracks immediately. Caleb and Ethan stumbled into me from behind, not expecting me to grind to a stop so abruptly.
Geneva and Tamara were standing in the middle of the studio in a standoff of sorts. Both women were staring daggers into each other’s eyes with anger sharpening their features. Their fists were clenched at their sides and Geneva’s cheeks flushed pink.
They were in the midst of an intense argument. I waited to see if they would notice us, but they were too intent on each other.
“You need to quit, Tamara,” Geneva warned in a high voice. She shook her cell phone in Tamara’s face. “I have evidence of you admitting to breaking and entering my hotel room, and you can bet it will hold up in court. I mean it. I’m going to the police if you don’t quit now.”
“Everyone thinks you’re the best thing that ever happened to this modeling agency, but they are wrong. You’re just a scheming blackmailer.” Tamara’s voice cracked, and her posture crumbled. She was backed into a corner, and she knew it, but she was still holding on by a thread.
I edged a little closer to them. Geneva still had her back turned to me, but Tamara caught a glimpse of me in the corner. As soon as our eyes locked, she tried to run.
“Get her!” I yelled to Caleb and Ethan who didn’t hesitate to stop Tamara before she got away.
I grabbed her arm first. My intention wasn’t to hurt her, just frighten her a little. “Tamara, give it up,” I hissed. “You’ve lost.”
“Fine.” She yanked her arm from my grasp. “I’ll quit.” She snarled and threw her hands up in bitter resentment. “You win, Geneva. Are you happy, now? You’re the most perfect woman on the face of the earth. Everyone worships you.”
“That’s not true,” Geneva called out behind us as Tamara began to slink off. “You made bad choices, Tamara. I really thought you were my friend.”
“I quit!” Tamara roared as she wandered away. “Don’t ever contact me again, you worthless bitch!”
It was the type of petty last stab someone on the losing end of an argument would make. I could see that it had worked, though. Geneva seemed to crumple in on herself.
“I thought you were my friend.” Her whisper was too low for Tamara to hear. She was too busy fleeing.
As soon as Tamara was safely out of sight, we approached a trembling Geneva. We wrapped our arms around her as she nearly collapsed. The stress was over. I didn’t know what happened between Geneva and Tamara, but somehow Geneva had come to her own rescue by getting a recording. I felt so very, very proud of her even as she sobbed in my arms. She really was a strong and intelligent woman. I was lucky to have her in my life.
Chapter 30 - Geneva
One week later…
“I’m glad we can put all this drama behind us.” I gave the guys a heartfelt smile as we walked along the beach together. “Thank you for being there for me.”
Ethan took my hand and squeezed. “We want to protect you no matter the cost.”
“Yeah.” Worth nodded in agreement. “I’d go to the ends of the earth to make sure you were safe.”
I sighed, plunging my feet into the cool water as we walked along, kicking a spray of salty ocean water up in the air in little beads.
“I can’t believe what a backstabbing little shit Tamara turned out to be,” I said somberly.
