AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He nodded. “She was just happy to see another human being. As far as I can tell, she’s the only employee of the Seamus McGillicuddy Trust. And the archive doesn’t get many visitors. She told me if I ever wanted to come back just to use the space to study, I could.”
“You took her up on that, clearly.”
“I did. Law students are radioactive.”
She cocked her head. “How so?”
“The law library stank of desperation. The anxiety radiates off people, and after a while, it becomes contagious. The more time I spent studying in the law library, the more convinced I became that I would never pass my classes. And if, by some miracle, I didn’t fail out of law school, I definitely wouldn’t pass the bar. And even if I managed to pass the bar, I would never get a job. It was a spiral of misery.”
“So you started going to the archive to study.”
He nodded. “Then, when the office politics at Main Justice got to be too much, right, I’d hop on the Metro and come up here to the archive.” He grinned, shaking his head. “I still can’t believe you found me.”
She didn’t share his unbridled joy at that fact. “But I did, and, honestly, it wasn’t hard. Aren’t you worried someone else—the wrong person—could also track you down?”
His eyes grew thoughtful behind his glasses. He was quiet for a long time. Then he shook his head.
“I don’t think so. One, I haven’t been to the archive in at least three years. Once I left Justice and went to work for Jake, I haven’t been back. And two, having a refuge or a haven really only works if no one knows about it. If anyone from the DOJ knew they could find me there, there’d have been no point in going there to hide from them.”
His rationale made sense, but still, she worried. “What about law school?”
He blew out a long breath. “That was a decade ago. I’m sure my housemates knew I went there, but do you really think someone’s going to track down a random guy I shared a place with ten years ago to ask about my habits?”
She looked at him wide-eyed. “I have no idea, Ryan. I don’t know what these people are capable of. They’ll go to the effort of trying to murder you, but tracking down your old roommates is a bridge too far?”
His jaw tightened. “I hadn’t looked at it that way. We should get out of here.”
“Good idea.”
He raised his hand to catch their server’s attention. “We can go back to my hotel. I’ll show you the printouts from the drive, and we can check in with Jake and the rest of the crew.”
She winced. “Are you going to tell them I’m here?”
“I’m going to have to. I’m sure everyone’s freaking out. In fact, I’m more than a little surprised I haven’t heard from them already.”
“I’m sure they’re focused on trying to get Chelsea to tell them where I went.”
“Poor Chelsea. But she doesn’t know, does she?”
“No. I told her I knew where you were and then I split.”
The server brought the check. Ryan placed a one-hundred-dollar in the faux leather holder.
“I’ll be right back with your change, sir.”
“Keep it. Thanks for the delicious meal and great service.”
“Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your day.” The server bobbed his head and hurried off.
“You’re paying with Benjamins now? High roller,” Leilah teased as they pushed back their chairs and gathered their things.
He shook his head as he ushered her out of the restaurant ahead of him. “You should see Jake’s home safe.”
7
The hotel Ryanhad booked was a short walk from the restaurant. The early afternoon sun had burned the chill from the air. The walk, while brisk, was pleasant. But he barely noticed. He was caught up in his thoughts.
“You’re quiet,” Leilah observed.
