wall.
“Where were you going? Where are we?” I ask after a few seconds of silence.
Before Nora responds, she tenses. She looks over at me, then past me.
When I turn around, I spot a guy in a suit walking toward us. “Ms. Crawford,” he says, this man who is massive, a real-life giant.
Okay, maybe not a giant, but he looks huge as he steps up next to Nora.
“Chase,” she says, and smiles. It’s a strange smile, unreal. “I’m coming. I was just saying bye to my friend. He helped me get here all the way from Brooklyn. Such a nice guy, he is.” Her eyes dart to his and then back to mine.
I have no idea what’s going on.
Nora gives me a small wave and follows the man, who I assume is the driver she mentioned a few minutes ago on her phone call.
“That’s it? You’re not going to talk to me after I came all the way here?” I lift my hands in the air. I stare at Nora’s back.
She doesn’t turn to face me. “I appreciate you coming!” she calls back.
She disappears around the side of the building, and I groan in frustration.
Why the heck did I come here?Now I have to find my way back to Brooklyn at close to midnight. I should have gone after her instead of just standing here and letting her walk away with her bodyguard friend.
Who the heck was that guy, anyway?She changed her shirt and took her hair down—why?
Does she have a secret boyfriend here?
Is she a stripper?
Is she in a cult?
Does she possess multiple personalities?
Who freaking knows.
• • •
When I get back to my neighborhood, two hours later, my door is locked. Since I gave Hardin my key when I sent him back to my apartment alone, I hope he answers the door. At first I knock gently, but when that doesn’t work, I pound a little harder, and a few seconds later Hardin opens the door, shirtless and half-asleep.
He rubs his hands over his eyes. “I thought you were in your room this whole time, Ninja.”
“I was with Nora.” I decide to save the pathetic details for later.
Hardin raises a brow and flops back onto the couch, which looks so small with his long body lying on it. His feet hang over the edge. I’m surprised he’s on the couch and not in Tessa’s room, but I don’t have the energy to ask about it, and it doesn’t look like he has the energy to explain, either.
“Good night,” I tell him, and go straight into my room.
My head pounds for hours as I try to sleep.
• • •
I wake up ten minutes before my alarm and have to force myself to get out of bed. I can’t believe I slept until eleven. I have work at noon and get off at four. Not too long a shift, considering that six to two is my usual on a Saturday morning, so today will be a breeze. More of a breeze if I get to work with Posey instead of Aiden.
One can only hope. Four hours with Aiden feels like eight. But with Posey, four hours will feel like thirty minutes.