“Where’s Win? How did it go?”
Perry stops, runs his fingers through his hair, and sighs. “It was stressful but we got what we wanted. He got a call after and had to meet up at the office. Sent me to check on you and Keaton.”
“Who was he meeting?” I demand, a sinking sensation in the pit of my belly.
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Take me there,” I tell him. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“No,” Perry growls, sounding just like his bossy older brother. “We’re staying here until he gets done.”
“What if someone tries to hurt him?”
He smiles at me. “It’s Winston. He’s practically untouchable.”
“Perry, I’m worried about him.”
“He can handle himself. I’m not about to piss him off and go against his wishes.” He starts walking toward the living room. “Come on.”
“I’ll be right back. I need to visit the ladies’ room.”
“There’s a powder room right here.”
“Win’s room has a bidet,” I argue.
He snorts, shaking his head and leaves me. As soon as he’s gone, I hurry to Win’s room. It’s immaculate and beautiful as ever. The dread that started in the pit of my stomach has begun infecting other parts of my body like my heart and my mind.
Something is wrong.
I can sense it.
With a quick mash of a few numbers, I get Win’s safe open. He’s done the code in front of me here and at the office. It’s also the door code to the Escalade he bought me. They’re all the same. The fact he hasn’t tried to hide it from me makes me want to cry. He trusted me with his Bugatti.
Okay, well, maybe not the Bugatti specifically but the keys are inside and waiting for me, so it kind of feels like serendipity.
I snag the keys and then slip out of his room, weave my way through the halls, and end up in the garage. After mashing a button to open one of the garage bays, I run over to the pearly white beauty. The fob opens the scissor door and I hop inside. As soon as the door closes, I mash the button to fire up the engine. It purrs like a kitten. I buckle my belt and then reverse out of the garage. My heart is hammering in my chest as I skid down the driveway, trying to keep a handle on the extremely fast vehicle that costs more money than I could dream of having.
Liar.
You’re a rich bitch now.
At least I will be after I meet with my grandmother’s attorney. Caroline, for usually being such a witch, was eager to help me. She got Anthony on the phone and started making plans. By next week, I can buy my own damn Bugatti. Or pay Win back if I accidentally wreck his.
My knuckles are white as I grip the steering wheel, cruising as quickly as I can while still keeping the car on the road. I make the boring, too-long drive to Halcyon. When I whip into the valet lane, a man trots up, a confused expression on his face.
“Win let me borrow it. Keep it safe, please,” I say as I jump out and toss him the keys.
He gives me a nod and I don’t wait around. My shoes squeak across the quiet building lobby floors as I hurry over to the elevators. I hit the button several times, impatiently. As I wait, I wonder what I’ll say to Win.
“Sorry I interrupted your meeting, but I was worried about you. Oh, and I stole your Bugatti. Wanna have sex now on my piles of money?”
He’s going to kill me if I interrupt something serious and non-life threatening. But I have sick feeling. If he’s meeting with Nate and doesn’t know what a creepy bastard he is, he could be in trouble. The idea of Nate ever besting Win is nearly laughable. Still, I’d be devastated if something happened and I didn’t at least try to warn him.
The elevators finally open. I’m lost in my own world as I mash the button for Halcyon’s executive floor. Someone else steps into the elevator and hits the sixteenth floor. The doors close as I lift my gaze.
No.
“Nate—”
He backhands me across my cheek, sending me smacking into the panel of floor buttons. Before I can hit the alarm button, Nate yanks me to his chest, a hand slapping over my mouth.
“Shh,” Nate rumbles, his pinky gently stroking my jaw despite the punishing grip he has on me. “It’s time.”
It’s time? For what?
I struggle against him, kicking out, but he holds me in the center of the elevator so I can’t reach anything. He’s creepily quiet as we reach the sixteenth floor. His floor. A whimper claws at my throat when the doors open. It’s late, so no one is in the hallway. Too easily, he drags me to what must be his apartment. I start squealing behind his hand over my mouth, clawing and kicking.