Chapter 27 #2
“Oh dear.” My mother’s eyes see the green ring around her finger, and the way she’s holding it allows me to see it for the first time as well.
“Doesn’t matter how many times they coat it in gold, the less expensive metal will always wear through.
It’s best to save and invest in quality pieces.
“Although I will admit,” she whispers, looking around to make sure no one else is listening, “I have some fabulous pieces I bought myself off the street.” You’d never know they weren’t the name brand.
” Unlike how that asshole made her feel, I don’t hear any embarrassment in her tone this time.
Maybe not the approach I would have taken with her, but I appreciate that my mother didn’t make her feel bad about the purchase.
I, though, get hit with a glare and crossed brows.
“You didn’t buy her something to cause this, did you? ”
“No,” Delaney replies as if she has to come to my defense, though a smile has worked its way across her face as well. She doesn’t need to defend me, but I appreciate the sentiment. “It was just a cheap ring I bought myself.”
“Don’t worry, Mother. I’d only buy Delaney the real thing.”
Patting her hand, she says, “She deserves it like that gorgeous neck—”
“Heyyyy,” Jimmy’s voice booms, and I’m grabbed from behind into one of his bear hugs as he looks at my mother over my shoulder, and says, “Thanks for the check, Mrs. Landers.”
“You’re welcome, James. Congratulations on the nuptials.”
Patting my chest like he’s beating a bongo, he says, “This guy, he’s the best.”
Jimmy isn’t for everyone, but he’s been a loyal friend and makes me laugh. He’s not the one to watch a football game with. His temperature rises with one bad call, and his mood ruins the rest of the game for all of us.
“Careful, my arm’s still broken.”
He sets me down with his eyes fixed on Delaney. He tilts his head and holds out his hand. “You’re Warner’s plus-one?”
“Don’t be obnoxious, Jimmy,” I say, holding Delaney’s hand again as she shakes his with her other. “Delaney. Jimmy. Jimmy. Delaney.”
His head jerks back as soon as they release their grip. Holding his hand against his cummerbund, he looks at me while pointing at her. “How the fuck did this happen?” Subtle is not his forte. “Last time I saw her, she was yelling at you in the streets of New York. How did you end up dating?”
“What are you talking about?” I stare at him. Nothing of the sort has ever happened. He’s never even met her before, and in a city of eight million, I highly doubt he’s seen her. He most definitely hasn’t seen her yelling at me before. “That never happened.”
Delaney’s hand slips out of mine, and she clutches her purse in front of her. Her cheeks and those pretty lips have drained of the sweet pink that typically shades them, and her blue eyes shine brighter under the glassy surface.
My mother’s exit to visit a friend closes our circle a little tighter.
Jimmy is still silently standing here, like I have an answer for him.
And then he laughs, boisterous like he is.
“You’re fucking with me, War.” He points at her again, and his gaze follows.
“This is the same chick. I was checking her out in the elevator after she made a big stink at the reception of your office.” He shakes his head like I’m the one who lost touch with reality.
“You remember, right? Tell me I’m not wrong.
” He faces Delaney again, who has shrunk into herself, her shoulders rolled forward, her mouth sagging down as if she wants to speak but can’t find the words.
I know the feeling. “You’re the same girl, right? ”
“Fuucck.” He hits my chest with the back of his hand. “That’s when you had the accident. You probably don’t remember.” His grin is normally contagious, but not this time. My chest tightens, and an ache starts to permeate my thoughts. The smile is wiped from his face, and he says, “But I do.”
“I think,” Delaney says, her voice almost too quiet to be heard, but it’s loud in my ears, echoing through the hollows of my chest, “I should go.” Her eyes go from me to him as she steps to the side of the chair where she had been sitting.
The food on our dinner plates has gone cold, and the drinks are warm.
“Congratulations. I wish you much happiness.”
She doesn’t say anything more to me. She walks away from the table, attempting to slip out of my life without a trace. But we’re too far past that point. Her fingerprints cover my body, her kisses linger on my lips, but it’s her love that she’s ripped away like a bandage.
“She was going off on you, man. I didn’t know you were a forgiving man.” He looks over at some guy in a pink tie and blue suit, probably someone he works with, and throws his arm in the air. “Coming to see you next, brother.”
“So Caroline wants me to introduce you to her cousin. Not attractive. I’m warning you now, but happy wife, happy life, and since you’re single again—”
“Fuck off, Jimmy.”
“What? You like that girl? She’s feisty. Not your type, man.”
“You’re a real asshole sometimes, you know that?”
“Yeah, but I still got your back.” He’s not wrong. I don’t have the right to shoot the messenger.
Watching Delaney push through some double doors, I pat him on the shoulder. “Congrats, man.” I start running.
“Warner? Caroline wants you to catch the garter.”
I flip him off as I rush through hordes of guests, seeing plenty of saps who would kill to help him fulfill a stupid superstition.
As soon as I push through the same doors, I look both ways and then choose the staircase to the lobby.
She’s in heels, so I wouldn’t think she’d get far, but fuck, the woman can run.
There’s no sign of her in the lobby or on the street out front. I look both ways, hoping to catch a glimpse of pale blue, but I’m met with every other color instead. I could run home and probably beat her back, even if she took a cab. I’m not dressed for it, but fuck it, I start running.
Three blocks down, I cross the street and turn a corner, ending up keeled over and gasping for breath. I glance up to get my bearings when I see I’m in front of my office. Water. That would be good. I push through the doors to see Jerry sitting behind the desk. “You work on weekends, too?”
“Every other Saturday. It’s good money.” He stands and looks me over. “Nice suit. Getting married?”
I chuckle, and then the thought sours in my stomach. “No. I was the best man in a friend’s wedding and had to take off.”
Shaking his head, he laughs. “Sounds like woman trouble to me. Otherwise, why would you ruin a perfectly good tuxedo like that? Hope it’s not a rental. They’ll charge you for sweat stains.”
“No worries. It’s not.”
“You always did have good style, Mr. Landers. How’s your head and arm? That was a bad accident. I recently saw the footage. You really took a hit.” His hand arches through the air. “Like a rag doll.”
“Not the image I was going for.” He laughs again. I don’t care about the mocking. I know he’s only teasing, but I do care about this footage. “You said there’s footage?”
“Yep. We have security cameras all over the building—inside and out.”
Of course, they do. I knew this and never once thought to ask if they caught the accident on video. “I’d like to see it.”
“Sure. I have it handy.” I’m not going to ask why he has it handy, but I hope he and the other guards are getting a good laugh from it. “Come around here.” Tapping a screen, he says, “Watch it here.”
It’s playing, but it takes a moment for my brain to process what I’m seeing. I lean closer. Jimmy exits and goes one way. Delaney and I exit the building and stop on the sidewalk out front. I can’t hear her, but she looks upset, points at me several times, and then balls her fists at her sides.
I’m too calm to be part of a conversation with her, so distraught. Why wouldn’t I be helping her? I leave her there and walk to the corner, but she stays. She slowly turns away but takes only a few steps before looking back.
“This is where it gets good,” Jerry says. “She says something that makes you turn around and then bam!”
“Oh shit.” My heart stops hard in my chest, the vaguest of memories of hearing my name returning. “That was bad.”
“Glad you lived.”
“Yeah.” I laugh, but I can’t say I’m at a point to be able to joke about the accident quite yet. “Me too.” As I stare at my lifeless body on the screen, I feel sick. My stomach churns as ghost aches cause pain to jump around my upper body in memory.
In my periphery, Delaney draws my full attention back to her. Her hands cover her mouth, but no step is taken. She’s in shock, surely.
“She’s cold as ice, leaving you like that.”
My eyes are fixed on her . . . silently begging her to run, to help me, to do something other than what she’s doing at that moment. When time stretches, I finally look away when anger gets the best of me. With my hands on my head, I pace from the desk just as air strikes deep in my lungs.
She left me to die.
Fuck, was she really?
No. It’s too hard to believe. I know her. She cries over fucking dead pigeons. No way would she walk away from an injured person, much less someone she’d been talking to not two minutes prior. “Hey, Jerry? Can you send a copy to my email?”
“Sure, since you’re the star. Don’t tell the security company. They have procedures and probably don’t want the liability.”
I’m already heading for the exit to find Delaney. “I won’t. Thanks. Have a good one.”
“You, too. Hope you catch up to her.”
Me too, though I have a feeling we mean it differently. As soon as my feet hit the pavement again, I’m running.
What a fucking idiot I’ve been.
The setup.
The act.
The lies.
Asking for millions.
The fucking I love you she said when I got wise to her con.
She loves fucking heist movies, for crying out loud. I’m so fucking stupid for falling right into her trap. Why, because she has a great ass? I’m so easily distracted, and for what? I should probably check my bank accounts and make sure they haven’t been emptied. Fuck.
I run too fast for the new guy to reach the door. “Everything all right, Mr. Landers?”
“Great.” I push the button to call the elevator when I realize she might not be here. The lies are being exposed. She ran from the reception, knowing the con is over. “Hey, Rob?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Have you seen Mrs. Landers tonight?” The words curdle in my throat, but I can’t waste time explaining how I became an accomplice to the con artist as she steals whatever she’s after.
His smile brightens. “She got home about fifteen minutes ago.”
The elevator doors open, and I jump inside. “Thanks.”
No one can ever say she’s not fearless. The woman has the audacity of a fighter betting on himself to win a match. That arrogance is always overplayed, just as it has been with her.
I get off the elevator, wondering if she’s deadbolted me out of my own damn apartment, but when it opens, I find the minutest relief in the gesture.
I close the door and start down the hall.
My steps have slowed like each beat of my heart.
When I reach the living room, I look right to the kitchen, glance toward the balcony, and then down the hall.
I remind myself once again that this is my place before calling out, “Hello?” I’m greeted with silence.
I reach the bedroom and look inside before entering. “Delaney?”