Chapter 36 Elizabeth #2
We walk the edge of the ballroom, Ray waving off the people trying to intercept him.
My chest feels tight, and my breathing is shallow.
The longer we move through the glittering crowd, the more convinced I am that every glance is aimed my way.
I tell myself to calm down, that I’m perfectly safe, but the image of Keith’s body rears up in my memory, and I relive the feeling of the man grabbing me outside my office.
My skin is hot and prickling, and I know I’m seconds from losing it. Ruining everything.
When we turn into a side hallway leading toward the restrooms, the shift in light and sound gives me an instant reprieve. The space here is dimmer, quieter. A handful of people linger in the corridor, each trying to catch Ray’s attention as he strides by.
Ray stops at the ladies’ room door. “Want me to check inside?”
I blink, caught off guard. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
“You’d be surprised what I’ve seen in locker rooms.” He cracks a smile, but his shoulders are tense.
“I’ll be fine.” I put my hand on the door.
He shifts his weight, scanning the hallway. “I’ll be right here. Head on a swivel.” He taps the side of his nose and winks.
I want to laugh as he intends, but I can’t. “Ray?”
He turns toward me.
“Thank you.”
He grunts, but a faint wash of color touches his cheeks. “You'd better stop flirting with me before your man gets mad.”
I duck into the restroom as my throat closes on a laugh that won’t come.
The door shuts behind me, and I hurry down the tiled row to the far stall.
Locking the door, I sit hard on the closed lid.
My knees bounce. My hands won’t stop shaking, so I curl them into fists, digging my nails into my palms.
Breathe. In. Out. Again.
One. Two. Three. Four.
“So, you’re fine?” Brady’s voice is in my ear.
I press my fingertips to my temples, trying to steady the spin in my head. My voice slips out hoarse, unable to hide what I’m feeling. “Felt like I was about to vomit on his shoes.”
“You didn’t. That’s what counts,” Brady’s no-nonsense tone answers.
“Anna’s with Seth,” Vincent comes over my earpiece. “They’re in the far corner, past the champagne tower. Looks like a serious conversation.”
My stomach flips. I clamp my teeth down until my jaw aches.
Brady’s voice cuts through my panic, sounding irrationally calm and amused. “You done hiding in the bathroom yet?”
“I’m not hiding,” I mutter. My hands curl tighter on my knees.
“Oh sorry, my mistake. Just casually panic-sitting in a stall for the ambiance. Is that a thing?”
My chest hitches on a ragged breath. “You are so annoying.”
“I’ve heard that before.” I can almost picture his cocky smile from the grin in his voice.
“But I’m also exceptionally helpful. Look—this is just a party.
You’ve been in rooms with network executives, studio lawyers, billionaires with NDAs the size of phone books.
You can handle one greasy crypto guy and a Cruella de Ville wannabe. ”
I huff out something like a laugh. “That might make me feel better if I didn’t know she makes Cruella look like a model volunteer for the humane society.” My throat works. I can’t stop the shameful whisper. “I don’t think I can do this.”
“Just breathe. You’re doing great.” There’s a brief pause. “Just another half-hour or so and it will be done.”
“Easy for you to say.” His tone is starting to seriously irritate me. “Can you at least acknowledge this is hard for me?”
“You’ve got this,” he scoffs. “Pretend she’s one of your actors upset with you because there were brown M&Ms in the green room.”
“I hate you.” My breathing is slower, and my heart rate has lowered to not quite heart attack levels.
“C’mon. We’ll hug it out in the car. And if it helps,” he adds, voice a touch lower with a definite leer, “I’ll even let you pretend it’s not just an excuse to grab my ass.”
The line goes quiet for a beat.
My lips twitch, and then, before I can stop the words, “You just want a chance to grab mine.” My voice is hoarse, but the shaking is gone.
“No reason both can’t be true.”
“Gross,” Sera mutters. “Is this y’all’s foreplay? I take back everything I said. You are perfect for each other.”
Finn exhales, half-laugh, half-warning. “Okay, enough. Stay off the comms unless it’s mission-critical. Other security teams are here, and I don’t want to risk crossing channels.”
“Aren’t we encrypted?”
“He’s right.” Brady’s tone changes in an instant, with no trace of teasing left. All business. “Stay off the channel unless you have to.”
I open my eyes, focus on the stall door, and force myself up. My legs feel like jelly, but they hold my weight. I smooth the front of my dress, tug the hem into place.
My heart and brain are screaming at me to stay hidden in the stall. I’m not a hero, and I never claimed to be, but there is no other way out of this. I can’t run from these people for the rest of my life. Not if I want a life again.
I plaster a smile on my face and push the door open. Fake it till I make it, right? However, my nerve falters, and I stop short. There’s a woman at the mirror.
How the hell did I miss her coming in? I am terrible at this secret agent stuff!
She looks at me with raised eyebrows. “Were you... on the phone in there?”
“Work,” I say smoothly. “Client emergency.”
She gives me a suspicious look before grabbing her clutch and walking out without another word.
Alone again, I brace my palms against the cool marble of the countertop, rolling my shoulders back. The mirror throws back a calm, composed version of me. Makeup intact. Expression steady. Thankfully, my gut-rolling terror is well hidden.
The bathroom door opens.
My stomach plummets before I even turn.
Anna Lindquist walks in. Alone.
Her heels click unhurriedly across the tile. Her dark green dress is elegant and understated, perfectly tailored with a high neckline. But what makes my heart fall to my feet is the Lapidarist necklace hanging from her throat.
She closes the door with a quiet click and lets her gaze settle on mine in the mirror.
“You’re either very brave or incredibly stupid,” she says. Her tone is even, almost polite. “More composed than I expected.”
I turn to face her. My voice is steady, even as my pulse hammers. “Years of negotiating with assholes.”
Anna moves with deliberate grace, joining me at the counter. She sets a bejeweled clutch down, opens it, and draws out a gold lipstick tube. She spins it open and slicks a rich red across her lips with the ease of someone who knows she has all the time in the world.
“Where is the necklace?”
The directness knocks the air out of me. I fumble for a response, rational thought deserting me. “I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t ask for it, and I never wanted it.”
Her eyes study me, unblinking. “But you kept it.”
“No.” My voice sharpens. “I moved it. From Keith’s hiding spot to somewhere safe after someone tried to kill me. I’m not stupid. If you want it, you can have it. I don’t care. It’s not mine. It’s not even my style.”
My gaze flicks to the glitter at her throat. “Though clearly it’s yours.”
Her fingers brush the diamonds—a small, reverent touch. “There are only a few in existence.”
“I’m sure it’s worth a fortune.”
Her lips curve faintly. “You’re too smart to play dumb.”
“I’m not,” I shoot back. “I’ve done nothing except try to give back something I never should have had.”
“And Keith’s death?” she asks, tone soft but sharp. “You want me to believe you’ll accept that it was just a… misunderstanding?”
I hold her stare. “Keith destroyed my life. My name. My business. He was weak, hiding behind lies, leaving me to clean up after him. I’m not mourning him.”
Something in her eyes hardens. “He said you were the better lawyer,” she says softly, “at the end, I mean.”
My throat locks. I can’t move.
Her gaze doesn’t break. She steps closer, close enough for me to catch the faintest hint of her perfume.
“Where is the necklace, Elizabeth?”
I square my shoulders. “It’s in a safe place. If you want it back, we’ll arrange a handoff. No tricks. I just want this over.”
She nods once, slow and deliberate. “Good.”
Then her hand moves fast.
The flash of metal registers, but too late. A jolt tears through my side, electric and vicious, locking every muscle in my body. My knees buckle, my heels skidding on the tile as I collapse. The pain flares bright and sudden and then drops out beneath me as my body hits the cold tile floor.