Chapter 19
Chit Chat
brIGIT
The moment Skyler and I get outside, leaving Cormac behind, the questions and cameras resume their madness.
Shouts of Cormac's name and questions about both his crimes and his life before them surround us as we quickly move down the steps.
Skyler has the hoodie pulled up over his head, dramatically covering his face and neck, keeping his gaze on the ground so he doesn't accidentally reveal his true identity.
For his part, he plays it well, even walking the way Cormac does, purposeful and almost silent. Fortunately, they aren't built too differently. No one who hasn't seen them up close would notice the subtle differences in their height or the extra muscle Skyler carries.
"Mr. Fomori won't be taking any questions," I shout, keeping myself as a barrier between him and the media frenzy. "Back up. The second one of you touches him, we'll have you in court for harassment and assault."
I have just enough experience dealing with civil and criminal courts to feel comfortable pretending to be an authority on the matter.
They continue their ceaseless shouting, snapping photos of us as we get closer, but fortunately, they all know well enough to keep their distance and not come in physical contact with either of us.
Skyler stalks between them, through the small space they left us to get through. I have to jog to keep up, following him across the street and into the parking garage. Reporters file behind us, completely honed in on their mission to get something to take back to their editors.
But as long as neither one of us says anything, all they'll be able to say is that they got eyes on him.
Hopefully, none of the photos they got put him in too vulnerable of a position.
He looked lost, frozen against their assault.
If I didn't know any better, I might have thought he was afraid of them.
"This way," Skyler tells me over his shoulder, picking up to a slow run. "He always parks in the same spot."
"Even now?" I ask.
His steps stutter for just a second before he catches himself and laughs, "Fuck. I guess we'll see."
I don't need to go with him. I could just peel off and head to my own car, get the hell out of here. But separating means one or both of us would be more vulnerable if they catch up.
Carrying heavy equipment and cameras has given them a slight disadvantage, letting us get into the elevator and close it before any of them can catch up.
Skyler pushes a button, "That won't keep them for long, they'll just use the stairs."
"But they won't know which level we're on, right?"
"Uhhh," he pauses. "I honestly don't know if the elevator shows it or not. I rarely drive."
Part of me wants to ask why, but this is a mostly walkable city, and cabs exist on every single corner. Not driving isn't really that odd. What is odd is that somehow a bunch of people suddenly got the scoop on where Cormac might be, only a few days after a cop asked me about it.
As the elevator stops and opens, Skyler walks forward, gesturing for me to do the same, keeping a fast pace but not quite running.
He laughs as we round the turn that goes up another half a level, "See?" He points to the black car. "Some things don't change."
I'm still just as surprised as the first time to see that Cormac drives something so... boring. I'm used to thinking of him as larger than life and impossible to miss. A simple base model of an SUV that has to be ten years old doesn't fit into the image I have of him.
The locks click undone as I walk closer, Skyler falling a few steps behind me to look for anyone who might be following us.
"Okay," I put my hands on the side of the car, hanging my head to catch my breath.
It's not as if we ran much, but being followed by people and having to pretend to protect someone from them had my heart rate through the roof.
"Seems like you'll be good. I'll umm, I'm up another level, so I'll keep heading up and hide in my car for a few minutes. "
"Yeah," Skyler drawls, looking around one last time as he approaches the car. He peels off Cormac's hoodie, opening the passenger door to throw it inside.
Without warning, His hands land on my arm and shoulder, shoving me into the passenger seat casually, almost lazily.
Without any apparent effort, he overpowers me, forcing me into the car despite my protests.
Locking me into it with the remote, he strolls around to the driver's side as I'm frozen with fear, waiting for my body to keep up and react. Flee, fight, or fucking something.
But his laid-back show of strength has me staying in my seat, knowing if I got out and tried to run, it would take him no effort at all to catch me.
He slides onto the seat, looking at me from the corner of his eye, "Put your seatbelt on."
Putting the key into the ignition, he starts the car, the rumbling of the engine adding to the sounds invading my senses. My heart pounding, the quiet music coming from the stereo, the click of Skyler's seatbelt.
On autopilot, I do as he says, fastening the belt and tugging to make sure it's secure.
Skyler pulls out of the stall, humming along to the music, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as if nothing is wrong here.
Yet I can't manage to take a single breath. I knew Skyler was capable of violence, obviously. I've seen it countless times over the years. But any time I've seen him outside of the ring, he's been all easy smiles and lacksadaisy.
Even now, his body is free of any tension, while I'm nothing but tense.
"Relax," he laughs. "Jesus, you're fogging up the windows and we haven't even gotten out of the parking garage yet."
He easily guides the car down the round levels of the structure, passing a few reporters who try to get pictures of us through the dark windows.
Once we reach the bottom, where most of them are still congregating, waiting for us, he floors it, the RPMs soaring and the engine growling beneath us.
Barreling towards the exit, he makes the reporters standing there just afraid enough to dive out of the way instead of attempting to get any more footage.
Yanking the wheel to the left to get us out of there, the tires squeal, peeling out across the asphalt.
Within seconds, we're far above the speed limit, tearing past Mingle, the lights darting across my line of sight before disappearing.
"Are you going to tell me why I'm in the car?" The question finally forms and escapes the fear drying out my throat.
He heaves out a breath, "I don't think Cormac would like it if I left you to the wolves."
"I would have been fine," I mumble. "Or you could have asked me to get in the car."
With a chuckle, he looks over at me, disbelief and humor lifting his brows, "There's not a chance in hell you would have gotten in this car willingly. And then I would have been responsible for whatever happened to you after."
"Responsible?" The ridiculousness of it makes me laugh, "I've dealt with people a lot more worrisome than those reporters were."
Waving my arguments away with a lazy hand, he replies, "Yeah, yeah, I know, Miss Lawyer-Pants. You've faced a man on death row threatening to kill everyone in the room. And you've talked a guy off the literal edge after he lost everything in a money-laundering scheme that he was defrauded into."
I swallow, chills rising up the back of my neck. Not only does he know who I am, but he also knows details about the cases I interned on that are definitely not public record. Things that were never supposed to see the light of day outside of a courthouse.
"And then you had to rebuild your entire life after getting fired for trying to seduce your boss," he adds, slowing the car to a reasonable speed now that we're far from the club and any lingering cameras.
The humiliation of my past barrels into me, and I close my eyes against the nausea rising.
"That's private," I mutter.
"Not that private," he replies, and I can hear the grin in his voice. "It wasn't hard to find the wrongful termination suit. Or how quickly it got thrown out. You should have read your internship contract better. They require in-house mediation.”
I fight back the need to throw up, swallowing it down.
He's not wrong.
I didn't read the contract properly.
I was desperate to get in with a firm doing work I cared about and disregarded everything else.
"I learned my lesson," is all I can say.
He laughs, "Oh, believe me, I know. Cormac was beside himself when you turned down the position with Balor."
My chest caves in.
Beside himself? Over hiring a lawyer with no experience and horrible references?
"Well, it seems like I made the right decision there, didn't I?"
A vicious, snarky chuckle escapes the man beside me, "Then what the fuck are you doing now?"
As if I haven't been asking myself the same question for weeks.
Every step I take to create a line between me and this seedy life, I take two or three steps back.
"I'm not sure what you mean," I insist.
Skyler turns down a road and immediately slams on the brakes, throwing me forward before he puts the car in park, leaving me alone in a dark alley with a man that I know has been part of Cormac's crimes, though I have no idea how involved he was.
All I know is he's dangerous in his own way, and he knows far too much about me and my past.
He leans against the seat, looking up at the ceiling and tapping his knuckles against the dashboard, "I may not have Cormac's pension for knowing when you're lying, but I'm not an idiot."