Page 148 of Wicked Dreams

“Fine,” I murmur.

I’ll just have to observe and see if I can figure out what Caleb Asher is hiding.

We take a taxi. It drops us off in front of a tall building, and Caleb winds his hand through mine. He leads me into the lobby and points to a group of armchairs in the corner.

“Sit.”

Since I promised no questions, I shut my mouth and take a seat.

Caleb approaches the front desk and leans toward the receptionist. They chat for a minute, and she types something on her computer. Finally, she gestures to a bank of elevators to her right. He pushes through a turnstile, goes down a hallway to the elevators, and waits. When he glances back at me, I pretend I wasn’t watching.

He steps onto the elevator a second later, and I shoot to my feet.

“Hi,” I say to the receptionist. “Can you tell me where he was going?”

She raises her eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“I just?—”

“We can’t give out that information.” She lifts her chin. “Are we going to have a problem?”

I narrow my eyes. “No problems on my end.”

As I slink back toward my seat, I scan the placard of companies and the levels. Where would Caleb go to sign paperwork?

There aren’t too many names listed. Half of them take up several floors. There’s a public relations firm and a real estate office that might be promising. Besides that, there’s a law firm, a plastic surgeon, and an investment firm. Oh, and insurance.

I shake my head and sit.

Caleb reappears twenty minutes later. He comes over to me and offers his hand.

“That took longer than expected,” he says.

I allow him to pull me to my feet. “It’s okay.”

“Do you want to do anything else? Or should we call it a day?”

We’d already walked around Times Square, took a selfie together under the glowing screens, and found masks. The day catches up to me, and I yawn. “Food, then home?”

He nods. We round the corner, almost smashing into a man walking toward us. He freezes, staring at Caleb. His face goes pale.

“Mr. A-Asher,” the man says.

“Tobias.” Caleb’s voice is cold. Except for his hand in mine, his body is stiffer than a board. He’s practically transformed into someone else.

“I wasn’t aware you were in the city,” Tobias continues. His voice wobbles.

“I wasn’t aware I had to notify you when I wanted to get away from Rose Hill for an afternoon.” Caleb’s brow rises. It’s more like a tick, up and then smoothed out an instant later.

Tobias shakes his head. Once he’s started, he doesn’t stop. His body trembles, like a strong wind is rushing through him.

My curiosity is officially piqued.

Caleb glances down at me, and Tobias follows his eyes. He flinches when he registers me.

I tilt my head. “Do I?—”

“No.” He switches the hand holding mine, and his free hand lands on the small of my back. He propels me around the frozen man.

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