Page 62 of The Club

Relief sweeps through me. “Are you alone?” I ask next.

“Yes.”

“Why are you not sure where you are?”

“I took the train. I’m just walking now.”

“So you’re outside.”

“Yeah.”

“Pull up your map and find your location. Now, Rafael.”

For a minute all I can hear is him breathing. Why the hell is he breathing so hard?

When he gives me the location, I input it into my phone, wishing I had my car’s navigation system. To Rafael, I say, “Don’t move. Do you hear me, Rafael? Don’t fucking leave that spot.”

“You’re … coming to get me?”

Something about that question, about his tone, has my throat tightening up. I have to clear it to answer. “Yeah. I am.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be there in six minutes. Don’t. Fucking. Move.”

“I won’t.”

He doesn’t say anything after that, but he doesn’t hang up. Neither do I. For six agonizing minutes, I just listen to him breathing. It’s freaking me out, but at least I know he’s there.

Then, when I see him in my headlights, his face splattered with blood, I break the silence. “I’m here,” I tell him and watch a small, almost disbelieving smile play over his lips.

I disconnect the call. He stows his phone inside his black leather jacket and walks to the car. When he gets in, I ask, “Is there cleanup to do?”

“No.”

“Is this the guy you were following last night?”

“Yes.”

He’s still breathing hard, shivering too, so I leave him alone and drive. He doesn’t ask where we’re going. He doesn’t even notice that this isn’t my car until we pull into a parking spot in my building’s garage.

Then he asks, frowning at the dash, “Whose car is this?”

“Head of building security.”

“What building?”

“My building. Get out. No, wait.”

I grab his jacket as he opens the door. I pop the center console and poke around, finding a bandana. I spit on it and use it to scrub the blood from Rafael’s face.

His nose wrinkles. “Smells like sweat.”

“You’re such a princess sometimes. Okay, get out.”

Since the bandana now has what is probably incriminating evidence on it, I stuff it in my pocket. I’ll destroy it later. We get out of the car. I lead Rafael across the garage to the service elevator.

Halsey, head of security, meets us there. I toss him his keys. He nods and enters his code to let us into the service elevator.

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