Page 77 of Control

Ty took half a step forward, and I was sure he was going to attack Reed, but I put my hand out to his forearm as my phone rang.

I pulled it out, and despite not recognizing the number, I said, “I’m sorry, I have to take this.” I was going to take this chance to get out of this. “Please, enjoy your lunch.”

I tugged on Ty’s arm and urged him to follow me across the dining area to a table on the opposite side of the room. As we walked away, I lifted the phone to my ear and answered, “Hello.”

“Hi, Alana?”

“This is Alana. Who’s calling?”

“I’m…well, I’m not sure if you remember me, but this is Georgia.”

My brows drew together. “Georgia?”

“Yes, I work at The Taylor Group,” she reminded me.

As soon as she said it, I remembered Georgia was the receptionist who worked with Jackson Taylor. “Oh, right. Hi, Georgia. How is everything?”

“Well, I had your number, and you said to call in case there was anything else to add regarding Annie Sanders,” she returned.

I was in the middle of figuring out this whole twisted story with Bethany and Reed, attempting to make sense of something that didn’t make any sense. While I didn’t want to be unfeeling, I really needed to stay focused.

“Of course. If Jackson Taylor has something else that he’d like to discuss about Annie, I’d be happy to set up a time to meet with him. When is he available?”

There was a long pause. In fact, it was so long, I thought we might have gotten disconnected. “Georgia?”

“Yes, I’m here. Um, the thing is, Mr. Taylor doesn’t know about this call.”

My body froze, my eyes landing on Ty’s. “Pardon?”

“I’m on my lunch break and left the office to reach out to you,” she started. “I’m the one who has something to share, and I was hoping you’d be willing to meet me when I finish with work today.”

It seemed impossible things could get any crazier than they already felt. If she’d said anything different to me than she had, I might have delayed meeting with her. But that Georgia was making this call without Jackson Taylor’s knowledge, I was more than curious.

“Yeah, I think I can make that work,” I told her. “You name the time and place, and I’ll be there.”

Georgia gave me the time and place she wanted to meet, and we disconnected our call.

“What’s going on?” Ty asked.

“Things just got a whole lot more complicated.”

TWENTY-ONE

Ty

“We’re good, right? We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?”

Hearing that edge of fear in Alana’s hushed voice, I wanted to kick myself. It was obvious she could sense what I was feeling as we climbed the stairs, and I hated that I couldn’t seem to hide it from her.

But I’d never been in a situation like this.

Sure, I’d experienced high-pressure and tense moments throughout my life and in my career. I always succeeded in keeping my cool, in masterfully doing the job that needed to be done.

Never had I had to do a job like this where the woman I’d fallen for was at risk.

With each day that had passed, Alana had gotten closer and closer to uncovering the truth about what happened to Annie and who was responsible. And with that truth being revealed on the horizon, there was another level of risk involved.

Things were already bad—someone had gotten into her house, for crying out loud—but I now felt they were even worse with the way the last couple of days had gone.

---