Page 2 of Submitting to Them
Emergency vehicles line the boulevard, lights flashing.Long strings of caution tape decorate the sidewalks.A crowd of idiots waits behind them.This is a bomb threat, not a parade.Do they want to get blown up?
As I go through the front doors, uniformed officers wave me forward, their faces calm and serious.A man operates a wheeled robotic device and another person in bomb squad gear opens the door for the robot, then ducks away.I just keep walking.Kristin keeps pace with me.My only goal is getting away from the building.
The morning sun reflects off the windows of another building, momentarily blinding me.Holding a hand up over my eyes, I scan the sidewalk past the yellow tape.Nearly there.
“Kingston!”a female voice yells.
I look up.There, a few yards away, Ella stands beside Sebastian at the edge of the cordoned zone.I rush toward them, vaguely conscious of Kristin coming with me.
“What the fuck are you two doing here?”I say, ducking under the tape.I grab Ella up in a tight hug, keeping my body between hers and the building.“You don’t hear about a bomb threat and then go to the place where it’s happening!”
“I needed to see you,” Ella says.Her eyes dart curiously to the side of me, where Kristin stands.
“Don’t ever do this again,” I say, then throw a what-the-fuck look over to Bash, who shrugs.
“Sorry,” he says.“I didn’t think of it like that.We stayed back, of course.”
Kristin puts a hand on my shoulder, using me for balance while she puts her heels back on.“I’m heading home, if you don’t need me here.”
“No, I’m fine,” I say.“Get some rest.”Turning back to Bash and Ella, I say, “I mean it, there is no reason for you to put yourselves in danger.I’ll come home as soon as I can, and we can talk then.”
A man in a suit approaches me and flashes his law enforcement ID.“Are you the owner of the building?”he asks.
“Yes.”
“I have questions, some things I’d like to go over with you.”
“Of course.Just one moment.”I turn to Ella and Sebastian.“I’ll see you two later.Please stay away from this area for now.I won’t…I won’t be able to concentrate if I think you’re in any danger.”
“What aboutyou?”Ella asks.
“I’m being safe,” I say.“They need to talk to me and get the bomb defused.I’ll follow all of their instructions.Now please, go home.”
She looks away, obviously angry.I’ll talk to her after this is wrapped up.Right now, I have to deal with a literal bomb threat.
Ella
Kingston has texted to check in a few times.I’ve written back, but my messages are short and to the point.
It turned out, the bomb was a fake.The police are still investigating, and Kingston’s been busy helping them out, discussing possible suspects, and I don’t know what the hell else.
Now I’m at the pub, working my ass off and stewing about the whole morning.
I know it’s stupid, but my feelings are hurt.He made a good argument—maybe Sebastian and I shouldn’t have gone to the Tyler building.But it wasn’t like we tried to get close.We stayed behind the safety tape, and we would’ve moved if someone asked us to or told us it was too dangerous.
Not only that, but I was so fucking scared.
“Hey, are you all right?”Natasha asks while we fill up some soda cups.
“Yeah,” I say.“Freaked out—my boyfriend’s building had a bomb threat this morning.Everything’s fine, but you know.”
“I’d be freaked out, too,” she says, nodding solemnly.
Her makeup looks exceptional tonight, and I say so.
She smiles and gives me a mock curtsy.She hoists her tray of drinks and heads back out to the dining area, calling over her shoulder, “I’ve got a date after work.”
Well, good for her.I don’t know a whole lot about Natasha’s personal life, but she seems kind of lonely sometimes, so I hope good things come from tonight.
