Page 27 of My End
It didn’t make any sense. Unless Boone saw Tilly as just another pawn to move across the board however he needed.
Made me hate him even more.
I stood against the wall of the dining room with my arms folded across my chest and pretended like I wasn’t paying attention to the conversation. Just another shadow. Just the help.
But every word out of Boone and Gibbs’s mouths went straight into my memory.
Adam came back in, pushing a silver cart with a perfect little dessert sitting right in the center. A tall slice of almond sponge cake layered with raspberry jam and mascarpone, topped with sugared cranberries and a dusting of powdered sugar, he announced.
My stomach growled loud enough that Mick chuckled under his breath.
“You’ll eat when the wolves are done,” he muttered.
“Yeah,” I replied and kept my face straight. Jim had already told me that I could grab a plate once Boone and hisguest headed back to his quarters. I’d been hoping I’d get invited to trail them and listen in on more.
Didn’t look like it was happening tonight.
Boone and Gibbs were deep in conversation again and practically forgot Tilly even existed as they devoured their cake.
But I hadn’t forgotten about her.
She was across the table from me, and it took everything in me not to stare. Not when she flicked her tongue across the fork to catch a crumb. Not when her lips curved up slightly after a bite. Not when her eyes, quick and sharp, darted to me like she couldn’t help herself.
Like maybe I wasn’t the only one having trouble looking away.
Boone finished his slice and leaned back to brush off his lap with a linen napkin. “You sure you can’t give Craig the tour tonight, Tilly?”
She cleared her throat and gently set her fork down. “I really do need to get back to work. You know how I get when I’m in the middle of a painting.”
Boone nodded like he was weighing her answer, then gave a single approving nod. “That’s true. I admire your work ethic.”
Tilly gave a polite smile to both men and stood. Her chair scraped lightly against the floor. She didn’t even glance back as she walked out. But I watched. I always watched.
She moved like art, and she didn’t belong in a place like this.
Thirty seconds after the door shut behind her, Gibbs leaned in.
“No one can find him,” he said.
I forced myself to keep my face even. Eyes forward. Breathing steady.
Boone sat back in his chair and tossed his napkin on the table. “He’s a lawyer in his sixties. How the hell did he just disappear?”
Lawyer.
Russ.
Had to be.
Gibbs huffed. “I think the fucking club is helping him. That’s the only way he’s been able to stay hidden.”
They were talking about the club and Russ not even thirty seconds after Tilly walked out the door.
“We need to just get rid of fucking everyone and move the hell on,” Gibbs grunted.
Boone shook his head. “You and I both know that’s not a possibility anymore. Not with the TV show premiering soon. We need to take them down before that happens. They’re just a bunch of fucking dirty bikers.”
My fists flexed at my sides. I ground my molars together and stared at the far wall.
