Page 56 of Nothing Without You
Attaboy.
When I went to grab more food, Adelaide’s plate was empty.Unmarked. I grabbed the tray full of chow mein. “You should try this.”
She glanced at the plate then at me. “I’m okay, thanks.”
My heart dropped to my stomach.
Did she not like this stuff anymore?I made butter chicken, chicken malai, chow mein, dumplings, and alfredo pasta with homemade mozzarella cheese. I thought she loved them.
Umaima stuck her tongue out at me and mouthed an indiscreetwatch me. “Take this,” she placed a chicken malai on her plate and Adelaide took a bite of the chicken.
So much for being fucking friends when she didn’t consider me one.
Umaima lips curved into an obnoxious smirk.
Adelaide closed her eyes as she chewed.
Did she like?—
She put the fork down and left the half-eaten chicken alone.
I shoved more food down my throat to help with swallowing the heavy lump. If she wanted to starve,fucking fine by me.
“We found a house.”
We spoke with the girls, Hasan made sure Starlight hired them, and Rowlen took care of their security. We’d messed up only once and that was with Ayeza. Rowlen got stuck on another case and we didn’t have backup. It was my fucking fault for thinking we could protect her without him. I messed up and was hoping I wouldn’t mess up again.
“It’s under Harry Samuel’s name. The house has been frequented a total of twenty-seven times in the past fourteen years. But no one lives there, and bills are paid monthly.”
Adelaide slid her hands under the table.
Why was it that every time I looked at her, her burdens were heavier than mine? Adelaide Mikael was supposed to fucking shine. If I could take her sadness and worries, bottle them up, and get drunk on them myself, I would. The addiction would be my downfall, but I'd rather it be mine than hers.
This was not the Adelaide I expected to see after all those years and the pinching, tantalising burn in the pit of my chest warned me that Adelaide was becoming an unexpected weakness.
“Umaima,” worry drips from Adelaide’s tongue. “Did you ever find out how the payments traced back to me?”
“Unfortunately, not yet. The code is kicking us in the ass.”
Adelaide kept her head down, wallowing in the shame eating her up inside. I hated seeing her like this. This wasn’t her fault.
Her thoughts clung to one another to make room for new ones, I could sense it. She spoke but she neverspeaks. Keeping them hidden from everyone else—assuming no one would listen.
Yet here I was, desperate to hear her voice.
“There was a case fifteen years ago, when Eda Mikael worked with your parents.” Rowlen never told me about the case. “I was a rookie then, but the case was thrown under the rug for reasons unknown.”
“Your father stepped down from CEO that year, which left Eda as interim CEO.”
“That was the year we lived in Turkey.” There was a hitch in her breath. My soul was crushing. She sounded fucking devastated, and I wanted to pull her against me.Fuck. Why was she sitting so far away?
“It was a year before the plane crash. They sent you on an earlier plane with your mother’s agent. Just as soon as they were about to land in New York?—”
“The plane crashed,” her voice snagged while rubbing a hand over her throat.
“I’m not sure if the case is related to the plane crash or Starlight. But one thing that’s pretty fucking clear is that Harry Samuels was there when the plane crashed.”
The intense longing to be near Adelaide hadn't faded; instead, it swelled like a balloon ready to burst.
