Page 5 of Unshakable

But this,this, is different. Thisjourneyis about my heart. It’s an opportunity to create friendships. After all the video calls and WhatsApp messages, we are about to meet each other. Rock our worlds.

As the train pulls up to the platform, I hear a voice behind me.

“Hello again. Heading to Manhattan?” It’s the tall American from the plane. Only now do I notice how massive he really is. He looks like a bodybuilder.

“Uh, yes? That is, if I managed to get my connection right,” I smile hesitantly.

“You did,” he grins, then holds up the cardboard tray that hold two steaming hot cups of coffee. “Figured you could use something to wake you up and shake off some of your jetlag.” He must sense my hesitation, because he gestures with the tray. “I insist, come on.” As he steps inside the train, he looks over his shoulder. I decide to follow him, after all this whole weekend is about taking risks. “All right. I'm Angélique, by the way.”

He nods and finds us two free seats in the nearly empty coach.

“Wyatt.” He hands me a cup. “So, the Red Park Hotel, huh?”

“What?”

“Where you’re staying. The Red Park Hotel?” When I raise a brow, he points toward my bag. “It says so on your luggage.”

“Ah, yes.” I briefly glance over the name tag. “My friend insisted. We'll be staying there tonight and tomorrow night.” Not quite sure why I’m giving all this information, I run a hand through my hair. “Thanks again for the coffee, Wyatt, it’s really good.” As if to prove it, I take another big sip. To be fair, it tastes a bit funny, but I’ve read about American coffee being different from the French one.

“You keep on thanking me, but it’s no big deal.” He gives me a faint smile and his eyes seem to roam my face briefly, before he raises his cup to his lips himself. “I like the name Angélique. Lavigne, right?”

“How do you know?” I try to remember if I’ve given him my full name, but my brain feels mushy. He smiles a mysterious smile. “It’s my job to know these kinds of things.”

“What do you mean?” Fear seeps into my mind, but I can’t focus on anything anymore. My voice sounds slow. Too slow. And then the air seems to be sucked out of my lungs. My vision begins to blur.

“Wyatt?” My voice sounds far away. “Wyatt?” I try again, but this time it feels like my voice belongs to someone else. He glances at me and his eyes shine with pity as I blink again, trying to focus.

“Ah I see you’re finally getting there. You’re a feisty one. You’ll be perfect.”

“Perfect? What’s going on?” I hear my voice coming from afar. A tingling feeling starts in my belly and my vision starts to blur.

“Don’t worry, this will all be over soon.” Those are the last words I hear. And then everything goes black.

CHAPTERTHREE

FRIDAY MORNING – LOGAN

Ishake Carter Hutchinson's hand with a sly smirk, gesturing to him to walk into my office. The sucker hasn’t changed a bit since the last time I saw him—still short and thin. Although the usual scaredy-cat look on his face has changed into something else.

“Carter, how've you been? Figured you left Manhattan for Philly a long time ago.” I pat the other man on the back of his shoulder. Too hard. While Carter winces, my gaze roams over to Charlie Wilkinson who’s standing in the doorway like a deer in the headlights. I send him a wink and grin when Charlie flinches.

“Mr. Wilkinson. The last time I saw you was at The Whisper. Was it Jessica, or…” I snap my fingers, pretending to remember the name of the girl I caught Charlie fucking.Ourproperty.

“Samantha.” Charlie coughs and swallows. His golden blond curls tip on the sides of his face, giving him a pretty boy look. When he sweeps his bangs to one side, the slight damp sweat becomes visible.

“Samantha, that’s right. Well, please don’t be shy and come in.” This is going to be fun.

“Mr. Donnelly,” Carter simply nods as he pushes his client gently toward one of the available chairs. Charlie hesitantly accepts and sags down, sliding his hand one more time over his forehead.

“You can call me Logan, you know.“

Carter lets his wandering gaze linger a little on the chess board that is standing in front of the large window. “You still play?”

“I do indeed. Ah, those good old days when I used to whip your ass.” I chuckle. I can’t help myself, it’s too easy to tease the guy. Besides, that’s an understatement and we both know it. I humiliated Carter in front of the entire baseball team back at college, where we all watched how Carter had to down three shots of tequila in less than twenty-five seconds. Which he did, before stumbling his way into the bathroom and throwing everything up. We had such a blast, all of us except for Carter that was. Yeah, he’s definitely always been the weakest link. And by the looks of his tense shoulders, he remembers it too.

Carter’s lips twitch with the barest hint of a smug smile as he opens the top button of his suit jacket and sits down next to Charlie. “You always knew how to play a better game back then. Though, you’d be surprised to see how much I’ve improved since.”

“Well, we’ll have to play some other time then,” I chirp. “Sorry about that, Mr. Wilkinson, even the world of corporate lawyers is a small one, it appears.” Charlie simply shrugs with a polite smile, but Carter snorts. “It’s indeed a small world, filled with pretentious rich kids who feed off their own sense of superiority and crush everything. Isn’t that right?”

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