Page 116 of The Innovator

“I can help you with whatever you need. Just call or text me.” Slash handed me a phone. “Use this to contact me. I want to remain a ghost, so it’s easier to help you and your friends.”

“Does Remi know you’re alive?”

“He will. I plan to meet up with him and the other boys soon.” Slash looked at me. “You need bombs? Like the ones used to blow up that building?” He jerked a chin toward the construction site.

“How many do you have?”

“How many do you need?” A sly smile crept onto his face. “I’ve been to Club Diablo a few times before. I assume the layout hasn’t changed. You only need a few bombs to go off at a certain time—when the gambling ‘kings’ play at the golden table. It’s literally gold. It’s hideous, considering all the money they have. Just my opinion.”

I had planned to destroy the club, but wanted to check out the layout first. The blueprint I’d gotten from the City of Cranston showed a very simple layout of a restaurant. But the image I got when I drove by the other day revealed a much larger space. I couldn’t trust the information the city provided.

“How soon can you get me the bombs?”

“When are you going?”

I told him my plan, and he promised to deliver them in time.

“They’re high-tech ones. You can hide them in your socks.”

I winced, imagining the various ways I could lose my feet.

Slash rolled his eyes as though we were shooting the breeze at a football game. We were talking about bombs, for fuck’s sake.

“They won’t go off. Each one is scheduled to detonate at a certain time. You’d want it on the day when innocent civilians aren’t eating in the restaurant on the top floor. Their people monitor the basement, so if they all die, that’s fine with me.” He shrugged.

Agreeing with him, I scrubbed a hand over my face, realizing how real the danger was. What if I got caught? I could only imagine all the horrendous ways they’d torture me for information.

“Okay. I’ll be in touch.”

CHAPTERSIXTY-FIVE

NATALIE

When the samples for Momentum arrived, I hung them on a rack in my living room. A male and a female dress form stood staring at me, waiting to get dressed. I took a gown and pulled it over the female form and added a cropped jacket. Then I stepped back, surveying the outfit. The ensemble needed something else. I added a necklace and a leather belt.

Too much,I thought. So I whipped the belt off, tossing it aside. I had to compile the perfect ensemble for the fashion show. I had plenty of time. So much time that I was already working on the upcoming collections for next spring and fall. The designs could always be tweaked, but at least I’d have the staples for the selection completed.

Life had been interesting for me. Sometimes I didn’t know what I was doing. I felt like a machine that was programmed. I’d wake up, eat breakfast, check my emails, and work on my collection. Sometimes I broke for lunch, other times I skipped it. I declined lunch with friends because I didn’t consider these girls my true friends. They were acquaintances. I was done with faking my feelings.

Audri, Michelle, Kiera, and Vivian called and said they wanted to visit, but I wasn’t ready for them either. I wasn’t avoiding them. I just needed time to heal. My heart was still fractured, and I didn’t know when it would mend itself.

Could it heal after an agonizing rupture like that? I’d fallen in love and opened my heart and soul to him, but he wrecked it all, making me feel foolish and unworthy. Even though I knew I wasn’t foolish or unworthy, self-doubt had a sharp edge that sliced into me. When the person you loved—the man who was supposed to protect you—took your heart and tore it to shreds in front of your face, how were you supposed to react?

I decided a walk, and fresh air would help me breathe easier. It was mid-January, and light snow had fallen, making the city appear peaceful. I put on a coat, scarf, knit hat, gloves, and boots and braced for the cold weather.

The chill kissed my face, and I looked up at the falling snowflakes. I let them land on my face, appreciating the beauty of them. Each snowflake that dropped onto me was like silent words from the universe.

Be strong.

It will pass.

Your heart will be whole again.

I opened my eyes, and a snowflake landed on my dark glove. I used to love walking in the gentle rain, letting the raindrops kiss my face. There was something soothing about it. The snow flurries had the same effect. I stared at the snowflake as it melted on the surface of my glove and couldn’t help but compare it to my heart. Though my heart was disappearing, aspects of it still lingered, reminding me of the pain.

He didn’t love me, so I should be able to forget him easily. But why couldn’t I?

Maybe I should start dating again. Perhaps that would help me forget him. Grayson had seeped into my blood, and I didn’t know how to get rid of him.

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