Page 55 of Break for Me

“Triss.”

“You did not.”

“It was their turn to be jealous,” I said, and she stood frozen like a statue for a moment.

“What?” She asked. I had to stop to turn back for her because she still wasn’t moving.

“That guy would’ve handed over his lifelong stable love straight into Satan’s hands for even a second of what I just had.”

She laughed. “You’re insane.”

“No argument there,” I said and grabbed her by the hand to drag her along. “Come on. We’re not done.”

I kept her hand in mine until we made it into the elevator, and then I let go of it like it was on fire. I hadn’t even realized I’d kept it. I waited for her to lead the way back out of the elevator and then followed her to the little exit that opened to the street. She almost made it outside. A startled squeak came out of her and she jumped right back against my body.

“Sorry,” she whispered and went through the door in a rush that time. I stopped right outside the door to glare at the asshole who’d scared her, just leaning against the building wall like he had nowhere better to be than on the open, unpleasant streets of Louisville this time of night. Trista grabbed my hand that time to pull me away from him and into the crowd of walking people after I stayed there too long for her liking, waiting for him to return my stare. He never did, and it was probably wise on his part. Instead of releasing my hand, Trista hooked her entire arm around mine to walk right against my body.

“Even after what I just did up there, suddenly I’m the thing you want to cling to while we walk these ridiculously dangerous city streets?” I asked, mocking her choice of words from earlier. “Women are weird.”

“Jersey, I think —.” She stopped herself like she couldn’t breathe, and her hand slid down my forearm the rest of the way into my hand. “I think he was waiting on me.”

I glanced over my shoulder as quickly as possible to see that we absolutely did have a shadow.

“You know, not everything revolves around you,” I said quietly back to her while I reached into my jacket to put my earpiece back in and call Memphis.

“Is he not following us?” She asked.

“Oh, he definitely is. I just don’t want you getting a big head about it.”

“Do you always have to be such an ass about everything?” She asked.

“I think it’s written into actual law somewhere,” I said while I waited for Memphis to answer the phone.

“Are you done with your weird date?” Memphis asked.

“About half way between the parking garage and the hotel, cutie pie. And someone’s following us. Be a dear and find your way into one of these traffic cameras, huh?”

“Why do you sound like you’re happy about this?” Memphis asked.

“I’m not even sure why you’d ask it that way. Am I not just a happy person in general?”

“In my experience, no. Absolutely not,” Memphis said.

“Not even a little,” Trista said at almost the exact same moment.

“I don’t know what’s happening here between the two of you. But I don’t think I like it very well,” I said, not bothering to explain myself to Trista, who couldn’t hear Memphis.

Memphis was amazing. This street was busy. I didn’t give her road names. I didn’t have a description of the person following us to provide to her.

“I see him,” Memphis said. “He’s not exactly being discreet about it, is he?”

“How well can you see him?” I asked.

“Getting ready to run the recognition software now. I’ll know in a minute,” she said. “Are you trying to lose him or trying to lead him to where you’re going?”

“I don’t think I want to have to worry about him waiting right outside the hotel for me in the morning,” I said, thinking my way through it out loud. “He knew we were in the parking garage but he didn’t know where exactly. Otherwise, that would’ve been the perfect time to pull some shit when I was — distracted. And he was nowhere in sight inside. I’d rather get up tomorrow assuming he’ll be waiting for us there again, where he probably knows we’ll return. That way we can just find a different way inside and maybe not have to encounter him again at all until we’re on the road.”

“If you can stay ahead of the group of people right behind you, there’s an alley to your right in the next fifteen feet. Turn there, then there’s an even smaller alcove between that and the next building. If you get back there fast enough, no one could see you from the street,” Memphis said.

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