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Alexander shares his portion of guilt. He was angling for her before I was and he forced my hand, I can admit that. But if something happens to her tonight, that’s on me.
I hit the button on the elevator, pressing it seventeen times, with increasing irritation, before the doors finally slide open.
The ride down to the garage takes forever and I wish I’d just taken the back stairwell when the doors finally slide open.
It’s only been a minute. I half expect to catch sight of Chloe at the exit, but I don’t see her anywhere. Crossing the garage, I briefly consider trying to follow on foot, but I have no idea which way she went.
Sliding into the Pilot, I fire up the engine, peeling out of the garage.
I start driving as fast as I can get away with, up and down the streets near my house. Whatever Chloe’s thinking, whatever she saw, we need to talk…
I need to tell her…
I grit my teeth. The truth. She’s with a stone-cold killer and that’s a choice she has to be all right with.
Fuck.
Even if she doesn’t choose me, and let’s be honest, she might not, she has to know that I will always protect her. That there are forces out there way worse than me, and I will always be her harbor in a storm.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Fifteen minutes pass and I still haven’t caught sight of her.
I drive for another ten, the tension in my body growing so taut, I think I might snap. I’ve only got one play left.
She said she’d head to the piano bar at nine. Putting on my turn signal I park several blocks from the bar. Nothing about the Pilot stands out, and this far away, Chloe could pass it and not even notice that it’s me.
Locking the car, I slip into the shadows, making my way to the bar.
I’m going to have to tell Chloe as much of the truth as possible, because if I don’t, I’m going to lose her.
Then again, when she knows who I really am, I’m likely going to lose her anyway.
But that’s the next problem. First, I have to find her.
I approach the piano bar, but stop, sinking deeper into the shadows. From the opposite direction, Chloe appears, still wearing her paint-covered leggings and bright tank top. Even in the low light she glows.
Her arms are wrapped around her middle, but she still walks with purpose as she approaches the bar.
Relief makes my shoulders relax as I let out a long breath of air. She’s here and she’s safe.
But rather than enter through the front door, she walks past it, toward me, taking a left into the alley.
My insides drop. It makes sense that employees enter and exit through the back, but I’ve seen some real shit go down in that alley and my girl is all alone.
That’s when I hear her scream.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Chloe
The alley is eerilysilent as I enter. Frequently the kitchen door is propped open as crates are being loaded in, employees hustling in and out.
But not tonight…
Monday is one of our quietest nights, it’s part of the reason I chose tonight. But I hadn’t considered that quiet meant…no one would be around.
I pause, wishing that Killian was by my side.