Page 10

But it does, becauseshouldreallyneverworks around her.

We pull up to the Midtown restaurant. I walk past the line of people waiting for a table. The waiter gives me a tight smile, but I tell him I’m meeting a friend inside. My tone doesn’t invite any questions, and he wisely asks me none.

I don’t see her right away. I do see one of the security guards I hired through the window. His gaze meets mine and he nods toward the back.

And there she is.

Nora is wearing a red dress, her brown hair swept up and away from her face. She’s looking directly at the man in front of her. He’s got sandy hair, and his hands move as he talks.

She looks at him with a small engaged smile that she’s never once given me. Though I’ve seen her use it on others. It’s charming. It also looks fake.

I’m nearly at their table when she looks up at me.

Her eyebrows lift with shock. But then her mouth presses into a thin line. “West. What are you doing here?”

“I need to cut your evening short.” I put a hand on the back of the man’s chair and don’t give him a glance. “There’s a car outside.”

Her date looks between us, confusion evident on his face. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“He’s not important,” Nora says. “I’m so sorry, Mark. It’s just a misunderstanding.”

I level her with a glare. “No. It’s not. Look, Mark, is it? The evening’s over.” I pull out my wallet and put a few bills on the table. “Nora. We’re leaving.”

Her eyes flash, but she’s all gracefulness as she apologizes to Mark. “I’ll text you later,” she tells him, and my hands clench into fists at my sides.

He looks at me again, then back at the money. I wait until Nora walks past me before turning my back to him.

“What the hell?” she hisses my way. Her heels click against the floor. “Why are you here?”

“I could ask you the same thing. What were you thinking?”

“I was in publicthe whole time.I didn’t run from my guards. I asked them to wait outside. I wasdoingwhat you told me to. What Rafe is telling me to.”

I pull open the door and let her walk out in front of me. The cool air feels good. Her anger? Less nice. But at least it’s real. I can work with that. No practiced, easy smiles.

She whirls to face me. “You had no right to do that. No right at all.”

“How well do you know that man?”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “That’s none of your business. Mark is nice.”

“Right. And how long have you known Mark?”

“Em… three days?”

I look up at the sky. The tall buildings around us, the never-ending light. “God help me. You have no sense of self-preservation.”

“Yes, I do.”

“This is the second time I’ve had to pick you up late from this area. You can’t try to stay inside for asinglenight? Do you just crave constant attention?”

Her eyes flash. “I’m not giving up my life.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“Yes, you are,” she says fiercely. “I didn’t do anything wrong tonight.”

My face settles into stone. “You’re well-known, Nora. You were on a billboard in Times Square a few months ago, for fuck’s sake.”