Page 18

Rhys

J ade and I have spent every night together for the past two weeks, and I still can’t get enough of her. She brings out the beast in me. We’ve christened every part of her hotel suite, and I’ve also had her stay with me at my place. Which is not something I usually do. Then again, sleeping with the same woman for two weeks is also not something I usually do.

We’re having dinner in my kitchen when I slide a small metal key across the wooden table to her. She’s got a bite of kung pao chicken halfway to her mouth when she pauses, chopsticks hovering in mid-air as her gaze locks on the key like it’s venomous.

“Jade, there’s no pressure, okay?” I assure her. “It’s just… You can move back into your loft whenever you want, and if your family gets to be too much, you’ve got a place here with me. You can even stay in a guest room if you’d prefer.”

Her eyes lift to meet mine, a storm of emotions passing through them before they settle on something like relief. Slowly, she reaches out, her fingers closing around the key. “Thank you, Rhys. I suppose it is time to move out of the hotel. And I like the idea of a place to retreat. It’s very thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

She looks over at the door. As I’ve come to realize, this means she’s overwhelmed and considering bolting. So I change the subject. “How’s the commission going?”

Her shoulders relax. “I’ve finished making all the dinner plates, and they’re about two-thirds done being bisque fired.”

“What are you working on now?”

“The appetizer plates. These are the ones that will drive me the craziest.”

“Those are the ones that kept cracking?”

She nods. “The waved divider was too thick on the square. It took me some time, but I figured out how to fix it. It’s a more complicated process, but now, I have it down to about twelve minutes a plate to complete.”

“That’s a lot of time if you’re making a hundred pieces.”

She nods and explains how she made a template so each plate would have the same wave down the middle. I’m impressed with all the calculations and what she did to make it work. “I think with time I’ll be able to shave off a few more minutes, but this is a unique piece.”

“That’s great. And what do you have left after that?”

“Soup bowls and coffee mugs.”

“Then you’re done?”

“Yes, and so far, I’m ahead of schedule, but I’d rather be done early than fall behind. The restaurant has also emailed and asked if I could do a few additional unique pieces, so I’m waiting to hear what they’re thinking.”

I shake my head. This is amazing. She’s creative, yet so organized. “I’m really impressed by your creativity and business sense.”

She laughs. “Don’t let my dad hear you say that. He’d disagree.”

“That’s because he’s a guy who doesn’t see selling eight hundred widgets as good numbers, but you never want to be his size.”

“No way. If I scaled up much at all, I’d have to go offshore for the labor. Otherwise, there’d be no way to keep it affordable for restaurants with their low margins.”

I nod. “Hey, have you heard from the unhoused guy? Did you get an email?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No, still nothing. But someone did leave an envelope with a thumb drive in it at my studio today. I wasn’t there, and even the camera didn’t get a great look at him. But it could have been Alan Frasier. I wish he would reach out to confirm or explain, but I’m trying to prepare myself for the idea that I may never hear from him.” She takes a sip of her water. “I need to figure out how to see what’s on it, I guess. But I worry about just plugging it into my computer. It could have a virus, be some sort of trick… I don’t know.”

I nod thoughtfully. “Why don’t I take it to Jim? Jim Adelson is the head of Clear Security, the firm we’ve been working with since Justin’s disappearance. They’ve got all kinds of software to analyze things and investigate what they find. And they’re certainly able to keep things private. You wouldn’t need to worry about that.”

I can see the hesitation in Jade’s eyes. She opens her mouth to protest, but I know exactly what she’s thinking. She doesn’t want to bother anyone, especially not someone like Jim, when he’s already dealing with so much.

She closes her mouth, and after a moment, she speaks, her voice softer than usual. “Well, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate that. Thank you, Rhys. I’ll grab it right now, so I don’t forget.”

I can tell she’s relieved, even though she doesn’t say it outright. I watch her move toward the other room, and I can’t help but feel like I’ve just taken something off her shoulders.

She pops up to get it out of her bag, and I tuck it into my pocket. “I’ll give it to him next time I see him,” I assure her.

“Thank you,” she says again, picking up her chopsticks. “So, what’s going on at EnergiFusion?”

I sigh. “I’m buried. I didn’t tell my other partners, but I’ve emailed Justin.”

Jade’s head tilts to the side. “Why wouldn’t you tell the other partners?”

I shrug. “I’m not sure. For all I know we’re all emailing him.” My gaze drifts away from her, focusing on some distant point as I recall typing to an old friend whose absence feels like a void.

“What did you say?” Jade’s hand finds mine, her touch grounding me.

“I asked for a telephone or video call. Just…to make sure he’s okay.” My voice cracks slightly. “I told him I want to help, whatever he needs to start thinking about coming back.”

“Has he responded?”

“No. But I only emailed him yesterday.”

Jade’s fingers squeeze mine, offering silent support. “And now we both have an email to wait for,” she says softly.

“Yep, now we wait.” I squeeze her hand. There’s nothing more to do but hold on to each other and hope that wherever Justin is, he knows he isn’t alone.

“Why do you think Justin’s being so evasive?” she asks as we return to our dinners.

I exhale slowly, raking a hand through my hair. “I don’t know. The security team’s been tracking him. He’s all over the map—literally.”

“Physically bouncing all over the globe?” Jade repeats, trying to understand.

“Exactly. And when he checks his email, he uses several relay VPNs. I don’t know if he’s hiding to protect himself or to protect us.”

“Relay VPNs?” There’s a wrinkle of confusion on Jade’s forehead.

“Virtual private networks,” I explain. “Computers have IDs that show their location. VPNs can hide that. His changes every sixty seconds, so he’s definitely masking his location.”

“Which means it’s nearly impossible to figure out where he really is,” she concludes.

“Right.”

“And the voicemails? How’s he leaving those?”

“We think he prerecords them. But the background noise…” I pause, considering how crazy this all sounds. “It’s never anything obvious. No train horns or birds chirping, nothing that would give away his location. That kind of stuff only happens on TV.”

She nods, processing this information, then looks up at me with a tentative smile. “I hope I get to meet Justin one day.”

I can’t help but smile back, touched by her sentiment. “I like that you want to meet my friends.”

We eat in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, and then I gather the plates and takeout boxes to put them in the kitchen.

“How about I show you how much I appreciate you giving me a house key?” Jade suggests, her smile turning mischievous.

Suddenly, I feel like the luckiest man alive, and I leave the plates and boxes on the counter.

The staccato ring of the secure landline I have at home jolts me awake in the dark. Disoriented, I reach for the phone, my hand brushing over Jade’s arm, her skin soft and warm in the cool night air. “Yeah?” My voice is groggy with sleep.

“Rhys, it’s Scott. Jim wants you to move. Now. Bring Jade. There’s a car waiting downstairs.”

Adrenaline surges, flushing out the remnants of sleep. I nudge Jade gently. “We have to go,” I whisper. She blinks up at me in confusion before she registers my tone.

We dress quickly and head out the front door.

As we emerge, Scott and several other security personnel move with a calm precision that sharpens the gravity of the situation. Scott’s face is an unreadable mask. He ushers us into the backseat of a black SUV, and we’re off, tires biting into the asphalt as we cut through the stillness of the night.

Soon, the Fairmont rises ahead, and we’re swept in through a side entrance, past curious employees whose glances flicker away. We rise in an elevator to a private floor that feels like a fortress.

Austin, Danica, Theo, and Crystal are already here, huddled together, faces etched with worry and fatigue. “Everyone, this is Jade,” I say, introducing her to the group. Their nods and murmurs of greeting are strained, the tension palpable. But they each introduce themselves.

Then Jim strides in, phone pressed to his ear. “—Bash has that covered,” he says. His gaze sweeps over us. “Gage, they’re all here. I’ll call you back.” The phone snaps shut, and his full attention moves to us. “All right, listen up,” he says. “Crystal, how are you holding up?”

Theo’s arm tightens protectively around her. “She’s fine,” he asserts, though he doesn’t seem entirely sure.

After a moment Crystal nods.

Jim’s nod is slow, almost reluctant. “There was a break-in at Crystal’s,” he explains, and the room seems to contract, as if the walls themselves react to the news. “My team got there quickly, but we didn’t catch anyone. We made damn sure they didn’t get to Crystal, though.”

A collective gasp ripples through the room, followed by a cacophony of worried voices. I feel Jade’s hand squeeze mine, her touch a silent pledge of solidarity.

“Whoever broke in knew what they were doing,” Jim continues. “This wasn’t a random smash-and-grab. They were looking for something—or someone.”

My mind jumps to Justin, to the voicemails and burner phones, and a chill runs down my spine.

“We’re in the dark on this,” Jim continues. “And these bastards were bold, breaking in when it’s clear Crystal has protection. It means they’re not afraid to come after any of you.”

The room falls quiet, our collective breaths held in anticipation.

“Which is why,” Jim says, “you all need to disappear—and not together. We’ll have you scatter and make it hard for them to track.”

My heart pounds as Jim’s words sink in. Scatter. I glance around the room, watching my friends’ faces—hardened, wary, determined. We’re a team used to facing danger head-on, yet now we’re being told to retreat to the shadows, alone. My heart thunders against my ribs.

Austin steps forward. “Danica and I can head up to Napa,” he suggests. “The estate where we got married—it’s remote, fortified, and there are enough guest rooms to house a small army.”

“Sounds perfect.” Jim nods, scribbling something onto the notepad he always seems to have handy.

Theo’s arm remains around Crystal, as if ready to shield her from any threat imaginable. “I can go with you, Crystal.”

But Crystal, ever the surprise, gently extricates herself from his embrace. “No, Theo, I’ll be okay,” she insists. “I need to go to Florida, to my parents’.” She won’t make eye contact with any of us. She’s focused on some distant point only she can see.

“Florida?” Theo presses.

She nods. “Yes. It’s the last place anyone would expect me to go.”

“Okay,” Theo concedes, though he doesn’t seem convinced.

I exchange a look with Jade, finding my astonishment mirrored in her eyes. Seems we all have our secrets—places and people we keep tucked away from the world.

Jim divides up the security team, and a pair of them follow Crystal out the door. The silence that follows her departure stretches, uncomfortable and laden with unspoken concerns. It’s Theo who breaks it, his gaze shifting away from the door. “I can’t go back to Atlanta,” he says abruptly. “I’m not going to my parents’.” His eyes meet mine for a moment. “I’ll go to Santa Fe. A friend offered me her place whenever I needed to get away. I’ll lay low there.”

“Trinity Sebring?” I ask. I remember Trinity’s vibrant canvases that used to lean against the walls of Theo’s apartment, bursts of color that seemed too fierce for the soft-spoken artist I met only once.

Theo’s lips quirk. “You’ve got a good memory,” he says.

Then everyone turns to me. “I don’t know where I should go,” I tell them. “And I hope Jade and I can go together.” I look over at her, hating that I’ve put her in danger, disrupted her life and her work.

“I’ll find you a place,” Jim says. “I want everyone out of San Francisco by tomorrow afternoon. Well, that’s this afternoon, technically.”

I nod as Jade squeezes my hand.

Before I can reply, the sound of the door signals another presence. Bash Pontius, Clear Security’s head of field operations, strides in. He hands out keycards like he’s dealing blackjack. “You’ve got the whole floor to yourselves tonight,” he announces. “Elevators are locked off for this level, stairwell doors too. If you need to leave, you go through us first. There is a team on the floor.”

“Thanks,” I say, taking the keycard he offers. This feels like a gilded cage, luxurious yet confining.

“This is what we do best,” Bash replies, scanning the group. “Just stay safe, stay smart.”

“Will do,” I assure him, pocketing the key. As he moves to exit, I catch his arm. “Any ideas on where Justin might be?”

He shakes his head. “Not a peep. But when we find him, you’ll know.”

“Keep me updated.”

“Always,” Bash promises, and then he’s gone, leaving us in the fortified silence of our temporary sanctuary.

It’s a fortress of glass and steel. But safety feels like an illusion. Justin’s out there, somewhere, tangled in something bigger than any of us can understand.

And now, so are we.