His Absolute Authority: A Scandalous Billionaire Love Story (Jessika, #3) (14 page)

She took it and inspected it.  "This is me?" she asked.  "Josephine Dunst?"

"For now," he said.  "Yes.  I apologize you weren't allowed much of a choice in the matter."

"Josephine Dunst?" I asked.  I went to Lucent's side and stared at the other card in his hand.  It had Lucent's picture on it, but according to the information, he was now Max Hollowell.

Maybe I shouldn't have been too surprised, but I was.  Those were the fake names Asher and I used when we escaped in secret to a small bed and breakfast in the middle of nowhere to get married.

I looked from the card to Asher.  My husband smiled back at me reassuringly.

"I picked out the names before we left to get married," Asher said.  "I didn't want to scare you, but Lucent helped me with some of the minor details.  If I paid for everything using a credit card under my real name, the press would have found out.  We still paid for everything.  Nothing was stolen, but..."

I didn't even need to guess to know that the remaining two cards in the wallet were credit cards issued to Josephine Dunst and Max Hollowell.  Were they even real people, or was their entire existence a scam?  Was it some convenience created by Lucent to do things like what he was about to do?  To do what Asher and I had done?  The two situations seemed entirely different, but in some ways I supposed they weren't.  Both involved elaborate lies, but... was that bad?  If the credit cards were real and everyone received payment for their use, then it wasn't hurting anyone.

Right?

I tried to convince myself of this, tried to accept it, but I didn't know if I could.  I didn't know if I couldn't, either.  It wasn't really a matter of either/or, it was just a matter of realization and understanding.  I needed to take some time to think about all of this, but we didn't have any time for me to do that right now.

"I'm going to get you some things," I said.  "I know you're in a hurry.  I'll help you.  You can go out the back way.  I'll show you where it is.  There's a park in the back.  It's not really visible from the street and there's a walkway all the way through it that comes out a couple of blocks away.  That should give you some time, to..."  To what?  I didn't know.  I didn't finish that sentence, because I didn't know if it had a real ending.

I ran down the hall to my room and flung open the drawer in my bedside table.  There were a couple of spare batteries, a mini notepad, and a pen.  I took all of them, even though I didn't know what Lucent or Elise would use them for.  Then I went over to the other bedside table to see what was there: an envelope and two stamps.  I took those, too.

Asher stood in the bedroom doorway, watching me.

"Jessika," he said.  "I know this is a shock, but I promise, everything will—"

Something happened.  I heard a sound near the window in the living room.  It sounded like something cracking—a tree branch, maybe—and then a crash, something falling and thudding onto the ground below the window.

Asher ran to check.  Lucent and Elise were already there.  I followed fast, panic grabbing at my heart.  What was going on now?

"Paparazzi," Asher said.  "Doesn't look like he's with any of the local news stations.  Might be a freelancer looking to make some big money with a few exclusive pictures.  I can handle him."

Again?  Really?  What was this?  This was my apartment!  How did they know I was here!  No one should know.  Except, no, people already knew.  The police were able to find me because of Elise's phone, so if they knew, then...

Suddenly it hit me.  I remembered something from last night.  The strange knocking on my door, and then when I opened it and looked outside, the flashing.  I tried to tell myself it was just the sun at the time, sunlight reflecting off one of the large windows at the end of the hallway, but it was quick and happened in an instant.

It happened so fast, just like the flash on a camera, and then it was gone.

Someone knew.  They'd known this entire time.  What if they took pictures of us while we were sleeping?  I'd closed the blinds, but if someone came right up to the window and angled themselves perfectly, they could shoot through them, and...

Why?  Why was this happening?  What did I even have anymore?  I had nothing.  Nothing at all.  No privacy, no comfort.  I wasn't safe anywhere.  No one was safe.  Lucent and Elise had to leave, and Asher was going to deal with the man trying to invade our privacy, but what then?

We didn't have time to think about it.  There was literally no time left for any of this.  We needed to go.  I needed to help Elise and Lucent escape before they were trapped here.  A small part of me had thought that maybe they could just stay.  It was kind of safe here, right?  If they never left, then the police wouldn't be able to find anything suspicious, and...

But, no.  No, not at all.  That wasn't an option.  I doubted it was ever an option to begin with.  We'd figure something else out, but not right now.  We needed to find something or somewhere else safe first.

I didn't know if safe existed anymore.  In my mind, a safe place was a place where you could relax, not having to worry about anything at all around you.  Being able to sit in a bathtub full of water and bubbles, reading a good book, with scented candles leaving soft light and wonderful aromas, and gentle, quiet music playing in the background.

That sort of thing didn't exist right now, though.  For all I knew, if I tried to take a bath like that, pictures of my nude, wet, bubble-covered body would be plastered on the front page of every major newspaper the next day with some crude and lewd title above it like "Jessika Landseer - Slip and Slide Trophy Wife."

"Let's go," I said to Elise and Lucent.  "We don't have a lot of time."

Asher started to leave, too.  He left before the both of us, presumably to go outside and deal with the fallen man, whatever that entailed.

I gave Elise the things I'd gathered: batteries, notepad, pen, the envelope, and two stamps.  She fetched her purse from the counter and put everything into a zippered pocket in the lining.

"I don't know if those will be useful," I said.  "I hope so.  At the very least, once you and Lucent are safe, send me a letter, alright?  You can send it to me at Landseer Tower or the mansion.  You know the address for both, don't you?"

"I know Landseer Tower," she said.  "Lucent, do you know the address to Jessika and Asher's house?"

He nodded.  "Yes.  That shouldn't be an issue."

"Alright," I said.  "Good.  Do you both have everything?  Clothes, purse—"  I looked down.  "Shoes?"

They both had their shoes on.  And their clothes, of course.  Elise had her purse, as well.

"Where are your shoes?" Lucent asked, lifting one brow.

I shrugged.  "Um... it's a long story."  I laughed a little.  The situation we were currently in wasn't even remotely amusing, but the story of how I lost my shoes kind of was.  In a weird and awkward way, at least.  "I should have a pair of old sneakers in my bedroom.  Hold on.  I'll go get them and then we'll go.  If you see anything else you want to take, feel free, alright?"

I rushed to find some shoes.  The day had just started, but I felt like it needed to be done with already.  I was fairly certain it wasn't going to be that easy, though.  We all had a lot to deal with.

***

E
lise, Lucent, and I made our way through the empty hallways of my old apartment building, heading to the rear side entrance.  It wasn't really much to look at, but it opened into a walkway lined by short bushes.  Further down the walkway was a sort of garden corridor surrounded by trees and a few flowers.  And further still was an open park with benches.  Sometimes children from the apartment building went to play at a playground on the far end of the park, but other than that it was mostly grass and a winding sidewalk that led to a street further down.

I brought Lucent and Elise to the beginning of the walkway into the park.  We went silently, unsure what to say to one another.  I was sure we'd see each other again, and yet...

When?

I didn't know.  I didn't think anyone knew, to be honest.  It hurt to think about that.  I'd grown so used to seeing both Lucent and Elise almost every single day.  I liked them a lot.  I considered both of them to be two of my closest friends.  Sometimes we all ate lunch together, if we could.  Elise and I talked about our stories and writing.  Lucent talked more with Asher about workplace business, but sometimes the four of us had brief meetings together, too.

The Landseer Publishing aspect of Landseer Enterprises was run by me, with Elise as my sole co-worker.  Technically I supposed she was my employee, but I didn't like to think about it like that.  And Asher was kind of our beneficiary, though I didn't think he thought of it like that, either.  As the Director of Public Relations, Lucent helped us with a few important ideas about marketing, promotions, and similar business-minded scenarios.  It wasn't his area of expertise, per se, but he knew how to make things sound exciting and interesting.

It worked out.  I knew that we were just a small part of the grand scheme of Asher's business—at least Elise and I were—but I kind of liked that, too.  I didn't want to become lost in the midst of grandeur and corporate affairs.  Yes, I was Jessika Landseer now wife to a billionaire, but a part of me would always be the girl I used to be, too.  I didn't want excessive fanciness or sophistication.

I wanted...

What did I want?

I remembered the days I used to spend staying up late and fixing my book review blog site.  It wasn't anything important, but I loved it.  I'd carefully decide what book to read next, too.  I took a little time every evening, and then time before work, and during my breaks and lunch period, as well.  And I'd just read.  It didn't matter what.  I favored romance most of the time, but romance was so diverse and interesting that it could be almost anything sometimes.

I loved that.  I never really had a chance to do it anymore.  I used to take notes, writing them down on a tiny notepad.  I'd given Elise one of them, though I didn't think I had any leftover book notes in that particular one.

Everything was hard back then, but it was normal, too.  Things were easier now in some regards, but more difficult in other ways.  I wasn't sure if anything was normal anymore.

We arrived, and it was time for me to say farewell.  I just stood there, silent, somewhat confused.

What if I went with them?  What if I left Asher for now, but... no, I'd come back, of course.  I didn't want to leave my husband forever or anything like that, but there wasn't really anywhere for me to go right now.  I'd thought I could hide out in my old apartment for a little while, at least.  That didn't work.  A little while turned out to be barely half a day, and now the media were on to me again.

I could go to the mansion, but there might be police coming to investigate, or question me, and...

There was someone there.  I didn't know who, but someone from the mansion must have found Asher's camera, taken one of the SD cards, and leaked it to the press.  Did I want to go there, to end up walking past that person sometime during the day and not even realize it?

I could lock myself in the guest house, possibly.  Not the best option, though.  I didn't want to lock myself into anywhere.  I wanted to be able to live my life the way I'd always lived it.  Or, at least the way I'd always wanted to live it.

"We should hurry," Lucent said.

I knew this.  I knew it, but I just didn't want to say it.  With a faint nod, I acknowledged what he had to say.

"I know," I said.  "I'm sorry everything ended up like this.  I... I thought maybe it would be different.  I know it's foolish, but I thought maybe you and Elise could stay there.  With me, too.  And Asher could go to work, and come back at night, and it could just be the four of us.  I..."

Elise came up and hugged me.  "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Jessika," she said.  "I wish we could stay.  I don't want to leave like this.  I'm sure everything will be back to normal soon."

I laughed a little.  "Yes, maybe."

"You know what?" she said.  "I bet it's a really nice sex tape, too."

I hugged her, or we had been hugging, but I stopped squeezing her tight when she said that.  We still embraced, but her words confused me somewhat.  "Um?" I said.

"You and Asher," she said for clarification purposes.  "Your sex tape.  I bet it's really nice.  I mean, there's some celebrity sex tapes that are kind of boring, you know?  Not that I make a point of watching them, but they just don't look exciting, so—"

"I think that's enough, Miss Tanner," Lucent said, trying not to laugh.  "We should let Mrs. Landseer have some peace now."

"I didn't mean it in a bad way!" Elise said.  She squeezed me tight again.

I hugged her back, hard.  I didn't want to let her go.  "It's alright," I said.  "I think it was a good sex tape, too.  I don't think I've seen any others, but Asher's good at filming and camera work."

"Yes," Elise said with a determined nod.  "Right.  Exactly."

I laughed.  "I think you're right, too.  Everything's going to be fine.  With me and Asher, but with you and Lucent, too.  Asher and I are going to go talk to the police soon and give them our report of what we remember the night of the fire, so once that's settled, I bet everything will go back to normal."

Elise hesitated.  There was something in her eyes, some look or worry or maybe something else.  I couldn't tell what it was, and no sooner than I saw it, it disappeared, but I swear it was there.  Why?  What wasn't she telling me?

"We'll attempt to keep in touch as best we can, Mrs. Landseer," Lucent said.

"I'll keep writing, too," Elise added.  "Don't worry about that.  Even if I just think up story ideas in my head and do some mental writing, I'll have something new and ready to start working on when this is all cleared up."

I smiled and nodded.  "Sure.  That sounds good."

It was Lucent's turn to hesitate now.  Elise and I stopped hugging, and she took a step towards him, but...

"Perhaps it would be best if you stay," he said to her.  "There's no reason for the both of us to leave like this.  You can stay with Mr. and Mrs. Landseer and tell the police that there was some confusion on your part and you weren't involved in the situation.  I'm sure they won't press the matter any further than that."