Somewhere Between Water and Sky (Shattered Things #2) (30 page)

“
Okay. I
’
m ready. Let
’
s do this.
”

And we jump out of the car and follow Max inside.

.::.

There are a few things I notice as I walk into the lobby.

The guy at the front desk is leaning forward and whispering with an officer. Words like
strange
and
quiet
jump out at me from their conversation.

Across the room a maid answers questions with another officer.

And right by the elevator, blocking our entrance, is the woman from the other day. She
’
s clutching at her pearls and looking with earnest at an officer taking notes. Once we
’
re within earshot, she glances toward us and startles.

“
Oh! There she is officer! Right there.
”
She points and Jessa stops in her tracks, reaching for my elbow.

“
Steph
…”

“
I
’
m fine,
”
I whisper out of the corner of my mouth and manage a smile and slight wave.

“
Hi,
”
I mutter.

The officer turns toward me and then back at the lady, surprise dripping off his face.

“
This is the girl who had a meltdown in the elevator and threatened you?
”

I widen my eyes.
“
Wait. Wait. What? I didn
’
t
…”

Pearl Lady sniffs with disdain and raises her nose. Like
…
actually raises her nose
and reaches for her pearls again before grazing the officer
’
s elbow with her fingers. I raise my eyebrows.

Fancy.

Her voice is now weaker
—
more subdued
—
no withholding of the dramatic.
“
And
yes.
Officer. She threatened me. Told me that if I didn
’
t help her get out that she would rip me to shreds like she did that journal she tore to pieces.
”

Ren would give that a standing ovation.

I hold up a finger.

“
Wait. Wait. Um.
I
’
m right here,
first of all, and so you can ask me questions if you want.
”
I shrug.
“
And second,
”
I point at the lady.
“
Where do you get off saying that? I freaked. Yes. I tore up my journal. Yeah.
Because someone was stalking me.
But I did not threaten you.
”
I wave my hand at her, brushing her off.
“
Seriously. I think you can quit the theatrics.
”

I wrinkle my nose in disgust and she gasps.

Jessa leans into my shoulder.
“
If you ask me, you were pretty generous with which finger you chose to point in her general direction.
”

The officer looks between her and me and his notepad and clears his throat. With a quick glance around I notice that we
’
ve attracted a whole lobby full of curious onlookers casually sitting on couches that were previously vacant and gathered in groups that look like riveting
“
discussions
” —
but I know these crowds. I grew up with them. The only difference between them and the ones that gathered in my neighborhood was the familiarity of faces. Here, there was no chance of running into someone I saw in the shed. Or at school. Or down the street.

Turning back to the officer, I motion toward the elevator.

“
Do you mind if we run up to my room?
”

He hesitates for just a moment before answering, his eyes flickering to the double doors of the elevator and back at me.

“
Ma
’
am I think it
’
d be wise for you to stay here
…”

I throw up my arms and turn and roll my eyes at Jessa.

“
Just relax.
”
She scratches her nose and whispers under her hand.
“
If you don
’
t act suspicious he won
’
t think you
’
re suspicious and spoiler: you
’
re acting suspicious.
”

He glances quickly in our direction and then jots something down in his notebook.

I whisper back, not trying to hide anything I say.
“
I
’
m fairly certain people know when you
’
re whispering about them, Jessa.
”

She catches my eye and smiles, this time leaning in to whisper in my ear.

“
I
’
m fairly certain you
’
re giving this lady a fair amount of glee and gossip this afternoon.
”

I snort and look at Pearl Lady who has taken to dabbing her forehead with a handkerchief and blinking her nonexistent eyelashes toward the officer.

A chime goes off and my eyes shoot to the elevator. The numbers are counting down: fourteen, twelve, eleven
…

And I remember
—
my room is on the fourteenth floor.

Nine
…
eight
…
seven
…
.and the atmosphere of the entire lobby has shifted
—
everyone focusing on those steel double doors, waiting to see who will appear.

The numbers fall and I feel that strange rumbling in my gut when I know something is about to happen that I will wish I could blink away. But I can
’
t stop it
—
I never can. I have a fleeting thought that I should have listened to Kevin
—
because if I listened, if I waited, he
’
d be here with me.

I set my shoulders back.

I know now I can make it without him. I just don
’
t know if I can take the pain of living without him.

I take a deep breath and reach for Jessa
’
s hand.

The chime goes off again and the officer turns toward the doors, moving out of the way.

And when they open, I see a man in a suit talking on a cell phone and holding a guy at arm
’
s length. A sapphire gem glows in the artificial light, bouncing off a ring the guy is wearing. I blink and my heart does a double take.

I know that ring.

My knees give way and I lean into Jessa because I
’
m not sure which one I
’
m more surprised to see: the guy in a suit or the guy with the ring.

Jessa grabs hold of me and pulls me closer.

“
Stephanie. What is it?
”

The man in a suit catches my eye and breaks into a huge grin. He motions with his free hand and another immaculately-dressed man and standing a few feet away reading a newspaper runs to his side and takes over with handcuffs.

“
You have the right to remain silent
…”
His voice carries over the lobby and people part like the red sea as he walks the guy with the ring out the door. I follow them with my eyes, still trying to make out if that guy handcuffed is really the one I saw sitting in a booth in Americana. The one who sat next to me on the bus.

It looked like him. The eyes. I remember the eyes. And the ring.

But I don
’
t think about it for very long. Suddenly I notice that all eyes are on me. I look around and feel Jessa
’
s finger tap my shoulder.

“
Stephanie. Hey
…
Steph. He asked you a question.
”

“
Yeah? Who?
”
My voice comes out breathy
—
I blink and realize where I am again.

I turn my head slowly and meet the only eyes sharp enough to have seen my pain and known its depth.

“
Hi, Jude,
”
I whisper.

He smiles and holds out his arms. I realize I
’
m still holding onto Jessa
’
s fingers. She squeezes my hand and I let go and walk into his embrace, breathing in the woodsy scent of his cologne.

He voice booms within his chest.
“
I really didn
’
t know if I
’
d ever see you again, kid.
”

I laugh and step away from him, suddenly all twisty inside about how I should be feeling.

Happy? Sad? Excited? Pissed? Relieved? I decide on ambivalent and just shrug.

“
Well
…
you didn
’
t really give me a choice now, did you?
”

He drops his head for a moment and then catches my gaze.

“
You know Emma and I would do anything for you, right?
”

Seriously? No like
…”
hey the weather sure is nice here
”
small talk? Let
’
s just jump into the deep stuff? Alright. Fine. Two can play.

I nod and cross my arms over my chest.
“
I know this
—
you guys have told me this before numerous times. And, I want to believe it. I do. But
…
I just don
’
t get
why.
Why you waited. Why you asked Kevin to join you. Why you never said anything
—
anything at all.
”

He twists his lips and looks away for a split second before reaching forward and tweaking my arm.

“
You always did have all the questions.
”

I raise an eyebrow.
“
And you always knew how to be evasive and not answer them.
”

I feel Jessa take a step toward us. Behind her, I hear Kevin hollering for Jude. I turn my head and see Ren running to catch up.

Kevin reaches us and I shy away from his hand that makes a move toward my own. Jude notices and frowns.

“
Jude. Good. You found her. Did they get the guy?
”

I look at Jude.
“
What guy?
”

Jude nods at Kevin.
“
We did. But
…
he was tied up in her room, which means we
’
ll need to answer questions about that
…
the authorities will want to know how he got there.
”

I shake my head, confused.

“
What? Wait. A guy was in my room? Tied up?
”
I look toward the door where one of Jude
’
s men ushered the guy with the ring. I point.
“
Was it that guy with the ring?
”

Jude follows my gaze.
“
He had a ring?
”

I turn and look at Jude.
“
A sapphire. It
’
s huge. How
’
d you not see it?
”

Jude shrugs and looks at Kevin.

“
Not an important detail, I guess.
”

“
Well. It
’
s an important detail if you
’
ve seen him before. And I have. I saw him a few weeks ago. At Americana. And then before that he was on my bus on the way to work. He sat next to me.
”
I chew on the corner of my lip.
“
I may have kicked his junk for being a smart-ass.
”

Jude hides a smile and I hear a sharp intake of breath from Jessa.