“It does matter, and he’s not gone. Your boy never checked out of the hotel when his PR and legal team checked out. And, yes, Jo, I know all about the interview he did with your roommate and the school paper.” He opened the console and pulled out a folded paper, tossing it onto my lap. “Did you actually read what your friend wrote?”
“Um…”
Erica thought I had.
“My summer hobby has been avoiding all news outlets. Why?”
“Because there’s a huge section all dedicated to you, and I’m assuming his legal team was successful with turning the investigation in your direction, not his.”
“What? How can that even be? He said he killed Edmund. That’s irrefutable.”
“Not if he was set up.” As he pulled into a parking lot, he gave me a meaningful look.
“By me? Kian and I didn’t even really know each other before Edmund. I knew of him. He was popular, but I wasn’t.” I tried to glimpse the front of the building. I assumed it was a hotel because that’s where Kian was staying, but there was no sign on the front. There was nothing that really identified what hotel it was, and I was distracted by what Snark was saying to study it any more. He drove quickly to the back of the hotel.
“Were you invited to their parties?”
“My boyfriend was. I went once because of him.”
“Did the other girls hang out with you?”
“No, they didn’t like me. They made fun of me, called me Charity Case at that party. It’s why I only went once with my boyfriend.”
“Kids can be cruel. I’m sure it’s the same nowadays.” After parking, he gestured to the door. I followed his cue and got out as he did the same. “Actually, I bet they’re worse nowadays. I’ve got a kid in school, but she’s in the sixth grade. I don’t know what I’ll do when she gets older.”
“You’re FBI. I doubt she’s going to be looked at like a charity case,” I murmured as I craned my head back to take in the entire hotel. The entire hotel was made up of dark mirrored glass.
“True.” Snark reached for the door and held it open for me.
When we got to the elevators, I asked, “Where are we?”
“Your new boyfriend’s ritzy place. The Maston.”
“Oh.” My eyebrows shot up.
I’d forgotten Kian’s family business wasn’t just in restaurants but also hotels. I thought the Seton was the ritziest in the city, but I’d forgotten all about The Maston. If a hotel could be a six-star, this one would’ve been. It was exclusive. Even some celebrities couldn’t get rooms here.
The elevator door slid open and revealed a glass box. A pool glistened up to us from beneath, reflecting the light from the sky above us. As we traveled to the top floor, I noticed each floor had a different theme. The lobby was extravagant with fountains and gold lining everywhere. That was the only glimpse I got. Then, we were going past the second floor, which was blue. The third was red. The fourth was silver. The fifth…
I got dizzy from trying to take everything in, and I closed my eyes. When we stopped, there were three doors in a small hallway.
The far one opened.
Kian stood there. “Snark.”
Forgetting the impressive setting or how gorgeous Kian looked in a lightweight hoodie that molded to accentuate his broad shoulders and trim waist, I looked between the two as we went inside Kian’s penthouse suite. “You two know each other?”
Snark didn’t answer. He went into a living area, complete with two couches, a fireplace, a desk, an entire wall of books, and a wet bar at the other end.
Kian followed behind and took a small breath. His eyes narrowed, resting on Snark. “Only by reputation.”
Snark grunted, glaring right back. “His family asked enough higher-ups to figure out that I could have been one of the agents who had helped you disappear. But, no, we’ve never formally met.”
“Until today.” Kian hid a grin.
Snark’s lips pressed in a flat line and he acknowledged, with a clipped head nod. “Until today.”
“Okay.” A headache was pressing against my temples. “Kian, what are you still doing here?”
“I wanted to stick around.”
“Why?”
Snark grunted. “To be close by when his team threw you to the wolves.”
Kian’s eyes narrowed to slits. His face wore an unreadable mask, but I caught the dark heat stirring in his eyes. A shiver wound down my spine, but I wasn’t sure if it was the bad kind or not.
His voice was low and controlled. “They’re searching for Jordan, not Jo. They have no idea who she is now.”
“I got a phone call this morning from one of my supervisors.”
“You did?” My chest was so damn tight. “What did your supervisor want?”
“For me to give you up, but I don’t have to, and my supervisor knows that. I have no legal obligation to hand you over, and even if the police issue a warrant for your arrest—”
Kian cut in, “Which is highly unlikely. There’s nothing to incriminate Jordan for the angle they’re going toward.”
Snark kept talking as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “The FBI doesn’t have to help out the local police department, but having said that, you didn’t officially go into the Witness Protection Program.”
I was left hanging. “So? What does that mean? I know I’m not officially in the program, but you helped hide me anyway. What does that mean?”
Kian stepped toward me, turning to face me squarely. His back was now to Snark. “That means”—his soft voice turned my shiver to the bad kind, the really bad kind—“that they can find you.”
“Fuck that.” Snark came around. “They will find you. This one found you. I take it, the guy you used isn’t on your daddy’s payroll?”
Kian cast him a disdainful look. “No. I learned long ago to employ my own people and”—a glimmer of a smirk showed—“my people are better.”
“You haven’t given her up yet, or her new name would be plastered all over the news. Why not?”
“Because I don’t want that to happen.”
“So, this is okay? It’s your team who got the DA to go after her. It’s your team who spun everything around, and it was you who did that interview.”
“Um…”
Erica thought I had.
“My summer hobby has been avoiding all news outlets. Why?”
“Because there’s a huge section all dedicated to you, and I’m assuming his legal team was successful with turning the investigation in your direction, not his.”
“What? How can that even be? He said he killed Edmund. That’s irrefutable.”
“Not if he was set up.” As he pulled into a parking lot, he gave me a meaningful look.
“By me? Kian and I didn’t even really know each other before Edmund. I knew of him. He was popular, but I wasn’t.” I tried to glimpse the front of the building. I assumed it was a hotel because that’s where Kian was staying, but there was no sign on the front. There was nothing that really identified what hotel it was, and I was distracted by what Snark was saying to study it any more. He drove quickly to the back of the hotel.
“Were you invited to their parties?”
“My boyfriend was. I went once because of him.”
“Did the other girls hang out with you?”
“No, they didn’t like me. They made fun of me, called me Charity Case at that party. It’s why I only went once with my boyfriend.”
“Kids can be cruel. I’m sure it’s the same nowadays.” After parking, he gestured to the door. I followed his cue and got out as he did the same. “Actually, I bet they’re worse nowadays. I’ve got a kid in school, but she’s in the sixth grade. I don’t know what I’ll do when she gets older.”
“You’re FBI. I doubt she’s going to be looked at like a charity case,” I murmured as I craned my head back to take in the entire hotel. The entire hotel was made up of dark mirrored glass.
“True.” Snark reached for the door and held it open for me.
When we got to the elevators, I asked, “Where are we?”
“Your new boyfriend’s ritzy place. The Maston.”
“Oh.” My eyebrows shot up.
I’d forgotten Kian’s family business wasn’t just in restaurants but also hotels. I thought the Seton was the ritziest in the city, but I’d forgotten all about The Maston. If a hotel could be a six-star, this one would’ve been. It was exclusive. Even some celebrities couldn’t get rooms here.
The elevator door slid open and revealed a glass box. A pool glistened up to us from beneath, reflecting the light from the sky above us. As we traveled to the top floor, I noticed each floor had a different theme. The lobby was extravagant with fountains and gold lining everywhere. That was the only glimpse I got. Then, we were going past the second floor, which was blue. The third was red. The fourth was silver. The fifth…
I got dizzy from trying to take everything in, and I closed my eyes. When we stopped, there were three doors in a small hallway.
The far one opened.
Kian stood there. “Snark.”
Forgetting the impressive setting or how gorgeous Kian looked in a lightweight hoodie that molded to accentuate his broad shoulders and trim waist, I looked between the two as we went inside Kian’s penthouse suite. “You two know each other?”
Snark didn’t answer. He went into a living area, complete with two couches, a fireplace, a desk, an entire wall of books, and a wet bar at the other end.
Kian followed behind and took a small breath. His eyes narrowed, resting on Snark. “Only by reputation.”
Snark grunted, glaring right back. “His family asked enough higher-ups to figure out that I could have been one of the agents who had helped you disappear. But, no, we’ve never formally met.”
“Until today.” Kian hid a grin.
Snark’s lips pressed in a flat line and he acknowledged, with a clipped head nod. “Until today.”
“Okay.” A headache was pressing against my temples. “Kian, what are you still doing here?”
“I wanted to stick around.”
“Why?”
Snark grunted. “To be close by when his team threw you to the wolves.”
Kian’s eyes narrowed to slits. His face wore an unreadable mask, but I caught the dark heat stirring in his eyes. A shiver wound down my spine, but I wasn’t sure if it was the bad kind or not.
His voice was low and controlled. “They’re searching for Jordan, not Jo. They have no idea who she is now.”
“I got a phone call this morning from one of my supervisors.”
“You did?” My chest was so damn tight. “What did your supervisor want?”
“For me to give you up, but I don’t have to, and my supervisor knows that. I have no legal obligation to hand you over, and even if the police issue a warrant for your arrest—”
Kian cut in, “Which is highly unlikely. There’s nothing to incriminate Jordan for the angle they’re going toward.”
Snark kept talking as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “The FBI doesn’t have to help out the local police department, but having said that, you didn’t officially go into the Witness Protection Program.”
I was left hanging. “So? What does that mean? I know I’m not officially in the program, but you helped hide me anyway. What does that mean?”
Kian stepped toward me, turning to face me squarely. His back was now to Snark. “That means”—his soft voice turned my shiver to the bad kind, the really bad kind—“that they can find you.”
“Fuck that.” Snark came around. “They will find you. This one found you. I take it, the guy you used isn’t on your daddy’s payroll?”
Kian cast him a disdainful look. “No. I learned long ago to employ my own people and”—a glimmer of a smirk showed—“my people are better.”
“You haven’t given her up yet, or her new name would be plastered all over the news. Why not?”
“Because I don’t want that to happen.”
“So, this is okay? It’s your team who got the DA to go after her. It’s your team who spun everything around, and it was you who did that interview.”
