by Fable Gray
“Now, we just need food and… Ro, what is it?”
“I listened to a message from him,” I said miserably.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” There was no judgment in his tone. He just walked over and hugged me, holding me close while I sobbed.
“I hate this,” I told him. “I told myself I was never going to do this again. I was never going to cry over a man—”
“Royal. You can’t spend your entire life being strong, being made of steel. Sometimes vulnerability is what makes you stronger. Or else how would you ever have any meaningful relationships?”
“But I love him.”
Xander gave a compassionate chuckle. “Yes, we can all see it. And that’s not a bad thing, Royal. You fell in love. Millions of people, or at least thousands, do that every single day.”
“Yeah, but they don’t usually fall in love with someone that their father tells them not to be around.”
Xander eased back. He grabbed a tissue box off the end table and held it out for me to pluck one. “It's situational. It’s not because it’s Declan, it’s because of the place he’s in.”
“And who he is. If he was just a regular guy, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“But Declan is the man you’re in love with. It’s just a fact, and you can’t change it. But… at the risk of you being frustrated with me, I think your father’s right. I think a break from Declan would be a good idea.” Xander shrugged. “At least until we either know who's been following you or until things calm down.”
“I hate saying this, but I think you’re right. But I’m supposed to go to work tomorrow.”
He shook his head. “Why? It’s a fake job.”
I frowned. “Not entirely. We have our resort project. It’s important to me.”
“It’ll be there later. Right now, your safety is the most important. If Declan can’t see that, then he’s an ass.”
We both jumped at a knock on the door. I turned wide eyes to Xander, and when I heard Declan’s voice, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
“Royal? Are you in there?”
“I can’t see him,” I whispered.
I didn’t have to explain, Xander just nodded and walked to the door. I knew if I saw Declan right now, I’d give in. I’d toss myself into his arms and hold on tight, and then I’d convince myself that it made more sense to be near him instead of away from him. And then I’d still be stuck with lies. I’d still be putting people in danger.
Xander opened the door just enough to peer outside. “Dark,” he said by way of greeting.
“Is she here?” Declan asked.
“She is, but she can’t talk right now. And right now, it’s better if you give her some space.”
“Xander,” Declan ground out. “I need to see her.”
“She’s here and she’s safe. That’s all you need to know right now.”
Declan’s voice rose, reaching me where I stood hesitantly in the hallway, ready to go to my room if I needed to get away from the conversation.
“Royal? I’m sorry. Let’s just…talk. I’d feel better if you’d let me stay here tonight.”
Xander glanced back at me, but I shook my head. A tear slid down my cheek.
Xander looked back at Declan. “I’m going to need you to go now. Let Royal have her space and you guys can figure this out later.” Declan started to say something else and Xander shook his head. “I’m serious, Dark. Go take a breath yourself, or I’m going to have to call the police.”
He shut the door after those words, the thud loud and final in the quiet apartment. Crap. Xander had sounded dangerous there for a minute. And I believed him. He probably would call the police if Declan wouldn’t leave us alone.
Xander stared at the door for a minute, listening, but seemed satisfied when he didn’t hear anything.
He walked back to me. “Okay, the hard part is done. Now we just have to figure out dinner. And what to watch.”
“I thought you said the hard part was done,” I whispered.
He put his arm around me. “If figuring out dinner and a movie is the hardest thing we have to do for the rest of the night, I think we might just make it.”
I hope so, I told myself.
But it took effort not to spend the rest of the evening thinking about what I might have lost. And it was even harder to sleep. I was used to Declan’s warmth and the strength of him next to me, holding me, keeping me sane even though the world was trying to stress me out.
I woke up an hour before I was supposed to be at work the next morning so I could call Tim. I let him know that I wouldn’t be in today and almost added that I might be out for several days but stopped myself before I got too far ahead of things. Whether he was surprised or not, Tim didn’t say anything, only told me to take care of myself, and said he hoped he’d see me again soon.
I hoped so too. For a brief time, I felt like I had more of a purpose. And even though now I had other things I could focus on like my dad and school again, I kind of missed the place I’d made for myself. And the person I’d made it with.
I showered and forced myself to get ready, to feel like a normal human being, even though I had no other plans for the day other than wallowing in my misery.
Xander offered to call in sick today too, but I told him to do what he needed to do. One of us had to pay the bills, I reminded him.
He went to work after I insisted. I spent the morning cleaning the refrigerator and getting rid of all of our old leftovers and doing laundry that had needed to be done for nearly two weeks now.
Close to lunchtime, the guard at the front desk called up. I froze before answering the phone, afraid he was calling about Declan.
“You don’t have to get that,” Xander told me from the loft.
I blew out a breath. “It could be important.”
I answered with a hesitant hello.
“There’s someone here to see you,” the man at the desk said.
With my heart racing, I looked up at Xander. He rolled his chair over and looked down. “Who is it?” he whispered.
I asked the man at the desk.
“It’s a woman,” the guard said. “She says her name is Maggie Johnson.”
My mouth opened in surprise. That name, that name… Oh, crap. It was the woman from the elevator, the very first day I’d met Declan. The woman I had felt irrationally jealous over. But…Johnson? That was her last name?
In my mind, I pulled up the image of the paper in Declan’s office, the one I’d copied and brought to my father. The last name Johnson had been on there along with my father’s.
Dammit. Now I was curious. Either she had something to do with all this or she had something to do with Declan. Maybe both.
Maybe she was the one he’d kept texting and talking on the phone with.
“Miss Patterson?”
I blinked. “Sorry,” I told the man at the desk. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Who is it?” Xander asked.
“Maggie Johnson.”
“Johnson?” he asked, frowning.
I ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah, I had the same thought—and don’t ask. I have no idea why she’s here.”
But my stomach pitched at the idea that it was strictly because of Declan. That maybe something really was going on with them.
“You can tell her to go away,” Xander said when I turned in a circle, searching for my shoes. “You are allowed to say no, you know.”
It reminded me so much of our college days, I had to laugh. Whenever Tate would call me and tell me to come over or say he was stopping by, obviously to get some, Xander would tell me I could say no.
It had taken some time, but I’d finally followed his advice.
But now, I was curious. And I’d had a good night of sleep. I needed to figure things out at some point and it might as well be now.
“I’m going down there,” I called up to Xander.
“Do you think that’s safe?”
“I’ll
just be in the lobby for now. I’ll let you know what happens.”
He hesitated, but finally nodded and then pulled his microphone back over his mouth. His wheels squeaked when he rolled his chair away, and I crouched to put my boots on.
I took the stairs down instead of the elevator, using the extra minute to catch my breath. I saw her the moment I hit the bottom set of stairs.
Maggie Johnson. She looked as elegant and beautiful as the first time I’d seen her. She was clothed in black with dark glasses perched on her head. Damn. She looked perfect for Declan.
I wasn’t sure where that thought had come from but I couldn’t help the jealously that reared up to bite me.
“Royal,” she said, making my stomach clench.
She knew who I was. The last time we’d spoken, I’d given her my fake name. Which meant that someone had told her the truth since then.
I crossed my arms defensively over my chest. “I’m assuming Declan told you my real name.”
“He did.” Her smile was sincere. “And I’m so glad that he found you.”
My eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out what she meant. “I’m sorry, why are you here? I don’t mean to be rude, but—”
“No, no. Not rude at all. I’m the one who showed up at your house unannounced. And Declan doesn’t know I’m here, so please don’t tell him.”
I relaxed slightly at those words. Declan hadn’t sent her. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t here because of him.
“Listen,” she continued, edging away from the front desk and lowering her voice, “Declan told me some things, some surprising things and he mentioned he’d already talked to you about it. I was hoping…well, that you would let me take you out to lunch so we could talk.” When I hesitated, she held up her hands. “Not to gossip about him, but I’m concerned for him. And I imagine you are too.”
When I hesitated, she shrugged and pointed. “How about a walk, then? It’s lovely out there, though the clouds are coming in.”
A walk. I could do that. Especially now that there was a part of me that was starting to think her affection for Declan was more like that of a sister rather than a lover.
I let her know that I would be back in a minute. I went back upstairs and told Xander that I was going out. He reminded me to call Parker to let him know what was going on.
I turned on my phone for the first time since yesterday and had to pointedly ignore the messages from Declan for now.
I put in Parker’s number and waited for him to answer.
“I was planning on going out for a walk with a friend,” I told him, feeling like an idiot. I didn’t know the protocol for this sort of thing. “Is that okay?”
“Absolutely,” he said easily, setting me at ease. “I’m already outside.”
“Oh. Okay, thanks.”
“Oh, and Miss Patterson?”
“Yes?”
“It’ll be best if I come with you. I mean, I don’t have to walk with you, but I have to stay close by. Mr. Dark would insist.”
“Of course.” It would probably make me feel better having him close anyway.
Downstairs, Parker greeted us both as we stepped out of the door and then reminded us that he would be close by if we needed anything. Then we started strolling along the streets in the sunshine. I missed simple things like this. I’d gotten caught so caught up with everything in the last couple of weeks that I hadn’t taken time away to wind down.
“Thank you for taking the time to walk with me,” Maggie said. “I’ll try not to take up too much of your time.”
“You’re welcome. I’ve been wondering about you,” I told her honestly. “I mean, who you are in relation to Declan, or…”
She flashed me a smile and gave a small laugh. “If you’re wondering if we’re together, the answer is no. Absolutely no. Declan and I are old friends. Family friends, actually. My father also works for Dark Enterprises in the lab.”
My stomach clenched. So it was the same Johnson.
Maggie continued. “Declan and I would often be thrown together for various dinners and other engagements our parents had. We became friends and we could understand each other. Both of us had parents whose work came first.”
I didn’t realize how tense I’d been until she told me there was nothing between her and Declan. Relief swept through me. “I didn’t know. As I’m sure you know, he’s kind of quiet about things sometimes.”
“He is quiet,” Maggie said. “I usually have to pry everything out of him. And I’ve noticed, for the last several months…even close to a year, he’s been extra quiet. He was going through something and he wouldn’t tell me, even though I asked more than once. Even though I would drop by his office and try to pry it out of him. That’s what I was doing that day we met you in the elevator.”
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Parker following at a distance. He nodded his head when I met his gaze, and I turned my attention back to Maggie.
“So, he told you about me. When was this?”
Maggie nodded. “He did. I bugged him enough, I guess,” she joked. “No, actually I showed up at his office one day and he said he had to go to the hospital. He told me about your father and how he wanted to look out for him—and you. And of course, we got to talking, because I’d never seen him this interested in anyone before. Almost like he was in love.”
My heart twisted. He said the same thing to me. And it surprised me that he told Maggie about me beforehand. But she hadn’t recognized me in the elevator, had she?
She answered before I could ask. “Of course I didn’t know who you were when we ran into you in the elevator. I didn’t know what you looked like. But I did realize he was acting strange. He told me after the fact, and of course, I wanted to come over here right away and talk to you, but he told me not to and said you needed time to adjust everything. But then I saw him last night…” Her eyes were a little sad and I realized right there that she really did care about Declan, but just as a friend. “And then, it was like he couldn't hold back anymore. He told me everything.”
I stumbled a little on the sidewalk in surprise. “Sorry,” I said to a woman when I brushed her shoulder. I glanced back one more time to make sure Parker was still close by before saying to Maggie, “Everything?”
Maggie nodded. “He told me why he’d been acting strange this past year and about the things he was able to do now.” She lowered her voice and linked her arm through mine so we could be as close as possible and not talk too loudly. “He’s so strong and fast…” She shrugged. “Well, better not talk about that here. But you know exactly what I’m talking about. He told me he told you too.”
“I know exactly what you’re talking about.”
“The thing is, I wasn’t too surprised. I had heard my dad talk about this serum before, even though I really had no idea what he was talking about. And he would meet with Declan’s father often to discuss things I’d overhear bits and pieces of, conversation that didn’t make sense until I heard Declan’s side.
“Anyway, that’s not really why I came, though it’s nice to be able to talk to someone else about it. I came to say that I still feel like he’s holding something back like he has another secret.”
Her words resonated with me. It was probably the same secret he wasn’t telling me.
“Something else is weighing on him,” Maggie said. “And I think it has to do with you. He’s worried about you. He told me he couldn’t lose you, acted almost desperate. And my heart broke for him. I don’t know what happened between you, and it’s none of my business, but all I can tell you is that he’s heartbroken. And he loves you so much.”
My throat went dry. I didn’t know what to say to her. Hearing someone else confirm how he felt and how much he needed me, gave me even more perspective. And if he wasn’t even telling Maggie what else was going on, it was something he felt he couldn’t share. Probably because he felt like he was in danger.
Or because he was trying to protect me.
“I t
hink he’s keeping something from me too,” I told her. We turned back and headed toward my apartment again. We passed Parker and I caught his eye, indicating that I needed to talk to him when we got back.
“I’m afraid he’s in danger,” Maggie said.
“Me too,” I admitted. My stomach clenched with nerves, and my heart rate picked up.
“What should we do?” she asked.
“I need to go see him.” I squeezed her arm in a silent thank you. “Stay safe. I’ll check on Declan and then hopefully we can get together again soon.”
She gave a ghost of a smile. “In a normal circumstance. I’d like that. Thanks for taking the time to meet with me.”
I met her eyes, more grateful than she knew. “No, thank you.”
Chapter 34
I ran inside just long enough to grab my work badge and holler up to Xander that I had to go. I told him I’d text him on the way and then raced back out the door and ran down the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
Parker was waiting for me. He opened the back door for me to get in.
“Take me to the office, please,” I told him.
Parker gave a firm nod. “Of course.”
As I rode, I looked at my phone and the single text message that Declan had left last night. I love you.
My heart twisted. I love you too, I wanted to write back. But no, I had to tell him in person. I had to tell him I was sorry for running off. I had to tell him that I needed the truth. I had so many things that I wanted and needed to tell him, but most of all I just wanted to make sure he was safe.
Listening to Maggie talk about how heartbroken he was killed me. I knew how he felt. It had only been a day since I had seen him and I already felt lost without him.
Instead of texting, I called him and waited nervously for him to pick up the phone. But he didn’t answer. It rang several times before it went to voicemail.
I cursed when I heard his voice and hung up. Where was he?
A meeting probably. That made sense. He had a lot on his schedule, especially on Mondays. However, if I’d gone in this morning, I would know exactly where he was.
I tapped my foot nervously on the ground. I expected at any moment for Declan to return my call or for him to text, but the phone remained silent the entire ride.