Business was booming, and the team needed his guidance and direction, but the only thing on Alistair’s mind was Jayla. And how they’d left off the other night.
She had stormed out, tears in her eyes. It took everything in him not to run after her, to sweep her in his arms and tell her he would do anything, be anything she needed. As long as she stayed with him.
But he knew she needed space, and he’d done his best to give it to her. He hadn’t even so much as texted her in three days. His phone burned in his pocket and he’d developed a habit of checking it every few seconds, hoping for a call or a beep indicating she had contacted him.
She hadn’t.
A chorus of greetings from his team drew his attention to one of the large VIP booths. He was the last to arrive, a first for him. He’d struggled to drag himself away from home, hoping she’d walk through the door and tell him she’d changed her mind. That she was ready to commit to him. To them.
Pulling a chair from one of the regular tables, he sat next to the booth and pulled out his phone, willing it to ring. “Max, you’re up on the report today, go ahead,” he said, relying on routine to disguise his distraction.
Forty minutes passed. When it was over, he couldn’t, for the life of him, remember what they talked about. Had he contributed? He hoped to hell not. Not in this state.
As the men filed out, he ran his fingers through his hair. Tonight. I’ll talk to her tonight.
“Who pissed in your cereal?” Gene asked, pulling up a chair and sitting directly in front of him. “Club not go well?”
Alistair was in no mood for his games. “Club went great, actually.”
“So, then … why are you staring at your phone like it grew a pussy?”
“Do you always have to be so fucking vulgar,” he asked, not wanting to get into his issues.
Looking up, Gene’s expression was of one of concern.
Alistair rubbed his neck. “Look, I don’t … I can’t.” He couldn’t seem to express himself. “Just, not now, okay?”
He knew Gene wouldn’t let it go, and he sighed with relief when Peter’s voice interrupted them.
“Boss, we’ve got a problem.”
Alistair rolled his eyes. Of course.
Turning in his chair, Alistair glared at him. “What fucking now?” he asked through his teeth.
“Dude, don’t shoot the messenger, I’m only doing what you asked,” Peter retorted, crossing his arms.
Alistair took a deep breath and shook the tension from his shoulders.
“You’re right, sorry. I’ve been a shit lately,” he apologized, meaning it. He had been a bit irate the past three days, not answering anyone without cursing, if answering at all. “What’d you find out?”
Peter uncrossed his arms, looking at Gene before focusing back on Alistair. “It’s that Jeffrey guy. He’s got travel itinerary in two weeks, into La Guardia.”
“Alone?” Gene asked, body tensing.
“Yeah. He hasn’t booked anything else, yet. Unless it’s on a government card not in his name. Tink’s been monitoring his web searches, it looks as if he’s been doing some time on the dark web, looking for coders.”
Gene’s brows furrowed. “What does that have to do with New York?”
“My money’s on he’s coming here to meet with recruits.”
Alistair finally spoke. “Recruits?”
“It’s how they work. Tink and I have been brought all over the country — private jet, money thrown around, spoiling us, trying to get us to agree to a government contract. She even went to Paris on the government’s dime. They were pissed when she laughed at their offer. Anyway, he’s been here multiple times in the past few years, as well as other places — Vegas, Denver, Austin, Boston.”
Alarm bells rang in Alistair’s mind. Wasn’t Jayla in Austin?
“What about Florida?” he asked, trying to connect dots, to see if he’s been chasing Jayla while “working” on recruits.
Peter looked down to his phone, scrolling through the screen. He nodded. “Yeah, Miami.”
Alistair’s heart raced, yet Peter qualified, “Two years ago the most recent.”
Alistair exhaled a long breath, relieved. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, after all. “Can we get a shadow on him?”
Peter shifted his weight from one foot to the other, a look of uncertainty on his face. “I don’t know if it’s worth it. There’s a good chance he’ll be using entrances we don’t have access to — possibly even hotels floors we can’t get near. That’s if he really is alone. Just because he only booked one ticket, doesn’t mean others aren’t coming with him. If he’s recruiting, especially other hackers, they’re going to be on alert as well. No one trusts anyone in the tech landscape. Not with the kind of stuff we get into. And honestly, I don’t think we have the manpower to get a shadow on him right now. Not with the ‘Mommy and Me Shelter’ function we just booked for that week.”
Alistair shook his head in annoyance.
Gene shrugged. “Why not just take her somewhere, like a vacation. I’m sure if you tell her he’s here—”
“Can’t do that,” Alistair cut him off.
“Uh, why not?”
“Well, for one, she doesn’t know about any of this,” he commented, raising his arms in frustration. “And I don’t want to worry her.”
“You … you didn’t tell her you were looking for him?” Gene’s voice was dripping with disapproval. “Are you serious?”
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t really think all of this through when I asked Peter to find him.”
Alistair’s anxiety only contributed to his frustration, which was slowly giving way to anger. Their fight, the timing of Jeffrey showing up. If she knew he was in the city, she’d bolt. Take the next train to God-knows-where. He’d … lose her.
Gene’s disapproval wasn’t helping.
“You should call her. Right now,” Gene insisted.
“Why don’t you just drop a couple of hints next time you shadow her,” he responded, sarcastically. “You’ve got experience telling her all my fucking secrets.”
“Don’t tempt me,” Gene replied, standing. “What the fuck’s gotten into you?”
“Right now, you.” Alistair faced him, squaring off.
“Dude,” Pete breathed, voice low, attempting to diffuse the situation. He placed a hand on Alistair’s chest. “Gene’s right. She needs to know. Just call her.”
Alistair looked between the two, knowing they were just trying to help. I’m being a dick.
He took a breath and sank back down onto the chair. “I can’t,” he answered finally. “She’s not talking to me.”
Gene nodded. “Ah. There it is.” Waiting a breath, he continued, “What did you do?”
Alistair laced his fingers behind his neck and exhaled. “I collared her. Then I made love to her. Well, tried to, at least.”
“Oh, no,” Gene whispered. “Then she ran, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Uh … collared?” Peter asked, head switching from one to the other.
“Thanks for the info, Pete. Keep me updated, okay?”
Peter took the cue and headed downstairs. “Will do.”
“Want me to talk to her? Smooth it over?” Gene said as he straightened his arms in front of him, cracking his knuckles. “Genie’s got a gift with the untamed fillies.”
At this, Alistair laughed. “No, you don’t.” He shook his head. “No. She just needs time.”
She just needs time.
I hope.
That hope lasted all of five hours. Three of which, he spent in agony as he watched her flit around the club, dropping off drinks, smiling at men who weren’t him, performing as if her heart wasn’t as broken as his.
Wasn’t it?
The past three hours brought him right back to where he’d been earlier. Despondent.
He sat at the computer table, looking at the monitors, not seeing anything. A growing anxiety about Jeffrey made it hard to focus. Hi
s gut warned him this trip wasn’t innocent.
“You okay?” Belle called from the doorway, helping him to regain the present.
He shook his head. Two weeks. How the fuck do I get her out of here, when she won’t even talk to me?
“Alistair?” Belle called again, moving to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. Finally, he looked up.
“What’s wrong? Is Jayla okay? Did something happen?”
He shook his head. “Yes and no. She’s fine. For now.”
Belle turned, moving to one of the chairs and sitting down beside him. She placed her hand on his knee, urging him to look at her.
“What does that mean?” she asked, her eyes wide, pleading for an answer.
He took a breath, letting the words flow. He trusted Belle. He trusted Aleks. If anything, they could help.
“It’s not her — it’s her ex. I kinda asked Peter to find him … to track him, you know, to keep watch.”
“Oh, shit,” she commented, low. Belle’s eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. “She doesn’t know you were tracking him.” She didn’t even attempt to hide the accusation in her tone.
He swallowed. “No. And don’t worry, Gene already told me what a colossal idiot I am, but I just wanted to keep her safe and not worry her.”
“So, you decided tracking her abuser without her permission was the way to go?” Belle asked, brow cocked.
He rubbed his neck. “Well, when you put it that way.”
“Know that I am saying this because I care about you — but prepare yourself for some hard truth.” Leaning back, she uncrossed her arms, shaking her head as a small smile formed on her lips. “You men are all the same. Thinking you need to protect us by lying to us. It never works, trust me. I don’t think you should have kept this from her, but I also don’t think you meant any harm. Did it work? Did you find something?”
Alistair nodded. “Yeah. He’s coming here.”
“To the club?” Belle’s voice climbed an octave.
“No, to New York. We don’t know where.”
Belle visibly tensed. “You need to tell her.”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Alistair, she needs to know the truth. If he’s here … oh, my God. What if he’s looking for her?”
Alistair’s teeth clenched. “He’ll never touch her again.” He took a breath. “I don’t want to scare her. Especially not right now. She’s … just not in a good place. Besides, even if I wanted to tell her, she’s not exactly speaking to me right now. We had a … an argument. About us.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. What does that mean? Things were getting serious and you freaked out?” she asked, her voice rising again.
His lips quirked at the irony of her question. “No, actually. Things were getting serious and she freaked out.” He ran his hand through his hair at the thought.
Belle sat motionless, watching him, until finally, with a click of her tongue, she spoke, “Look, Alistair. If she’s really just ‘freaked out’, then don’t let her just walk away. Let her know it’s okay to be freaked out, ya know? And I may not know the exact details with her ex, but I have been in a similar situation. Too similar, really. Aleks … he tried to protect me, to keep this guy away. It didn’t work. Luckily — I swear in part to some guardian angel watching over us — he was able to get to me in time. I’d hate for Jayla to ever have to go through something like that. She needs to know. It’s the only real way to protect her.”
“I can’t do that,” he spoke, feeling the pulse in his jaw throb as he gritted his teeth. She’ll run.
As luck would have it, Jayla’s form appeared on the center camera. He watched her take the stage, giving into the words of the ballad she was performing. She looked glorious.
I can’t lose her.
I love her.
“Well … maybe I can help,” Belle said.
He looked up to meet her gaze.
“Although I highly encourage you to tell her the truth, Al, I’ll do what I can to help make sure she’s safe.”
“I promise I’ll tell her — after Jeffrey leaves. But not until then. Please, let me do this my way.”
Belle’s lips pursed with dissatisfaction, but she nodded.
He let out a breath of relief. She was safe … and here … for the time being. Now all he had to do was figure out how to win her back.
Jayla sat at her vanity, wiping the sweat from her brow as she and Snow took a break and talked. The night was only halfway over, and there was still a couple of group numbers and another solo to go. She was thankful for the chance to catch up. She needed the distraction. It seemed whenever she had down time, all she could think about was Alistair.
“It’s been the craziest week,” Snow said, her eyes wide. “Doc came into the office with a porcupine. Said he’d wrangled it in his back yard. Between that and the opera-singing macaw someone found hanging out in Central Park, and the pot-bellied pig the police found during a drug bust, I feel like we’re under the power of a full moon or something. It just gets stranger and stranger.”
“I can’t even imagine,” Jayla said, trying to picture Snow surrounded by all the animals she’d just described.
“Guess what, guess what, guess what!” Scarlett squealed, practically skidding to a stop in front of Snow. Taking a hold of Snow’s hands, Scarlett jumped up and down, forcing Snow to move with her.
“What? What?” Snow laughed, her excitement now matching her sister’s.
“I’m staying here!”
“Wait, what? Why?” Snow asked, stopping her movements. Scarlett’s face dropped, as did the hold on her sister.
“Oh, wow, Snow, thanks,” Scarlett responded, sarcastically.
Snow shook her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Belle asked me to stay. To work full time.” Scarlett uncrossed her arms, pulling her hand up to fake-inspect her nails as she continued, “Apparently, your little sister’s got some skills behind the bar.”
“What about Austin?”
“Screw Austin. I don’t have anything to go back to there. My apartment is month to month, and way too expensive for me, and I don’t have a job, so … I’m staying here!”
“Where are you going to live?” Snow asked, shaking her head as her brows furrowed.
Scarlett took a breath, obviously annoyed. “With Belle,” she spoke through gritted teeth. “For now, at least, until I can afford my own place.”
Jayla didn’t want to jump in and have either sister mad at her for choosing a side, but part of her was jealous of the connection the two women had, even if it was strained at times. “I think you just surprised your sister,” she said, hoping to help quell the tension between them. “I’m sure she’s really happy you’re sticking around, right, Snow?”
Snow took a deep breath, and offered her sister a smile that Jayla noticed didn’t quite reach her eyes. “It’ll be nice to have you closer,” she said, pulling her into a hug.
“Whatever.” Scarlett pulled back from her sister’s embrace.
“I’m sorry, Letty. Jayla’s right, it’s really big news, and I just wasn’t expecting it. How are you getting your stuff? What does it mean for Evie—”
Scarlett cut her off. “Oh, so that’s it. You’re more worried about Evie’s job than your sister? I’m sorry — should I have asked you first before agreeing?”
Snow dipped her head, pinching the brow of her nose. “No, Letty, that’s not what I meant.” Taking another deep inhale, she spoke again, “You’ve been doing great here; all the girls love you. And it’s been really nice to have you around. I just want to make sure you’ve thought everything through — like, if Evie comes back, do you still have a job?”
Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Yes, Snow. I already thought of that and talked to Belle. If and when she comes back, we’ll both be working. Belle says there’s room and she wants me to stay.”
Jayla smiled at the comment — it definitely sounded like Belle.
; “Okay, good. Did you give your landlord notice? Don’t you still need to give thirty days on a month to month?”
“All done. Talked to Belle, who called my landlord and spoke some type of legalese and I’m free and clear to leave at the end of the month. Damn, I can’t even get all the details out before you stomp on my rainbow.”
“‘Stomp on your rainbow’?” Snow interrupted.
Jayla hid a smile at their interaction.
“Yes. Here is my rainbow — and here you are, stomping on it.” Scarlett spoke with similar hand gestures to Snow, lifting her arms into the air, throwing them toward the floor, and stomping.
This time, Jayla snickered. When both girls turned to her, she couldn’t contain her laughter. Apparently, it was contagious, as after a few seconds both girls were laughing as well.
“I’m sorry. It’s just — you two … you are totally sisters! I wonder if you even know how alike you both are.”
It was what the two needed to stop fighting.
Snow draped an arm over Scarlett’s shoulders. “I really am happy for you, sis.”
Scarlett smiled. “I could use some help with moving my things,” she said, looking back and forth from Snow to Jayla. “And before you say anything, yes, Belle knows I need help and told me you could go. Weekend after next.”
Snow tilted her head. “Fiiiine,” she exaggerated, smiling. “I’ll come help you.”
Scarlett smiled, hugging her sister as she turned to Jayla. “You too, Jayla! Oh, please say you’ll come with us. It’ll be a nice girl’s trip. I know you said you missed Austin — we could spend a couple days and hang out! It was Belle’s idea, too, so you’re okay to take off.”
“Jayla would love to go with you,” Alistair decided for her from behind the women.
His voice both excited and infuriated her. Her heart thumped in her chest. She hadn’t spoken to him in three days and now he’s telling her what to do?
“Excuse me?” she asked, bewildered.
Finders Keepers (Fairy Tales After Dark Book 2) Page 26
