He Looked Back

by Hollandaise, Melissa

  Lana has ventured away from our table, shouting something to Rachel across the ballroom. Leah runs a hand through her hair.

  I spot Ed across the room with Oliver and lift my hand in a wave. They both wave back, sending me nervous smiles.

  "We need to put the plan into action," Dylan says, looking into my eyes after he pockets his phone.

  My nerves multiply by one thousand. This is where it could all go wrong.

  I swallow hard. "I don't know if I can do this, Dylan-"

  "Yes, you can, you can do it. I believe in you, remember?"

  My mind flashes back to when I was going to meet Jason in London. I had sat at that coffee shop nervous as hell, when my phone had rung with Dylan's number flashing from it.

  "Dylan?"

  "Hmm?"

  "Do you...do you believe in me?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "I'm about to do something...something big. Do you believe I can do it?"

  "Of course you can do it."

  I nod slowly and Dylan kisses my lips softly.

  Before I can say anything else, a tapping sound echoes through the hall and everyone turns to look toward the band.

  Alec stands in front of the microphone, his hands held behind his back.

  "Evening, ladies and gentlemen," he says. "My name is Alec Lyone, and I would like to thank you for joining me tonight in honor of Mr. Robert Crane."

  A round of applause sounds as Crane stands and waves to everyone, a humble smile on his face.

  A nagging feeling of surveillance causes me to turn around to lock eyes with Caitlin.

  Caitlin, the woman who called me to tell me I had gotten the job; the woman who answers the phone at Crane every day, is the insider. She listened in and reported to Lyone, going completely under everyone's radars, including my own. I had never suspected her for a second--I mean, she is the receptionist, after all.

  I turn away from her.

  "I would like to propose a toast," Alec says, lifting a glass of wine to the air. "To Chronicle Publishing, and-"

  "How much money you managed to con from them," Dylan says, standing from his seat and lifting his own glass.

  The room falls silent.

  I watch the smirk on Dylan's face in awe.

  He sets his glass down on the table slowly.

  "Over the past five years, Mr. Lyone here has illegally extracted over three million dollars from Chronicle Publishing behind Robert Crane's back," Dylan says easily and the room fills with gasps.

  "Actually, the number is three point four million."

  Abigail stands from her seat, smoothing out her red dress. "Three point four million dollars," she confirms and more gasps fill the air. "From Chronicle Publishing alone."

  Alec looks as if he's going to burst into flames.

  "Along with that," Oliver's voice continues as he stands from his seat next to Sarah. "He has threatened his associates severely, should they try to leave his company."

  "This is all a lie," James says from next to his uncle. "They're lying."

  "No, they're not."

  Adrenaline rushes through me as I stand beside Dylan.

  "They're not lying, they're telling the absolute truth. And you have no room to deny anything they are saying."

  James scowls at me, but backs down.

  Finally, Mr. Crane rises from his seat.

  "Miss Harris is correct."

  "Miss Harris doesn't know what she's talking about, what she says is untrue," Alec snaps.

  "Call the police," Dylan says in my ear.

  I carefully remove my phone from my purse, slowly pulling up the keypad.

  "Mr. Lyone, your affairs concerning Chronicle Publishing are through. I would like my money back, if you don't mind."

  "There is no money I have taken, Crane," Alec sneers.

  "I have proof," Abigail says. She removes something from her purse and holds it up.

  "A receipt," she says. "From when you made me deposit the income made from Chronicle Publishing to your bank account."

  Everyone gasps.

  "You lose, Lyone," Dylan snaps from next to me. "There's no use in fighting."

  The room is still silent as Alec gestures to someone off to his side.

  A tall, burly man walks up next to him.

  "Thomas, do me a favor and escort Mr. Wilson, Miss Harris, Mr. Roberts, and Miss Watergate from the premises."

  I am about to click dial on my phone for the police when the device is knocked from my hand, shattering on the floor.

  I turn and face a man not much taller than Dylan. His eyes gleam evilly.

  "You're to come with me," he growls, reaching for my arm.

  I barely have time to comprehend what's happening when next I know the man is on the ground, blood smearing his face.

  Leah dusts herself off, grabbing her things as chaos ensues in the room. "Let's get out of here before more grown men have to be embarrassed."

  Dylan and I gawk at her, but not for long as more of Alec's men fight through the crowds toward us.

  I grab my cracked phone from the ground as the noise level increases rapidly in the hall.

  I turn my face momentarily as Dylan, Leah and I move toward the door to see Alec still on the stage, reaching into his jacket.

  He catches my eye almost knowingly and his lips twist into a sinister smile.

  My dreams flash through my mind and I reach for Dylan.

  He tugs me through the crowd until we're outside in the parking lot.

  The image of the silver pistol blares before my eyes but I know we haven't much time to fulfill the rest of the plan.

  Oliver, Ed, and Abigail stand outside waiting for us. We all duck behind a car to avoid being seen and speak in hush whispers.

  "Nice hit, Leah," Dylan says to his sister.

  She nods. "I told you I can kick ass."

  "We need to move fast," I say, my heart beating rapidly.

  "Ed and I are heading to Ivory," Oliver says. "There's backup there and Ethan, William, and George may need some assistance."

  "Katie and I have to go to the apartments," Dylan says, his fingers raking through his hair nervously. "That's where Alec won't suspect, most likely. He probably thinks we're going with you to infiltrate Ivory."

  "Yeah, and you're the two Alec wants most," Ed says.

  "I'll go to Ivory as well," Abigail says.

  "I can, too," Leah seconds. "If they need help with backup."

  Everyone nods. "Alright, let's get going, then," Dylan says and we quickly part ways.

  We get into the car and Dylan jams the key into the ignition, backing out quickly.

  "We'll need to take a detour home, just in case," he says to me.

  I nod, too anxious to speak.

  The air is filled with angst as Dylan twists and turns through the alleys and backstreets of Edinburgh.

  The first part of the plan is finished--expose Alec in front of a crowd. Now, all we have to do is wait for the rest to finish up at Ivory and Alec and his nephew to be thrown in jail, and this hell with be through.

  "He'll suspect my place, so we should go to yours," Dylan says as we drive along.

  "Alright."

  "It's going to be okay, Katie."

  "I'm so afraid."

  My voice cracks and I turn to look out the window.

  His hand moves to mine, squeezing tightly, and somehow the gesture says everything he doesn't verbalize.

  He pulls into the lot of our apartments, the car halting as he turns it off.

  We sit for a few moments, the air heavy.

  I shut my eyes and think of all the things Dylan and I have done together. How he changed me so greatly, from someone who had barely kissed anyone to begin with, to someone who gave herself completely. How he took me to the zoo, and to the roof, and all these other random places that shouldn't matter but somehow, they do.

  I think of how Dylan and I used to fight, spitting insults at each other. How I periodically wished I had never met hi
m. How I told him I was in love with James, when really, I was in love with Dylan from the first time he drove me home.

  "We should get moving," Dylan says, breaking the silence.

  We take the elevator up, our hands still locked. It seems to move up at a horribly slow pace and finally dings at our floor.

  I unlock my door and we enter the apartment, Dylan locking the door behind us.

  I remove my jacket and Dylan removes his, running a hand through his hair.

  "Do any of your rooms lock from the inside?"

  I think about this. "None except the coat closet."

  "Coat closet it is."

  "How long?"

  He doesn't ask me to specify my question.

  "Until I get the message from Oliver that tells me Ivory is disarmed."

  I nod.

  "Do you think they'll come here?" I ask.

  "Once they see we're not at Ivory, they'll put two and two together."

  "Won't the others stop them?"

  "I don't know. There's always the chance they'll see through us."

  Dylan takes my hand and we step into the small coat closet, twisting the lock shut behind us.

  present time

  The proximity of our bodies is so close, I feel his breath fanning onto my face. The temperature is rising rapidly in the small space, with fear and anxiety. I rest my head back against the wall, knowing any moment my apartment will be ransacked and sifted through for any sign of us two. They'll tear through every room until they find this one, the only one that locks from the inside. And then they won't hesitate to break it down.

  I feel his eyes on me, they burn into my skin like lasers. Even in the pitch black of the small closet we're crammed into, I see the electrifying green of his gaze.

  "Are you afraid?"

  His low voice rings through the silence. I lean my head over to look at him, eyes locking. I think of all the different times he's asked me that same question.

  "Are you?" I counter.

  He looks away, taking a breath.

  My throat is dry and my skin is damp with nervous sweat. I know my makeup smudges around my eyes and my chestnut hair is unruly, falling down past my shoulders. My heart pounds loudly in my chest.

  "Katie."

  I snap my eyes up to meet his again.

  "I want you to promise me something." His voice is low and raspy, laced with despair.

  I nod slowly.

  "If something happens here...I need to know that..." He takes a breath, running a hand through his hair. "I want you to run, okay?" He looks back at me.

  I furrow my brow. "What do you mean?"

  "I want you to go back to London, I want you to forget about me." There is nothing in his eyes but pain.

  I shake my head. "I...I can't..."

  "You have to do it, Katie, do you understand? If one of us is going to make it, I want it to be you," he says harshly, a vein throbbing in his neck.

  My heart rate quickens. "No," I say. "I won't promise that."

  "You need to," he says, shaking his head. "You need to leave here and never come back. Don't come looking for me, either--"

  "I won't do that!" I cut him off. He shuts his mouth, jaw tense. I take a breath. "If something happens here, it's either both of us or neither of us."

  He stares at me, hard; searching my eyes desperately. A muscle throbs in his jaw and his breathing is uneven. His neck glistens with sweat.

  He finally breaks my gaze, looking down. It terrifies me to think that he won't make it through; that they'll let me go and not him.

  "Not everything turns out the way you want it to," he says after a few minutes of silence. "Not everything turns out perfect--"

  "We can't think that way," I say. "It'll tear us apart."

  "If that doesn't, there are a thousand other things that will."

  This is how it's always been; I the optimist and he the pessimist.

  "What happens if you make it and I don't?" I dare to question.

  His eyes snap up to me. "Then I'd die wishing it was me instead of you."

  My heart is in my throat. Warm tears prick at my eyes and I wipe them quickly. "Stop talking like that," I snap. "Stop it."

  He looks taken aback by my harsh tone, but he doesn't say anything. "All I'm saying," he begins again. "Is--"

  "I know exactly what you're saying, and I want you to stop saying it!" My voice sounds high pitched, verging on hysterical.

  He reaches out and takes my hand in his, the rough skin of his palm touching the soft skin of mine. He rubs his thumb over the back of my hand soothingly. I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself.

  "Just promise me," he whispers. "Promise me you'll stay hidden."

  I don't answer.

  "Please, Katie," he begs. "I need to know."

  I swallow and nod. If this is what he needs to hear, then I'll agree to it.

  "Say it," he pleads.

  "I'll stay hidden," I whisper.

  Just as he steps toward me to pull me into an embrace, a fierce pounding sounds and the door next to us is ripped off its hinges.

  Chapter Seventy One

  Dylan instinctively steps in front of me, his arm extending to hold me back.

  We had been in there for an hour at least, without so much as a text from Oliver or anyone else at Ivory. Dylan and I had barely spoken before I made my vow to him. I had asked him if we could have gone anywhere other than here, but he shook his head, saying we needed to be where the rest could get us. I only nodded, hoping this fact is not one to come back to bite us. The weight of my promise to Dylan is heavy on my shoulders as I look around him to see who is there.

  It’s Oliver, his skin damp with sweat and his features stressed.

  “Could you have honestly bolted that any tighter?” He asks, panting.

  “What the hell is going on?” Dylan demands, his arm lowering from in front of me.

  “We need to move fast, they’re on their way here.”

  “Alec?”

  “Alec and James, and Caitlin.”