“No, it’s fine,” she said, sucking down that pain and placing it back into the spot in her chest where it’d stayed for years and locked it up tight. “Thank you for asking. Truly. But while I respect what you do for the members of your club, my time there was a one-shot deal.”
“Understood,” Rhys said with a soft smile, and yet his examination of her seemed even deeper now, like he read right through her. “Again, I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“You didn’t upset me,” she countered, planting on a fake smile. “Everything is good.”
A beat.
“What’s wrong?” Zoey asked, entering the room and stopping dead.
Oh, God, she had to get out of there. She hurried off the stool. “Nothing is wrong. I just need to go.” Feeling closed in, the walls squeezing her, she booked it to the front door.
The moment she got outside, into the hallway, Zoey called, “Elise. Wait.”
Elise froze, shut her eyes, and breathed deep, feeling her throat tighten and her chin quiver.
“Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
Zoey’s soft voice didn’t help any. Elise blew out the breath she’d been holding, then faced a worried Zoey. “I’m fine, really.”
“Elise,” Zoey said, taking Elise’s hand. “Something is wrong. I can see it all over your face. The thing with friends is you can share. That’s why we’re here. What happened?”
Elise swallowed the emotion in her throat and only addressed Zoey when she had her voice in check. “Rhys said a member wanted me to take part in a show.”
Zoey frowned. “You do know he totally doesn’t care if you say no.”
“Yes, I know that.” She hesitated and then realized Zoey was right—Elise did have friends. Three of the best. She didn’t need to fight through life alone. “Archer said he’d do the show with me.” She paused and huffed, shaking out her arms. “I don’t even know why that bugs me. This is the life he lives. Of course, he’d want me to go back there with him.”
“The life he was living,” Zoey corrected.
Elise knew then and there a truth she’d been running from. “Then why wouldn’t he tell his best friend, almost a brother, in the past month that things have changed between us and we’ve gotten more serious? That he didn’t plan on partaking in the shows anymore?” Elise had told her friends. Right away. Without any hesitation.
Awareness rushed across Zoey’s face. “Oh.”
In the comfort of her good friend, her heart spilled free. “I asked him more than once if he needs the club to be happy, and he told me no. But clearly, that isn’t true.” All the safety she’d felt in the strength of his honest words smashed into pieces around her. “I need real, honest, and I’m just not sure this is that.” Elise remembered the screaming, the gunshots, the blood. She remembered her mother staying even though it was the worst thing for her to do.
“Elise,” Zoey said softly, taking her into a hug. “You deserve to be happy and to find real love, honest love.” She leaned back to cup Elise’s face. “You want that. You get that. No matter what.”
Elise laughed softly, hating the tears in her eyes. “How about no love at all? That’s easier.” This was why she never crossed those damn emotional lines. Things weren’t easy; they were complicated and messy. This edgy feeling, the fear coursing through her veins, this, she didn’t want and was what she’d avoided at all cost. Why had she forgotten that?
“Nothing good is easy, my friend,” Zoey said, wrapping Elise in the warmth of her embrace again. “Believe me, no matter how hard it is, love is worth it.”
Elise returned the hug, knowing Zoey’s advice was jaded. She had real love. True love. She’d never known broken love, not like Elise did. And she’d never end up like her mother. Unaware and desperate to make things work.
Not ever.
Archer strode out of his office in the late afternoon with an armful of files, each with a USB clipped to the front. He made his way to the end of the hallway and entered the meeting room already full of the staff he’d hired to run security at Phoenix. They all fell silent when he entered the room. The six-man team were all retired military, all wearing the Phoenix security attire of black T-shirts and black cargo pants.
“Thanks for coming in,” Archer said to his team before he began handing out the file folders. “We’ve got two new members joining once we reopen the club: Carrie Henry and Eric Stewart.” He took his spot at the front of the room, pressing his knuckles against the table. “Nothing stands out as troublesome, but as always, keep a close eye on them.”
Around the table, heads nodded in agreement.
A long-time employee, Hawke skimmed through the file before he set his stern gray eyes on Archer. “I take it we have someone new handling the vetting?” Retired Navy SEAL, Hawke had lost a leg on a mission in Iraq, ending his military career. Within ten minutes of his interview, Archer had hired him, and they’d never looked back. Hawke had Archer’s full trust.
Archer smiled, unsurprised Hawke didn’t miss such a detail, and nodded. “We’ve got a new hacker in our ranks. She’s good.” After running the change by Rhys last month, Penny had gladly taken on the vetting process for new clients and now handled all intel for Archer, and Wayne had accepted being let go without a problem. Especially since, on Penny’s advice, Archer had told Wayne that Penny was taking over. The kid had paled, indicating to Archer that Penny could make his life miserable if he caused trouble.
“She’s…detailed,” Hawke mused, flipping through the pages. He finally met Archer’s gaze again. “Any word on the breach with the photograph?”
Frustration bit at Archer as he shook his head. “Looks like it was a one-off, but we’re keeping a close eye on the situation.” Ever since the news article came out, security had been on high alert.
Hawke nodded. “Good.”
Archer scanned the table. “Any concerns?” The group stayed silent. Archer slapped the table. “Good. Let’s keep doing what we’re doing even when we’re closed. Learn the new members. Watch their behavior from the videos on the USB files. Get acquainted with them.” He said his goodbyes to his team before returning to his office.
Only his office was no longer empty. Rhys sat in the client chair.
The moment Archer entered the room, Rhys said grimly, “I think I fucked up.”
Archer laughed softly, moving behind his desk and taking a seat. “That’s not something you’re usually so forthright about.”
Rhys didn’t laugh back. His intense stare bore into Archer. “Have things between you and Elise changed?”
The smile faded from Archer’s face. “Why?”
“She came by the house this morning to update me on the case. I asked her if she wanted to take part in a show, and she looked incredibly hurt when I said you had agreed to do the show with her.”
Archer’s fingers curled.
Rhys lifted a brow. “So, I’ll ask again, have things changed between you two?”
“They have,” Archer admitted, only now realizing this was the first time he had admitted that aloud.