Trent put a hand on my knee, his smile encouraging. “You’re not a nameless woman, you’re the person who keeps her daughter safe, and I’m sure she assumed you’d be with me.”
“Yeah, all right.” I wasn’t convinced, but I grabbed my purse and got out. There was a real door attendant, and I touched my hair as it blew in the strong wind off the river. Turning to Doyle, I waved, only to get a frown in return. He stayed in the car, though, and I wondered if he was waiting to see if I survived Constance before hauling my ass in for destruction of property and fleeing the scene.
“Are you sure?” I said as the door attendant saw us.
“Positive.”
His hand went to my back, propelling me forward. I would have given him a smack on his shoulder, except I kind of liked the mix of possessive demand making tingles down my spine. He was different since stealing his Brimstone back. It was more than the pride of having done it himself. He was . . . more dangerously elfish.
“Mr. Kalamack. Welcome back,” the attendant said as she opened the door for us.
“Thank you, Theresa,” Trent said familiarly. “Won’t be but twenty, thirty minutes.” Turning, he looked behind us at Doyle. “He’s not with us.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jenks’s wings rasped from my shoulder. “We’re checking on Ellasbutt’s cat.”
“Ah, I’m Rachel Morgan,” I said when Theresa’s gaze shot to mine, drawn by Jenks’s voice. “I keep Lucy and Ray safe when they’re with Trent.”
“Yes, ma’am. Enjoy your night.” Theresa smiled, but I was increasingly uncomfortable.
The small lobby was empty, and an elevator was there waiting. Trent hit the button for the floor just below the penthouse and we started up. Fast. “Hey, can I use your phone?” I asked as Jenks swore at the sudden pressure shift, and Trent silently handed it over. “Pike still has mine.”
“Who you calling?” Jenks asked as he made faces to pop his ears, adding, “Oh, for mother pus bucket of a moss wipe,” when I found Ellasbeth’s number and hit connect.
She picked up almost immediately. “Trent?” Ellasbeth said, and Trent winced at her voice, loud in the small space. “What’s happened? Is it Rachel?”
Jenks hovered close, a manic grin on him. “She’s worried about you. That’s so sweet.”
I glared at Jenks to shut up. “Ah, sorry, Ellasbeth. It’s me. Trent’s fine, but I lost my phone and I wanted to talk to you.”
The elevator dinged, and we got out. I could hear the girls in the background, and I was so glad they were nearly three thousand miles away. Ellasbeth was silent, and I felt myself warm. “Yes?” she finally said, and my breath came in a rush. It was nice up here, and I wondered how much this had set her back.
“Do you mind if I keep Trent company while he’s checking on your cat?” I said, and Jenks snorted.
Ellasbeth sighed. “He’s standing right there, isn’t he,” she said flatly.
“Yes, but I’m not setting foot inside your apartment unless you say it’s okay. I can wait in the lobby with Jenks.” I hesitated, then added, “I’m sorry in advance if Constance tries to kill me here. We’ve got a meeting tonight, but she might get impatient.”
Trent’s steps slowed in indecision, and then we went down the corridor toward the river.
“It’s fine,” she said, but I could hear in her voice she wasn’t entirely pleased. “I know Trent won’t remember, but my cat’s name is Elouise. There’s some wine in the fridge and a prepped cheese plate I left for the cat sitter. If it’s still there, help yourself.”
“Thanks.” Okay. Now I could go in. I mean, really. “Do you want to talk to him?”
“Trent? No, but could you ask him to call me tonight after the girls go down?” she said, clearly distracted as Ray’s piping voice rose close and insistent. “Good luck with Constance.”
“Thanks,” I said, but she had already hung up. “And thank you,” I added to Trent as I handed him his phone.
His eyes showed his worry as he tucked it away. “She never would have known you were there.”
“It wasn’t that big of a deal to ask,” I said, my confidence restored. “Now I can sit on her couch and not feel as if I’m invading her space.”
Jenks landed on Trent’s shoulder. “Must be a woman thing.”
But Trent had stopped at a double-wide door. It was at the end of the hall, which meant it was a corner apartment. Lots of windows. Pricey. He punched in an eight-digit code at the door, and it unlocked with a muted beep.
“Ah, would you mind taking your shoes off?” Trent said as I went in, and I immediately slowed, appreciating the open floor plan and comparing it to the places Jenks and I had been looking at the last three months. Damn, the woman had money, because I’d never be able to afford so much view of the river and Cincinnati.
“Lights, on soft,” Trent said, and the hidden bulbs glowed faintly to make a pleasant twilight on the soft grays, whites, and teals she’d decorated with. The living room looked out on a good-size balcony, the kitchen was to the left, and bedrooms presumably to the right. There was a large TV, and I smiled at the girls’ toys carefully placed in all the lower art nooks.
The shelves above the toddler’s-reach line held art, lots of it, each strikingly different from the last, and all of it looking as if it was original.
“Nice,” Jenks said as he came back from his quick recon. “Nothing from Art Van here.”
“Out of my tax bracket,” I murmured as I put a hand to the wall, kicked off my shoes, and dropped my bag by the door.
“It was less than you might think.” Trent carefully set his shoes by mine, laces even. “She got it cheap because there were plans for a twin building that would block her view, but then she convinced her dad to buy the project and the second tower was tabled. They’re going to put in a private park instead. That was my idea, actually.”
“Very nice.” My sock-footed feet sank into the soft carpet off the small entry as I went to the shelves with their elaborately framed pictures of Lucy in the pool, Lucy and Ray on their ponies, all four of them on a blanket, eating ice cream in Eden Park, a birthday at Carew Tower. My focus blurred as I remembered my seventh birthday party at the hospital. I was probably the only one still alive apart from the nurses.
I moved to the window, guilt for interfering in Trent’s life growing heavy. Damn you, Ellasbeth. I’d say she’d done this intentionally, but it had been Trent’s idea.
Hands on my hips, I looked out at the giant Ferris wheel at the river’s edge. It was supposed to have been temporary, but it was still here, the spinning colored lights making an obnoxious display. The Turn memorial was adjacent to it with an open-air café between them. There were a few people taking advantage of the late hours to grab a coffee and snack, and I wondered if David was already down there getting people to leave. Actually, since I’d brought everything I needed, Trent and I could sit up here and wait, eating cheese and crackers until it was time to go, keeping an eye on everything and making sure that no one was setting up an ambush.