Whitley barreled after her. “I could go for some fucking hash browns. I’ve never met a potato that I didn’t like.”
Court grinned down at me. Not at all concerned that we’d just had to escape a police raid. “Fuck, I want a waffle.”
I shook my head at him as he ambled drunkenly into Waffles and joined Katherine and Whitley at a red plastic booth against the wall.
“Thank you,” I finally said to Camden now that I was coming down…a little at least from what had just happened.
He shrugged. “Don’t want any of my people to get caught there.”
“What about Fiona?” I asked, realizing for the first time he’d just abandoned her.
His eyes flicked to Katherine. “Like I said, my people.”
Then he walked inside. A small smile touched my features. Maybe Katherine wouldn’t realize what had happened until later, but I bet she would put it all together. That he’d immediately ditched Fiona. That Katherine was his people. His to take care of.
I wished that I could join them. Sit down in that seedy little diner and overdose on carbs with my friends after escaping something horrible. But my job wasn’t over. Other people needed to know about this.
I sighed and then pulled my phone out. I paused for a heartbeat, waiting for that text message from Sam. The one he’d promised hours ago. The one he’d never delivered.
It wasn’t there.
I ground my teeth as I pulled up English’s number and dialed. It’d be super fucking early in London. Like, six in the morning. But she was used to living weird hours as a celebrity publicist. She didn’t sleep like a normal human being. It wasn’t out of the norm to see her doing tai chi in the living room at four in the morning. Her brain was just wired differently.
The phone rang once and then went straight to voicemail. What the hell? I tried again. Same thing. Her phone must have been off. It was the only explanation. Except that English never turned her phone off. It was her job to have her phone on at all times. You never knew when you’d have to be ready to deal with something.
I glared at my phone. I needed English. She’d know what to do and how to handle this. But she wasn’t answering.
Then another thought hit me, and my stomach turned. What if Sam showed up at the party? Admittedly, it’d be weird for him to do so without first calling me. But maybe he’d forgotten about the invitation.
I knew that I was grasping at straws for reasons to call him. To find out what the fuck he was doing. But I didn’t want him to show up there. And if he was already in a cab, as unlikely as that seemed, then I’d rather him just head here.
Maybe I was rationalizing, but I sighed heavily and called him anyway. Damn the consequences.
34
Sam
I tapped my index finger against the side of my phone as the taxi veered precipitously through traffic. I was still trying to craft the text to Lark. What the hell should I say? It was one in the morning. She’d left hours ago. I should just say fuck it. It’d be easier to explain to her when I saw her. But still, I stared at my screen, wondering how not to sound like a total dick.
Then to my surprise, my phone started buzzing in my hand.
I answered on the first ring, “Lark?”
“Sam”—she sounded all business—“where are you?”
“I’m sorry about before.”
“I don’t care about that right now. Where are you? Are you still in Brooklyn?”
I frowned. She sounded super pissed. Understandably so after I’d sent her away and then disappeared. I just needed to get through to her.
“No, I’m almost to the poker party. I know that this wasn’t how I wanted our night to go.”
She sighed. “The party is already over. It was busted up by a police raid.”
“What?” I gasped. The cab driver looked back at me through the rearview mirror with disdain. “Are you okay? Is everyone okay? Did anyone get arrested? Do you need my help? Should I call someone?”
“We got out. Camden got a tip from a detective or someone he knew. So, we’re at a local diner called Waffles, waiting it out. You shouldn’t go to the party.”
“Right. Of course. I’m glad you’re safe and you got out. I’ll come to you. The place is Waffles?”
“Yes.”
I pulled the phone away for a moment. “Change of plans. Can you take me to Waffles? I think it’s nearby.”
“Sure thing,” the cab driver said, taking the next left.
“Sam, are you still there?” Lark asked.
“Yes. Sorry. Giving the cab driver directions. I’ll be there in ten, maybe fifteen minutes, depending on traffic.”
“Okay,” she said slowly.
“Lark…I’m sorry.”
“I can’t right now,” she said softly. “I’ll see you when you show up.”
“Okay.”
Then she hung up.
I threw my head back into the headrest with a muttered curse. Oh, she was pissed off. A hundred percent. This was going to suck so bad.
It was a solid fifteen before the cab came to a stop in front of Waffles. It looked like some kind of seedy diner, which probably meant that it had the best food in the world. On any other night, I would have loved to discover this kind of place with Lark. A new adventure and good food. This wasn’t how I wanted to find it. Not tonight.
I paid the cab driver and asked him to wait.
“I’ll have to charge you for the wait time.”
I waved my hand at him. I didn’t care. There was only one thing that mattered right now, and her shock of red hair appeared at the entrance to the diner.
“Hey,” I said with a worried smile. “How are you doing?”
She shrugged. “Everyone is a little shaken up and hiding it with greasy food.”
“I think…we need to talk,” I said.
But then she straightened, and there was something different about her. This was business Lark. The woman who ran a campaign without breaking a sweat. I could see it come over her. And I didn’t like what that meant for us.
“What I need is for you to take Court home,” she said.
“Uh…okay.”
“He’s drunk and eating waffles. And if his mother finds out what happened here tonight…” She trailed off with a shake of her head. “Fuck, what could have happened.”
“Yeah. If you all had been arrested.”
“I really don’t want to think about it,” she said with a shudder. “I just want this nightmare to be over.”
And when she finally met my stare, I didn’t know if she meant this night or us.
“I can deal with Court. That’s no problem. But Lark, what happened tonight…it’s not what you think.”
She arched an eyebrow as if she didn’t believe me. “Please don’t. Not tonight.”
“Come on,” I said, reaching for her.
But she pulled back.
“No, You got to choose when we talked after Claire left. And…and I get to choose now that she’s home. Which is not right now. I waited at the party with radio silence from you for hours, and I just escaped a police raid at what was an illegal, underground gambling ring. I’m in no mood.”