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“No shit,” I say with a wink at the DJ.
“What if she threw another pop-up concert in Washington Square Park?” Evie asks, excited now, looking between the three of us. “Do you think he’d go?”
“That’s a bit of a long shot,” I say. “But maybe.”
“He wouldn’t even need to be there himself. You met a bunch of his friends at that club, remember? You’d recognize them again. Even if he doesn’t go, you could nail down one of them.”
Holy shit, she’s right. My heart swells looking at this wickedly smart, beautiful girl.
Unfortunately, Kara voices a concern. She braces her teeth, saying, “Look, I know I said anything, and I’d love to help you out, but I got arrested the last time I did that.”
“Yeah,” Dalton agrees. “They didn’t press charges but they said they would if she ever did it again.”
“I’d pay you a lot of money,” I say. “And for all your lawyers. I’m a rich asshole, remember? I have the best in the damn city, and that’s saying something.”
Kara and Dalton exchange a look. Dalton shakes his head slightly, but Kara shrugs. “I did get a lot of publicity for that,” she says.
“But you can’t be in court with this cruise ship deal,” he says. “They’ll want you to stay in the city.”
All three of them look at me.
An ultimatum. A decision.
I answer without hesitation. “We can push the launch back.”
“Nick,” Evie says. “You know you’re losing money every day that ship sits there. Your shares are going to plummet if you push it back again.”
Oh I know. I know that better than anyone. But priorities change. People change.
“Fuck the cruise ship,” I say. “I need to find my brother.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
EVIE
To say that Kara’s pop-up concert in Washington Square Park is a success is a massive understatement.
She’d posted on her social media platforms in a code that apparently made sense to those “in the know”. I have to take her word for it. I’m definitely not young or hip enough to decipher it. But that doesn’t matter because those who are, do. And hopefully somewhere in this mob of teenagers and college students is Nick’s little brother.
Nick and I are standing with Mickey just beneath the iconic arch. Initially it was a good place to keep an eye on everything, but now the crowd has gotten so large that it’s impossible to make out individual faces, and more people are pouring onto the green every minute.
Once Kara starts playing, we’ll be racing against the clock to find Jack before the cops break it all up.
Nick had picked Mickey and me up from my apartment in his private car. He looked like he hadn’t slept, probably out all night again looking for Jack just in case the plan doesn’t work.
He’s wearing a suit, which was expected, and a backpack, which was not. I’d asked him about it, but he’d only shrugged and winked. As curious as I am, I could tell that he was going to be stubborn. Whatever it is will have to wait until he’s ready to share it with me.
There’s no time to wonder about the backpack though. What had started as a trickle is now a flood, everyone desperate to be in the park by the time the clock strikes 5:53 (which is apparently a nod to Kara’s next album).
“I think we should split up,” Mickey says, craning her neck and trying to stand on tiptoes to see over the people.
“Good idea,” I say. I try to sound positive, but I’m starting to get worried. The park is huge. Even if Jack or his friends are here, we might never find them in time.
I glance at Nick. His jaw is clenched. He’s obviously thinking the same thing.
“Hey,” I say, putting a hand on his arm. “It’ll be okay. We’ll find him.”
Nick opens his mouth to respond, but before he can, a familiar voice cuts him off.
