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I don’t see how life can get any better.
Eventually, I drift off into blissful sleep. Which, of course, is interrupted. My phone buzzes, and when I go to answer it in a sleep induced stupor I wind up knocking it on the floor. By the time I retrieve it, the call has already gone to voicemail.
I only have time to see that the message comes from Ryker before I get a text.
Hey! Everyone’s here, where are you? Did Charlotte catch on?
My heart skips a beat. I can’t believe I forgot! After I’d done all that work to arrange everything, too.
I hastily send off a text telling him we’re on our way. At this point, all the texting and dinging has woken Charlotte up.
“What’s up?” she asks, voice thick with sleep.
“I totally forgot we were supposed to hang with the Platinum Security crew this afternoon. We’re late.”
She sits up in bed and stretches, which is lovely to behold.
“I guess we should get going, then.”
After a quick shower, we dress for the occasion. Charlotte is going semi-casual with her summer dress with peplum skirt, so when I finagle a tie around my neck she gives me a look.
“A tie? I never see you wear a tie.”
“I just felt like it.”
Her eyes narrow. I can tell she suspects something is up. Hopefully she won’t figure it out earlier than she should.
When we arrive at Easton’s palatial estate, we find the crew gathered on an expansive patio beside a pool that makes Wyatt’s grotto look like a cheap plastic kid’s toy. Bastian does a cannonball dive into the pool, splashing Harlowe with water.
“Grow up,” she sputters, wiping her face off.
Jax and Easton rise from their spot on a porch swing and come to greet us. I whisper to Jax while Easton keeps Charlotte busy.
“Is it all set up?”
“Yeah, of course. I was starting to think you’d gotten cold feet or something.”
I check the sky. The sun has just set, but it will be an hour or so until the sky is dark enough for what I planned.
It’s going to be a long wait. I can’t believe I’m so nervous. I’ve risked my life time and time again while working for the CIA, but tonight I’m actually scared.
I can’t even taste the excellent food that Easton’s servers have set out for us. At least Charlotte has a good time, though I can tell she still knows something’s fishy.
Charlotte, in fact, has discovered she and Easton have a mutual friend. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman named Emory, who worked with Charlotte on her dance moves before the whole Aegis Order thing started.
Emory and Easton met on the set of a movie, I think, and became good friends. But this isn’t a social call. Emory has a haunted look in her eyes.
I pick up some of their conversation as I get another brew.
“...if you’re worried he might try something, then talk to Jax,” Charlotte says softly, putting a hand on Emory’s shoulder. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“I don’t want to be an alarmist,” Emory replies, her azure eyed gaze filled with anxiety. “But I’m having trouble sleeping, and sometimes I feel right on the edge of a panic attack.”
Charlotte squeezes her shoulder, and Easton motions her husband over.
“Jax, come here for a sec.”
As Emory speaks with both Easton and Jax in a quiet corner of the garden, I catch up with Charlotte.
