I drove to The Hamilton Group and went up to Parker’s office.
“Well, this is a nice surprise.” Parker grinned as I stepped inside.
“Do you have time for lunch?” I asked.
“I always have time for you, sweetheart.” He stood from his chair and grabbed his suit coat. “I have to be in court in an hour, though.”
“That’s okay. We can hit up the deli across the street.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Parker
“Case dismissed.” The judge banged his gavel. “Mr. Grant, you’re free to go.”
I turned and shook my client’s hand.
“Thank you, Parker. I mean it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Russ.”
After leaving the courtroom, I headed to the restroom. As I washed my hands, a man walked into the bathroom and stood next to me. Then everything went black.
I slowly opened my eyes. My head throbbed. I tried to move, but my wrists were bound tight behind the back of a metal chair, the restraints burning into my skin. Same with my ankles. What the hell happened? How did I get here? The last thing I remembered was being in the bathroom, and the man who walked in. Then nothing.
Dizziness swept over me as I tried to focus. Concrete walls. No windows. A single steel door across the room.
“You’re awake.” A man’s voice from behind startled me.
“Who are you? What do you want?” I asked.
“You can blame her for this,” he said, his hands tucked tightly into his pants pockets as he circled me. “At first, I wasn’t sure. She’s good at disguising herself. It was two things that gave her away. The way she moved, like she was already mapping the gallery before she stepped inside it. And the dimple in her right cheek when she smiles. She’s had it ever since she was born. So, I had her followed.
“I have no idea who or what you’re talking about,” I said.
“Your girlfriend.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend. This is all a mistake. You have me confused with someone else,” I shouted.
“Do I, Mr. Hamilton? You knew exactly what and who I was talking about the moment I said ‘her.’ You can pretend you don’t know who she is,” he said, smoothing the cuff of his suitcoat like this was nothing more than a business discussion. “But I don’t make mistakes. After she left my gallery, I had my men follow her. Your lunch at the deli looked delicious. Did you enjoy your sandwich, Mr. Hamilton? Here’s the thing. Do you know what really caught my attention?”
I didn’t answer him, and he didn’t seem to care.
She looked—” he paused for a moment. “Content. That surprised me because that’s not how she’s supposed to look.”
“You do not get to decide that!” I shouted.
He waved his hand, and one of his henchmen punched me in the face.
“I already did. She was never meant for normalcy. She was efficient, focused, and uncompromising. She understood what needed to be done, and she did it. And now? All I saw today was happiness. You did that, and you will pay for altering my creation.”
“You failed!” I shouted and received another punch. My head hung low from the pain.
Paige
It was eight o’clock in the evening, and Parker wasn’t home yet. As I was cooking dinner, I heard a knock at the door. It was Roman.
“Hey,” I said, opening the door.