“Who are you, Triple A? Try again.” He signaled to get on the Thruway.
We drove for a bit before I figured out an answer.
“I don’t know. Maybe you’ll need someone. You just looked like you shouldn’t be alone.”
Chapter Sixteen
Bailey
Shouldn’t be alone? I’m always alone.
Why the hell had Keston come with me? I kept my eyes on the taillights in front of me, my hands gripping the steering wheel. The roads up here were pitch-black, and my concentration was on the unfamiliar highway.
“I said I’d be fine.”
“You say a lot of things, half of which I don’t pay attention to.”
“Asshole,” I grumbled, and he chuckled.
“That’s me. Come on. Tell me what happened. Who called you?”
I wasn’t about to open the Pandora’s box of my messy family life. “A client.”
“You leave a party two hours away on a Saturday night for a client? Are you kidding me?”
Technically, my sister was a client—a nonpaying one, but still. “Yes. I’m a very dedicated attorney, what can I say?”
“What’s the problem?”
“Sorry. Can’t say. Attorney-client privilege.” I increased my speed, flirting with eighty on the Thruway, then slowed toseventy-five. Much as I needed to get to the city in a hurry, getting a speeding ticket wouldn’t help me or Belinda.
“I’m not digging for details. But it must be serious. He get arrested for murder? Drugs?”
I pressed my lips together. “Can you please stop?”
He shut his mouth until we reached the city and I drove to the Kensington area of Brooklyn. “Where the hell are we?” he asked, craning his neck.
My lip curled. “Welcome to the real Brooklyn.” About a block from Belinda’s apartment building, I found a parking spot and got out of the car. “Stay in the car. I’ll be back soon.”
Of course Keston didn’t listen and trailed after me. The beginning of a headache throbbed behind my eyes, and before I entered her building, I stopped and poked a finger in his chest.
“Say nothing. Please. This is a delicate situation.”
His eyes grew wide. “Does this have something to do with the call you got that time we were interrupted?”
My stomach sank, but I didn’t have the time for a long, involved story. “Yeah. Belinda. She’s had a very up-and-down relationship with her ex-boyfriend, which included orders of protection.”
“Sounds like a real prick.”
“He is. Last week she asked me to withdraw the restraining order, which—against my better judgment—I did. She claimed Jonas had changed, but I had my doubts.” I pinched my eyes shut for a second. “Tonight she called, semi-hysterical about something. She couldn’t get out what the problem was but said she needed to see me. I just know it wasn’t good. So here I am. Now I have to find out what’s wrong.”
I didn’t wait for Keston to respond, using my key to open the entrance, then waiting for the elevator. Surprised but relievedthat Keston seemed to accept my explanation, I danced on my toes with impatience on the way up and burst through the doors when they opened, racing to Belinda’s apartment. I knocked, my heart pounding. It wasn’t Belinda but Jonas who answered, bare-chested and in a pair of sweats that left nothing to the imagination.
He smirked at me. “Bailey, buddy. Long time no see.”
Keston stood behind me, silent, but at the moment, I was grateful for his presence.
“Where’s Lindee?” I trembled, almost afraid of the answer. “She called me.”
