Norah’s throat worked. “Yes,” she whispered.
Another lie.
“Excellent.” Morris’s smile returned, polished as ever as she handed everyone glasses of champagne. “You did well tonight, Norah. Truly. I’m glad Richard brought you into the fold.”
Brought you into the fold. The phrase scraped across her, slicing her into ribbons.
Sidarov inclined her head, already half-turned back to the window with a champagne flute between her fingers. “We will speak again soon, Ms. Winslow. There are many places your talents can be put to use. Tonight is a very important night for us, after all.”
Norah felt the hair on her neck rise at Sidarov’s ominous pronouncement.
“To the future,” Senator Morris said as she raised a glass in a toast.
“Hear, hear!” said Richard cheerfully.
It took everything Norah had not to immediately lose the swallow of champagne she forced down.
Oh God, what have I done?
CHAPTER 23
MARSHALL
The security guardsescorted him back toward the service corridor. They still seemed shaken from the earlier scuffle, but they didn’t need to lay a hand on him this time. He walked. Not because they’d won, not because Hale had intimidated him, but because Norah’s voice had landed like a blade between his ribs.
He let the security guys herd him. A thousand options for disarming them again presented themselves but he ignored them. What good would it do?
“Keep it moving, pal.”
He clenched his jaw, resisting the urge to show the two-bit guard why they weren’t pals.
He kept his gaze straight ahead. He didn’t look toward the ballroom. By the time they pushed through the service door and into the cooler, quieter back corridor, his palms ached from how hard he was clenching his fists.
“Garage elevator’s this way,” one of the guards said. “We’ll see you to your vehicle. You’re not welcome to return tonight, Mr. Kincaid.”
Marshall didn’t answer. Kincaid. Right. The alias fit about as well as the tux. At the moment, he didn’t feel like either man.
The freight elevator rattled on the way down, fluorescent light buzzing overhead. One guard watched him like he expected him to explode. The other shifted his weight from foot to foot, hand hovering near the concealed weapon in his waistband.
“You going to make this easy?” the first one asked.
Marshall slowly rolled his shoulders once. “If I wasn’t, you’d already know.”
He let the heavy door shut behind him and stepped into the cool parking garage air. He descended the ramp, ignoring the way the guards hovered, unsure if they should keep following. They didn’t matter.
What mattered was the look on Norah’s face.
He reached the armored SUV, unlocked it, and slid into the driver’s seat. The door thunked shut with a dull finality. For a second, he just sat there, hands braced on the steering wheel, forehead dropping to rest against the leather-wrapped rim.
His comm crackled in his ear, like it had on and off for the last several minutes. Stephen had been talking to him the entire way through the hotel, and he was nearing the edge of panic.
“Marshall, talk to me. What happened? Are you out? Are you moving? Marshall?”
“Not right now.” His voice came out rough—somewhere between a growl and a groan.
“Are you okay?”
He almost laughed. The sound would’ve come out wrong.
