I felt Leo’s hand firmly on my lower back as we walked the empty hallway to his room. I watched in slow motion as he opened the door to a spacious suite with a working fireplace and full bar. He sat me down on a couch and brought over a Gatorade. It still felt like a strobe light was spinning.
He placed the bottle in my hand. “Drink this, you’ll feel better.”
“Thank you. But I should get back ... I have an early start tomorrow.”
He turned to look at me. “Sam. We’re the same. We get each other. I know you feel it too.”
Before I could respond, his hands cupped both sides of my face and I felt his mouth on my mouth.
I sat very still, willing myself to react. The wordsI shouldn’t be herekept repeating in my head.
He pulled back slightly, the wetness from his mouth turning into hot breath on my cheek. “Your husband was a real schmuck to let you go,” he whispered.
His flippancy hit like a cold plunge. An electric shock pulsed across my brain as my whole body tensed.
I’d shared so much of my personal experience leaving Ben. There was no way Leo could have forgotten how emotionally devastating it had been. I had an overpowering desire to come to Ben’s defense. Instead, I pulled my bag from the corner of the couch and tried to catch my breath.
“I have to go.”
He looked confused. “I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to.”
He went and stood in front of the door. “Do you even know where you’re going?”
I nodded and squeezed past him, fumbling with the door handle. I felt myself begin to cry as soon as I got in the elevator.
“Are the shuttles still running?” I asked the concierge, slowly articulating each word.
He pointed outside. “There’s the last one. You know which building you’re in?”
“Building B.”
“I’d hurry.”
I walked as fast as I could without tripping. I just needed to get back to my room, change, and find Charlie.
The curtains were wide open when I woke up, and I was blinded by the sun’s reflection against the wet, white snow. For a second, I forgot where I was.
I opened a blurry eye, sensorily disoriented. My leg was asleep. My throat was so dry I could barely swallow.
My hearing came back first. There was a dull vibration coming from the rug. I leaned over and saw the contents of my bag dumped on the floor next to the bed.
I sat up and awkwardly massaged my calf to get the blood flowing.
The rug buzzed again.
I was still in the swimsuit.
I rolled myself off the bed, nausea hitting immediately. I found my phone under my makeup bag. I had twenty-seven text messages and eleven missed calls, all from Elinor except for one from Leo.
I stared at the screen, wishing my brain was playing tricks on me. Another text message.
I unlocked my phone, an immediate rush of panic setting in as I scrolled up and read Elinor’s messages, which went from bad to worse, ending with a threat I knew she would relish making good on.
Get back to me within the next five minutes or you’re off the investigation.
She picked up on the first ring. “Meet me in the conference room on the third floor in fifteen minutes.”
