“Laurel,” I said. It was more proof of how badly this girl disrupted my thoughts. I’d used her first name twice now without her approval.
She rolled over, pushed her hair back out of her face, and blinked her sleepy eyes at me. Abruptly, she bolted upright, suddenly aware of her surroundings. Her expression filled with fear.
“No, it’s okay. Nothing’s wrong.” I kept my tone calm and reassuring. “My boss is hoping you’re willing to look at some more photos.” I fully expected her to tell me no, to say she was too tired.
Instead, she nodded.
She rolled off the mattress, rose slowly to her feet, and gave me a resigned look. Even exhausted, she refused to be beaten. Refused to let that asshole win.
And that? It was something I understood. It made respect flare inside me.
6
LAUREL
I followedJason into the kitchen and sat at the table where a laptop had been set up. He showed me how to start and pause the slideshow that displayed the photos, one at a time. After a while, the faces that flashed on screen began to take on a similar look. They had the same amount of contempt in their eyes, and I found it difficult to stomach.
When the screen went black, he told me I was done.
“Are there more?” I asked.
“More?”
“Photos for me to look at?”
He frowned. “Yeah, but you’re allowed to get some rest.”
I was tired, but it was doubtful I’d be able to fall back asleep, and I was determined to be useful in the meantime. “I’m fine. Let me do another one.”
He pressed his lips together and typed into the search fields, queuing up a new slideshow.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed before he stood beside my chair, leaned over, and hit the spacebar to pause the video. “I’m sure someone asked already, but do you need me to call anyone to let them know you’re all right?” Since the FBI had taken my phone. “Family? Friends? A boyfriend, girlfriend?”
“You want to know if I have a boyfriend?” It just came out, and I struggled to hide the cringe.
His face went blank. “I want to know if someone’s going to file a missing person’s report on you if you don’t check in.”
“Oh.” I wanted to slide under the table and disappear. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend. All of my friends are in the CBC with me.” I found it difficult, if not impossible, to have a life outside of the theater.
His face remained unchanged. “Family?”
“My dad died when I was little, and I lost Mom to cancer about six years ago.” I wasn’t sure why I kept talking. “I have a sister, but we haven’t talked in a while.” Shame crept into my voice. “Not in years.”
I didn’t want to talk about that. I wanted to focus on finding Seth’s picture. If I could do that, they could catch him, and everything would go back to normal. Hopefully before I lost my hard-won principal spot. I pulled my focus away from him, put it back on the screen, and pressed the spacebar.
It only made it two more slides before he paused it again. My annoyed gaze flicked up to Jason, who had one hand on the back of my chair as he leaned over me.
“You should take a break.” It sounded more like a command than a suggestion. “You look tired.”
He probably hadn’t meant to be rude, but my face heated with irritation. Iwastired, but I didn’t like him pointing that out. I arched an eyebrow and straightened in my seat. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. You look like you’re going to fall asleep any minute, and you could blow right past his picture. You’re worthless right now.” He drew in a sharp breath and winced like he wished he hadn’t phrased it like that. “I didn’t mean?—”
I gave him the most searing glare I possessed. “I want this over with,” I snapped. “I want to get back to my life.”
His chocolate-brown eyes softened with something like understanding, and I was completely unprepared for that. God, when he wanted to, he looked so handsome I had to remindmyself to keep breathing. He loomed over me, our faces only a few inches apart, and it felt dangerous having him this close.
It’s just exhaustion,I told myself.
