I just shrug and keep walking. The bathroom is mostly empty, luxurious marble and soft lighting, the kindof place that smells like expensive soap instead of public toilets. Only one man stands at the sinks washing his hands.
Kit lets go of my hand and looks up at me. “You really just gonna stand there?”
I huff. “Be quick.”
He disappears into a stall. Since this pretentious place doesn’t have urinals, probably too uncivilised for rich men, I step into the stall beside his so I can still keep an eye on the entrance and hear him. I don’t like not being able to see him, even here, even now.
I soon hear his stall door open again. “You good, Kit?” I call out, voice low.
“Yeah,” he answers, a soft laugh threading through the word.
I take my time… zip up, buckle my belt, tuck my shirt back in, and straighten my jacket. When I finally step out of the stall, the words are already forming on my tongue. “Are you…”
The bathroom isempty… the taps are still running, water splashing loudly into the marble sink.No Kit. No movement. Just the steady hiss of water and the sudden, deafening thud of my own pulse in my ears.
“Kit?”Silence.
I stride over and slam the taps off. The abrupt quiet feels worse. “Christopher?”I say again, sharper now.Nothing.
Something cold and ugly settles deep in my gut. I swear to God, if this is some stupid fucking prank…
I shove out of the bathroom and into the hallway. Selina and Armen are still exactly where I left them.
Armen looks past me, frowning. “Where’s Kit?”
My jaw locks. “I was hopingyou’dknow.”
Selina straightens instantly, all casualness gone. “Wait… what?”
“He didn’t come out?” My voice is dangerously low.
Armen shakes his head once. “No.”
I drag a hand through my hair, fingers shaking as my breathing turns rough and uneven. He was smiling, laughing, finally having a good fucking day. So, where the hell would he go? The question claws at me, vicious and unrelenting. My mind races through every worst-case scenario I’ve spent years trying to protect him from… and then it lands on the one that hurts the most.Would he have run?Would he rather take his chances out there,alone, than spend one more day under my roof? The thought hits like a blade between the ribs.
“Armen. Double-check the men’s bathroom.Now.”
Armen nods and jogs off without a word.
Selina is paler now too, her usual calm cracking. She flicks her eyes over my shoulder and says, “Boss, watch out…”
I feel a hand brush against the back of my trousers. My eyebrows snap up as I turn. A man is pushing a wheelchair past us. In the chair sits an older man, head lolled to the side, clearly dozing under a blanket. The pusher quickly pulls his hand back and offers an awkward smile.
“Sorry about that. He’s had a long morning.”
He laughs, the sound forced and uneasy, then keeps moving, wheeling the chair down the hall and out of sight.
The moment they’re gone, the unease in my gut sharpens into something colder. I start pacing. The panic is rising fast now, sharp and ugly in my chest.
“Do you think… he’d… run away?”
Selina lets out a disbelieving, nervous laugh. “What?No. Are you kidding me?” Her face pale. “Boss…”
“Check the ladies’ room,” I say, voice low and tight, cutting her off.
Selina nods quickly and hurries down the hall without another word.
My hand is shaking as I yank my phone out and dial Sam. He picks up on the second ring, voice bright and easy. “Hey, boss man. You good?”
