Don't Go There (Awkward Love 5)

“I’ve seen it. This is my room, remember?” I laugh. “Make yourself at home,” I add. “Have as many soaks as you like.”

“I will, but I figured it made sense to go and see Darcy and Lily first.”

“That would make a lot of sense,” I agree, walking over to her. “If there was any chance of you actually leaving this room.”

“What do you mean?” she asks, frowning at me.

“I mean exactly that.” I shrug. “It’s too much of a risk having you walk down the hallway for fresh towels, let alone go over there.”

“But—”

I shake my head and put my finger against her mouth, pressing it against her lips. Her soft, plump lips...I clear my throat as she narrows her eyes at me.

“I’m doing this alone,” I warn her. “If you so much as poke your head outside of this room—”

“Fine, I get it,” she grumbles. “What am I supposed to do, then?” she asks. “Twiddle my thumbs? Crochet you a hat?”

“You crochet?” I laugh at her reaction. “Just relax,” I say, shaking my head. “Have a bath. Take a nap. Whatever. I’ll be back soon. Okay?”

I grab my phone and walk out before she can answer, closing the door behind me. When I’m far enough away from the room, I call Alberto. I’m nervous to speak to him, because there’s been no contact over the last few days at all. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but he has to be wondering where I am, so why hasn’t he called?

Unless he knows something is up.

My jaw clenches. That scares the hell out of me for many reasons. My only hope is that he somehow fucks himself over, but I know that’s not going to happen. He’s too smart for that. Which means, pretty much any way you look at this, I’m shit out of luck.

“Frederick,” he says when he answers. “How lovely of you to reach out.” I tense as his usual mocking tone floats through the phone speaker. “I remember there was a time when you used to work for me.”

“I’m sorry, I know I haven’t been around much.” I mutter.

God, I’m tense.

I flex my fingers, trying to get my blood flowing so I can think straight. The irony is, he doesn’t even realize he’ll be saying that for real next week. Or maybe he does realize it.

“So, do you have an explanation, or do I have to guess?”

“I was helping Julian with some last-minute wedding plans,” I say, hoping he doesn’t ask me specifically what I was helping with. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“I don’t mind at all. Next time, though, I’d appreciate you clearing it with me first.”

He’s annoyed. I can tell that, because he’s the master at hiding his emotions. Any trace of irritation means he’s really angry. If he believed I was helping out with wedding stuff, he’d be fine with me not asking his permission.

He definitely knows something.

I’m just not sure what he knows, or how he knows it. What worries me is if he feels threatened, by me or anyone else, he won’t hesitate to take care of the problem. I’d seen it so many times.

“You’re right,” I apologize. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Tell me,” he says, after a moment. “What do you know about Julian’s ex-girlfriend? Lily, I think her name is? Should I be concerned about her?”

“Lily?” I repeat, trying my best to keep my voice neutral. “As far as I know, she and Julian haven’t been in contact in years. Why?”

“No reason. Thank you, Frederick.”

The call cuts out before I can ask any other questions. Not that I could without him being suspicious. I stare at the phone, my heart racing. I’m trying my best to stay calm, but I can’t get my mind to shut off. One thing I am looking forward to is after next week, Alberto won’t be my problem. The only thing is, I have no idea that means for me. If I go back to my old life, or any life that can easily be traced, I’ll end up with a target on my back. The only way around that is to go into witness protection. Unless he kills me first.

Maybe Katie is right. I need to speak to Julian.

If I can convince him to talk to Lily, there’s a chance she’ll go quietly. With her out of the picture, I can put everything into at least trying to bring Alberto down.

I knock on Julian’s door, which is only a few rooms down from mine. There’s no answer, so I call him and leave him a message to call me as soon as he can. There’s no point speaking to Lily until I speak to him, because all I’m going to hear is how badly she needs to talk to Julian. I just need to wait and hope like hell he gets back to me soon.