He opens the door and we enter the lounge. The place doesn’t look busy at all. “Let’s get a drink and loosen you up.” He motions towards the bar and I take a seat. Mark slides in next to me, not sitting down. I can feel his body heat and try my best to lean away from him. The smell of his cologne is overpowering.
“What can I get you two?” the pretty bartender asks us.
“I’ll have a whiskey; she’ll take a merlot,” he tells her, ordering for me.
Gross. I hate wine. I don’t correct him or change my order. I wasn’t planning on drinking anyway.
“Maybe the wine will do more than loosen you up,” Mark whispers against my ear, making me jump. His finger trails down my arm and I freeze.
I need to get out of here. Now. For some reason I’m starting to think there isn’t an event here tonight at all from the looks of this place. There are people here, but not many. A chill runs up my spine and a sense of dread bears down on me. This isn’t right, and Dylan told me to always trust my instincts. If it seems like something is off, it likely is.
“Emily?”
I turn my head at the sound of my name being called to see William Black standing there smiling at me. I slide off my seat, and relief floods me that I have a reason to get away from Mark for a moment. I have to get myself together before I give him a piece of my mind. He should be thankful I’m the one who’s going to give it to him and not Dylan.
“Will! It’s been too long.” I take a step towards him and he gives me a quick hug. Dylan built a home for Will and his wife years ago. They’re both so sweet. They wanted something bigger after their grown children started having kids of their own and their home was overrun with grandbabies. Dylan and I helped them come up with the perfect design and brought that vision to fruition. It makes me miss working beside him like I used to. Or maybe it’s that I just miss being beside him.
“It really has been. How are the boys?” His eyes soften.
“Started kindergarten.” I still get a little choked up thinking about it.
“They grow fast, don’t they?” He shakes his head.
I nod. “How’s Amanda?” Will glances down at his watch. “I’m meeting her for dinner in a few. I stopped in for a drink while I waited for her. She’s been out shopping with our oldest daughter.”
“Senator Black.” Mark reaches his hand out towards Will, interrupting us. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Will’s eyes go back and forth between us before he takes Mark’s hand. “I’m Mark Starns.” Mark says it as if Will should know who he is. All Will does is give him a hard look and I almost snort.
I didn’t know there was another husband out there just as crazy about his wife as my own until I met Amanda and Will. Their house was actually the one that really landed Dylan on the map and put him in such high demand. They host a lot of parties and are constantly giving Dylan’s name out.
We used to have a couples’ dinner from time to time with them, but it can be hard with the boys and their busy schedule.
“Where’s Dylan?” Will asks. His eyes come back to mine, dismissing Mark.
“She’s here with me tonight,” Mark cuts in. He grips my arm, taking me by surprise. Will takes a step towards us, looking pissed.
“Will, if you’ll excuse us for a moment please.” I can tell Will doesn’t want to, but I also don’t want Will to get himself in any trouble. He’s a freaking senator and doesn’t need to be in some fight in the middle of the lounge. I want to have a word of my own with Mark.
Will gives me a nod and I know not to leave his line of sight or he’ll follow us. Not that I want to be alone with Mark to begin with. I just want a private word with him. Mark starts to pull me with him towards the other side of the bar and I have to fight myself to keep from making a scene. I yank my arm from his hold, and he stops when he gets me backed into a corner.
I see Will pull his cell phone out of his pocket and I know without a doubt who he’s calling. This is going to get bad. I need to put an end to this, but before I can, I realize my time has just run out.
Chapter 9
Dylan
I’m sitting in my truck trying to figure out why Emily’s tracker just suddenly stopped working. One second we’re texting and I can see exactly where she’s at, and then the next, it’s gone.