Page 61 of Broken Empire
Shay paused to clear her throat. Then she went on, delving into her dark story.
Kendall sidled up to me forty minutes later, when the interview was almost over. “Our phones have been ringing off the hook, and our IT guys are working like crazy to keep the website up,” she whispered. “It’s nearly crashed five times because so many people are downloading the file.”
“Good.”
“It’s trending on Twitter too. The top comment already has over two hundred thousand likes and thirty thousand retweets,” she said, lips curving into a satisfied smile. “The Schöneberg Group is toast. There’s already photos circulating of some of the people named on that list rushing to private airfields, presumably to escape the country, but their own security teams aren’t letting them through. How the mighty fall, huh?”
“Jesus. That was fucking fast.”
“Yeah. That’s the problem with a lot of these super-rich pricks. They’re so out of touch with reality that they don’t realize what a minority they are and how easily the tide can turn against them when the masses get angry.” Kendall lifted a palm. “And yes, I’m aware that I’m rich myself. But I like to think I keep a finger on the public pulse, and I try not to be an asshole about it.”
“I know.” I smiled thinly. “If you were really one ofthem,they would’ve invited you to join them.”
She arched a brow. “They invited you.”
“I know, and I’ll be paying for it for a long time.” I glanced at my watch. “Speaking of which—are there any updates on that arrest warrant?”
“The police are in the building,” Kendall replied. “They figured out you were here because of the show.”
“Makes sense. Are they coming up here?”
“My guys are stalling them on the first floor. When the show finishes, you and Shay can take the service elevator down to the back of the building. Go through the little alley there. At the end, there’s some steps that lead down to the underground parking lot. Oh, and make sure you stop by our costume department first to grab some hats and sunglasses so no one recognizes you.”
My brows furrowed. “Wait… what?”
Kendall smiled and patted my arm. “Like I said before, I owe you big-time for giving me this story. The least I can do is give you a few more hours of freedom to spend with your girlfriend. I mean, you onlyjustgot her back from those Schöneberg pricks, right?”
Before I could reply, she waved at someone else in the studio and strode over to them.
I watched the rest of The Current with my pulse racing, eyes on Shay the whole time. I knew I had to pay for my sins, but still… I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving her alone. It made my chest ache as if a giant hand had reached inside my ribcage and tightened in a fist around my heart.
Kendall was right—I needed to take whatever time I could get with Shay right now and cherish it, because it might be the last chance I got for a very long time.
The show finally ended, and Shay stepped away from the desk amid a fanfare of congratulations from the studio staff. She made her way over to me and melted into my embrace, shoulders sagging with relief. “Thank god that’s over,” she muttered against my chest. “I was so nervous the whole time. I kept thinking those Schöneberg assholes were going to send a sniper in here to take me out on live TV.”
“You did well. You barely looked nervous at all.”
Shay drew back and gave me a weak smile. “Well, I’m an actress. Comes in handy sometimes.”
Across the room, I could see Kendall looking at us and tapping her watch. I nodded at her and turned my attention back to Shay. “We have to go.”
“Why?”
“The police are here to arrest me. My Hellfire tape was released before the show went to air.”
Shay’s eyes were like saucers. “Oh my god. It’s already happening?”
“Yes, but Kendall is buying us some time. We need to go now, though.”
Ten minutes later, we’d safely made it to my car in the parking lot beneath the HBC building. I slowly pulled through the north-facing exit and into the narrow one-way alley behind the building. “Anyone behind us?” I asked Shay, keeping my eyes on the street.
Shay craned her neck to look out the window. “There’s a few guys, but I think they’re just random HBC staff taking a smoke break. I don’t see any cops.”
“Good. Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know. How long do you think we have?”
“Maybe half a day, depending on where we go,” I said. “They can’t track my phone now that I’ve thrown it away, but they’ll track down this car eventually.”
