Page 42 of Watch Over Me

Sadly, no one asked for his opinion, and the pushy guy headed for the door.

Now or never, Eddie figured, and quickly leaned forward on one knee to grab the tablet from the little shelf. Returning to his seat was harder, but the adrenaline must have given him some additional boost, because he hoisted himself up onto the couch and slipped the tablet under his sweater, tucking it into the back of his jeans. If they decided to pat him down again, he'd be screwed, but they'd done it twice already, so he hoped they wouldn't try the third time.

The door opened, and in walked a man with a mask covering his face. He greeted the pushy guy with a nod, then paused at the sight of Eddie.

"It's you," he said, followed quickly by, "Fuck, I can't believe this."

Eddie recognized that voice. It was Lavon.

"What's wrong?" the pushy guy demanded, looking between the two of them. "We got who you wanted. That's Bailey's little brother."

Eddie tensed. It wasn't about the party at all, then. As he suspected, he was here as leverage for Robert.

"Yeah, but he's also—" Lavon paused, probably catching himself in time. "Fuck, never mind, I'll tell you later."

"Do we know each other?" Eddie decided to play dumb. "Also, what do you want from me? No one is telling me anything."

"You don't have to know anything," spat out the pushy guy.

"We've met, but it's inconsequential, really," Lavon said in a lower voice than before, probably trying to change it so Eddie wouldn't recognize him. "I assure you, it's nothing personal."

"Feels personal if it's about my family."

"Well, yes," Lavon admitted. "I suppose it's personal to you. But to us, it's just business."

"What kind of business?"

Lavon chuckled humorlessly. "You're not here to ask questions but to help us convince your brother to work with us."

"You don't know my brother very well, then," Eddie said, even as an icy rush of fear ran through his body. He'd pushed back the reality of the situation for long enough, but the armor was beginning to crack.

"We'll see." With that, Lavon seemed to dismiss him, addressing the other man instead. "The less he hears, the better, so let's talk in the other room, and then I'll call his brother."

The guy grunted in agreement before coming up to Eddieand gripping his shoulder.

"Do not try anything. I don't mind using my gun, and my friend right outside that door doesn't, either. Remember that."

As Eddie watched them leave, he could feel panic rising inside him, threatening to overwhelm him. He wished he could curl into a ball and wait for a miracle.

He knew better, though.

He needed to get himself to safety and call for help.

And while he couldn't leave the room he was in, he could make it a safer place for himself, once he was able to access the security protocols.

But first, he had to get out of these zip ties.

He pulled the tablet out and dropped it on the couch next to him before slowly standing and moving to a place where he'd have a bit more space.

You've got this, he told himself.You've practiced this with Kalei a bunch of times.

Taking a deep breath, Eddie leaned forward, then pushed his arms down hard, snapping the ties off. He hissed at the pain in his wrists, but he didn't have time to waste. He grabbed the tablet, which had, to his astonishment, a digital note with a security code right there on the screen.

A staged apartment, he reminded himself. The tablet was probably there for an agent to easily access it during a presentation for a potential client.

Whoever it was meant for, though, today it saved Eddie some precious time.

He quickly accessed the security app and pulled up the settings. With the bedroom already set up as a panic room of the apartment in case of an emergency, it only took a few clicks to engage the lockdown protocol.

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