Page 103 of The Billionaires' Gamble
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I fish it out.
Alex: Vic says they’re letting people in to clean out refrigerators and pack a bag.
Well, that’s better than nothing, I guess.
Alex: Destiny is heading there now.
One less thing to worry about.
I run a hand along my jaw. Not knowing where Alex is right this minute feels wrong. I was wrong. Honestly, if I could go back in time and eat those words before they rolled off my tongue, I would. Not because my pain around Henry Chanler’s betrayal is trivial, but because I shouldn’t be keeping score with my best friend.
“Change of plans. Let’s head to my apartment. Apparently, they’re letting us in.”
Finally.
Tadhg nods and negotiates the craziness that is New York City traffic.
For the price I paid for that penthouse, I at least expected a phone call from the building manager. Maybe he’s been in touch with Alex. But I’m betting that Vic is going to sneak us in through a back door or something.
It pays to be nice to the so-called little guy.
Soon, we’re checking in with the gate guard and then navigating the labyrinth of the parking garage, which is emptier than I’ve ever seen it.
The space is cavernous, and the lack of activity feels super weird. Spooky, even.
Tadhg parks in our usual spot. There’s a crazy echo as we slam the vehicle doors, and he jabs the up button to call the elevator. At least a minute later, the doors open with a ding, and the sound reverberates off the concrete walls.
We’re a handful of floors off the ground when I realize this is the first time I’ve been back since King and I got stuck.
That day changed everything between us, but the metal box with its glowing panel of buttons looks exactly as it always has. Still, I get the weirdest sense that day was a lifetime ago. So much has happened between then and now. Such a short period of time, and yet, by anyone’s measure, a massive change.
I stare at the numbers overhead, trying not to remember the darkness. Not because it scares me, but it reminds me of how scared King was. How we clung to one another. How our lips found each other in the dark and mated like we might, in fact, not make it off the elevator alive.
Once the elevator levels off and dings our arrival, I wait just inside the door of my apartment as my team does a sweep.
It’s not long before they’re back, Tadhg nodding the all clear.
The tall windows in the living room whisper to me, and I cross to them. Everything looks just like it did the last time I saw it. Tidy furniture, maybe a bit more dust. Outside, clouds dot the sky, skyscrapers loom, and the river continues flowing. Some things don’t change.
And some things do.
Heading for my bedroom, I grab my luggage and toss it on the bed. Jeans, socks, and t-shirts all go in without much rhyme or reason. There’s nothing new about this procedure. I mean, I normally don’t pack every suitcase I own at the same time. In fact, I can’t think of a time I ever have.
It’s the destination that hits different.
Pausing in my bathroom, I inhale the clean, zesty scent and let the soothing tones calm my frazzled nerves. My fingertips skim the polished countertop, and I’m taken back to the first time I felt Katherine’s silky smooth skin.
“One thing at a time,” I say to myself, then fish out my phone and type out a text to Alex. It’s time to start mending that fence.
Past time.
Gabe: I’m at the apartment. What do you want me to grab?
On our way to the elevator, I spot King’s little potted plant on the table. It looks like it managed okay, but who knows when we’ll be allowed in here again. I scoop it up and follow Tadhg onto the elevator.
I wonder how the rest of Katherine’s jungle has fared.
The doors swoosh closed, and the car begins to descend. Katherine’s keycard burns a hole through my wallet.
