Chapter 25

As Grace rode the elevator down to the lobby, she wanted nothing more than to escape the building, clear her head, maybe get a good night’s sleep, and talk to Alex. She knew finding Jordan was time sensitive, but just at the moment she couldn’t decide if Matt was a friend or foe–murderer or victim. Maybe all of the above.

She practically ran into Sam as she flew out of the elevator. Damn. She’d wanted to leave without running into him.

“Are you my new chaperone?” Grace asked when Sam fell into step beside her. “I don’t need you.”

“Matt feels differently,” Sam said. He wasn’t smiling. “He said I should stay with you until this is over.”

That could present a problem. She’d told Alex to meet her back at her apartment. She’d even given him the code combination. Somehow, she didn’t think Sam would approve of her being so friendly with Lacklin’s grandson–on a personal or professional level.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Grace said. Then, because she couldn’t think of anything else to say, “I work alone.”

“There’s one for the cliché hall of fame,” Sam said. “You don’t have a choice, though, and neither do I.”

She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. There were too many battles to fight; maybe this wasn’t one worth fighting.

They didn’t speak on the way back to Grace’s apartment. He became her silent shadow as she ducked through crowds and pushed her way onto trains, completely unconcerned as to whether he could keep up or not. He did, but that didn’t surprise her. They had both lived in the city for a long time and knew how to navigate the public transit system.

Finally, as they entered Grace’s apartment building, Sam spoke. He had to grab Grace by the wrist to get her attention. “Wait.”

“What?”

“Before you get to work, I just want you to know that I’m still your friend.”

“Sam, we’ve never been friends.” In fact, she’d had precious few friends in her lifetime. Everyone in her life seemed to want something from her, including her mom and sister who only called when there wasn’t a man in their lives.

“That’s true,” Sam said. “Then maybe I should say I’d like to become your friend. It’s been a long time. We had a lot in common and I bet we still do.”

They probably did. All the more reason not to become friends. It wasn’t what she wanted from Sam. It never had been.

“There’s someone at my apartment,” Grace told him by way of changing the subject.

“Oh?” Sam’s face fell. “A man?”

“Yes, a man. Alexander Lacklin.”

It took Sam a minute to register the name. She could tell when he did. “Jordan’s grandson? What’s he doing here?”

“He helped me escape and saved my life. Now, he wants to help me find his grandfather.”

“But not for Matt,” Sam said.

“I don’t think so.”

Sam pursed his lips but didn’t say anything else about it until they reached her apartment. She started to enter the code when he put a hand over hers to stop her. “Don’t trust him. Don’t trust anyone.”

“Don’t worry. I haven’t trusted anyone in a very long time.” She meant it as a jab and it seemed to work, because he withdrew his hand.

She punched in the code and opened the door, preparing herself for any number of reactions from Alex or Sam. But she didn’t prepare for the fact that Alex wasn’t alone.