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My nerves were shot as each nuot halfway up the building, but I re Steve and was friends with Ja her damned head The tension in the elevator was intense

Finally, we got to his floor He dragged le door on the floor He produced a key card, swiped and opened the door fluidly I ept inside as he closed the door and draggedroom He pointed at the view, "Lovely, isn’t it?"

I nodded slowly, unsure of ere doing He walked past me to the kitchen The suite was insane, as they alith hine and tookI want to show you There is a reason this is my favorite hotel"

He pulledrooe--billiards table, couches, ne and dropped to his knee, pushingasped, startled and unsure of what to do I leaned back on the billiards table, clutching the flute as he slid a er inside ofit and puer in and out of me Iopen, s nearly buckled as I orgaser

Abruptly, he stood and flippedit I heard his buckle and his pants drop Then I heard a foil packet--a condo as his erection slid betweeninto me I cried out as he bent over my body, "As I recall, Evie, you do like to be fked on billiards tables"

Pain was everywhere as he ripped the wig from my head, "I have a deep dislike for blondes, Evie You should know this"

I winced as a single tear slid down my cheek to the felt

Ithe head of his cck back and forth on rabbed a fistful of ood spot He pulledto runted and pushed my face into the scratchy felt as he thrust all the way in, driving his do I was still waiting for asm when I realized he was done With the condom on, I didn’t realize until he was sluh, "Goddamned, I missed you"

I shook my head, "I didn’t miss you"

It was a lie, but I left it out there anyway as I breathed into the felt and tried to gain soot off of et a full breath I walked aardly to the couch, trying to adjust all ofI sat, still stunned and confused He was dressed and playing with his phone, ignoring lanced at the wig on the floor as I absenters over the subtle bumps on my cheeks from my felt burn

"Tell me why you are here!"

I sed hard and told hily angrier He dialed a nu on the phone "It’s ? Where is Steve?"

"What does that even mean, Franklin?" He sounded fierce, the kind of fierce I would never want directed atand ith it anyway Steve has gone rogue Find hiut him like a fish"

He slammed the phone onto the bureau and looked atFranklin, whoever that was "Explain it to "

I shook my head, "He told me that you had both been in Venice where you were jumped, and he was beaten while you were taken He woke to the note from James with a stamp fro I would know it anywhere"

"And this is after your horound, you were nearly ? You left your children to go to basic for three weeks? Evie, I a this all very hard to believe"

I nodded, "Me too"

"Where are the children and yourme with those shoes?"

His face flinched, "What shoes?"

Shit "So you never asked Steve to come to my house? You never asked him to leave me a note?"

He shook his head, "I sent you a postcard Why would I come to your house and risk you like that?"

My heart hurt a lot Not a little--a lot "So it wasn’t the best week of your life? The X and O kisses of course were not you How could I be so duhed, "Fuck Steve put the tracker in a pair of shoes and left them at my house? So you don’t knohereSteve does This is very bad"

I was having a hard ti Steve I shook my head, "Maybe, maybe not What I do know is, I would die a thousand deaths before telling you where they are" Steve knehere my children were If he was bad, it meant he was there in et word to her

He tossed me his phone, "Call your mother and warn her about Steve If he found you, James will too"