The event was held in the largest banquet hall, but that wasn’t big enough. The lobbies surrounding were filled as well, with liquor and food stations every few feet. The party seemed in full swing when we arrived, but as we stepped inside, I sensed the attention. One by one they turned to us. It wasn’t like at Joe’s. It was more. That’s when I realized that I’d been secluded at work the past week. Theresa wanted me to work with her in a private conference room. She got the coffee for us. She paid for the food and had it delivered to her office. The times we ate out, she suggested a cafe a few blocks away. It was starting to make sense now.

I caught her gaze. “How bad was it at work?”

She grimaced. “It would’ve been too much for you.”

I sensed the avid attention and knew she was right. I wanted to hit myself in the forehead. I should’ve known. Carter was at Joe’s. They all saw and they had a week to comprehend it. The interest had been heavy that night, but it was more tonight.

With his hand in mine, he led us through the crowd until it opened to a group of tables that had been sectioned off from the main crowd.

“Ah!” Theresa grinned. “VIP. I like it.”

Recognizing a few of the security guards from Carter’s own group, I knew he had planned ahead. Mike even nodded to me with a friendly smile. Progress. Once we stepped past the divide, all bets were off. Older and distinguished-looking men approached Carter in waves. They wanted to shake his hand, talk about the hotel, and that was when I figured it out—they knew him from the board. These were my bosses, or my other bosses. Seeing that he would be busy, Theresa tapped my arm and pointed to a back table. She leaned close. “Let’s grab that one. Noah’s already here, but I’m sure he’ll want to sit with us.”

I nodded. Anything to get away from the prying eyes.

As we settled in, Theresa went to the bar and returned with three drinks. A waiter followed behind her with two bottles of wine. Another came over with a platter of food. We were munching on fancy hor d’oeuvres, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what was in them. It didn’t take many of them before I was full and left the rest on my plate. Theresa snagged them later on and Amanda nibbled at hers. That’s what she always did.

We were able to watch the crowd and they weren’t able to approach us. The other people in the VIP section were the older men and their dates, and those women knew each other. They cast shrewd looks at us, but no one approached. I was grateful. Theresa called them Snobby Social-nators. Again, I was grateful they remained away. After awhile, Theresa pointed to a few guys and asked Amanda to rate them. The conversation soon went in that direction. We were busy picking out the Mr. Amanda-To-Be the rest of the time. It was surprisingly fun.

The fun ended an hour later.

Carter had been talking to the board members the whole time when a man went over and whispered something in his ear. I stood up without thinking. The conversation at my table stopped and Amanda asked, frowning, “What’s wrong?”

Theresa turned towards Carter. “Where’s he going?”

I couldn’t answer them, but my gut had dropped out of me. Something was wrong. Something was happening. We watched as he turned for a side door. The man went with him, but gave him one final nod before he turned away and went through a different door.

I started forward.

“Emma!” Amanda hissed at me. Her hand grabbed onto my wrist. “What are you doing?”

“Something’s wrong.”

“So let it go. Carter knows what he’s doing.”

I frowned at her. What was she doing? She’d never questioned me before, but I only pulled my wrist away. “Watch my purse.” Then I hurried after him. When I got to the hallway, I couldn’t see him, but I turned to the farthest corner. There was something about that man. He wasn’t dressed like everyone else. He wore a suit, not a tuxedo. His hair hadn’t been slicked back like most of the other men who were dressed to impress that night. There was nothing about the guy that should’ve made him seem out of place, but a lightbulb clicked. That was it. He was nondescript. He looked like he wanted to blend in and because of that, because I’d been around Carter’s security guards enough, I knew he’d been one of his men. He hadn’t been a guard though. If he had, he would’ve returned to his post, but no—the guards were all dressed in black suits. This guy wore a brown one.

He was mob. I knew it.

I turned another corner and stopped short. The guy was there, at the far end. He was looking out the window with his phone pressed to his ear. He was talking into it and as he seemed to be following something outside, he was relaying instructions over his phone.

I started for him. If Carter wasn’t around to give me answers, he would, but I was pulled into an empty conference room.

Gasping, I was pushed against the wall and a hand covered my mouth. A body pressed against mine. All the tension left me. This was Carter. My body reacted before I realized it was him and it softened. My legs parted for him and he bent closer, nuzzling under my neck, before he whispered, “What are you doing?”

My eyes snapped open. This wasn’t my Carter. This was their Carter. I pushed him away. “I was following you.”

He leaned back, but his body kept mine anchored to the wall. His eyes were hard and aggravated.

I didn’t care. I kept my hand on his chest. I needed to feel his heartbeat, to know when if he was lying to me. “Where were you going?”

“To the bathroom.”

His heart didn’t skip a beat. Nothing. It was steady, but I knew he was lying. I saw it in his eyes. “This isn’t the bathroom.”

A grin teased at the corner of his mouth. Then his eyes switched. They darkened and lust began to fill them. “I was coming back.”

“You were leaving.”

The lust vanished and he took a step back now. The air felt cold without his heat, but I stopped myself from feeling it.

His eyes narrowed, but he murmured as his hand began to caress the back of my neck, “You don’t believe me.”

I shoved his hand away. “Stop manipulating me.”

All gentleness vanished. A hard wall came over him now. “You stop it, Emma.”

Sucking in my breath, I hadn’t expected that harshness to come at me. Blinking back tears from the shock of it, I geared myself to be strong. I had to stick with the truth. That was the hand I had and I needed to use it. “Who was that man?”