Forsaken (5 page)

Isaac
hadn't been able to find a vacancy in my building, but he'd
apparently purchased a unit in the building down from mine. I knew
how much we were paying for our two-bedroom unit on the twenty-third
floor, so when Isaac casually pointed at the penthouse suite at the
top of the building in response to my question as to where he was
living, I nearly choked.

I
knew Alec was rich, but it still boggled the mind that he'd casually
drop millions, if not tens of millions, of dollars on a whim like
that.

Isaac
had faithfully accompanied me inside and up to my floor and then
watched as I'd unlocked my door and disappeared into my apartment. I
closed the door as I reflected on just how odd it felt to have a
bodyguard again. There had been a couple of weeks back in Sanctuary
where I'd had someone from the pack with me at all times, and
although it had taken some getting used to, I was now remembering the
incredible sense of security involved in having a very capable, very
deadly shape shifter at your side. That feeling of safety helped
offset the whiplash of emotions I'd been through since seeing Isaac
earlier in the day.

Mom
was waiting for me, and she had an honest-to-goodness apron on for
the first time that I could remember in weeks.

"Hi,
sweetie. How was school?"

"Same
old, same old. A bunch of yuppie rich kids with more money
than sense."

That
earned me a frown. Mom was shelling out some seriously crazy cash
right now between our apartment and my school. She was bringing at
least that much in with her photography work, but every so often her
conservative Midwestern upbringing would rear its head and remind her
just how much she was spending on a monthly basis.

She
seemed to think that I was mostly joking when it came to my
criticisms of Manhattan's number one school, but my comments still
occasionally made her think twice about the spend.

"I
really wish you'd put forth a little bit more effort when it comes to
fitting in at school, Adri. A school like Brathingford can open up a
lot of doors for you, but you'll have even more options if you'll
actually make friends with some of your classmates."

"I
know; they're all in line to rule the world someday, but I don't
really care about ruling the world, Mom."

She
looked up from the lasagna she was preparing and gave me a
considering look. "What do you want then, Adri?"

That was the rub. I actually knew exactly what I wanted.
It was the same thing that kept me up late, night after
sleepless night. I could admit I wanted it inside the privacy
of my own mind, but it wouldn't do any good to tell Mom that
I longed to be back in Sanctuary with Alec—but not the Alec
who sacrificed his friends and family, the Alec who stood
in front of anything that would harm the pack and protected
all of us.

Even
if my mom had agreed to let me go back to Sanctuary, the Alec
I'd envisioned during the short time we'd been together hadn't really
existed. There was no point in broaching a subject that would just
leave us both unhappy, not when it was so impossible.

"I
don't know. For now, I'd just like to get away from the city."

"Adri,
you hated Sanctuary. For nearly the entire first month we were there
every other word out of your mouth was a complaint about Utah. You
just don't deal with change very well, sweetie. Give New York a
chance; it will grow on you just like Sanctuary did by the end."

I
shrugged and turned to go to my bedroom but my mom cleared her
throat.

"Adri,
honey, we're going to have a guest for dinner tonight."

I
should have known something was up when I saw that Mom was cooking.
She didn't have dinner with me very often these days because she
spent a lot of time networking with other people in the industry.
Those people seemed to come in two categories: 'important' which
meant they ate at some four-star restaurant, or 'reasonable' which
meant that Mom could bring them back to our place and order takeout
to eat while they brainstormed ideas.

Mom bringing someone back to the apartment and actually
preparing a meal for them automatically told me this wasn't a work
thing, or at least not
just
a work thing. I waited silently, refusing to help Mom along with her
explanation.

"Russ
is one of the financial backers for the Lasserti show. He saw me
setting up before the shoot and sent me two dozen roses before the
night was over. We've seen each other a couple of times since then,
but I thought it would be good for the two of you to meet each
other."

Her
words kind of hung in the air and it felt to me like they'd
created an impenetrable barrier between us. I turned to walk away.
"I'm not feeling very hungry. I'll just study in my room and
leave the two of you alone to eat."

"Adriana
Paige, you get back here right now. You're not going to snub Russ.
He's a nice guy, and this is important to me."

I
hadn't wanted to get into a fight with Mom, not when we had so little
time together, not when she was all I had left, but her words gave
the anger floating around inside me a focus that had been missing
since we'd arrived in Manhattan.

"Really,
Mom? After everything that you said about first Brandon and then
Alec, you're really going to bring this guy in here and tell me that
he's a 'nice guy'? I know the kinds of shoots you've been doing,
especially lately. Any 'financial backer' for one of those is going
to be worth millions. You can't have it both ways. Either rich guys
are jerks who can't be trusted, like you told me when we were in
Sanctuary, or they are nice guys."

My
mom opened her mouth to respond but I kept right on talking. "How
nice can this guy be if he hangs around fashion shows? He's probably
just trolling for some hot model to sleep with."

I'd
slowly been moving towards Mom as I'd spoken which meant that I was
within arm's reach, but her slap came as a complete surprise.

"How
dare you. You don't know Russ, and I don't appreciate what you're
saying about my judgment."

My
hand came up to cover the stinging on the left side of my face, but
the blow was nothing compared to what Agony's men had done to me.

"It's
not just your judgment that I'm questioning, Mom. Dad hasn't even
been dead for a year yet. I've spent the entire time since he and
Cindi died trying to piece myself back together, but apparently
you've just been waiting for someone richer to come along."

She
slapped me again, but I didn't care. In some ways the physical pain
helped. It took away some of what I was feeling inside, lessened it
somehow. I walked out of our apartment and didn't look back, even
when my mom called after me.

I
texted Isaac while I was still in the elevator.

Changed
plans...leaving my place...really needed to get out of the
house...u don't need to follow me.

Isaac's
response came only a few seconds later.

You
have somewhere you need to be or do you want to just come here?

It
was perfect and a terrible idea all at once. I sat outside his
building for a couple of minutes trying to decide before finally
responding.

Okay...brt

The
doorman opened the door for me with a nod and a, "Hello, miss," and
then I was to the huge granite desk that dominated the center of the
entryway. The slender, very proper-looking woman behind the desk
looked up as I approached and then smiled.

"Are
you Adri?"

"I
am. Did Isaac already call down?"

"Yes,
he did. My name is Nancy. I'm the night clerk for the building. Mr.
Nazir has asked that I key his private elevator to you. If you'll
come this way, I'll scan your thumbs, and then he can confirm the new
access protocol once you arrive there at the top floor."

I
followed Nancy across the polished rock floor and then waited as she
turned a key to call the elevator down. Inside there was a biometric
scanner that exactly matched the one outside and another lock. Nancy
used a different key to open the panel next to the scanner and then
entered a long code on the keypad.

"Please
place your thumbs on the scanner, one at a time."

Once
the machine had registered my prints, she put another code into the
keypad and then locked the panel again.

"The
elevator will now go to Mr. Nazir's residence. Once he has approved
your entry then next time all you'll need to do is use your thumb to
call the elevator and then scan it again to go up to the penthouse."

I
thanked her, and then once the doors had closed and the elevator
started up, I spent some time looking around. I didn't have any idea
what a swanky elevator was supposed to look like, but I suspected
that this one fit the bill. The marble floor combined with the
stainless steel walls and the hardwood trim to give the feeling of
new money.

A
few seconds later, the doors opened and my mouth dropped at just
how spacious Isaac's new place was. The ceilings were at least ten
feet high, and there were oversized windows looking out at Central
Park which made it feel like I was practically outside as soon as I
stepped out of the elevator and pulled my shoes off.

Isaac
came into view from off to my left, wearing nothing but a towel, and
waved. "Sorry, I was in the shower when I heard your text come
through. Once I knew I wasn't going to have to follow your scent
trail through the urban jungle, I figured I might as well jump back in
and finish up."

"That's
okay, just point me to an out-of-the-way corner and I'll stew
privately."

Part
of me was taking in Isaac's massive, ripped chest and thinking that
the new Jess must be more disciplined than the old Jess if she was
able to say no to Isaac after seeing him shirtless, but mostly I was
still way too numb to appreciate any guy, let alone Isaac who'd
become almost like a brother back in Sanctuary. My
heart still longed for Alec too much, even though I knew that was
over.

"I
can do better than that. This place has four bedrooms and I've
already staked one of them out for you. It's this way."

I
followed Isaac through the living room which had some of the
thickest, softest white carpet I'd ever seen, past a media room that
looked like it could seat twenty, and then he opened an oversized
door into a bedroom that was more than three times as big as my
current room. I stepped inside and spun around in amazement.

One
wall was all tinted glass, once again providing an amazing view of
the park. The king-sized bed had an airy canopy and a soft cream
bedspread. The wall opposite the bed had a large flat screen TV
mounted to it and there was a massive, cozy-looking beanbag chair on
the floor at what looked like the perfect viewing distance from the
screen. A large desk with a computer sat in the corner where the
windows met the interior wall, but I found myself turning and looking
the opposite direction so I could take in the attached bathroom and
huge walk-in closet.

The
shower was likewise spacious, all done in frosted glass and some kind
of breathtaking white stone with silver fittings. The closet was
nearly as big as my room and had three large boxes already sitting in
it.

Isaac
had trailed along behind me with one hand on the towel to make sure
it stayed put. He pointed at the boxes as I turned back to look at
him.

"Rachel
sent those. They arrived today. I don't know for sure what's in them,
but knowing her, I expect your wardrobe from Sanctuary makes up at
least some of the contents."

I
shook my head in amazement. "Are you sure about this, Isaac? I
mean this room is incredible."

He
shrugged. "It's all Alec and Rachel's money, and Alec seemed more
concerned with getting me here and set up somewhere close to where
you live than what the ultimate price tag might look like. None of
the other three rooms are really any less crazy, and honestly, if
you're comfortable here, then there's less chance I'll have to follow
you around the city just because you're looking to kill some time."

I
suddenly remembered the downside to a bodyguard. Every time I was
thinking about going somewhere I'd have to balance how much I wanted
to go there against the fact that it would be an imposition to Isaac.

He
seemed to read my mind and waved my concerns away. "This
is my first, and maybe only, trip to New York. I'm happy to go
wherever you want to go; this just gives you more options
when you really don't feel like going out but need to get
away."

Given
recent developments with my mom, there was a big chance I'd
need a refuge. I managed a nod of thanks, which earned
me a smile from Isaac, and then he pointed at the boxes again.

"I'll
go get dressed while you see what goodies Rachel sent you. If you
need anything, I'll be in the study."

"How
do I find the study?"

"Adri,
the house isn't that big. Just walk around and you'll find it
eventually. It will give you a chance to explore."

Isaac
smiled again and then walked away, leaving me alone with Rachel's
boxes. I put my coat and backpack on one of the shelves to my left,
and then I opened up the first box. Isaac had been right; all of the
incredible clothes that Rachel had bought me on our Vegas trip were
packed away, some of them still with tags on them. I'd known she was
buying too much stuff, but I hadn't realized just how much she'd
snuck past me until the first time I'd seen it all together in one
place like this.

I
really couldn't take it all home; Mom would ask way too many
questions, and it wouldn't all fit in my closet there anyway. I took
a deep breath and started hanging things up in the closet. The stuff
I'd never worn before was easy, but the second box held the stuff
that I'd worn while I'd been living with Alec and Rachel.