“I’m fine.” I pull my arm away, keeping my eyes on the tree.
“Do you happen to have the time?” He moves right in front of me, blocking my view.
As I see his face, he seems very familiar. I check my watch. “It’s 9:50.”
“Thank you.” He smiles and then stands there for a moment, staring at me, almost like he wants me to get a good look at him. Like I should recognize him.
When he finally turns and walks away, it hits me. Idorecognize him. I’m almost sure I saw him at the fundraiser for Royce Sinclair last November. And I saw him somewhere else. But where? I try to remember his face. I think I saw him on TV. Yes, I know I did. When Garret and I were in Des Moines watching the news about the caucus, that guy was standing behind Sinclair as he talked to reporters. The old man is somehow connected to Sinclair!
My pulses races as I search for the old man. But he’s gone. I don’t see him anywhere.
What is he doing here? Does he know I’m Sinclair’s daughter? The only evidence of Sinclair’s crime years ago? He had to know! He had to have purposely bumped into me. He wanted me to see him.
I scan the crowd trying to find Garret. He was just over to my right, but now he’s not there. Where the hell did he go?
People are streaming past me. Laughing. Talking. Coughing. Clearing their throats. Kids are screaming. Babies are crying. It’s too much noise. Where did all this noise come from? I didn’t hear it before.
I make my way through the crowd to the place I saw Garret last. But he’s not there. He’s not anywhere. What if someone took him? That old man, or people connected to him, could’ve taken Garret to get revenge for his dad shooting Sinclair.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I say it repeatedly to myself as the noise around me gets even louder.
“Garret!” I scream it into the crowd. The people next to me give me an annoyed look and quickly walk ahead. “Garret!” I scream it again, but there’s no way he’d ever hear me in these crowds.
I don’t know what to do. I’m too panicked to think straight. I start walking around, searching for him, but I just keep bumping into strangers. Maybe Garret had to use the restroom. But he’d tell me if he was doing that. He wouldn’t just leave.
CHAPTERSEVEN
I noticean old lady getting up from a nearby bench. I hurry over and take her seat.
Everything around me seems to be spinning at a rapid pace. It’s like being on one of those carnival rides that spin you so fast you only see blurred versions of people as they go by.
I close my eyes for a moment, trying to calm down so I can think. I brought a small purse with me and I’m clutching it so tightly it’s making my hand cramp up. I open my eyes as my brain finally wakes up and realizes that I have a purse. And inside it is a phone! Damn! Why didn’t I think of that before? I’m not used to having a cell phone. Garret got me one a few weeks ago and I always forget I have it.
I get the phone out and turn it on. The battery’s almost dead. Note to Jade: Always charge your phone! I call Garret’s phone. It goes straight to voicemail. What does that mean? It’s turned off? He’s on the phone?
The battery symbol on my phone is flashing at me like it’s taunting me, reminding me what an idiot I am for not charging it. Sometimes I really hate technology.
I try Garret’s phone again before my battery dies completely. His phone rings repeatedly and then finally—finally!—he picks up.
“Jade, where are you?”
“I’m on a bench just down from the tree. Where are you?”
“I’m in front of the tree where I left you. Why did you—”
My phone dies before he can finish. I’m so mad at the phone I’m tempted to slam it against the pavement, but instead I shove it back in my purse. I get up and hurry back to Garret’s location, hoping he isn’t going to where I just left.
I spot him in the crowd and push past the people in front of me. When I reach him, I collapse into his arms, holding onto him and not letting go.
“Jade, why did you leave? I told you to stay there.”
“Ididstay there, but this man came over and—”
Garret peels me off him and grabs my shoulders. “What man? What happened?”
“A man bumped into me and he uh—” I glance around and notice the security cameras all around us. Maybe I’m paranoid now, but the cameras are making me nervous. Who knows who’s watching us. “We need to get out of here. Did you call the driver?”
“Yeah, he’s down there waiting.” He points behind me at the street.
