He shook his head. “Finish your meal?—”
I grasped his arm. “Please, we need to see,please.I won’t get out of the car, I’ll just watch from afar.”
He bit his lip.
I said, “I am your boss.”
He chuckled. “Fine, yes, we can drive over, but we’ll hang back and let them call it in, get the house secured and…”
His voice trailed off when I started rolling my hand. “Can we go, please, Marcus?’
“Yes, ma’am.”
Jen said, “You haven’t finished eating! We were about to have cake! I didn’t even sing Happy Birthday yet!”
I glanced at the dinner — eating was the last thing on my mind. “I know, not hungry, I need to see what’s going…”
I felt my pockets for my phone.
Jen passed me my bag. “Your phone’s inside.”
I nodded and dug through it for my debit card. I put it on the table. “This is for the meal.”
“But now I feel mean making you pay for it when there’s a whole thing going on.”
I smiled, comfortingly. “You got me the great hat and gloves! I love them. I planned to pay for the meal as a thank you. Get a slice of cake for yourself and buy me one to go. No argument and sorry I’m running out on the birthday celebration.”
She said, “But are yousureyou should go, Lexi? The reason you have security is so you won’t be in the middle of it.”
“I’m sure, I gotta go... I have to see...”
Jen shook her head, frowning. “It’s not him. It’s been months, sweetie. It could be any number of other things. Please be careful, listen to your guards.”
I said, “Of course, that’s why I got them.” And then Marcus and I rushed out to the SUV.
I climbed into the passenger seat, buckling myself in as soon as I had put the box down on the floor with my purse. “Thank you for driving me, Marcus.”
He said, “Against my better judgment, but you look like you’d try to walk there if I didn’t.”
I said, “I probably would. I don’t want to miss anything, I need to know what’s going on.”
“You know we’d give you a report.”
“A report isn’t nearly good enough… Can’t you go faster?”
“No, ma’am, can’t! I have one job, driving you safely and keeping you out of trouble. If I speed toward trouble I’d be terrible at my job.”
I was barely listening. “I wonder who it is…?”
“Want me to call again?”
I said, “No, that’s fine, don’t call, we’ll be there in five. I’m worried they’ll tell me not to come.”
He shrugged, “Yeah… but you are the boss.”
I was scanning the landscape. “That’s the truth, they aren’t the boss of me… I’ll go if I want to go…”
As he turned onto the main road, his phone rang. He tucked it to his ear. “Yeah?”
