“Elise, wait up,” calls Banks from behind me.
I keep walking. “I don’t think so, evil mastermind.”
“I deserve your punishment. And believe me, there is no worse punishment than having you walk away like this, even if it’s not permanent.” He catches my elbow and slows me to a stop, slowly wrapping his arms around me. “Then again, I saw you smiling,” he growls into my hair.
My mouth continues to betray me, the corners edging higher. “State your business.”
He kisses the side of my neck and reluctantly steps back, his mood visibly shifting. Turning more serious. Briefly, he checks over his shoulder to make sure we’re separated from the group. “Look, I didn’t want to say anything in front of the others, but…” He watches me closely, a vein ticking in his temple. “Elise. That day we showed up at the Times, you told us you’d followed the deputy mayor out to Roosevelt Island. That’s why you were there that night. We’ve all seen the story that broke this morning about the mayor’s leaked comments about the governor and…that’s reaching pretty damn high. I don’t know if that information came from the deputy mayor or what, but I know it’s unsafe for you to be involved. You’ve dropped the story, right?”
Remembering the meeting I witnessed last night and the subsequent, very damning picture I printed out this morning, it’s hard to keep my features schooled. I’m not sure I completely pull it off. “I can take care of myself, Banks. I know what I’m doing.”
“In other words, you haven’t dropped it,” he says, frown deepening. “Being at a party with your subjects last night proved a little too tempting?”
“I have dropped the story.” I hold up a frustrated hand. “I was there for Gabe last night—that’s all. If I’m involved at all at this point, it’s just getting the information safely into the managing editor’s hands.”
He nods for a full ten seconds. “Please, we need you safe, Elise.”
Instead of lecturing him on my free will, I find myself saying, “I know. I’m being safe.”
Because I don’t want these men to worry about me. It’s not about control. They genuinely care. They opened up to me the night we met. And again last night. I’ve just exposed myself completely in the escape room. We’re not just bed partners, we’re…friends. We’re confidantes. I don’t want to abuse the bond with them that is quickly beginning to feel like a privilege.
No one knows I’m in possession of the picture. I’m going to hold on to it until an opportune moment, then hand it safely over to Karina. I’m not risking my neck for a job I haven’t officially been given. For a story that I’ve been forbidden to cover at that. I’m going to find another way to land a reporter job, whether I actually take up Karina’s offer to write that human interest piece or…I actually bite the bullet and enroll in journalism school. I just haven’t decided which direction to take yet.
“Listen…” Banks clears his throat hard, going from serious to…a little apprehensive? This is the first time I’ve seen him anything but confident. “I’ve got a match on Tuesday. Late afternoon. I would love it if you came. I don’t…” He quickly adjusts his stance. “It’s rare for someone to attend one of my matches for me. My father lives too far away and has a whole new life. My mother…she can’t see through the past to the present.”
“She won’t support you now because she didn’t support you then?” I whisper, pressure weighing down on my sternum.
“Yeah.” He inclines his head stiffly. “I think I might finally be done leaving her a ticket at the box office. I’ve been doing it for years, but…yeah, I think that’s it.”
I’m not sure why I say, “Leave the ticket for one more match. I have a good feeling.”
Maybe I don’t like seeing him let go of his hope. Or maybe I do actually have a good feeling. Whatever the reason, he gives me a single nod. “All right. If you say so. It can’t hurt.”
He clears his throat. “Boring baggage aside, I would love you to come. To get to know me.” He reaches into his jacket pocket and produces a ticket, holding it out. “It kills me to say this, but I’d like to send Tobias with you. It’s just an exhibition game but the stands get rowdy, occasionally. I want to know you’re safe.”
“Sounds like a job for Gabe. Not Tobias,” I muse, taking the ticket. “A scuffle might mess up Tobias’s hair.”