Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 129113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
If he ever needed the truth about him to be told, it was now, in the wake of his arrest. Ivan didn’t kill that medium. Alice believed it with her whole heart. He didn’t deserve the negative publicity coming his way. He was a talented, generous man who’d given up his future for a girl he’d once loved, even if that girl’s father had pushed on his most vulnerable button, telling him he wasn’t good enough, when it was all he ever fought to be. This wasn’t only about saving the theater or their jobs, this was about giving Ivan the respect he deserved. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she chose to live with the lie. She hadn’t been good enough, not Ivan.
“Alice?” Henry regarded her solemnly. “I need to know when you want to do this.”
She lifted her chin. “Now.”
He nodded in resignation. “Wait here. I’ll get Patrick.”
As soon as he was gone, Sean said, “I don’t want to meddle in your private affairs, but—”
“So don’t,” Alice said. “For all practical reasons, you’re not in the room.”
He shot Maya a look but didn’t reply.
More than an hour later, they made their way to the theater. Thankfully, the office was quiet. Most people who’d been working the night before had taken the day off after the ordeal. There was still no news from Cain, and she didn’t dare call him to find out what was happening. Maya assured her they’d be the first to know.
Killing the most urgent fires, Alice spent the next hour drafting a new press release according to what she and Kate had agreed on while Maya and Sean worked in the small meeting room. She approved the dress rehearsal photo shoot cost and checked her emails. There were a lot of messages from the press demanding statements or interviews. The interview requests she forwarded to Kate, while she dealt with what she could. The rest she sent to Johnny. Sean left at some point and returned with Chinese take-outs for lunch, but she barely touched the food.
When she checked the time on her laptop screen a long while later, it was close to seven. What was taking Cain so long? She removed her glasses and wiped a hand over her face. Her neck and shoulders ached with tension. She needed a warm bath. Taking her bag, she made her way to the meeting room, but Sean’s words stopped her in her tracks.
“It’s strange that Cain never mentioned he has a daughter.”
“I didn’t even know he was married,” Maya replied. “I’ve often wondered. Sometimes he gets that pained look in his eyes, but I never would’ve guessed his wife was Clara Jones. Cain isn’t an open book.”
“Some things are easier left in the past.”
“I’m ready,” Alice said from the door.
Maya and Sean turned to look at her.
“I honestly don’t need bodyguards,” she continued. “If you have somewhere else to be—”
“Cain’s orders,” Maya said, getting to her feet.
The officer let Ivan out of his holding cell a few hours after he’d been locked up, just as Cain had promised when he’d come down to the station to see him. Staff asking for his autograph delayed him further. After signing his name enough times not to appear rude, he managed to make his way to the reception area where Cain waited.
Ivan signed for his belongings and took them from the cop. “Where’s Alice?”
“On her way home from the office.”
“Alone?”
“I left Maya and Sean with her.”
He exhaled with relief. “Good.” He pulled on his jacket and dropped his phone in his pocket. “Your government connections came in handy. I’m surprised they let me out, even for you.”
Cain walked to the door, not looking back when he said, “Is that your way of thanking me?”
“Why did you do it?”
Cain stopped and turned to face him. His voice was hard. “For Alice.”
“For Alice or for your own selfish reasons?”
“Explain to me how bailing you out can be for my benefit.”
“It’ll help you get to this Godfrey, whoever he is. You’ve never done anything if it wasn’t for your job.”
The red birthmark on Cain’s cheek darkened as angry heat flushed his face. “My job is the least selfish thing I’ve done. My job is what protects people like you, and that job is what keeps Alice safe at night.” He gave an arctic smile. “Got that?”
“Loud and clear,” Ivan said with a smirk.
As the station out front was swamped with journalists, they made their way through the back where Lann waited next to a Mercedes with tinted windows.
“Get in,” Cain said.
Cain took the backseat with him while Lann drove.
Five minutes into the traffic, Cain said, “We got you off the suspect list, but we need to know who killed Melissa May.”
“I already spoke to her.” Ivan shuddered at the memory. It hadn’t been a pleasant transition for the woman. “It was Godfrey.”