Page 11 of Kiss Kiss Bang
“Tom went out for a smoke.”
Joey shook his head.
“I told him it was all right. There’s so much security here tonight. I didn’t think there’d be a problem.”
“At a political fundraiser with the president as a guest?”
“Exactly!” she said, exasperatedly. “The president’s here, and there’s a lot of security. He’s a smoker. I didn’t think it would be a big deal.” She was chewing her nail now.
Jax came in through the earpiece. “Joey, where are you? Need you out on the east door, stat.”
“Shit,” he groaned, tapping his earpiece just as the elevator jolted to a stop.
* * *
Butterflies were fluttering violently in Olivia’s belly.
When Joey’d texted her and then she’d turned around and seen him, the stupid grin on her face must have been obvious from across the room.
He was a breath of fresh air in a room full of bullshit and hypocrisy. And then when his hand had landed on her wrist as she was about to walk into the restroom, goose bumps had erupted all over her body. She had hoped he’d follow her to the bathroom, away from all the prying eyes. And he hadn’t disappointed.
And when he had stood close to her and told her, with such intensity, that she looked beautiful, she had almost pulled him into the bathroom, locked the door behind them, and screwed him senseless. Or at least that’s what she had momentarily fantasized about doing.
Funnily enough, tonight she’d been complemented a handful of times by very attractive and powerful men, but they had all sounded disingenuous. When Joey had said it, though . . . God, it had felt passionate and real and she felt it right to the pit of her soul.
And then it felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown on her head in the form of orders being barked into Joey’s ear piece. Lust was replaced by fear as she followed him into an elevator.
And now she was stumbling forward as the elevator came to a sudden halt, strong hands catching her before she hit the back wall.
“There’s trouble outside.” His mouth was close to her ear when he spoke.
“Oh God, are we stuck?” her heart rate picked up. “I—I, uh . . . I’m claustrophobic.”
The lights flickered.
“I’m with Russo in the service elevators. Stuck between third and fourth floor. Table two, go find Mark Roe and inform him of the situation.” He spoke into his right shoulder, where there must’ve been a mic somewhere.
“Joey. I need to get off.”
Her phone began to ring a moment later, and with shaking hands she pulled it out of her purse. “Mark? I’m in an elevator. Oh God, Mark, it’s stuck . . . yeah . . . um . . . Joey . . . Right. Okay. Okay. ” She swiped it closed. “Mark says that they canceled the event and someone named Jax and a federal agent confirmed our whereabouts. Mark says I’m safe with you.”
“He’s my partner. You saw him briefly last night. Did you not think I was safe?”
“I don’t know!” she yelled, looking around the small room as if there were some way of getting out of there. “Yes. No. I just met you yesterday!”
She wasn’t really listening. She grabbed his lapel in a panic. He pulled her close instead of pushing her off of him. With the hysterical way she was acting, it would have been justifiable for him to keep his distance, considering that she was right: they barely knew each other. But he ran his palm up and down her back soothingly.
“Just a few minutes and they’ll get us out. Take a deep breath for me, darlin’. Are you afraid of me or the elevator?”
“The elevator. I can’t breathe.”
“Yes you can,” he said soothingly.
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, then exhaled, over and over. “Our date will not involve elevators,” he whispered into her ear once she started feeling a little less frazzled.
“At least the lights are still on,” she whispered back. Why were they whispering? And why were they so close together? She should have stepped back now that she had her wits about her.
“You feeling a little better?”
