Like me.
Ethan signed Do you want to talk? and I shook my head. I did want to talk, but the one person I wanted to talk to was nowhere to be found.
He didn’t seem to know what to do, so he just stared down at me until he signed, How was the g-r-o-u-n-d-b-r-e-a-k-i-n-g?
All of a sudden, the real fear that I was standing in front of someone spying for Karl exploded into my brain. That would explain how he’d known I’d be at the groundbreaking that morning. I hadn’t attended any Stone Foundation functions in months. Why would he think I’d be at the one today?
“How did you know where I was?” I asked, forgetting to sign until I saw the confused look on his face. I asked him again through sign language and watched as he signed, One of your bodyguards told me.
There was something wrong now that I stood there with Ethan. Daryl might believe he was okay, but I didn’t. Signing, I said, Take off your glasses, please. I want to see your eyes. I needed to see exactly who this person was who seemed to know things about me.
He seemed reluctant to do as I ordered, so I told him again what I wanted. Slowly, he slid them off his face and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sun. I studied them for a long moment, sure I’d seen eyes like his before but unable to remember where. They were a deep blue color, but not dark like Gage’s. If he didn’t have such a scruffy beard, I imagined Ethan would be quite attractive, even though his hair was much longer than I liked.
That didn’t mean I felt any less uncomfortable about him, though. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something about him now that made me question why Daryl had made such a point of my firing Chip in favor of this guy.
All sorts of terrible thoughts swirled in my mind. Was Daryl the one who’d told Karl I’d be at the groundbreaking? Had he been keeping Tristan and me apart all this time? Was Tristan even safe, wherever he was, as Daryl had continually claimed all these months?
Ethan signed something, but I couldn’t understand any of what he said and left to find Daryl to get some answers. I found him waiting for me in the dining room, looking like he always did as I stormed in, ready to demand he tell me exactly what the hell was going on.
“Nina, I heard what happened. You should have let Gage come with you.”
Pointing my finger at him, I barked, “You better start explaining what the fuck is up, Daryl. How would Karl know I’d be there? Something’s pretty fishy about all of this. I want to know where Tristan is right now!”
“You know I can’t do that, Nina. I have no idea how Karl knew, but I’d never put you or Tristan in danger.”
He wasn’t going to tell me anything more than that, so I left to go back to Ethan and see if he was easier to crack than his friend. I found the hedge clippers on the ground next to the shrubs, but he was gone. Looking around, I spied him walking quickly across the lawn toward the property’s edge.
Where the hell was he going?
I took off after him, hampered by three inch heels and the ridiculous suit I still wore. His much longer stride made catching him impossible, but at least I was able to see him. I thanked God we hadn’t seen much rain recently as my heels barely sank into the still solid ground that in late April hadn’t forgotten the cold of winter quite yet.
He walked right off the property through a hole in the fence, and I followed him into a field full of much higher grass and weeds. His pace never slowed down, so by the time I found myself in Millbrook, my stockings were torn and my suit was covered in thorns and pickers.
Why he was going home in the middle of the day I had no idea, but I fully intended on finding out. I watched as he entered an old building, presumably his apartment building, breaking into a full run so I didn’t lose him. Following him up the wood stairs, I saw him enter a door at the end of the hallway and stopped to catch my breath.
When I finally could breathe normally again, I brushed off my clothes and marched myself down to his apartment. I stood at his door, my hand ready to knock, when I realized he wouldn’t be able to hear me. Reaching into my purse, I found one of Tristan’s letters to me and tore off a piece of the envelope. But what was I supposed to write? Hi Ethan, I followed you and would really like you to open the door and I promise I’m not a crazy stalker seemed wrong.
Finally, after lurking in front of his door for almost five minutes, I wrote what I hoped wouldn’t make me seem like a crazy woman. Please open the door. It’s Nina. I need to talk to you, Ethan. Crouching down on the old wood floor in his hallway, I slid the torn piece of envelope under his door and waited, hoping he didn’t call the police.
He didn’t wait long to open the door, and I saw immediately that he looked nervous. Signing, I tried to assure him that I didn’t want to bother him. I just wanted to talk. He let me in and quickly pushed by me to clean up the things on his coffee table and a laptop on his couch. Taking a seat on an old chair, I signed, Please forgive me for following you to your house. I need to ask you a question.