Read Online Untouchable (The Blankenships Book 8) by Evelyn Glass - Free Book Online
Authors: Evelyn Glass
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matter the dangers, he’d sweep her into his arms, and they’d kiss while the credits rolled.
She had to stop thinking about it before she started to cry again. She was fairly sure that if she kept up the crying, there would be fault lines etched in her skin by nightfall.
The door to the suite opened without any further preamble, and she started, surprised both at the door opening, and her own frightened reaction to it. When she saw Alex walk through the door and when she saw that he was unharmed, moving under his own steam, and without any apparent injuries, she all but flew into his arms, slamming into him hard enough to almost knock him over. There were no tears left to cry, but she found herself making thick sounds that were close enough to crying that he probably couldn’t tell the difference.
But then, she wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t holding back a few tears of his own. His hands were tight on the back of her head and the small of her back, and his own sounds were thick and relieved.
She pulled back from him and looked him up and down. He was much more tired than she was. He still wore the dark jeans and button down shirt he’d had on when they left New York, and he smelled stale, like airplane air and sweat. His chin and cheeks were rough with unshaven stubble. But he was whole, his face was unbruised, and he wasn’t wincing.
Maybe there was still hope.
“What do they want?” She asked. It seemed the most expedient way to get out of this, to figure out how to give them what they needed.
He shook his head, tightening his fingers in her and leading her to the couch in the center of the room. “I’m—Zoey, I’m not entirely sure how we’re going to get out of this.”
It hurt him to say it; she could hear that in the shake of his voice and the tension in his hand. It hurt to hear it; it felt like an iron band tightened around her chest and squeezed, hard, adding to the slow ache that was building throughout her body. “Did they hurt you? Threaten to hurt me?”
They hit the couch, and he leaned back, rubbing at his temples with the hand that wasn’t holding hers. “No,” he said. “No, so there’s that, at least. It was a lot of talk. Endless talk. But Tanaka isn’t even a little bit afraid of admitting what he’s done.”
“And what has he done?” She pushed his hand away and began to massage his temples. He made a quiet sound of pleasure, and she saw his shoulders fall just a little bit down his back.
“He’s claiming responsibility for everything,” Alex said, his eyes still closed. “From Thalia to the twins, all of it. But it didn’t seem real. I think—I think he wants something from me, directly. I think he may have been involved, but I still don’t think it was him all the way through.”
“It makes sense, though,” Zoey said. “If he and Zhu thought we’d found out about their double-dealing, if they thought you’d have more of a conscience than your father did and would break off their deals, then it makes sense. People get violent over money; there’s no question about that. That’s the first thing you learn in journalism. People are disgusting and awful so much of the time.”
“But why my mother,” he said, his voice hardly cracking at all on the word. “Why my sister?”
“If Claire was an accident,” Zoey said, “if they were trying to get to me—”
His hand squeezed so tight around hers that the bones creaked against each other. His eyes opened and locked on hers. She half expected them to be full of tears, the way he stared at her. When his free hand reached up and caught the back of her neck, urging her desperately toward his mouth, she was surprised. She went with him though, letting the motion carry through. It had been hours since she’d touched him, hours since she’d been close with him, and what the hell, it wasn’t like anyone had left them a deck of cards in this
She had to stop thinking about it before she started to cry again. She was fairly sure that if she kept up the crying, there would be fault lines etched in her skin by nightfall.
The door to the suite opened without any further preamble, and she started, surprised both at the door opening, and her own frightened reaction to it. When she saw Alex walk through the door and when she saw that he was unharmed, moving under his own steam, and without any apparent injuries, she all but flew into his arms, slamming into him hard enough to almost knock him over. There were no tears left to cry, but she found herself making thick sounds that were close enough to crying that he probably couldn’t tell the difference.
But then, she wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t holding back a few tears of his own. His hands were tight on the back of her head and the small of her back, and his own sounds were thick and relieved.
She pulled back from him and looked him up and down. He was much more tired than she was. He still wore the dark jeans and button down shirt he’d had on when they left New York, and he smelled stale, like airplane air and sweat. His chin and cheeks were rough with unshaven stubble. But he was whole, his face was unbruised, and he wasn’t wincing.
Maybe there was still hope.
“What do they want?” She asked. It seemed the most expedient way to get out of this, to figure out how to give them what they needed.
He shook his head, tightening his fingers in her and leading her to the couch in the center of the room. “I’m—Zoey, I’m not entirely sure how we’re going to get out of this.”
It hurt him to say it; she could hear that in the shake of his voice and the tension in his hand. It hurt to hear it; it felt like an iron band tightened around her chest and squeezed, hard, adding to the slow ache that was building throughout her body. “Did they hurt you? Threaten to hurt me?”
They hit the couch, and he leaned back, rubbing at his temples with the hand that wasn’t holding hers. “No,” he said. “No, so there’s that, at least. It was a lot of talk. Endless talk. But Tanaka isn’t even a little bit afraid of admitting what he’s done.”
“And what has he done?” She pushed his hand away and began to massage his temples. He made a quiet sound of pleasure, and she saw his shoulders fall just a little bit down his back.
“He’s claiming responsibility for everything,” Alex said, his eyes still closed. “From Thalia to the twins, all of it. But it didn’t seem real. I think—I think he wants something from me, directly. I think he may have been involved, but I still don’t think it was him all the way through.”
“It makes sense, though,” Zoey said. “If he and Zhu thought we’d found out about their double-dealing, if they thought you’d have more of a conscience than your father did and would break off their deals, then it makes sense. People get violent over money; there’s no question about that. That’s the first thing you learn in journalism. People are disgusting and awful so much of the time.”
“But why my mother,” he said, his voice hardly cracking at all on the word. “Why my sister?”
“If Claire was an accident,” Zoey said, “if they were trying to get to me—”
His hand squeezed so tight around hers that the bones creaked against each other. His eyes opened and locked on hers. She half expected them to be full of tears, the way he stared at her. When his free hand reached up and caught the back of her neck, urging her desperately toward his mouth, she was surprised. She went with him though, letting the motion carry through. It had been hours since she’d touched him, hours since she’d been close with him, and what the hell, it wasn’t like anyone had left them a deck of cards in this
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