She truly hadn’t expected the BYC name to have such pull.
On her drive home, her car broke down. With no other choice, she called for a tow truck and watched as her car was hauled off to the
garage.
Trinity Lane wasn’t far from here, so Niamh decided to walk the rest of the way. After all, this was the city center; she wasn’t worried about running into trouble or thugs.
Yet, as fate would have it, she was followed again.
This time, though, she recognized the car trailing her–a royal blue Bentley. Jonathan’s car.
Bundled up in her coat, Niamh pressed on, the Bentley creeping along behind her at a matching pace.
Eventually, she stopped, stepped up to the car, and rapped on Jonathan’s window.
“Did you need something?”
Jonathan sat in the driver’s seat, silent.
He fixed her with a searching look, and Niamh frowned, uncomfortable under his scrutiny. She couldn’t read his expression at all.
Jonathan had questions for Niamh–he was dying to know why she’d always refused to admit she was the elusive BYC. Why had she picked a codename based on Elmer’s initials? Was it true, as Elmer suggested, that she saw him only as a stand–in? And what else was she hiding from him?
But in the end, Jonathan just shook his head and said, “No.”
“I don’t need anything from you.”
Niamh was taken aback. “Then why are you following me?”
“I’m not following you,” Jonathan replied, which caught her off guard again. “We’re just headed in the same direction.”
His voice was as indifferent and chilly as ever–so detached, so emotio…ess. He sounded like the winter/wind that occasionally swept down these streets.
Suddenly, Niamh regretted coming over to ask. Wasn’t she just making herself look foolish? Jonathan didn’t want anything from her–they just happened to be going
the same way. As for why his Bentley was crawling along at her walking pace, only
1/3
10:59
Jonathan knew.
Niamh shrugged, thinking he was being a little weird, but since he’d said he didn’t need her for anything, there was no point sticking around.
She kept walking, the royal blue Bentley inching after her. The window remained down, letting the cold air pour in. Jonathan gripped the steering wheel with one hand, pressing the other to his stomach.
Just then, a white Lexus pulled up ahead and stopped beside Niamh.
Jonathan watched as Elmer climbed out. Elmer circled around, opened the passenger door for Niamh, and took her bag, setting it in the back seat. After Niamh got in, he shut the door gently and returned to the driver’s seat before starting the car.
The white Lexus drove off. Niamh’s house was just up ahead.
Jonathan realized that even for this short stretch, he wasn’t the one escorting Niamh home.
His stomach ached more sharply. Leaning forward, he slumped onto the steering wheel, sweat trickling down his face and soaking the leather beneath his hands.
Under the dim streetlights, the once–imposing royal blue Bentley sat idle, dusted with a fine layer of snow. Who could tell if it was the cold or the loneliness that lingered in the night?
When Niamh awoke, she found snow falling outside her window.
The second snowfall of the
year.
She recalled, almost absently, that during the first snow, she’d confronted the Thomas family. Clifford Thomas had overheard their conversation, and the shock had put him in the hospital. It hadn’t happened that long ago, yet it felt oddly
distant.
Niamh smiled to herself, feeling lighter.
On a whim, she decided to buy a new car–her old one was too unreliable, and she finally had the means to make the upgrade.
It was hard to hail a cab in the snow, so Niamh walked a bit further. She didn’t see any taxis, but she did spot Jonathan’s Bentley.
The car’s roof was blanketed in snow, the accumulation deeper than she’d expected.
Chapter O
Had Jonathan stayed there all night?
19:52 #3
Chapter 397
