Chapter 17

James

I made it back to my building and parked in the garage, but then I went out to the front walk near the park to buy a bouquet of flowers from a street vendor before I headed into The Avalon. I couldn’t wait to tell Maya the good news and how I felt. I rounded the corner and gave George a nod as he opened the door for me. I was on top of the world, and as Darek stepped inside behind me, holding a bag from the café, I didn’t even mind holding the elevator.

Not even he could bring me down from the clouds.

“Are those for Maya?” he asked as he entered the elevator with me.

My chest swelled with pride as I pushed the button for our floors. “Not that it’s any of your business, Dillon, but yeah, they’re for Maya. I’ve got great news, and I’m going to tell her how I feel about her.”

The guy’s expression faded as the elevator went up. “Look, man. I know we don’t see eye to eye, and I’m the last person who wants to do you a solid, but I feel I must tell you, you won’t find Maya upstairs.”

“What the hell do you mean?”

“She’s left you.”

My blood turned cold. The last time one of my girlfriends had left me, he’d kown before me then as well. “What? Did you see her? What the fuck is going on.”

“Look, man. She’s not up there. I saw her earlier and helped her carry her bags to an Uber. She said she’s doing something for herself for a change and something about your integrity.” The elevator came to a stop on his floor, and he stepped out into his lobby. I followed, gaining a narrowed stare as I grabbed him by the arm and spun him around.

“Wait, what else did she say? Where is going?”

“New Orleans, I’d guess. She said something about getting her phone, and heading to the airport.” He gave a shrug then pulled away from me as the elevator carried on its way to my floor without me.

My heart turned to stone and dropped to the pit of my stomach. “Her phone?” I turned and looked at the floor as I started to pace. “She wouldn’t go there alone. She knows he’s unstable.”

“Who is unstable? The ex?” Suddenly Mr. Personality was concerned. “As in abusive?”

“Yeah.” I frantically hit the button down on the elevator, and when the door opened, he rushed in behind me. “The guy is not safe. He’s progressively getting obsessive and possessive. I’d asked her not to go there without me. He took her phone, and I guess she’s not leaving New York without it. I have to go check on her.”

“I’m coming. If this guy is abusive, it might not be a bad idea to have an extra hand or fist as the case may be.” I could take care of myself, but I’d let him tag along. I needed answers, and he might have more than he was telling me.

“What else did she say; you know, about my integrity.”

“Just that you made her question it. If it’s any consolation, she didn’t seem right. She didn’t really seem sure she was doing the right thing.”

“Then why let her do it? You could have stopped her. Was she crying? Was she pissed?” We hurried off the elevator when it hit the bottom floor and made a blur as we passed George so quickly there was no time for formalities or his usual witty words of wisdom. We went into the garage and headed to our parking spaces.

“Let’s take mine; you’re in no shape to drive.” I had always wanted to take his car for a spin, but I wasn’t about to tell him. He didn’t need anything else feeding into that massive ego of his. “Just hurry. I’m not sure what he’ll do to her. We had to sneak over with security to get her clothes, and only did that when she knew he'd be out for a shoot.”

“He’s a photographer?” The guy narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, his name is Craig Hendrix. They met online, and he moved her up here. Once he started getting physical, she bailed. I actually had to intervein when he came to her job. He was an aggressive asshole. I gave her my card and offered to help.”

“Because of what happened to your sister.” It wasn’t a question. “I’m glad you were there, man. You have no idea how bad that kind of thing pisses me off. My mother was abused. If both of my parents hadn’t died in an accident, I probably would have ended up killing my old man myself.” He pulled out of the parking garage, and I motioned which direction to go.

“Yeah? Well, it looks like we have something in common. Because if this asshole has laid a finger on her, I’ll bash his fucking brains in.” I meant it too. Sign me up for an orange jumper, because I wouldn’t care if I saw her crying.

“You love her, don’t you? Not like Jen. You didn’t really love her, not like you thought you did.”

“Fuck you. You don’t get to talk about Jen to me, especially with the mood I’m in.”

“I’m just saying. Besides, she didn’t love you. She loved your money. She loved my fame. That’s why it took me all of two weeks to kick her ass to the curb. We’re both better off without that one.”

“Looks like we agree on something else then.” I was so pissed I could have spit nails, but the guy had a point. “I was on my way home to tell her I am going to manufacture the new allergy drug I formulated and bring it to market on my own. I decided not to go with that piece of shit ex-boss of hers.”

“She must not have trusted you to do the right thing, then. She questioned your integrity.”

“My integrity is intact as usual. But it’s not easy when you’re trying to do the right thing in business.” I typed up the building in my phone’s GPS and passed it over. “Here’s where we’re going.”

“You’re doing the right thing by going after her. She’s a nice girl. I think she just got a little turned around. We all do at times. Hell, I make my living off of people who are a little turned around.”

I didn’t want to talk about how he made his living. “I think she’s the one, you know. Or thought. Who knows anymore.” I lost myself in deep thoughts, replaying the last few days back in my mind, and wondering what I’d done wrong, as Darek followed the instructions.

We pulled up at the apartments and parked and then we hurried inside, grabbing the elevator.

“I wonder if she’s still here.” I didn’t have to wonder long. The elevator came to a stop, and I rushed down to the apartment and banged on the door. Darek came up behind me, and we waited. I banged again, and finally, the door opened a crack. I didn’t wait for an invitation from the asshole. I pushed the door open into his face, and he stumbled back holding a rag to his mouth. There was blood.

“Where’s Maya?” I kept walking forward until he was backed up against his couch.

“Oh, I should have known it was you.” He laughed. “Two of you. It figures. She is a dirty little slut. I have some old videos on my laptop if you want to watch. We can compare notes.” Darek stepped up, and the guy’s eyes widened. “Hey, I know you.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know you, asshole. So, how about you tell us where Maya went and what happened to your fucking face.” Darek cracked his knuckles, and I turned to see the gleam in his eye. He might have been a pretty boy egomaniac, but he was ready to throw down too.

“Yeah, make it easy on yourself.”

Craig’s lip curled, and he pulled his rag away from his lip which was split deep. “She took her phone and bailed.”

“Looks like she got a piece of you first.”

“Not before I got a piece of her.” He smirked, his eyes not leaving mine. Darek went and checked the other rooms as I stood guard on the asshole and thought of ninety ways I wanted to bash his skull in.

“She’s not here. She must have left for the airport.”

“If you’re going after her, all I got to say is good luck. She’ll screw you over too. Just like she did me.” I knew the guy was all talk. Maya hadn’t done shit to him.

I pulled back my fist, and he flinched. Piece of shit wasn’t worth it. But what the hell. I turned to go, but turned back, making my connection. “Stay away from her. Next time, I won’t stop with one.”

“Come on, man. We have to catch her.” Darek held the door open, and then we rushed back out into the hall and into the elevator. “She’ll be at the airport. She’s got to be.” He got his phone and checked the flight schedule as the elevator made its descent.

Once in the car, he passed me his phone and had me check as he drove us out. With any luck, we’d catch her before she left, but if we didn’t, I was on the next flight out to New Orleans to find her.