"Give me the address." Watts started the car, his tone already strained.
He had a bad feeling-Patricia in this state was bound to cause trouble.
"Why do you care so much? If you could actually handle Elodie, I wouldn''t be in this mess," Patricia shot back with a coldugh. "I''m flying to France tomorrow for the art show, and I can''t even finish myst painting. I sent Jarrod an invitation and he justpletely ignored me! Why? Are there really men as blind as him?" Watts had no interest in listening to her drunken tirade.
Patricia had been on edgetely-the ssic artist''s temperament.
He pulled up the tracker he''d installed on her phone and checked her location: some private club, a good two and a half hours'' drive from here. Not exactly close.
In a t voice, he said, "Clear out your drinking buddies. I''ll be there to pick you up soon."
Elodie was heading upstairs when she ran into Lily Lockwood at thending.
Who knew how long Lily had been standing there.
She must have overheard the conversation with Watts.
As soon as she spotted Elodie, she quickly wiped her eyes. "There you are! I''ve got a ton of questions for you. I don''t care how talented you are, you can''t just take time off whenever you want."
Elodie noticed her eyes were red.
Having been through her share of heartbreak, Elodie could guess who Lily was upset about.
If things had gone sideways with the data incidentst time, Lily would''ve been the first to take the fall.
Elodie climbed thest two steps, pretending not to notice Lily''s distress. She pulled a few choctes from her pocket and pressed them into Lily''s palm. "Come with me to the test flight field. See for yourself just how bright your future could be."
With that, she started down the hall.
Lily hesitated, blinking away thest of her tears as she stared at the choctes in her hand.
Suddenly, she understood what Elodie meant.
She hurried to catch up, fiddling with the choctes and grumbling, "I don''t even like milk hazelnut. Way too sweet. I''m trying to lose weight, you know I''m already up to 110."
Elodie nced over and reached for the choctes. "Then give them back."
Lily quickly shoved them into her pocket, hugging them protectively. "Nice try. Why
turn down a little perk from the boss? I''m not stupid."
She fell in step beside Elodie, silent now.
She''d finally figured things out.
Whether or not Watts was really involved in what happened, he clearly wasn''t worth her feelings. If it was him, he''d yed her for a fool, even left her to take the me t hurt, but she wasn''t about to keep chasing someone like that.
At the very least, the person she cared about had to be someone worth loving.
Elodie noticed the change in her and allowed herself a small, satisfied smile.
When they arrived at the test flight
field, the crew chief walked up. "We''ve got a new pilot
today Fleming Mercer. You''ll need
to go over the test flight details with
him."
Elodie nodded.
There was no shortage of talent at this base, but the best pilots were practically
national treasures.
She nced across the tarmac.
A man stood there in a sharp flight suit, tall and impossible to miss.
She was about to head over when her phone rang. Jarrod.
Elodie handed her notebook to Lily. "Go talk to Fleming and get him up to speed."
Lily, not about to bite the hand that fed her, just grunted and took the notebook
over.
Elodie stepped aside to answer the call.
Jarrod''s voice was smooth over the line. "Back at the base again? Are you sure you''re up for it?"
He only stepped out for a few hours and she was already busy again.
"What''s up?" she asked.
"I''ll pick you up in a bit. Something urgent."
If Jarrod called something urgent, it was never trivial.
She checked the time. "Half an hour. Come get me."
She hung up and nced over at Lily.
It looked like she was done talking with Fleming.
The man took off his helmet as he walked by.
He was striking-strong features, undeniably handsome.
As he passed Elodie, Fleming gave her a slight nod without breaking stride.
She
recognition stirring. She was
but just couldn''t ce it.
n him somewhere ret