People packed the gallery. Casey didn’t know if Maxine had expected so many attendees or if she’d granted entrance to uninvited guests. It didn’t seem her style to turn people away. The string quartet’s music floated throughout the space, and so did wonderful scents. Aromas like pine, nutmeg, or even the coconut on the crispy shrimp bites filled the air depending on the room. None of these scents could compare to Leighton’s when she’d been in Casey’s arms in the stairwell.
Casey adjusted her green scarf so her shoulders showed. The dress was the same one she’d worn to the Salmagundi Club exhibition. Her meager savings didn’t allow for a new outfit, so she’d accessorized. It looked festive, and remembering the way Leighton had looked at her while wearing it gave her confidence.
She surveyed the largest gallery until she found her. It wasn’t difficult. In her ivory gown, Leighton looked like a stunning snow queen in a winter wonderland. She admired how Leighton eschewed the silly rule of not wearing white after Labor Day. If anyone could pull it off, she could, and did. Casey sipped her champagne and watched her. Leighton laughed and touched an older woman on the arm. She hoped Leighton would get an investor or two out of the evening. The atelier could use the funds, and her stomach still roiled when she thought about the consequences of their actions.
Leighton smiled at her. Casey tried to hide hers behind the rim of her glass, but how could she? She hadn’t seen Leighton in weeks, and when she did, she looked like that. Giving Leighton the signed agreement stating their relationship was consensual was all she could think about. However, she had to wait until the party ended. Maxine had put the envelope in the top drawer of her desk for safekeeping. Their weeks of torment were almost over.
Casey moved a few feet to keep Andy and Kalyssa in sight. Leighton had been doing the same. Aileen had watched Andy most of the evening, but she’d wanted to view the art. Casey encouraged her and watched both him and Kalyssa. There were too many people to let them out of her sight. She moved closer.
Despite being in a blue dress and white tights, Kalyssa sat on the floor turning the pages of a children’s book. Andy’s head rested on her shoulder as he looked at the illustrations. Kalyssa couldn’t read yet, but it sounded like she made up a story for him. Casey waited until she turned the page.
“Are you two okay?”
“Yeah. My mom keeps asking us that, too.” Kalyssa let the book fall closed.
Andy opened it to the page he’d been looking at. “Momma bear and baby bear.”
Casey brushed her hand over his head. “Yes. You’re both being so good.” She left them to their story.
After what seemed like hours later, empty spots dotted the walls where paintings had sold. Caterers and musicians had already carted off their equipment while the students and staff cleaned up the aftermath. They moved tables and chairs back upstairs, took down decorations, and gathered trash and recycling to be taken outside. Maxine sent Leighton to the loft with the checks to lock in her safe. Andy and Kalyssa made a line of dominoes on the floor opposite the elevator.
Casey gathered the LED candles and switched them off. A cold breeze made the hair on her arms rise. A pine bough over the entrance had fallen and prevented the front door from closing, but before she could cross the room to move it, a disheveled man stumbled into the gallery. He steadied himself on the back of a chair and looked around. A bright smear of blood coated the back of his hand.
Nearby, Maxine bagged leftover cookies. Jenna exited the elevator with two rolls of paper towels. From atop the ladder, Phoenix tried to hand Devin an armful of lights, but Devin ignored him, distracted by his phone. No one seemed to notice the intruder except Casey.
And she didn’t know what to do.
Devin looked up with alarm in his eyes and yelled, “Emergency alert!”
A few others already had their phones out.
Casey recognized the man clinging to the folding chair clearly helping to keep him upright. Jeffrey. Last month, Maxine had made everyone download a special app with photos of him and a button to send an emergency alert. Unfortunately, Casey’s phone was in her jacket across the room because her dress didn’t have pockets.
No one seemed to know what to do with Jeffrey already inside the building.
He smiled at her.
How long had she been standing there? She snapped to attention and pushed the elevator’s button. Then she scooped up Andy and grabbed Kalyssa by the arm, scattering dominoes everywhere. Kalyssa cried she was hurting her, but Casey didn’t have time for an explanation or apology. She cringed to think she might dislocate Kalyssa’s shoulder, but worse might happen if she hesitated. The open elevator was halfway between her and Jeffrey, and if he was as intoxicated as he seemed, she had a chance of making it.
“Hey!” He stumbled toward Casey and the children.
Casey hurled herself toward the elevator, dumped the kids on the floor, and entered her code, selecting Leighton’s loft. With a few punches to the Close Door button, she jumped out. Her body was the only thing that separated Jeffrey and the closing doors. She trembled but held up her hands.
“Get out of the way.”
The alcohol on his breath stung her eyes. She refrained from gagging and tried to conceal her fear. At least she could hear the elevator ascending. Jeffrey had beaten Leighton, bruised her, and could have injured Kalyssa. Casey focused on the emotions those memories conjured within her. It would provide her with plenty of courage.
He’d get to Leighton over her dead body.
* * *
As Leighton made her way up the stairs, she ruminated on the success of the evening. Tonight’s event had put last year’s to shame. Leighton had sold two of her paintings and three of Casey’s. A jubilant Maxine had informed her they’d sold twelve works in all.
Pride filled her. Her students had donned their best attire and mixed and mingled with collectors and other art professionals throughout the evening. They represented the atelier well. She caught sight of Casey a few times, but the crowded gallery made it hard to track her, and Leighton had needed to touch base with as many guests as possible while making sure Kalyssa was safe.
A few times, she’d glimpsed Casey talking with someone in front of the painting she’d framed minutes before the event. Casey had chosen the same dress she’d worn to the Salmagundi Club, but she’d added a scarf. It made her look older, elegant, and showed off her gorgeous neck and shoulders. The sight flooded Leighton with memories.
While Leighton had been talking with Kevin, who’d brought delicious shortbread cookies he’d made, Casey passed behind her and touched the small of her back. Leighton almost ended the party on the spot. She turned, but Maxine had pulled Casey into a conversation with a collector who owned two of Leighton’s paintings. Unwilling to risk her losing a sale, Leighton didn’t interrupt. She’d talk to Casey tonight. Patience had never been her greatest virtue, and she’d bit back a sigh.
After the guests had trickled out, Maxine handed Leighton an envelope with almost six figures’ worth of checks to secure in the safe until they could make a deposit. It amazed her people still used them, but payments of any kind pleased her. Later, she’d see how many credit card transactions had gone through.
They’d made money, and a sense of relief washed over her, and not only for what it’d do for her finances. The collectors and New York’s art circle as a whole hadn’t shunned her like a pariah, as they had every right to do.
Kalyssa and Andy still seemed content, and all the guests had left. Leighton would lock up the checks and be back before Kalyssa noticed she’d gone.
She punched in her code to release the stairwell door and entered the loft. Across the room, Erica and Mikala unstacked the chairs they’d borrowed for the party.
“Thanks for putting those away.” Leighton headed for her bedroom and the safe.
Mikala extended her hand. “Here’s your access card.”
Erica waved her phone and grabbed Mikala’s arm. “Emergency Alert. He’s here. You got her?” She sprinted toward the stairwell.
“Affirmative.” Mikala stepped behind Leighton, trapping her in the hallway.
“Who’s here? What’s happening? I don’t have my phone.” She tried to follow Erica, but Mikala held out her well-defined arms. With her closely shaved hair and muscular physique, Leighton bet she intimidated more than a few National Guard members of both sexes.
“It’s being taken care of.” She wouldn’t allow Leighton past her.
“Let me by. My daughter is down there.” Leighton didn’t want to get into a physical altercation with one of her students, but if Mikala didn’t step aside, she would. He’s here only meant one thing. Jeffrey.
“I can’t do that. I have orders.” The tendons stood out in Mikala’s neck.
Maxine had to be behind this. Of course, she’d assigned the one person to Leighton who understood a directive and could probably protect her best when she’d instituted the app.
Fear seized her. Were Kalyssa, Casey, and Andy in harm’s way? Leighton attempted to dart past her, but Mikala subdued her from behind with ease.
“Then let me look at the cameras.” She squirmed, trying to break free.
“Go.” Mikala released her.
Leighton ran to the monitor and came to a dead stop. She knew that build, that posture, that menacing expression. How had Jeffrey gotten inside?
“No.” Leighton choked on the word as she watched him tower over Casey. She scanned the other cameras. Where were the kids? She jerked around when she heard the elevator’s arrival.
The doors slid open to produce Kalyssa and a crying Andy. Even though she looked terrified, Kalyssa hugged Andy to her.
“It’s okay, darlings. Everything’s okay.” Leighton opened her arms for them to come to her and hoped her lie sounded convincing. As upset as the children were, she needed to know what was happening with Casey.
Mikala ushered them inside. “The app notified the authorities, so they’re on their way. I’ll calm the kids down, but you stay there.” She pointed her finger at Leighton. “I’m not afraid to tackle you in front of your daughter.” She turned to Kalyssa and Andy. “Look how pretty your nail polish looks with your dress. Should we see if we can find any cartoons, Andy?” Her fake cheer made the children relax almost immediately.
Leighton turned and gasped.
Jeffrey’s hands were around Casey’s throat.
At first, Casey planted both her palms on his chest to fend him off, then they flew to her neck. She pulled at his fingers and tried to break his grip.
“No!” Leighton turned up the audio loud enough to hear, and the noise from the TV helped cover the sound. How was this happening?
“Where is she? She up there?” Jeffrey removed a hand from Casey’s throat to jab at the button.
Casey tried to shake her head. Leighton wasn’t sure she could speak, anyway. She clawed at Jeffrey’s hands as she tried in vain to loosen his grasp. Surely no air could reach her vocal cords.
How was she supposed to watch and do nothing? “For fuck’s sake, kick him!” Leighton clenched her hands so hard her nails cut into her palms. Why couldn’t she hear sirens? Where were the police? Why wasn’t anyone doing anything?
Behind Jeffrey, Maxine had the phone to her ear, her eyes filled with terror. Jenna appeared frozen to the spot. Devin tried to pull him away from Casey, but Jeffrey yanked her with him. When Devin attempted to pry his fingers away, Jeffrey punched him, and he stumbled and landed a few feet away. Crimson liquid flowed onto the floor from his nose.
Casey’s eyelids drooped, then closed.
“No!” Leighton hit the desk with her fist. Where was help? Could she get past Mikala?
Jeffrey shook Casey. “Is she upstairs?”
Casey’s head fell forward, and her arms dropped to her sides. Jeffrey slammed her into the elevator doors.
“Oh, God.” Leighton glanced at Mikala, who hovered in the hall. “Look. I can stop this. If I don’t…” She didn’t want to say much in front of the kids. The events of the evening had the potential to be seared into their psyches if she wasn’t careful. “Stay with them and keep them safe.”
Mikala saw the screen and her eyes widened. “Go. I got them. Go!”
Leighton ran for the stairs, thankful Mikala had seen the severity of the situation. “Use the cameras. Don’t leave this floor.”
She ran into Stefan coming up the stairs.
“You’re supposed to stay upstairs. I got the alert while in the studio.”
Leighton flew past him. “He’s choking her!”
“Who?” His rapid footfalls echoed behind her.
“Casey!”
When Leighton pushed through the first-floor door, sirens screamed outside. She found Mark standing above Jeffrey, who appeared unconscious, blood pouring from his nose. Mark’s hands were still balled into fists at his sides, and Leighton had witnessed nothing like the rage on his face in the time she’d known him. Behind him, Casey lay crumpled on the floor, and Maxine and Erica knelt beside her.
Leighton stepped over Jeffrey and rushed to her, pushing Erica aside.
Maxine called Casey’s name and shook her shoulder. Leighton kneeled and pressed her fingers to Casey’s neck to check for a pulse. It took a few tries, and her blood boiled as she touched the dark red marks in the shape of Jeffrey’s fingers. Casey’s pulse felt weak, but it was there. Leighton lowered her head and whimpered when she felt Casey’s breath on her face.
“Casey. Casey, can you hear me? Darling, please wake up.” Leighton repeated the words again and again. She glanced up to see a loose circle of concerned faces, except for Devin, who, even with his bleeding nose, had rolled Jeffrey onto his stomach, twisted one of his arms behind his back, and straddled him. Jeffrey would be subdued when he resumed consciousness.
“Casey, please. Please wake up. I need you. The thought of… I can’t…without you.” Leighton struggled to finish her sentence. “I can’t lose you.” She pressed her forehead to Casey’s and squeezed her hand.
Casey’s bravery left her speechless. The courage she’d showed protecting the children while sacrificing herself stunned Leighton. Her throat constricted and her eyes stung, but she refused to cry, refused to believe this was over. She cupped Casey’s face without jostling her. “Please, darling.”
Mark touched her shoulder. “Hey, the EMTs are here. Let’s give them room to do their job, okay?”
Leighton moved aside for the emergency personnel. She’d hold Casey’s hand until someone ordered her to do otherwise.
More emergency vehicles cut their sirens as they came to a halt in front of the building. The EMTs urged everyone back as they attended to the injured.
“How long has she been unconscious?” A wiry woman with short-cropped blond hair addressed Leighton as she kneeled.
“A few minutes. I’m not sure.” It felt like hours. Leighton looked to Devin for help.
He shrugged as another EMT assessed his nose.
The woman shined a light in Casey’s eyes, took her vitals, and palpated her neck.
Leighton, powerless to hurry things along, wanted to scream. Casey needed a hospital. She needed doctors. Why weren’t these people hurrying?
“BP eighty over palp, heart rate one-eighteen, sats eighty-nine percent, GCS thirteen.” The EMT held out her hand. “C-collar.”
Leighton touched the arm of another EMT tapping on a tablet. “Is she going to be okay?”
He didn’t look up. “There’s no way to know for sure until we get her to the hospital. The doctors will give you an update as soon as they can.”
“She may have an injury to the back of her head. Can you tell them that?”
“Yes, ma’am. They’ll do a thorough assessment in the ER.”
Stefan squeezed Leighton’s shoulder so hard she flinched. He pointed to the entrance.
Phoenix stood in the doorway, looking as pale as Leighton’s dress. “Somebody help. I need an EMT.” He visibly shook.
A police officer squeezed past him. “Are you injured?” She glanced around the room.
“No, my friend is.” Phoenix tugged her back outside.
“Where’s Jaiden?”
Stefan’s voice was never that high pitched. Leighton glanced around but didn’t see him.
“Who sent the alert? Has anyone seen Jaiden?” Stefan turned in a circle. “Where the fuck is Jaiden?” He rushed toward the entrance and almost slammed into the returning officer.
She elbowed Stefan aside and tapped the EMT treating Devin’s cut. “Unresponsive male out back. I can’t find a pulse. I need your help.”
“Hold this to your nose.” The EMT pressed gauze into Devin’s hand. “Someone will help you in a minute.” He grabbed his bag and jumped up.
Stefan followed them, holding on to the door for a little too long, as though his legs might not carry him.
Leighton closed her eyes. Police officers responded to car accidents and violent crimes every day. If the officer hadn’t been able to get Jaiden’s pulse…
She trembled. For the second time that night, Leighton wished she could be in two places, but she couldn’t leave Casey. She wouldn’t leave Casey. Leighton refused to think how she might lose two people in her life tonight.
Maxine’s phone clattered to the floor, but she didn’t retrieve it. Instead, she looked at Leighton with wide eyes. “The alert came from Jaiden’s phone.”
A chill ran through Leighton even though the room was already freezing because of the open door. This couldn’t be happening. Was she having a nightmare? As she fingered the stinging half-moons in her palm, acid swirled in her stomach much like the truth did in her head.
“Ma’am, you need to let go of her now.”
Leighton was semi-aware of someone unfurling her fingers from Casey’s hand. She tried to stand on shaky legs as the EMTs moved Casey onto a stretcher.
Casey looked so small.
Stefan returned, moving like he’d had his spine fused.
Leighton had never seen him so pale.
“They’re doing CPR, but…” He shook his head.
She’d been strong up until that point, but it was too much. It was all too much. Leighton’s tears dropped onto her dress.