Demand by Lisa Renée Jones Page A

gaze catches on my journal. Since my memories are active today, I grab it and settle it safely next to Charlie. Then I put on my coat, shove my phone in my pocket, and head for the hallway.
    On my way downstairs I think about how carefully Kayden has guarded me, and I’m not sure I can leave without Adriel following. Not to mention the fact that the castle security system seems to send an alert to everyone’s phone. There has to be some way everyone leaves without driving the other residents crazy. Stopping at the bottom of the steps, I fish out my phone and dial Giada, hoping she’s gotten her phone back.
    â€œElla,” she answers. “Hi. I wanted to call you, but I just got my phone back, and you were angry and—”
    â€œWe need to talk. Alone. Where are you?”
    â€œMy tower.”
    â€œAnd Adriel and Marabella?”
    â€œMarabella’s in our kitchen, baking. That’s her way of coping with last night. And Adriel is holed up in his office upstairs. That’s his way of sparing us all his bad mood.”
    â€œIs his office in your tower, or the store?”
    â€œMy tower, but I can come to you.”
    I punch the button to lift the door between our tower and the main lobby. “The walls have ears in this place,” I say, ducking under the door and entering the foyer. “Can we go out to lunch?” I glance up the central tower stairs, where the huge wooden door to the store is closed. “Or will Adriel not allow you to leave after last night?”
    â€œWhy does he have to know?”
    That’s not the answer I want from her, but it’s a good opening for the information I need. “I thought all the doors pinged his phone.”
    â€œNot the garages or the store.”
    Bingo. I start walking across the foyer toward the central tower steps. “We aren’t going to piss everyone off more by sneaking out,” I say hypocritically, since that’s exactly what I’m about to do. “But we need to talk and eat.” As I start up the stairs, I remember Gallo’s threat and ask, “Did you send Detective Gallo any text messages?”
    â€œ No. Why?”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œPositive.”
    â€œYou know Matteo can hack your messages, right?”
    â€œThere’s nothing to hack. What’s happening?”
    â€œWe’ll talk over lunch,” I say. “How’s one o’clock?”
    â€œGreat. Should I come to you?”
    â€œThat’s not a good idea,” I say, hating that her suggestion makes me suspicious.
    â€œBecause Kayden doesn’t want me in your tower.”
    â€œLet’s give him space to cool off,” I say. “How about we meet in the store?”
    â€œFine. There are no text messages.”
    â€œGood. Keep it that way.”
    I end the call and jog my way up the stone steps to the store, where I’m forced to wait on the electronic door, wishing like heck we had one normal door I could just open and shut. Finally, though, I’m inside the store. The windows are shuttered, but the front door is not, and the lock flips easily. The process of resetting the lock isn’t as easy, though, and it takes me a few tries before I figure it out. When I finally step outside, successfully locking up behind me, I’m hit by the bitter February cold. And compared to the front of the castle, the street view here is like being on another planet. Back here there’s no plaza, just a wall smack in front of me, and narrow, grayish, uneven brick roads with no sidewalks.
    Aware that every moment standing here is one when Adriel could intercept my departure, I turn left and start walking, then after a few feet, I turn right down another tiny street, a cold wind lifting my hair, and freezing my scarf-less neck. While this one is just as narrow, it’s quieter, without retail stores and street vendors. Desperate to get away from another gust of wind, I slip into