Let Me Go by Chelsea Cain Page A

stand the smell of him, the cigars, the cologne, the brandy. “I can’t spend the night,” she said. She had plans. She had to wax her legs and watch Law & Order.
    Jack’s blue eyes settled on hers. “I wasn’t asking,” he said. She was chilly, but his touch wasn’t making her warm—it was more like he was sucking the heat right out of her. He gave her another smile, this one more shark than gargoyle. “If everything goes well, you’ll be home tomorrow in time for brunch. In the meantime, enjoy the party. Have you tried the mini-quiches?”
    Susan looked up the stairs, searching for some sort of guidance from Leo, but he remained a silhouette in the dark.
    â€œWe should get back to our friends,” Jack said to her. “Let Cooper know if you need anything.” He turned and climbed up the first part of the stairs to where Leo was standing. When he reached his son, Jack settled his hand around the back of Leo’s neck. The gesture made Susan shiver. She didn’t know what sort of fucked-up game Leo and his father were playing, but she was pretty sure that Jack had just tossed her on the table and raised the stakes.
    â€œSusan,” Leo said. “Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”
    â€œCan I come with you?” she called.
    Jack Reynolds chuckled in the dark. “She’s a hoot,” he said.
    â€œYeah,” Leo said quietly.
    She watched as Jack steered Leo around and then escorted him up the rest of the stairs. She was on an island. Without cell reception. Dressed like a Mardi Gras Christmas ornament. And her boyfriend was acting like the Manchurian Candidate. This was so fucked.
    A gust of wind blew off the river, and dried leaves rained from the trees. She wondered if Cooper had been telling the truth about the pythons.
    The party sounded louder, like people were drunker, but she could still hear the sound of Cooper breathing.
    â€œSo which is it?” Susan asked him. “Is he using me to make sure Leo does something, or doesn’t do something?”
    Cooper put his hands in his pockets. “You want to know what I would do if I were you?” he asked.
    Susan gazed out at the cold black water. “Swim for it?” she said. It had been less than a year since she’d almost drowned in the flood. Technically, she had drowned. She had been clinically dead when Archie had pulled her from the river. Even the thought of her body in that lake made her squirm.
    â€œIt’s nine P.M. ,” Cooper said. “The party will go on until four in the morning. There’s food, music, scintillating conversation. Relax. Have a drink.”
    Was he serious? “Because a champagne cocktail is exactly what I need right now,” Susan said.
    Cooper leaned close to her. He was a foot taller than she was, and three times as wide. The weird thing was, the gesture didn’t feel threatening—just the opposite. He made Susan feel safe. She had thought he was following her in order to scare her. Now she wondered if he was actually trying to protect her.
    â€œIt will be better for him if he thinks you’re not afraid,” Cooper said.

 
    CHAPTER
    12
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    Archie had never liked crowds. He depended on his ability to absorb detail, to notice what was out of place, and too many people softened the lens. Everyone blended together.
    He had been patrolling the party for the better part of an hour. He hoped it looked like mingling. Every once in a while he would set a drink on a tray and pick up another one, so that to anyone watching it would look like he was drinking more than he actually was.
    There was no good vantage point. The grounds were a maze of horticultural nooks and crannies.
    The island was crawling with guests. Everyone looked sweaty from alcohol, and glowing with their own importance. Most of the tuxedos looked custom. Most of the women had hair that cost more to maintain than Archie brought home in