Julie Kenner Code breaking 01 The Givenchy Code

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Do you promise?
She nodded.
Say it out loud.
I thought she d argue. Again, she surprised me. I promise.
I love you. Tell Daddy I love him, too.
We love you, too, baby.
I managed a watery smile, then opened the stall and stepped out before pausing as something occurred
to me. Have you ever lied to me?
Mom almost smiled. No, baby. I haven t.
Good, I said. Don t start now.
Chapter 51
I let Mom leave, waited two minutes, then followed. She was in the lobby when I got there, whispering
something to my father. His face was creased, and he looked older than I remembered. I slipped back
into the restroom and watched them from a crack in the door, afraid I d never have the strength to keep
my secret if I had to keep it from Daddy.
Their conversation lasted a few minutes longer, with my dad stalling and my mom encouraging. Finally, he
kissed my mom s cheek, then brushed the pad of his thumb under her eye. My stomach twisted. I knew I
was ripping them to pieces, but there wasn t a damn thing I could do about it. Not yet, anyway.
Finally, they headed to the front entrance. I slipped out of the restroom and followed, staying out of sight
as I watched through the window. The doorman hailed a cab, and Mom and Daddy got in. And then
they were gone. Thank God.
As soon as the cab pulled away, I moved back toward the sofa, still keeping a sharp eye out in case
Lynx decided to make an appearance. I d thought that Stryker would be back by now, and I was
starting to get nervous.
I was just about to say screw it and head up to the room myself when the elevator doors slid open once
again and Stryker strode toward me, his face all hard lines and angles.
I met him in the middle of the lobby and he took my arm, propelling me out the front door. What
happened? I asked as we moved.
He was gone by the time I got there. The door was kicked in and room was tossed, totally trashed.
Presumably, he expected your parents to be there. Looks like he s losing his cool.
I think I nodded, but I m not sure. Mostly, I was numb. My head was buzzing, and I was trying to hear
words past the static. My parents were alive, but by how much?
Do you think he s still here?
No. I think he bolted. But that doesn t mean he won t be back.
Right, I said. Let s get out of here.
We left the hotel and walked the few blocks to a Starbucks, where we could sit and regroup. We took a
roundabout route, entering front doors and going out the back, Stryker looking over our shoulders the
whole time. I might not be sure about a lot of things these days, but I was certain we weren t being
followed.
I ordered us coffee while Stryker fired up the laptop. As I was waiting for the drinks, my cell phone rang,
and I grabbed it. The caller ID showed Warren, my sometime study buddy. I considered letting voice
mail take it, but I wanted to hear his voice. Any voice from my normal life, actually.
Hey, Warren.
Hey yourself. Where ve you been? I called your apartment.
I ve been out, I said.
Hot date?
I laughed. You could say that.
Well, then forget it. I just wanted to see if you wanted to go in with me on a tutoring gig. Fifty bucks an
hour. I thought you could use it.
I could, but there was no way I could say yes. Let me see what happens with this guy. Can I let you
know later this week?
All the slots might be filled by then, he said, so no promises. You can try, but don t hold me to it.
Trust me, Warren, I said. I m becoming pretty adept at living in the moment.
Warren started to ask me about my date he wanted all the juicy details but the drinks were ready,
and I used that as an excuse to hang up. As soon as the dead air hit, I felt a wave of loneliness. I turned,
searching for Stryker, a smile coming automatically when I saw him. I wasn t alone. And thank God for
that.
When I got to the table with my latte and his coffee (plain, black, I mean, why even bother with
Starbucks?), he already had a browser up.
What are you doing?
The only thing I can. Since this math stuff isn t in my head, I m plugging it all into Google. Maybe
something useful will spit out.
Worth a try. I scooted my chair next to his and peered at the screen over his shoulder. He called up
www.google.com and typed Catenary New York into the search box. Pages and pages of hits came
up, but nothing jumped out as being useful.
Okay, Stryker said after we d scrolled through a dozen pages. I ve got another idea.
This time he typed Catenary Saint into the search box.
I thought you said he was the archangel.
He s the patron saint of soldiers, Stryker explained. If nothing pops up, I ll try archangel, but I figured
this would get more hits.
He might have been right. The search returned pages and pages of results. I wasn t feeling particularly
optimistic, but I started skimming again. A publishing website. An encyclopedia entry about the Gateway
Arch, a biography of an architect.
I blinked, my eyes skimming back up the page. The Gateway Arch. Of course!
That one, I said, tapping on the screen. That s it. I threw my arms around him and leaned in, planting
a kiss on his cheek. You re brilliant. I should have thought of it, but I guess I m too tired. Thank God for
the Internet.
Happy to be of service, Stryker said. Do you want to clue me in on the answer?
Saint Louis.
He stared at me blankly.
The Saint Louis arch? The famous landmark? That s a prime example of a catenary curve. That s got to
be our answer. Saint Louis.Saint Michael.
A slow smile lit his face, and I was struck again by how incredibly sexy the man was.
He reached over and stroked the back of my neck, then stood up and started to rub my shoulders. We
make a good team, he said in a whiskey-rough voice. It was a good thing we were in Starbucks,
because if not, we would have wasted a lot of time while I jumped the man.
But what about it? he asked, and suddenly I didn t feel so brilliant anymore. We have two saint names
now, but what do we do with them?
Pray? I suggested. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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