Page 39 of Don’t Look Down

“We’ll have men stationed around the entire perimeter of the event, as well as eyes in the sky both with drones and from the nearby rec building.” The large, burly man, Kent, points to multiple locations on a bird’s-eye view of the venue. “The bathrooms will also have guards stationed throughout the entirety of the event.”

I pity those who draw the short end of the stick for that job.

Beau’s knee bounces under the table, occasionally brushing up against mine. It makes me grit my teeth each time, but I refuse to tell him to stop.

That would involve speaking to him.

Kent is asked a few follow-up questions before he wraps up his part of the meeting. Next up on the list is catering, which we’ve hired the palace chefs to assist with.

Chef Kiyomi waves to the group. “Since the event is entirely outdoors, we created a menu that can withstand the weather, as well as be easily eaten while standing or sitting to enjoy the games. On page nine of the presentation, the full menu is listed.”

Papers rustle as everyone flips to said page. During that pause, Faraday enters the room, eyes scanning until he finds Beau and hustles toward him. He bends down to whisper something in Beau’s ear.

I watch his face, trying to gauge his reaction to what he’s being told. But he’s too good at keeping a straight face. Not a single feature shows even the slightest hint.

Beau nods at whatever Faraday says. When he finishes, he clears his throat and pushes to his feet. “I’m very sorry to cut this short, but Briar and I have a matter we must attend to right away.”

At the sound of my name, I perk up. “Is everything alright?” Immediately, my mind jumps to the worst case scenarios. Someone is sick, someone is hurt, someone is dead.

“It’s fine.” Beau pushes his hands down in an attempt to calm my worry. He looks around the room. “I’m sure whatever decisions you all make will be the right ones. You have full authority to do as you see fit. Briar?” He grabs the back of my chair, allowing me to scoot away from the table and rise on shaky legs.

“I’m sorry,” I tell them, even though I’m not sure what I’m apologizing for. “If you need something, you can call me.”

Juliette’s face is drawn in concern, but she shoos us away. “We won’t bother you. I hope everything is alright.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Beau says and leads me from the room where Faraday waits in the hall for us. I trail behind them, mind racing.

When we get outside, Faraday has the car already waiting.

Beau opens the door for me and I quickly jump in. If time is of the essence, then I want to get going. “What’s the emergency?” I ask when he gets in from the opposite side. I click my seatbelt into place.

“There isn’t one,” Beau says matter-of-factly, then to Faraday, he asks, “Gabriel gave the all clear?”

Faraday nods once, then puts the car into drive.

I frown. “What is going on? I thought there was an emergency we had to attend to? I thought someone died!”

Beau props an elbow on the door ledge. “I said there was an urgent matter,” he corrects, like it matters, “And I needed an excuse for us to leave quickly. That seemed like the easiest out.”

I blink, packing away my previous panic and unpacking my frustration. “You bastard. We can’t do that!”

“We just did.”

I jerk my head to the window in an effort to see where we’re going. “What’s this about an all clear?”

“Gabriel went to where I’m taking you, and no I won’t tell you just yet,” he says hurriedly when I open my mouth to ask just that. “To ensure there is no one else around, and to keep anyone else from disturbing us while we’re there.”

I cross my arms and sink back into the seat. “You’re seriously not going to tell me what you’re stealing me away for?”

“Nope.”

“And I don’t have a say in it?”

“Not today, Princess.”

I give him my back and face the window. “Fine. Then don’t bother speaking to me the rest of the way if you’re not going to say anything of actual meaning.”

Faraday coughs, which makes Beau mutter something to him I don’t quite catch.