The click was soft.
Almost delicate.
But Derek reacted as though someone had fired a warning shot.
Maya remained curled beneath the polished table, one hand over her mouth, her knees pressed against the carpet.
Above her, the stranger who owned The Obsidian had just touched a hidden brass button, and somewhere outside the velvet curtain, something had locked.
Derek’s polished shoes shifted backward.
“What did you do?” he asked.
The man in the booth did not raise his voice.
“I made sure no one leaves until I understand why one of my employees is hiding under my table.”
Employee.
The word hit Maya strangely.
Not possession.
Not girlfriend.
Not runaway.
Employee.
A person with a place in the room.
Derek tried to laugh.
“This doesn’t concern you.”
“You brought it into my club.”
“She’s confused.”
Under the table, Maya shut her eyes.
She knew that tone.
Derek had used it with landlords, friends, doctors, anyone who noticed the fear in her face and asked one question too many.
He never began with anger.
He began with concern.
Maya is emotional.
Maya misunderstands things.
Maya gets dramatic.
By the time he finished speaking, people were apologizing to him for her pain.
“She disappeared without warning,” Derek continued.
“I’ve been worried sick.”
The owner glanced beneath the table.
Maya could see only part of his face, but his eyes were steady.
“Did you disappear without warning?” he asked her.
Derek stepped forward.
“Don’t encourage this.”
The owner did not look at him.
“Maya.”
Hearing her real name spoken without anger made her throat tighten.
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Derek’s jaw hardened.
Maya forced the words out.
“Because he told me if I left him, he’d find me.”
She paused.
“And because I believed what he said he’d do when he did.”
The room went very still.
Derek’s expression sharpened.
“She’s twisting it.”
The owner leaned back.
“Then you’ll have no difficulty standing there while she speaks.”
For the first time, Maya noticed the curtain had opened slightly behind Derek.
Two members of The Obsidian’s security staff stood beyond it.
They had arrived without noise.
Neither entered the booth.
