Buch lesen: «Take Me»

Chapter One

Christmas 2004

The party was a glittering affair. Every Treffen event was. From the immaculately dressed waitstaff, to the lilting strains of Christmas carols being played by a string quartet, all the way down to the golden marble floors of the ballroom.

Sydney Davis wondered, idly, how common it was for a law firm, even one as prestigious as Treffen, Smith and Howell, to have a ballroom. But she decided it didn’t really matter, since she was here, and she was just going to soak in all the fancy. And it was dripping with fancy.

She’d been exposed to most of this stuff at some point during her life, but it was only these past few years she’d been included in it.

Thanks to Travis Beringer. Who had wandered away from her at some point during the party. Probably looking to get kissed under the mistletoe. Which was the hazard of bringing a date who would never really be your date.

Travis was her best friend in all the world. Had been from the time they’d first seen each other in the hallowed halls of his family mansion. Her mother had been on the housekeeping staff, but that hadn’t stopped Travis, or his family, from treating them like equals. So much more than any of her mother’s other employers had ever given them.

Then they’d gone the extra step and actually taken interest in her, recommending her for a scholarship position at a very prestigious, private, all-girls school, which had led to her entrance into Harvard, and eventually to the annual Treffen Christmas party.

Not that the party was that important. But she had been excited to be included. It was a chance to make some professional connections, and with graduation on the horizon, it was particularly important.

She knew Austin Treffen, law student, and son of their host, through her former roommate, Sarah Michaels. And also through Sarah she’d met Hunter Grant and Alex Diaz. Powerful connections that she knew would serve her well later on. Hunter was a star athlete, making a name for himself in the NFL, while Alex was on the cusp of a prestigious career in journalism.

Every inroad forged was valuable for someone with an eye for politics. As long as none of them were too salacious.

But there was nothing salacious here. Here, there was nothing but glitter and diamonds. Old money, with a sprinkling of people like her. People who had been lucky enough to have been given the assist that allowed them to crawl up from nothing and into a world of endless possibilities.

She looked across the crowded room and saw Jason Treffen, who was, for lack of a better term, holding court. He wasn’t only the host of the party, but the focus of it. Wherever Jason was, he drew a crowd. He was so magnetic, it was almost off-putting.

Sarah had been working part-time for him for a while and her comments about her boss always left Sydney feeling a little uneasy. Sometimes Sarah seemed to verge on an obsession with him. Other times, she seemed fearful and edgy. And lately she hadn’t said much at all. They’d drifted apart a bit since Sarah had moved into the city, but Sarah had been even more distant recently. Sydney had mostly put that down to her recent breakup with Hunter, which had thoroughly devastated her friend.

Tonight Sarah didn’t look devastated. She looked stunning, if exhausted. Though, Sydney hadn’t seen her since they’d first arrived.

Jason suddenly broke away from the crowd, his eyes meeting hers, a smile on his lips. And she found it hard to look away. There was something about him. Sheer charisma. He would be an excellent politician, and yet he seemed content to stay a lawyer, devoting most of his time to high-profile cases of women who suffered injustice in the workplace.

He was an idol for someone with her ambition. A man who’d built an empire, and managed to make a difference at the same time.

“You must be Sydney,” he said.

“Yes,” she said, holding out her hand. When he shook it, she felt a vague whisper of disquiet and she wasn’t sure why. “Mr. Treffen, it’s very nice to meet you.”

“You as well. Are you enjoying my party?”

“I am.”

“Sarah’s told me a lot about you,” he said. “She speaks highly of your intelligence.”

“That’s nice of her.”

“Not at all. I suspect it’s just true. I wanted to tell you, if you’re ever looking for a job that might complement the classes you’re taking, I always have things available here for bright young women.”

Flattery warred with a strange, sinking sensation. She wasn’t sure why the sinking sensation. Maybe just because of the way things had been going with Sarah. She should be flattered. Jason Treffen would be a valuable name on her résumé. A letter of recommendation from him would get her places.

“Thank you so much,” she said, “I’m honored. When school starts back up again, I’ll reevaluate my schedule and come see you.”

He patted her arm, his smile paternal, but the feeling his touch left behind...very not. She wasn’t sure what to make of him. “You do that. Please.”

He turned and walked away then, stopping at the next group of people, smiling, greeting everyone by name. He was a force, no question about that. Regardless of her slight, weird and baseless misgivings, people seemed to like him and the value in the connection could not be overstated.

“You look lost in thought. Or are you simply in awe of your surroundings?”

She turned toward the sound of Travis’s voice and caught a hint of his scent—clean skin and fresh aftershave. And she let herself have a moment where his sheer beauty took her breath away. She’d known Travis since he was a boy, but at the age of twenty-two he was very much a man now.

His shoulders and chest were broader, the softness long gone from his face, replaced with a chiseled edge that made him look both beautiful and a little dangerous. His eyes were the same. That light sky-blue that seemed to promise her the world every time he looked at her.

And his lips...well, they were the same, but they were much more distracting than they’d been when they were younger. Of that she was certain. Until recently she’d never been quite so aware of the shape of them. Or that they looked vaguely sinful.

But that could also be because she had been boyfriend-less, and ergo, sexless, since sophomore year, when her one-and-only boyfriend had broken things off with her to move on to more WASP-ish pastures. She’d been too busy studying and generally trying to prove that she absolutely belonged, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to do anything about her love life.

“Just pondering things,” she said.

He snagged two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and held one out to her, which she took gratefully. “Pondering what things? You’re on break, remember? You aren’t supposed to be thinking about school or studying or your political ambitions.”

“I didn’t get here based on lineage, Travis. I’m here because I work hard. The only thing that’s blue in my family lineage are the collars. The blood is just red.”

He arched a brow. “Don’t ever bleed around these people and they’ll never know.”

“That’s my plan.”

“Do you want a dessert to go with your champagne?”

“Do you have to ask?”

He smiled and shook his head, moving in the direction of the balcony, where the table with the chocolate cake was set up.

She watched him for a moment, sipping on her fizzy drink. He really was very handsome. His tux was custom-fitted to his physique. And yeah, you could tell.

Suddenly a scream shattered the music. “Silent Night” broke into a million pieces as more screams followed the first and people began rushing to the balcony, to the windows.

Sydney froze, watching the commotion, watching as Travis set his cake down and moved closer to the windows before taking two stumbling steps backward and then turning to face her, his skin waxen, his lips pressed into a thin line.

“What happened?” Sydney asked.

“Let’s go,” he said.

“What happened, Travis?”

“Don’t look,” he said. “Please don’t look.” He was trembling as he reached out and grabbed her, his fingers curled around her arm. “Don’t look,” he said again.

She started to panic then, fear rising up in her chest, grabbing her by the throat and shaking her.

“Travis, what?” she asked, knowing she sounded crazy and hysterical now, but not caring.

Jason Treffen was trying to speak over the roar of commotion, but for once, it seemed like he didn’t have control. It seemed that whatever had happened had lessened Jason’s power, if only for a moment. Because no one could pay attention to Jason—not now. They were all glued to the windows. And Travis wouldn’t let her see.

“It’s Sarah,” he said, pulling her from the room. “I don’t want you to see.”

“Sarah?” she asked, picturing her friend as she’d been earlier in the evening when they’d met at her Manhattan apartment to get ready for the evening. Sarah’s dark hair had been swept up into a bun, her gorgeous figure wrapped in a crimson gown. So alive. So beautiful. “I have to help. I have to see—”

“You can’t help,” he said, his voice rough. “You can’t help.”

“Why can’t I help?” she asked.

“She’s dead,” he said, the words seeming to scrape his throat on the way out. “She’s dead, Syd. Come on.”

“No,” she said. “You don’t know that. You don’t know.”

She tugged free of his grasp and ran toward the windows, her heart in her throat, blocking air from entering her lungs. Sydney pushed her way through the crowd to the windows, her whole body shaking now. She could see her own reflection in the glass, and through to the other side, the lights in the buildings across the street. Christmas lights strung over everything. Then she looked through her reflection, down to the street below.

And she saw her.

A slash of red on the pavement. The crimson not contained to her beautiful gown, but pooling out around her, spreading across the New York City sidewalk.

She put her hand over her mouth and froze there.

“Syd,” Travis said, using her nickname again. The name only he was allowed to call her. “Let’s go.”

“I have to help,” she said, her words a sob.

“You can’t,” he said.

“You don’t know that,” she said, shaking her head, knowing full well Sarah was beyond help now.

Travis tugged at her arm again, harder, and she stopped pulling against him, stopped fighting him, and let him lead her to the elevator.

“What happened?” she asked, the moment the elevator doors closed.

“She jumped.”

“No.” She shook her head. “Travis, she wouldn’t do that...she wouldn’t. I don’t believe this. I was with her only a couple of hours ago. She was getting ready. And she was happy and s-so beautiful.”

“I know, baby.” He put his arm around her, holding her hard against his side, holding her together.

“Are you sure it’s real?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said.

She could feel a tremble move through his body, echo in hers. He’d seen it, too. It hadn’t been a sick hallucination or a party trick. It was real.

Her friend was dead. Before her life could ever begin, she was dead.

Travis leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes. She looked at him, so strong, so solid. Shaken like she was. The look on his face made it even more real. “Promise me something, Travis,” she said, shaking from the inside out.

“Anything.”

Right now, Travis was the anchor. Right now, Travis was the only thing that made sense. She felt like if she lost sight of him, she would drift out to sea completely.

He was her friend, warm, alive and present, and right now she needed him to be with her. She would give anything, her soul if she had to. She just couldn’t bear to lose him, too. Not tonight.

“Promise you’ll stay with me,” she said.

“How long?” he asked.

“As long as it takes.”

“For?”

“For...for me to stop shaking.”

He released his hold on her, but he stayed close, his presence a comfort.

He rested his head against the high-gloss elevator wall and closed his eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed hard. He opened his eyes and looked at her, and all of his sparkle was gone.

She wondered if she would ever see it again.

“I’ll stay with you,” he said, putting her hand in his and squeezing it tight.

For some reason, the agreement felt like a blood oath. Like a pact. And she wondered just what it was she’d agreed to.

She wasn’t sure. She wasn’t sure of anything.

Except that Sarah was dead. Horribly. Tragically.

And that right now, as much as she needed Travis, he needed her, too.

She watched the numbers of the elevator, watched as they got closer to the ground floor. She didn’t know what would happen between them, because nothing seemed right tonight. Nothing was predictable.

She’d never been afraid to be alone with Travis before, but for some reason, right now she was.

But not as afraid as she was of being alone without him.