What We Do in the Night (Day to Night #1) - Stylo Fantome Page 0,106

was remembering me right away sometimes. She hadn't asked about my mom in over a week. How could this be happening?”

“Sometimes the body has different plans for us than the ones we make,” Grace sighed. “Look, sitting here fussing over what we don't know, that won't help at all. So you need to go home.”

“What!? I can't leave her here alone!”

“She's not alone – I'll stay here,” Grace promised. “Go home and get some clothing, for you and for her. Get her medical files that you keep there, and all her prescriptions. Then grab some decent food and head on back. Take your time, don't rush – she's stable, he said. So just take deep breaths and remember, we can only deal with one thing at a time, as it comes to us.”

Valentine nodded her head, but once again, she didn't feel like she was absorbing any of the words.

How can I deal with one thing at a time when every fucking thing decides to hit me at once?

She felt like she was in a daze when she left the hospital. She put her helmet on, but then just sat on her bike for a long time. It was freezing out and she'd forgotten her jacket at Ari's, she hadn't even thought to grab it in her mad dash to leave.

Ari.

She wanted to see him. Wanted some of his strength. He'd liked her grandma the one time he'd met her, so maybe he'd even come to the hospital.

We're together, he said it, and I need him right now, so fuck it, I'm going to see him.

Valentine tried to call him first, but he didn't answer. Of course. So she wiped the tears off her face and looked up his office building. After plugging the address into her GPS, she finally took off.

The building was a huge sky rise, and under normal circumstances, she would've been in awe of it. Right then, though, her entire mind was just focused on finding him. So she strode into the building, her helmet swinging from her hand, and she looked up his office on the directory. The top floor, of course.

It was a long elevator ride, and it opened into a lobby of sorts. A harried looking receptionist had a phone pressed against one ear, and she was arguing with a person standing at the desk. She glanced at Valentine once, acknowledging her presence, then she went back to the heated discussion.

Fuck this.

Val slipped through the double glass doors that led into a wide open office space. Cubicles stretched out in front of her, and to either side there were hallways. The one to the right had doors numbered one through three going down it, so she went to the left, knowing she needed door number six – most likely the one at the end.

She barely made it into the hall, though, when the door next to her opened and someone barreled into her. She almost slammed against the wall, but a hand gripping her arm stopped her.

“Valentine?”

She glanced up to see Ari staring down at her, his face a perfect mask of shock, his grip on her arm painful. He hadn't been the one to say her name, though. Evans was standing next to him, smiling at her.

“This is a treat!” he went on. “How are you?”

Ari just continued staring at her.

“I'm ... not so good,” she replied, glancing between them. “Can I talk to Ari – er, Aaron, uh, Mr. Sharapov for a moment?”

“Of course, of course. We're all done here, anyway,” Evans said, patting Ari on the back. Then he gave them both a wink before sauntering off down the hallway.

“I'm so sorry,” she started. “I tried to call you, but you didn't answer, and I – ack!”

Valentine let out a startled shout as Ari swung her around, pressing her up against the opposite wall.

“What are you doing here?” he hissed. “Do you have any idea how bad your timing is?”

“No,” she replied. “And I'm sorry, but something really -”

“You have to leave,” he ordered. Her jaw dropped, but he kept talking. “You can't be here right now. I'll talk to you later.”

“But you don't understand, I just need -”

“Leave.”

He all but shoved her back towards the front door. As she tripped over her own feet, he strode off in the opposite direction, walking through the door at the end of the hall and pushing it shut behind him.

Wait a minute. Wait a goddamn minute. Was this the same guy from