The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 63

Chapter 57: Going To His Penthouse

Bella pov

I climbed in with Tom still in my arms, Maya sliding in behind us. The door shut, the locks engaged with an ominous click, and suddenly we were moving, pulling out of the loading dock and into an alley I’d never

noticed before.

“Mommy, why are we hiding?” Tom asked, his small voice worried now. “Are the bad guys after us?”

“No, baby,” I said, holding him close. “We’re just avoiding some people who want to ask Mommy boring work questions. Nothing for you to worry about.”

Through the tinted windows, I watched the city pass by, saw the news vans still clustered outside the hotel’s front entrance, saw reporters checking their phones and comparing notes.

None of them looked our direction as we drove past, just another black car in a city full of them.

Twenty minutes later, we pulled into an underground parking garage beneath a gleaming high-rise I recognized immediately. Black Tower, Caleb’s headquarters and residence combined. The most exclusive address in Silverton.

“We’re here,” Marcus said as the car stopped. “Mr. Black’s private elevator will take you directly to the penthouse. No stops, completely secure.”

The elevator was all glass and mirrors, luxurious in a way that made me acutely aware of my rumpled pajamas and unwashed face. Tom pressed his nose against the glass, watching the floors rush past.

“This is so high!” he breathed. “Are we going to the sky?”

“Almost,” Maya said, trying to keep things light despite the tension radiating from me.

The elevator doors opened directly into the penthouse, and I stepped out into Caleb’s world.

The space was enormous, all floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, modern furniture in blacks and grays, artwork that probably cost more. Everything was pristine, cold, perfect. Like a magazine spread instead of a home.

And standing in the middle of it all, looking tired and worried and somehow younger than his thirty-two years, was Caleb.

His grey eyes found mine immediately, then dropped to Tom in my arms. The emotion that crossed his face made my breath catch-relief, fear, desperate love, all crashing together.

“Caleb!” Tom wriggled out of my arms and ran to him before I could stop him. “We were ninjas! We sneaked out and nobody saw us!”

Caleb caught him instinctively, his large hands gentle as he lifted Tom like he weighed nothing. “You were ninjas? That sounds very exciting.”

“Uh-huh! And now we’re at your house!” Tom looked around with wide eyes. “Wow, your house is really big. Do you have a lot of toys?”

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no, Caleb admitted, looking suddenly unsure of himself. “But we can get toys. Whatever you want.”

“Can I have a slide? A big one?” Tom’s imagination was clearly running wild.

“Tom, we’re not staying long,” said quickly, moving closer. “This is just temporary.”

“Oh.” Tom’s face fell. “But I want to see Caleb’s house. Can we stay a little bit? Please?”

“We’ll see,” I said, the parenting default when you had no idea what the answer actually was.

Caleb set Tom down carefully, and my son immediately ran to the windows, pressing his face against the glass to look down at the city far below.

“Bella,” Caleb said quietly, stepping closer. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how they found out, but I’m going to find who leaked this and”

“It was Jade,” I said flatly. “She texted me right after I saw the headlines. This is her revenge for the embezzlement charges.”

Caleb’s jaw tightened, his hands clenching into fists. “I’ll destroy her for this. She exposed Tom, put him in danger, made him a target for every photographer in the city”

“Mommy?” Tom’s voice cut through our conversation, small and scared. “Why is that man taking pictures of our building?”

We both turned to look where Tom was pointing. Down on the street, forty stories below, a photographer with a telephoto lens was aimed directly at the penthouse windows.

They’d found us already.

Tom’s face was pressed against the glass, clearly visible to anyone with a camera powerful enough.”Get away from the window,” I said, my voice sharp with panic. “Tom, come here now!”

But the damage was done. The photographer had his shot-Tom’s face in Caleb Black’s penthouse windows, confirmation that the story was true, that we were here, that the scandal was everything they’d hoped for.

Caleb moved fast, pulling the automated blinds closed with a touch on his phone, plunging the room into relative darkness. Tom started to cry, scared by the sudden change.

“It’s okay, buddy,” Caleb said, his voice gentle despite his visible fury. “We’re just closing the blinds so the sun doesn’t hurt our eyes.”

“But I want to see outside,” Tom sobbed. “Why can’t I see outside?”

I gathered him into my arms, feeling him shake against me. “Because sometimes we need privacy, baby That’s all.”

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