Out of Time 01 - Out of Time

frantic with worry. He’d make one last check of the apartment, then he’d go to the police. Timelines be damned.
    He keyed into their small apartment and stopped dead in his tracks. Elizabeth was sitting at the small table, very much alive.
    He breathed a sigh of relief and closed the door behind him. “Where the hell have you been?”
    Elizabeth kept her gaze out the window and gave a bitter laugh.
    His relief was pushed aside by a wave of anger. “The least you could have done is left a note. I looked all over the damn city for you.”
    She turned slowly in her chair. “Now, you found me.”
    Her calm was maddening. “What were you thinking?” he said and strode toward the table.
    She stood and met his anger with her own. “I don’t think you want to know.”
    Simon clenched his jaw. She was right about that. He didn’t want to know.
    “But since you asked so nicely,” she said icily. “I think it’s best if we don’t share an apartment anymore. I wouldn’t want any more mistakes, would you?”
    He winced and tried to think of something rational to say, which was distinctly lacking in this conversation. “Elizabeth—”
    She walked away from him and busied herself with preparing her outfit for the club. “I should have enough money by the end of the week.”
    She couldn’t be serious. He couldn’t let her move out. There simply had to be a way to convince her not to. God knows, it was hard enough to protect her as it was, but if she weren’t with him... If she weren’t with him. He choked on the thought. He felt his hands begin to shake, and he tamped down the feeling. He couldn’t afford another bout of emotion. He’d let himself slip last night and created nothing but another nightmare. He had to be in control of himself. He had lived the last thirty years in well-measured restraint. He wouldn’t fail now.
    “Don’t be absurd,” he said and winced as soon as the words left his mouth.
    She arched an eyebrow in challenge. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was I being absurd?”
    “That’s not,” he stuttered and shoved his hands into his pockets. “That’s not what I meant.”
    “It doesn’t matter anymore. You made yourself quite clear last night. I’ll have my own place by the weekend.”
    He fought against the urge to take her in his arms. Tell her it was all a mistake. That he’d made the mistake in pushing her away. But his feet wouldn’t move. He had done the only thing he could yesterday, but he couldn’t let her leave.
    “Like it or not,” he said, as evenly as he could. “We’re in this situation together.”
    “No. We’re not.” She picked up her costume and lifted her chin. “We need to keep up appearances. But since that’s all they are, where I spend my nights is none of your business.”
    * * *
    Elizabeth ignored him all the next night at the club, never once even glancing in his direction. Simon managed to play the music, but he wasn’t sure how. Her anger was well deserved, but that was hardly a comfort.
    He finished his set and sat on the piano bench watching her lean against the bar, waiting for her order to be filled. She tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ears and gave Charlie a fleeting smile.
    The night dragged on painfully slowly. The bar was doing a brisk business for a Monday night, but every couple, every happy reveler was nothing more than painful reminder of something he’d never have. He watched her as she greeted each table with a smile. He hadn’t realized how much he’d come to rely on her smile. How much that simple thing meant to him. Now they were all for someone else. He was starting to feel truly maudlin when the buzz of the crowd softened to a whisper. Every eye in the club was on the man in the doorway.
    “King!” Charlie said with forced enthusiasm. “Your table is waitin’ for ya.”
    The dark haired man nodded his head once and took a seat along the far wall. Simon nearly forgot his place in the song as he leaned to his right to get a better view. So this was King Kashian? He used so much oil in his hair, there was enough left over for his smile.
    Dix went to his table, but he waved her off. His dark eyes traveled across the room until they found their prize. Elizabeth. Dix signaled for her to come over. King’s gaze raked over her body, and Simon hit a sour note. He covered quickly, then strained to see them through the crowd.
    The man’s look was positively indecent. King waved a gloved hand and gestured for