Page 78 of Scarred King

“That bastard!” he hisses venomously. “He always disappears when he’s needed.” He is silent for a moment and then continues. “You have to understand that each day we’re not at the bar is critical. All the scumbags will start crawling out of their holes, and try to take over our business.”

“But there’s a ceasefire,” I say in a panic.

“Only regarding the war, not regarding a hostile takeover of abandoned businesses,” he explains coldly. “You have to get hold of Ralph and make sure he’s looking after our interests in the bar.”

“Okay,” I don’t know what else to say, my head is spinning.

“Elena,” his voice softens, “I hope you took your mechanics work with you.” He sounds amused.

“Of course I did,” I answer, not telling him that I burned all the file’s contents in his kitchen sink.

“Where are you?” His voice caresses my heart and I clutch my chest in pain.

“My apartment.”

“Ralph will make sure to set you up with a guard,” he says, and I hear the concern creeping into his voice. “And do not,” his tone grows hard again, “Elena, I repeat, do not go back to the bar.”

“Okay.”

“I have to go,” he groans. “But I want you to know that I’m thinking of you all the time.”

I don’t have time to answer before the call is cut off.

I stare at the phone’s screen and dial Ralph again. It goes straight to voicemail again and I leave another message. I try a few more times and then give up and start to get dressed. I’ll go crazy if I stay here. I can’t do any more than I've already done. The only way to stay sane is to go to the university.

I sit through my classes and for the first time in my life, my brain won’t absorb the studying material. I blink over and over again, but my brain is sealed. I call Ralph during each break, but I get his voicemail every time. I go into my last class and think I see Johanna. I close my eyes tight, open them again, and she’s still there. Professor Sawyer approaches the podium and starts his lecture. I look away from her in his direction, and see that he is looking right at me. His words sound muffled, I yawn, and tiredly stare at him.

When there is no more silence, and all I hear is the noise of people moving around, I realize that class is over, I stand up quickly to catch up with Johanna.

“Elena,” the familiar masculine voice comes from the stage and I groan and stop in my tracks. He signals me over and by the time I reach the stage, the hall is empty. “Is everything okay?” he asks with concern.

“Fine,” I say and fake a crooked smile.

“Then what are your conclusions from the research I presented today?” he asks and looks at me intently.

“Research?” I answer with a question, trying to check if my brain filed away the information.

“You don’t look well.” He puts his hand on my shoulder. “We’re humans, not machines. You should also let yourself rest sometimes.”

“You’re right,” I sigh in relief when I realize that he thinks I’m sick. “I must have caught a virus, but I finished the tasks you sent me on the weekend.”

He laughs and moves his head from side to side. “Stop being so perfect all the time. You make everyone else look bad.” I look at him and try to figure out if that was a compliment or an insult.

He closes his briefcase and turns towards the rear exit. “Your new hairstyle is very pretty,” he says with a smile, and leaves.

I leave the hall quickly and run to the lawn, looking for Johanna all over campus. It’s as if she’s vanished. I call Ralph again and curse in frustration when I hear his voicemail again. It’s already seven in the evening, and I’m standing in the parking lot helplessly. I have no idea where he lives or where he hangs out, except the bar and club of course, and we don’t have any mutual acquaintances I could ask. Okay, so I promised Liam I wouldn’t go near the bar. But I also promised that I’d get hold of Ralph and that seems more important. The only possibility I can think of is to go to the bar and pray I’ll find him there.

I get a cab and fifteen minutes later I’m standing before the big steel door. There’s no bouncer and the door is ajar. Before I can change my mind and turn around, the taxi drives off and leaves me there alone.

I say a prayer under my breath. Please, don’t make me regret this… I open the door cautiously and stifle a yell.

31

The bar looks like a war zone. Overturned tables, chairs on the floor, shattered glasses everywhere and drinks spilled all over the place. I glance towards the staircase, but I can’t make myself go upstairs. I walk over to the connecting door of the strip club, peek inside and also there, it looks like a war zone.

The place is empty and there’s no sign of Ralph. I hear the entrance door slam and crouch down to hide by the counter. My heart is pounding so wildly it feels like it will explode. I raise my head slightly and peek over.

“Charlie!” I cry in relief and stand up.

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