Page 11 of A Secret Message

The boy had wanted to treat him to coffee, and it was only polite to say 'yes'. That this was also the same cafe wheresheworked was a coincidence, and if Vix were to introduce her to him, well...

You really don't learn, do you?

It was the cynical voice inside of his head again.

Didn't you once think Beatriz was the woman for you as well?

Frustration simmered inside of him, and Rule's fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

One look.

If she was working today, he'd just take one look. All he wanted was to see her smile again, nothing else.

Rule stepped out of his car, and his phone started vibrating inside of his pocket.

What now?

Was he meant to take this as a warning sign from heaven if the person calling him turned out to be Beatriz again?

Rule was about to reach for his phone when he noticed something move in the corner of his eye, and his head turned sharply towards it.

A man was lurking behind the row of trees lined up at the side of the cafe. Something about him seemed off, and Rule's blood went cold when he saw the other man put on a ski mask.

The man entered the cafe through the side door, and Rule didn't even think twice about following him. Tension flayed the air, and the moment he heard the stranger threaten the woman whose smile he hadn't been able to make himself forget—-

"Nobody move or say a word. Do as I say or you'll be the next one I'm—-"

Instinct took over as adrenaline rushed through his veins. Rule only had one thought in mind as he lunged towards the intruder—-

Save her.

I have to save her.

God, please help me save her.

Ten

IT WAS ALREADY LATEin the afternoon when Vixen made it back to the cafe from the police station, and although having to recount what happened was slightly harrowing, she was starting to feel more like herself again.

The police had only needed an hour to make Claire's Uncle Jorge crack under pressure and begin talking.

Jorge Cumerford had been drowning in gambling debts for years, and with loan sharks breathing down his neck, the older man had chosen to do the unthinkable: he had used his knowledge as a dentist to poison his mother and induce a heart attack, and the coroner had subsequently ruled her death as one of natural causes.

Great-Aunt Joy's death had allowed her son to sell off her home and receive money from the insurance company. But when Jorge had seen the secret message in his mother's letter, guilt and paranoia had him automatically assuming that the older woman was tattling from the grave.

Not wanting to pay for his crime, Jorge had resolved to commit another murder, and he might even have gotten away with it...if not forhim.

As soon as the police had his signed confession, Vixen and all the others who were interviewed were allowed to leave. Juno, being the resilient teenager she was, considered the whole thing as a badge of honor. Claire, on the other hand, had beenheartbroken, and it had taken both Vixen and Scott to convince her to stop blaming herself for what happened.

Only one loose end remained, and said loose end had just texted her a message.

I don't think you should be alone right now.

She didn't even think twice about what to answer him.

I do still owe you coffee.

His reply to this had her eyes widening.

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