Page 75 of Release You

“I hope this asshole has something we can use.” I blew out a breath.

So much still didn’t add up for me. The last time Dom and I were here asking about Mom, the bartender had been way too helpful, as if he’d been expecting us. He’d had answers ready for us. In the moment, I didn’t give it much thought because I was desperate for news of Mom. That much hadn’t changed, but this time around, I knew what I was getting into. This time I wasn’t here blindly asking for scraps. I knew exactly what questions to ask.

When we reached the lobby, I slipped out of the elevator and headed straight for the bar. My gaze zeroed in on the bartender as soon as I entered the bar, with Dom close behind me. The bartender glanced over his shoulder toward the storageroom behind him and then to the outdoor patio area overlooking the city.

In the dim-lit room, no one noticed what was going on except the three of us. Dom took long strides toward the back room, and I rounded up on the other end. We had him blocked. The wild look in his eyes told me we were onto something. Energy surged through me in blasts as I waited for him to make a move.

He jerked into a run and headed straight for the outdoor patio. I went after him, ignoring the gasps and stunned faces of the people around us. Sidestepping a table he knocked over, I jumped the low wall and followed him down the side of the cliff. Dry small shrubs pricked my legs, and dust scratched the back of my throat as I scampered to catch up to him.

Several feet down, he hopped onto a stone path and went down a set of concrete steps that led into the parking lot below us. My feet hit the asphalt, and in three strides I gained on him. I rammed him with my body and brought him down with a heavy thud.

“Where the fuck is Scott? Does he work here? Or did you make that up before?” I rolled him onto his back and gripped his collar.

“No. He doesn’t work here. He’s a friend. He does jobs for me.” He put his hands up.

“Where is he?” I pushed my knuckles against his Adam’s apple.

“I’ll tell you.” He clutched my arm, wincing. “He’s with that lady. Francesca is her name. He works for her now.”

“What?” I glared at him.

“Oh man, he’s already singing?” Dom came up from behind me. “Tonight sucks.”

“Tell me about Francesca.” I gritted my teeth.

“That night. She was with them. The woman in the pictureand another guy. When they took off, she came to me and asked me to let her know if anyone came asking for them.”

“Asked or paid?” Dom asked.

“She…she paid me.”

Cold sweat ran down my back as the full picture behind the recording fell into place. Francesca whimpering in the background. That had never been her style. Had it all been an act? Had Francesca been there when Jonathan killed my dad? Or had she been the one to give him the deadly blow?

Mom had been so scared the day I saw her in the garden. She’d been afraid of Francesca. I underestimated her. I assumed all Francesca cared about was playing the socialite.

“Did she pay you to come after me?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Before you and him came looking for Scott, she showed up at the bar. She wanted to know if anyone had come by looking for a woman. I told her I hadn’t seen anyone and gave her Scott’s number. She was pissed when she left. Later, Scott texted, and you know the rest. We were supposed to take you somewhere far away from here and make sure you didn’t ask any more questions.”

“Scott is with her now? Where?” I asked.

“Not sure. But last time I saw him, he said he had a gig some place up north. Something creek. Um.”

“Paradise Creek.” I released him.

“Yeah. That’s it.” He scrambled to his feet, his eyes darting from me to Dom and back to me. “I swear that’s all I know. Can I go?”

“I’ll keep an eye on him.” Dom met my gaze.

When I turned to face the bartender, he was already running back toward the restaurant. Dom frowned as he watched the coward take the steps up the cliff.

“Do you think your mom is back in Paradise Creek?” heasked.

“I think so.”

Francesca sent Scott after me. I thought of that asshole and his hands all over Nikki. I should’ve beaten him to a pulp when I had the chance. I should’ve known he’d run back to Jonathan and Francesca. Crooks like him, they always needed someone with a brain to pull the strings.

Nikki’s murder board flashed in my mind, the blood, Dad’s body. I paced the parking lot. Mom wasn’t on Jonathan’s side. I was sure of it. And if he still had her, he had everything he needed to get away with this again. I was the last loose end. But I wasn’t going to stick around and wait for him to send someone to finish me off.

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