Page 60 of Claiming Veronica

“Green jacket. Black ball cap.”

“Got it.” He hung up, and my eyes met Reed’s.

“It’s so hard not to look,” she said. “What will they do? Are they just going to tackle him in the street? Won’t the cops arrest them?”

She was right. The urge to glance out the window was killing me. Haverboro was small, the sidewalks right up against the windows. Out of the side of my eye, I could see an occasional car go by, but it was hard to see any movement on the opposite side of the street unless I raised my head.

“More soda?”

Daisy had come up to the table with a pitcher of orange soda and a smile pinned to her face, but I could see that it wasn’t her usual smile. She gave us a wink.

“Sure,” I shrugged.

“They went out the back,” she confided. I’d figured as much, but she seemed unconcerned to be part of a felony. “Looks like they’re standingwith some guy over there now. Oh, there’s Dimitri. Guess that guy did something bad, huh?”

Reed and I, in tandem, swiveled to the window. Sure enough, there was Dimitri in an SUV pulling to the curb. Maxim had what had to be Doug with his arm behind his back, and he was strong-armed into the vehicle with Eli right behind him. Great, a kidnapping in broad daylight. I reminded myself to go back and erase the footage from the security cameras.

“Erm, it isn’t what it seems.” I began to wonder if we were portraying ourselves in the best light for Daisy. She’d been super helpful in Pike’s case.

“I didn’t see anything.” Daisy shrugged. “Never happened.” She looked utterly unconcerned.

“You aren’t worried?” Reed looked completely unsure in the face of Daisy’s laissez-faire attitude. “That maybe you’re a witness of something?” I kicked her under the table. Beggars couldn’t be choosers and all that jazz.

“Look, we have all sorts in here,” she waved a hand around the diner. “But the Brotherhood runs this place. The men of the Brotherhood and the Cobras might do some things that aren’t exactly all above board, but they are good men. If I need to look the other way for a few things,that’s okay. I’m sure that guy out there deserves whatever happens to him.” She looked hard at me. “Am I wrong?”

“You aren’t wrong at all. That guy is very bad news. He’s going to get what’s coming to him,” I said definitively.

“I’ll get your orders to go,” Daisy said with a wink.

Chapter 30

Eli

The chill in the back alley bit hard, though the Arizona sun still burned overhead. Doug’s face was pressed into the concrete, his wrists bound with cable ties so tight his hands were already turning purple. His mouth strained around the gag as he tried to speak, but Dimitri had thought ahead. I wasn’t keen to hear him begging before I was ready. Maxim had him by the collar, hauling him around the side of the building and out of Dimitri’s waiting car.

Maxim was already pacing beside me, fingers tapping rhythmically against his thigh, his gaze sharp and unrelenting. This wasn’t just a clean-up; it was an interrogation, and every second of Doug’s cowardly squirming fueled my patience for what was to come.

Dimitri jumped out, expression tense as he took in the scene. "This him?" he asked, nodding to Doug, who looked pale and sweaty.

"Yeah, this is the asshole,” I said, pushing Doug into the back seat. Maxim got in beside him, giving Doug a look that could freeze blood. I slipped into the passenger side as Dimitri pulled out of the alley.

We reached a quiet, empty warehouse—one of the Brotherhood’s safe houses, I assumed. I dragged Doug out and threw him into a metal chair in the center of the room, hands bound behind him.

Maxim crossed his arms, watching Doug’s pitiful attempts to squirm. “You’re a little ahead of schedule,” he said casually. His tone was light, almost friendly. “We didn’t expect you until tomorrow.” He pulled the gag down.

Maxim cracked his knuckles, standing just inches from Doug. "Now, tell us why you’re stalking Reed," he demanded, voice sharp as a blade.

Doug’s eyes darted around the room. "I—I wasn’t stalking her! I just… I was curious."

"Curious?" I sneered, leaning forward until I was inches from his face. "You’ve been chasing her allover California, and now you’re following her to Arizona?”

He looked at me, desperate. "She was just… interesting, you know? She seemed so… out of place at that hotel. I saw her working the desk during one of my trips. She looked tired, and there was something… something about her." He swallowed hard. "I don’t know what got into me, okay?"

Dimitri’s knife flicked under Doug’s chin, casting sharp shadows across his face as he spoke. "That’s not good enough. Why’d you buy a ticket to Arizona?"

Doug’s voice broke. "I just… I thought maybe she’d want to see me."

Maxim laughed, a cold, cutting sound. "See you? Did she give you any sign she wanted to see you?"

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