Page 147 of Theirs to Ruin

Raye. She knew the town, its people, the hidden nooks and crannies.

I thought about the promise I’d made Kage that I wouldn’t go around asking questions about Ava in case it put me in danger. But Raye wouldn’t be a danger to me.

I checked the time. I could go see Raye then get back in plenty of time for my Seduction 102 exam.

I took an Uber to Devil’s Engine. As I approached the front door, I heard the distant murmur of voices and mellow rock music. When I walked in, a few people looked my way but the crowd mostly ignored me.

I scanned the place for Raye but there was a different girl behind the bar, a pretty blonde with round cheeks. Behind her sat Talon, one of Raye’s two friends that Simone and I met at the coffeeshop. He sat facing me at the bar, his expression once again like stone.

I walked up to him. “Hey,” I said, leaning against the bar.

He ignored me and took another sip of his beer.

“Remember me?” I nudged.

He turned and finally looked at me. “Yeah,” he said.

“Still not a talker, huh?” I pressed.

A shadow of something flickered across his eyes. “Not much to say. Why are you here?”

“I’m looking for Raye. I need to ask her something.”

“She took the day off. Harlow’s filling in for her.”

Since he was a friend of Raye’s, I took out my phone and brought up a picture of Ava and me. It was the last picture I had of us, taken before she left for home this summer, and my heart ached at how happy we looked. “This is my friend Ava. Have you seen her in here? Maybe with a guy?”

Talon scowled at me. “That’s the girl who drowned on campus. And you’re here, asking questions about her. Are you fucking stupid?”

I reared back. “No, I’m not stupid,” I forced out. “She was my friend. I just found out she had a boyfriend I didn’t know about and I want to track him down.”

“Let the police handle it.”

“The police haven’t found shit.”

He turned away and took another sip of beer. “I haven’t seen her. Neither has anyone else in here. Don’t bother asking, they’ll tell you the same damn thing.”

Frustration boiled inside me. I looked around and was met with shuttered gazes, except for the blonde behind the bar who looked at me with a soft, sympathetic expression.

“Fine,” I muttered. I turned and strode out of the bar. Once I was out of view, I stomped my foot. Damn biker, I thought.

“Miss?”

At the male voice, I turned around. An older man with dark hair threaded with silver and wearing clothes that were too big for him said, “Can I see the picture?”

I hurried over and showed it to him.

He nodded. “I’ve seen her. With a guy. Tall, dark hair, kinda fancy-lookin' for this place.”

“Did you catch his name?”

“No.”

“I’m Camille. What’s your name?”

“Henry.”

“Henry, do you have a phone?” He took out a flip phone, something from the stone ages. “Can you call me if you see him again?”

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