Page 53 of Pretty Lies & Ugly Truths

“Deal.”

She looks up at me, her hooded green eyes mirroring the same desire I’m sure she sees reflected in mine.

We wind our way through the crowd, but Jayce is nowhere to be found.

Maggie stops me when we finally reach the back of the bar, saying she needs to use the restroom. I walk her to the hall, waiting until she is safely inside my office before I turn to scan the room for my brother.

Finally, I spot him through the crowd, coming from the kitchen, hot on the tail of a curvy, dark-haired woman in a caterer’s uniform. She stops, spinning on her heels with a scowl plastered on her face. She says something to him I can’t hear from this distance, before she saunters off, leaving a very pissed off Jayce in her wake.

Okay….what the hell was that all about?

I glance back towards my office, but Maggie still hasn’t come out yet. So, I make my way over to where my brother now stands by the bar slugging back a whisky.

“Everything alright?” I ask.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Jayce bites out.

My head snaps back at the blatant anger in his voice. I rarely ever see my brother truly angry. He may fuckaround with me from time to time, but it takes a lot to get him pissed off.

“Look—I’m sorry,” I say, holding my hands out in front of me, “I went to pick up Maggie and got…distracted.”

He runs a hand over his face, heaving out a sigh, and it’s then I realize just how exhausted he looks. Dark circles have formed under eyes that lack their usual luster, and his unshaven jaw gives him a more rugged, weary appearance.

“No. I’m sorry. I’ve just been under a lot of stress lately. We had another bartender quit this week, so I’ve been stuck picking up shifts every night on top of everything else I do around here.”

Guilt lays heavy on my shoulders. I didn’t realize he was having such a hard time.

“Why didn’t you say anything? You know I would have?—"

“You would have what?” he cuts me off. “You would have left your girl’s bed to come play with me instead?” he teases, tossing an arm over my shoulders.

“Nah, I’m fine. Seriously. I don’t blame you. If I had a girl as pretty as yours to keep my bed warm, I would tell me to fuck right off too.”

I shrug off his arm, turning to face him, making sure he sees the truth in my words when I say, “You know it’s not like that. If you need me, I will always be there for you.”

“Awe… Are you going soft on me, Archie?” he teases, using my childhood nickname he knows I hate.

“Fuck off!” I growl, and the asshole just laughs.

“Speaking of—where is your girl?” he asks, looking around.

My heart rate picks up when I realize how long she has been gone.

She really should be back by now.

“She was using the bathroom in my office. I better go check on her.”

“Yeah—go,” he says, waving me off.

My stomach sinks with every step closer I get to my office.

A bead of sweat rolls down my spine as that feeling of dread returns. I’m unsure of what I’m about to find, but whatever it is, I know it’s not good.

Slowly, I push my office door open, and fear freezes me in place, panic gripping my lungs when I take in the sight before me.

Maggie stands unblinking in the middle of my office, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Though she’s staring directly at me, it’s as if she doesn’t see me, and I know something is terribly wrong.

“Baby, what’s wrong? What happened?”

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