Page 111 of Wicked Ends
“Well, that’s good to know. I’d love to know more, if you’re sticking around.”
“Sure. I’ve got what I need, so I’m not in a hurry to go anywhere,” the guy said and stuck his hand out to me. “I’m Dale, by the way.”
“Marcus.” I pushed up and stepped over the huge duffel bag Dale had at his feet.
It was vaguely familiar. I only had a second to register that fact before Maddox called out to me.
“Marcus.”
I followed him behind the bar to the kitchen. The harsh light was unforgiving and showcased the black eye blossoming on Maddox’s face.
“Shit, what happened?” I asked.
He was leaning over the counter in the middle of the kitchen, pensive as hell.
“It’s Cole. He couldn’t find the money from the Portland pickup. We had to go to the meetup without it. Our suppliers didn’t take it well. I didn’t take the brunt of it, your brother did. He’s in the ER.”
My mind went completely blank for a second. I couldn’t think of anything apart from Cole being in the hospital. Cole was hurt. Cole was hurt, and I hadn’t heard anything about it. Where was my phone? Thoughts ran through my mind like quicksilver.
“He called you,” Maddox seemed to read my mind. “Where is the bag? Did you move it somewhere?”
I’d left my phone at home this morning so I wouldn’t be tempted to call Ari and ruin the surprise I was planning for her.
Fuck. The bag. The one we’ve been playing our game with.
I hadn’t given it a second thought. I’d trusted Ari to keep it somewhere safe and figured I’d get it from her when it was needed. And now, Cole was in the ER.
Something about the thought of the bag niggled at me, and all at once it hit me.
I shoved out of the kitchen and took off in a run toward the bar. Straightaway, I could see Ari’s brother was gone, and so was the bag.
Thebag. The one Cole needed.
I sprinted outside and circled around the bar. There was no sign of the guy. He’d gone, and he’d taken Cole’s one hundred grand with him. I stared at the empty road, winding away over the nearest hill, forests lining the asphalt in either direction. Which way had he gone? There was no way to know.
“Marcus, what the fuck is up? Where is the money?” Maddox followed me out to the lot.
“I don’t have it,” I managed to get out. “I don’t have the bag. It’s gone.”
Arianna
Monday morning,and still no sign of Dale. He’d disappeared. I got ready for work and followed my routine, unsure what else to do. I had Claire’s emergency contact number memorized and had risked calling her from a pay phone on Sunday night.
“Why are you calling?” she’d asked, panic in her voice when I’d told her it was me.
“He found me. He’s looking for the money. I don’t know where he’s gone, but I’m scared he’s coming your way. He told me he knows your location, but he might have been bluffing, I don’t know.”
Silence met me, and then a sigh.
“Okay, thanks for letting me know.”
“What are you going to do?”
“We’ll go away for a few days, to somewhere busy, lie low and see if anyone is following us. Otherwise, I don’t know. I don’t know when all this will finally be over.”
I shook my head, more tears pressing down on me. I knew exactly how she felt. I took a deep breath and wiped at my eyes.
“If he can’t find you, he’ll come back here, I guess, and I’ll be ready.”
