Page 27 of Forget Me Not
“I—”
I held my hand up, silencing him. “Save your breath. I don’t have time for another lie. The thing is, Austin, I don’t want to expose Danny to a phony. I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to be parent and doctor from here on out.”
“I see.” Austin mulled my words around.
I watched a man enter the diner and scan the place. His eyes stopped when he realized Austin and I were seated together. Austin visibly stiffened as he approached our table. Something about the guy gave me the heebie-jeebies. He was dressed in a pair of black pants and a tight black button-up shirt. His hair was greased back, giving him a real goon vibe.
“Doctor Craig. It’s nice to see you and with such a lovely lady. I’m Maximus Pulitano.” He held his hand out.
Reluctantly, I slipped my palm into his and shook his hand. Everything about him made my gut churn with unease. “I’m Mackenzie Stanton.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, Miss Stanton. I did not know he was seeing someone so beautiful.”
Austin stood. “Mackenzie, if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I need to have a word with Mr. Pulitano.”
“It was nice to meet you.”
I watched as Austin ushered the man over toward the counter. His body language was agitated as he spoke. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but it was obvious it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. I gathered my bag and dropped some money on the table for my coffee. I had said enough to Austin and didn’t want to stick around. Something about the man, Maximus Pulitano, made me want to flee as quickly as possible. I shot a quick glance to where they were standing, noting Austin was unaware of my departure, and hurried out the door. I tossed my bag to the passenger seat and started the engine. I nearly stroked out at the sound of someone tapping on the window. To my dislike, it was Maximus at the glass. Taking a deep breath, I eased the window down and smiled.
“Can I help you?” Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Austin staring. He hollered something, but I couldn’t quite make it out.
“I didn’t know Austin had met someone new.”
“I’m afraid you’re assuming more than you should. Austin and I are not in a relationship.”
“He seems to think differently. None-the-less, you’re a means to an end.”
“Wha—” My words were cut off as his palm pressed over my mouth. I jerked my body, trying to fight him. But whatever he had on the cloth covering my mouth had my eyes weighing down like lead. The last thing I remember was Austin running toward the car, yelling my name.
Drake
“Still not answering?” Alex gave me a tight grin when I tossed my phone onto the table.
“No, and she promised to call me when she was done talking to that fucker. It’s been two hours. Something’s wrong.” My rage was tipping on inferno as I grabbed my phone. “I’m going back. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
“We’ve done all we can here, anyway. Let me pack this shit up, I’m coming with you.”
Alex threw our equipment into a duffle bag and packed his stuff up. He carried out our bags and tossed them into the back of the truck. Alex was as close to me as a brother would be. He had been there when I struggled with my decision to join the team. But at twenty-one years old, being a part of an elite private organization was too tempting—and I lost a part of myself to become a Guardian.
“Where should I go?”
I was so lost in thought; I hadn’t realized we were pulling into Barclay. “Let’s go by the diner she was meeting him at.”
Alex navigated the car to where I knew Mackenzie had gone to meet Austin. When we pulled into the lot, I spotted her car. My fingers tightened on the door handle as Alex pulled up alongside of it. Her window was down, not broken.
“Go check inside.” I got out and rounded her hood. There was no sign of a struggle, but something wasn’t adding up.
“She’s not in there. One of the waitresses said she remembers her leaving but isn’t sure when that was.”
“Fuck.” I scrubbed my hand down my face.
“There’s more.” Alex held his breath as if trying to find the words. “She remembers two men arguing. She said one of them came in with Mackenzie, but the other one came in later.”
I opened her door and squatted down to inspect the seat. Immediately, I knew something was wrong. Her purse was sitting on the floorboard and her phone was still in the cup holder. Even if she had left with Austin, she would have taken her phone. There is no way she would leave her only communication to Danny behind. “Where are you, Kenzie?”
“Drake.” Alex had his palm over his phone. “We have a problem. And I think I know where your girl is. It appears Maximus Pulitano is not in Vegas.”
“Shit.” I grabbed her things and stood. “We need to go.”
