Page 127 of A Breath of Life
I shrugged as the voicemail kicked on. “See?”
Costa hung up and tried again. That time, Memphis picked up right away, but the leery “Hello?” didn’t carry his usual lighthearted charm.
“Is this Memphis?” Costa used a tone much lower and more seductive than his typical speaking voice.
I quirked a brow. Was he trying to sound sexy or daunting?
“Um… Yes. Who’s this?” Memphis adopted a flirtier edge, and I rolled my eyes. He was such a slut.
“You don’t recognize my voice, baby?” Costa smirked and wiggled his brows when I gave him awhat-the-fuckexpression. I may have mentioned my best friend’s proclivity for picking up random men, but the last thing I expected was my cousin to play the role of seducer, especially considering his past homophobic tendencies. Those days had truly been laid to rest. I would have commended him if I wasn’t weirded out.
“Sweetheart,” Memphis cooed, “if I gave you my number and told you to call, chances are, I was drunk off my sweet little ass, so no, I don’t recognize your voice. It’s sexy, though. How about you refresh my memory.”
Nope. I couldn’t do it. I jammed an elbow into Costa’s ribs and issued a warning with my eyes alone. This was not the time for playing games.
With a chuckle, he said, “It’s Costa, Tallus’s cousin.”
“Huh. This isn’t weird at all. Aren’t you married? And straight? And how did you get my number? Oh my god, did we, like, run into each other at a club and…” He gasped. “Please tell me this is a setup, and you aren’t having a midlife identity crisis. Tallus will kill me.”
“I assure you. I’m not.” I couldn’t have been more grateful when Costa returned to his normal speaking voice. “We have a situation and need your help.”
“A situation? We? Is Tallus with you? What’s going on? I can’t decide if I’m supposed to be turned on or freaked out. In fact, I’m alittle of both, and I don’t know how to feel about that. Can you do that voice again?”
“Good grief. Stop being disgusting. Memphis, someone kidnapped—” Costa elbowed me in the gut with far more force than I’d used on him. I crumpled forward and groaned. “Jesus that hurt. What the fuck?”
“I said, let me do the talking.”
“I don’t like the way you’re talking to my best friend. It’s… disturbing.”
“Tal?”
“We need an address for your friend Joshua Stroud,” Costa said.
Silence prevailed, and I could read Memphis’s confusion through the phone line.
“Did you hear me?” Costa asked.
“Um, yeah, but why?”
“Because he has information we need.”
“Tallus,” Memphis snapped. “This better not be about that club. I told you that in confidence.”
I glanced at my cousin, who seemed to consider his approach. “An address, Memphis. Our reasons are none of your concern.”
“Bullshit they are. Tell me why you want to talk to Joshua.”
Costa pressed his lips together, and I placed a hand on his thigh. “Baby doll. We have a serious situation, and we need to know the location of that club. You can’t remember, so we’ll go to the source.”
Memphis huffed. “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. It’s… exclusive or some shit.”
“We know,” Costa said. “Your name won’t come up. Tell me how to find your friend, and this phone call never happened.”
“What’s going on? Tal, are you in danger?”
“Please, Memphis. We need Joshua’s address.”
“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
