Page 117 of Famous Last Words
“I was serving the older men at the front, and I saw him,” Fran continues. “He got up from his friends and he came over to you. Why?”
I shake my head at a loss. “I mean… it was nothing, really, I don’t think. He was just asking me about hockey.” I shrug. “I was confused because he wasn’t being a total dickhead. It was weird.”
“Oh my God,” Franmutters, clutching at her stomach like she’s in pain.
I close the distance between us, placing my hands on her shoulders to steady her because her face is suddenly pale as a ghost. “Are you okay?”
Her gaze lifts, boring into mine. “The fight.” She shakes her head at herself, her voice less than a whisper as she says, “It was all a set up…”
My eyes flit between hers and realization slowly starts to dawn on me, my knees suddenly weak like Jell-O.No.
“Robbie,” Fran implores me. “It was Tadd.”
Fuck.
CHAPTER 46
FRAN
My knee bounces in the back seat of the Uber as I stare out as the city lights pass by in a technicolor blur. Robbie wanted to come with me, but I told him it would be better for him not to. The last thing he needs right now is to draw attention to himself in the same bar he was filmed fighting in before he was arrested, especially while wearing a limoncello sweatsuit two sizes too small. With absolute reluctance, he agreed to wait back at my apartment.
The drive downtown seems to take forever, and my stomach twists painfully.
On one hand, I’m angry that I didn’t realize it sooner; in retrospect, it’s so fucking obvious.
On the other hand, my nerves are at an all-time high because what if I can’t find what I need in order to prove it?
Finally, the Uber rolls to a stop outside The Exchange and I thank the driver, hurrying out of the car, through the cold night air, and into the bar, relieved to find the place relatively quiet.
Vera is covering my shift, and when she looks up from what she’s doing at the bar, she does an almost comical double-take, her eyebrows knitting together as her gaze takes me in.
Hurrying out from behind the counter, she rushes to me, keeping her perfect smile firmly in place as she mutters through gritted teeth, “What are you doing here… and why are you wearing pajamas?”
I pull my coat closed, covering what I can of myMinionprint PJs, my gaze flitting about the space. “I need to go out the back.”
“What’s up?”
She walks with me to the door to the back room, and I step inside, pulling her with me. “Tyler’s good with computers, isn’t he?”
She scoffs. “Yeah, he’s a fucking genius. I mean,hello, he went to MIT.” Rolling her eyes, she continues, “He dropped out half-way through his junior year because he was so sure he’d be the next Avicii, and yet here we are, five years later?—”
“Is he working tonight?”I interject her ramblings.
She shakes her head, slowly.
“Can you get him to come down here?”
Vera studies me, brow furrowed dubiously. “What’s going on?”
I look around to make sure no one is nearby. “I need access to the security footage from last night.”
She arches one eyebrow, questioningly.
“Tadd,” is all I have to say for realization to drop, both eyebrows climbing up into her hairline.
Half an hour later, I’m sitting in the back room, knees bouncing nervously when Vera shoves Tyler inside before closing us in. He lifts his chin at me in casual greeting, wearing glasses and looking every bit a hot nerd.
“V told me what’s up,” Tyler says, walking by me and taking a seat at the desk in the corner. It’s not overly high tech, but far beyond my comprehension.
