Page 7 of Panther's Magpie
TWO
MAGGIE
Nibbling on the side of my thumb, I pace back and forth. Every fourth turn, I glance up at the clock. Twenty minutes have gone by since men filtered into this place and into a room. One of the men looked at me sympathetically before shutting the door. Blowing out a breath, I try to calm myself.
Anxiety and I have always been friends and over the years, I’ve learned how to deal with it in my own way, but tonight everything I know has gone out the window. All it took was Aspen fucking up once again to make me regress. I wince when the taste of copper fills my mouth. Pulling my hand away from my mouth, I see that I made myself bleed and, at the same time, fucked up my polish.
Shit, Aspen’s going to be so mad at me when she sees I’ve fucked up my nails.
Then again, she will probably be mad at me for a completely different reason. She told me to leave, and for once I listened. Ileft her in the lion’s den and unable to defend herself. I left her just like so many other people in her life.
God, she must hate me.
My throat burns as I swallow down the bile that creeps up my throat. The last thing I need to do right now is make myself sick. I’m sure that would send Calloway right over the edge.
Before I can think about him anymore, the door swings open. I turn so fast, I stumble.
“You okay?” one of the men asks as he approaches.
“I’m fine. What’s going on?” I ask as others filter out of the room behind him.
“Follow me,” the man says.
Without giving it a second thought, I listen to him. For the second time tonight, I saddle up to a bar and take a seat.
“You thirsty? Want water, soda, or, hell, a stiff drink?”
“Water, if you have it,” I tell him quietly.
He nods and grabs a bottle from behind the counter before sliding it to me.
“Thank you.”
When the cool water hits my throat, I have to stop myself from chugging the entire bottle. I didn’t realize how parched I was.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but where is Calloway? I need to know what’s going on,” I tell the stranger.
The man smiles. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Eagle, and I’m Panther’s, or Calloway as you probably know him, right-hand man. When in here, I recommend you refer to him as Panther.”
I frown. What’s up with the animal names? Why would Calloway want to be called Panther when he has a perfectly good name? It doesn’t matter.
“Okay, fine, Panther. Where is he?”
“Right now he is making a call to the president of the club you girls got tangled up in. He’s going to see if they will willingly hand her over or if we have to declare war.”
War?
Seriously?
What does that even mean?
I run my hands through my hair and pull, trying to ground myself in the present.
“What do you mean by war? Why haven’t we just called the authorities? I mean, the bartender at that bar told me not to go to the ones locally, but surely we can call in the state, right?”
He smiles at me sympathetically. “That’s not how it works in our world. Just know that we have this under control. We will get Aspen back and keep both of you safe.”
“I don’t need to be kept safe. I’m not the one who was kidnapped. Just tell me what the plan is, please. I just want my friend back.”
