Page 23 of In The Dark
“And you’ve done—” Leo figures out the math in his head. “Damn. Here I was thinking I’d ask for a thousand bucks for my troubles. I need to add a zero or two to that.”
“Alright, fine. Ten thousand? It’s yours.”
“Nah. I want something better, money bags.” He pauses, an idea coming to him by the way he grins. “The keys to your motorcycle so I can take it for a joyride.Withoutbeing your fucking backpack,” he finishes before I can interrupt, and I scowl.
“No one is allowed to ride Ralphie except me.”
“Looks like you’re going to have to find someone else to help you.”
“Fine.” I hold out my hand and he shakes it, fucking delighted. “But you only get one afternoon with her.”
“That’s more than enough.” Leo pulls up a text message and takes a screenshot. “You must really like this girl. Ralphie is your most prized possession.”
Mentioning that I’ve been dreaming about Maxine would probably earn me a restraining order, but it’s true. She’s consumed all of my thoughts, and while I want to know everything about her, I also want to be respectful. Busting down the door to her house and demanding she give me her attention because I’ve missed her borders on extreme, so I’ll have to get creative.
Luckily thinking outside the box has always been one of my strengths.
“I do like her,” I say, and I have to adjust myself over my gym shorts when I remember her jean skirt hiked up to her waist.
“Dude. Are you getting fuckinghardright now? While I’m sitting next to you? Absolutely not.”
“You would too if you had let her come on your hand.”
“Tomorrow night I’m putting you at the exit and I’m taking all the house positions. The good stuff always happens to you.”
“What can I say?” I tousle his hair. “The ladies love me.”
“Love your dick is more like it.”
“That too.”
“I have her license plate, and I need to input it into the background check system so we can verify who exactly your mystery woman is.” Leo grabs his computer off the coffee table and clicks a few keys, whistling. “Stop breathing down my neck.”
“Sorry.” I laugh. “I’m anxious.”
“What’s your plan here? Are you going to show up at her job? Randomly bump into her at the grocery store? Hope she comes through the line again?”
“I doubt she’ll do that. She was nervous to visit the second time. The grocery store? Now there’s a good angle.”
“I read romance books. I know all about meet cutes. Bingo.” He cracks his knuckles. “I really am letting my potential waste away by working in entertainment. My brain is fucking genius. I could crack nuclear codes in ten minutes.”
“Wow. Someone thinks highly of himself.” I scoot closer to Leo. “What did you find?”
“Maxine Walters. Twenty-eight years old. No criminal record, no prior arrests. Wait.” He looks up at me. “What does your record say?”
“What do you mean what does it say? It shows me being a model citizen because every person I’ve killed has been taken care of under the radar.” I scoff. “Come on, dude. I’m not an amateur.”
“Forgive me for being inquisitive. Okay, let’s see. Maxine is currently employed at Orlando Elementary School where she teaches first grade. She’s been there five years. Her last known address is 2586 Woodview Road in Orlando.”
“Woodview,” I repeat, pulling up Google maps. I plug in her address and look at the surrounding houses, glad to find a modest neighborhood in a good part of town. “Who does she live with?”
“Skyler Buchanan. Why does that name sound so familiar?”
I switch over to my Instagram page. I’ve stepped away from posting so frequently after some Fright Nights videos went viral two years ago. People found my social media accounts, and this time of year brings a constant bombardment of comments and requests for NSFW videos. I’ve had to turn off the ability foranyone on the internet to tag me in content they create. There’s some scary shit out there.
My DMs are flooded with men and women shooting their shot for my attention, and for as much as I admire their hustle, the C-level fame doesn’t do anything for me. I’m more of a homebody. Someone who will share parts of his life but not give everyone the full picture, because I want to keep some things to myself.
“She’s the main performer in the Fright Nights stunt show.” I look at Skyler’s profile boasting over forty thousand followers and a perfectly curated feed of filtered photos. “Shorter, blonde woman. Good smile.” I turn my phone to Leo, and he hums.
