Page 12 of Deceit
Nervously, mygazedarted over his shoulder, hopingGushad suddenlyappeared. Still, he was nowhere to be seen.
“I…I don’t usually do this,”the man said, his voice tinged withhesitation.“I’ve seen yousinga few times, and I wanted to say you have an incredible voice.”
I couldn’t help but relax a little and let myself bask in the warmth of hiscompliment. Aside fromRafeandGustelling me they thought Isangwell, I didn’t think there’d been a time when anyone else had echoed their thoughts.
“Oh, thank you.”
His smile widened.“I’d love to buy you adrink.”
“That’s kind of you, but I’m waiting for a friend,”Ireplied, ignoring theflash of disappointment sweeping through me.
This was one of the many parts of my life Ihated. Why couldn’t I justbe a normal girl whoalloweda cute guy to buy her adrink? I mean, he didn’t look like a serial killer. In fact, he looked like he was still in college; he must have been myage, maybe a little bityounger, and he had a friendly face.
“Actually, why not?”I quickly added before I could change my mind.
His frown immediately turned into a smile as he called thebarmanover.“What would you like?”
“White wine, please.”
“Coming right up,” he said before giving the barman our order. “I’m Adrian, by the way.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Are you asinger?”Ireplied, returning hisfriendly smile, and not offering my name.
I didn’t need to.Paulhadintroducedme as Sophie before I stepped on thestage, the fake name I still used, even now.
The barman placed two glasses of wine on the counter, and Adrian handed over a $20 bill. “No, I’m a music student. I write music, but not much of a singer myself,” he said, pocketing the change from our drinks. “Hey, do you think your friend would have wanted a drink?”
I twisted on my stool again, checking to see ifGushad returned fromwhere he’d been. A wave of panic rolled through me when I couldn’t find him.Guswould never leave me this long; was something wrong?
I turned back toAdrian, doing my best to keep my panic underwraps. I was sureGuswas fine; he’d probably stepped out to take a call. Or maybe there’d been some trouble outside that he was helping todealwith.Guswas a unit of a man; maybe someone had asked him to help out with idiots fighting.
“I’m sure he can get himself adrinkwhen he decides to turn up.”I grabbedmywineand took a large gulp, hoping it would steady my building nerves.
“Huh, that waseasierthan I thought it would be,”Adriansaid, adevious smirk crossing his mouth.
“What was easier than you thought?”
In a flash,Adrianpulled a gun from underneath his jacket, pressing itdiscreetly against my side. Fear crawled up my spine, and asilentscream lodged in my throat as my head began spinning withmemoriesof a time before when a gun had been pointed at me.
“To drug you, princess,”Adriansaid, his words slurred. Or maybe itwas the fog filling my brain that made it seem like he was slurring.“Gullible little whore, aren’t you? Now, you’re going to do exactly what I say, and if you try anything stupid, I’m going to shoot you in the face, just like I did to your friend.”
Chapter 2
Miles
Hues of pinks and oranges from the rising sun were the only source of lightilluminating the abandoned docks and casting long shadows from the derelict buildings. I could think of better places to be, like heading to bed to get some much-needed sleep after spending the entire night in Exotique with my cock buried in a variety of pussies.
But no, here I was, attempting to track down Theo after he’d refused to waituntil daylight to meet Victor Griffiths, Hollows Bay Chief of Police. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have worried, but Theo wasn’t answering his phone.
Slamming my door shut, the bang echoed into the early morning sky andstartled a bird, the creature releasing a disgruntled cry as it flapped its wings and took flight. Ignoring the sliver of worry coursing through me, I headed toward the empty warehouse we tended to use whenever we met up with Griffiths for him to give us information.
Having the Chief of Police on the Wolfe payroll often came in handy.
As I drew closer, I checked my phone, ensuring I’d read the map correctly.Sure enough, the dot indicating Theo’s whereabouts was blinking to indicate he was somewhere around the docks.
Expecting to hear the voices of my cousin and Griffiths as I rounded thecorner, I was greeted with a deafening silence. The sliver of worry grewuntil trepidation hummed in my body, and cursing Theo, I tried to call him again.
From nearby, the theme tune toThe Sopranos—Theo’s favorite TV show—rang. I followed in the direction of the ringing, my pace hurrying as the phone remained unanswered before diverting to voicemail.
