Page 98 of Hard Limits

“After the fight, what did Meera do?”

“Carried on dancing, probably.”

“Did you see her with any other men? We’re particularly interested in a blond man with a French accent who might have been present that night.”

“I don’t remember anyone like that, but you should talk to Lucia. She’s got a thing for French guys, and she was working behind the bar as well.”

“Is she here?”

“Nah, she went to see friends in Lagos this week. She’ll be back on Tuesday. Or maybe Wednesday. She’s scheduled to work Thursday.” The guy thumbed through papers pinned to a corkboard. “Yeah, Thursday.”

“Do you have a number for her?”

“You really think something happened to Meera?”

“Yes,” I said. “It’s as if she dropped off the face of the earth last week.”

“Then I guess Lucia wouldn’t mind if I gave you her contact info.”

“Can you also ask your colleagues if they’ve seen Meera recently?”

“Sure, I’ll do that.”

Brax and I headed outside and called Lucia right away, but she didn’t pick up. He left a message. What was it with people not answering the phone this week? Ari and Tulsa were finished with the door staff, and Ari’s face told the story. They’d found nothing.

“Poof. Vanished,” she said. “They remember Meera arriving on Wednesday, but nobody saw her leave. There were some issues with a guy and a peanut allergy at around ten p.m., though, and everyone was preoccupied, so she could have slipped out unnoticed. And they said she always used to walk home, so there’s no point in speaking with cab firms.”

This was hopeless. Even with a team of six, plus two more people in Lisbon, we were getting nowhere. What had I possibly thought I’d achieve alone? Brax must have sensed my despair because he kissed my hair and held me a little tighter.

“We’ll find her,” he promised, and I so wanted to believe him.

“But how? Nobody knows anything.”

“Somebody does. We just haven’t spoken to the right person yet.”

CHAPTER 35

BRAX

Brax watched from the corner of his eye as Jerry danced with a blond guy. Her body language said she was into him, but her eyes told a different story. She was bored, and he was too drunk or too dumb to notice. A minute later, she peeled away and headed in Brax’s direction.

“It’s not him. He’s German, and he only arrived in Fundão last Friday. Chase found three girls who know Meera, but none of them have seen her since last Wednesday.”

He materialised at her elbow. “They’re all going to ask their friends about Meera.”

“Good thing you brought a burner phone. They’ll call you whether they have any info or not.”

“I’m good at letting women down gently.”

The longer Brax spent with Chase, the more convinced he became that the man was gay. But Chase kept his personal life just that: personal. Still, he knew how to charm the ladies, and that was the only thing that mattered tonight.

Tonight. It was edging closer to tomorrow. Midnight was rapidly approaching, and they still had no concrete information. With the bar’s patrons taking advantage of the discounted cocktails—two for one on the house special—the window for gathering any meaningful information was closing fast.

“Do we want to persevere here?” he asked. “Or should we get some rest and start fresh tomorrow?”

Indi in particular was flagging. She’d barely slept on the plane, and jet lag was catching up with her.

“We should carry on,” she said. “Every minute could make a difference.”

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