“You’re a good woman, even if your family is a little out there. At least they’re all hot to look at. How is that mom of yours? Still single?”
“Ew. Don’t even think about it.”
“What? You don’t think I’m good enough for her?” he demands, and I can’t tell if he’s upset or if he’s yanking my chain.
“You know better, but I know too much about you.”
“Like what?” he asks, but I can see the smile he’s trying to hide.
“Like the fact that you like sex a lot.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing, Ellie,” he says, laughing so hard that his belly shakes. Harvey is a big man, almost as tall as Liam. He’s also heavy and I don’t know a man around who wouldn’t worry about taking him on. He looks like a defensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys—only his gear and padding are all real.
“It’s not unless the woman in your bed is my mother. Then, it’s just gross.”
“Everyone needs love, even moms.”
“I just don’t want to know about it. With you I would and I’ve worked here long enough to hear about your kinky side, too, Harvey. You and my mom? That would scar my soul.”
“Fuck you,” he laughs. “Get to work. For now, you still work here and I’m not paying you to sit around and destroy my sex life.”
“Yeah, right,” I laugh, feeling my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I frown, because I just got off the phone with Liam. I take it out and see a message notification from my sister and relax. She’s checking in. I mean I told her to, but I didn’t think she actually would. My sister usually ignores me—especially when I’m pissed, and she knows I am pissed about her and Mom hiding the fact Liam called me.
I open the message and she didn’t say anything, just sent me a picture. Proof she’s pouting at me. We’ll make up, of course, but I am hurt and it’s going to take me a bit to get past it. Which probably makes me a bitch, considering my history with Liam…but, I can’t help it.
I look at the picture and roll my eyes. Gross, they’re all in bed together. I start to shut off the phone, when something catches my eye. It’s the man that they’re with. I know that guy. Dawn gave me his name, it’s the one that Liam did the check on. Reggie. I know he came back cleared, but…
The guy in this picture is the same one that showed up at the club. He introduced himself to me. He’s the same creepy guy that set off every internal alarm bell I had and when he told me his name, he didn’t mention the name Reggie.
He said Charlie.
Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe I’m overreacting. But the longer I stare at this picture, the more I can feel the panic build up. Why would he lie about his name? I mean, maybe he’s like Liam and Charlie is a first name and Reggie his middle. But, if he goes by Reggie….
I text her, thinking if she texts back I’ll relax, that it’s all just a big misunderstanding.
Are you okay, Dawn?
It feels like forever while I wait for a return message. When nothing comes, I look to make sure I have signal. I miraculously have a full bar lit up.
But still no reply.
Then, I take in the fact that in the picture they’re all smiling but the guy—whoever, he is—his smile is different. It’s harsher, darker, and he looks…
Evil.
“Ellie, what’s wrong?” Harvey asks. I stare at my sister’s picture, use my fingers to enlarge it. Something isn’t right with her. She looks out of it. My heart squeezes in my chest.
“Harvey, I have to go. Something is wrong with Dawn,” I tell him. I move from the bar, never looking up at Harvey. I stop moving at all when a text comes back. My heart is pounding, blood thundering in my ears, almost drowning out the notification, as I check the message.
Dawn’s a little busy. See you soon, Eleanor.
My hand is so tight on my phone it’s painful. My entire body is trembling.
Did I tell this guy my full name?
The whole conversation is a blank right now.
I want to talk to Dawn.
He doesn’t reply. The message shows delivered, but not read.
Fuck this.
I dial the phone. It goes straight to voicemail. With shaking hands, I try again.
Same thing.
There’s a slim chance they’re all having sex and I’m being the moron sister who likes to control shit too much, but I know in my heart something is wrong. I could call Liam, but I don’t know how to explain it. He might think I’m getting upset over nothing. I just know that I’m not. Something is wrong.
I know it.
I make it to my car, with Harvey yelling after me. It’s only then that I realize I’d been running. Still, Harvey is about to catch up with me, but I am in my car and peeling out of the parking lot before he has a chance to stop me.