Chapter 12 Arrow #2
I stand back and let Annie handle the situation, but I’m in full observation mode.
I watch every move Neveah makes. I study her clothes, her shoes, her hair.
There is something about her that is eerily familiar.
I can’t shake the feeling that I know her from somewhere.
That she’s someone I may actually have met before.
Annie is making apologies to Neveah and explaining that she’s been staying with me and doing great. She lies, saying she hasn’t been checking her phone.
Neveah makes a little, “Uh-huh,” noise and waves a hand at me. “Okay, so you run out and find a hot boyfriend. You can’t at least let me know, so I don’t worry?”
Everything she says is right. She sounds like the perfect friend. Reasonable. Thoughtful. But my instincts are firing hard. There’s something about this woman that makes me not trust a word coming out of her mouth.
“You want some help? You know you don’t have to clean this up alone.” Neveah bends down to pick up a paperback book and sets it on Annie’s desk.
“I’m not alone,” Annie says quietly. “Josh is helping.”
“Right, of course, I know. But, like, doesn’t he have a job or something to get off to? I got you. That’s literally what they’re paying me for.”
I can tell that Annie is struggling to manage her friend’s attention. I pretend to engross myself in moving the mattress back onto the bed frame, but I’m racking my brain.
“Let me help you,” Annie offers, lifting one end of the mattress.
She and I position the mattress back on the frame with ease, and that’s when it hits me.
I know this woman, and she is not who she says she is.
All of a sudden, I’m faced with a choice. Do I let on to Neveah what I know—and even worse, do I tell Annie?
I decide playing it cool for a bit is the safest path. I get an idea.
“Babe,” I say, lifting my brows at Annie. “Is there a cafeteria or a coffee kiosk nearby? I’ll grab us some cleaning fuel.”
Annie’s lips part and she looks like she’s about to ask me to stay, but Neveah talks over her.
“This is a closed campus,” she says a little stiffly. “You’d need a student ID or a guest pass if you want to eat in the cafeteria.” She gives me a sweet and absolutely fake smile. “But I will treat if you’ll make a run for lattes.”
I stand and nod. “Love that plan.”
I think fast. Neveah is obviously trying to separate me from Annie, and I’m pretty sure there’s a good reason.
“I’m going to hit the head before I roll out.” I slip into the bathroom attached to Annie’s room and tap out a text message to Annie.
Right after I leave for coffee, I’m going to call you. Answer the call. I’ll explain on the phone. Got it?
Then I hit send.
While I wait for her to reply, I flush and run the tap so it sounds like I really did come in here to piss.
My phone vibrates with a response to my text.
Got it.
I leave the bathroom and walk into the room, rubbing my hands together. “Okay, ladies. Lay your coffee orders on me.”
Neveah asks me to get her some frothy pink drink with extra ice. I notice that she doesn’t, as she promised, grab any cash or offer to pay, but I’m okay fronting this expense. I have a plan, and I need Neveah to trust me.
“You know what I want, babe.” Annie lifts up on her toes and kisses my cheek, and I think I fall in love with her a little in that moment.
I have no clue what she wants from the coffee shop, but she’s playing up the fact that we’re dating for Neveah’s benefit. I want to crush her body against me and whisper that I can’t wait to give her what she wants…but I’ll have plenty of time for that tonight.
“Be back before you can miss me,” I promise.
I hope Neveah takes that to mean I won’t be long. Anything she has to say to Annie, she’d better say right away.
I head down the hall, the opposite direction from the elevator, and into the stairwell, hoping like hell I get cell reception. I punch Annie’s number into my phone and dial. She answers on the second ring.
“Hey, you forget something?” she asks.
“Do not end the call,” I tell her, speaking quickly and quietly. “Pretend to hang up, but keep your phone on speaker so I can hear your conversation. Make sure she doesn’t see.”
Annie doesn’t respond to what I’m saying, but instead, she says, “Yeah, honey. Let me ask Neveah.” I hear shuffling and then the sound clear as day of Annie asking whether Neveah’s hungry for lunch. I immediately mute my phone because it sounds like Annie has already put her phone on speaker.
When she comes back to me, she says, “Thanks, but we’re both fine with just the drinks. We can eat lunch later.” She pauses only a second and then says, “Okay, babe. See you soon,” just like she’s saying it in response to something I’ve said. She’s acting out the role to perfection.
Then I hear her say to Neveah, “He’s such a sweetheart. Gorgeous and sexy, but thoughtful too.”
I shake my head and grin. She knows I’m listening to everything she’s saying, and fuck, I’m going to pay those compliments back and then some tonight at the compound.
I stay in the stairwell listening, having absolutely no intention of actually leaving for coffee yet.
If Neveah is who I think she is, Annie should be safe with her.
But I want to understand exactly what she’s up to.
“All right,” I hear Neveah say. Then I hear movement and the slam of Annie’s door. “Time for privacy. We need to talk.”
She’s not wasting any time.
“Okay…” Annie sounds uncertain, and I wish I could reassure her. Prove to her that, no matter what, I’m here for her. I am not going to let anything happen to her. “What do you want to talk about?”
Neveah doesn’t say anything right away, but then she launches in and doesn’t hold back. “This hunk you’ve got glued to you. Tell me the truth. How long have you known him?”
Annie stammers but answers in a way that feels sincere. “I mean…not that long, but long enough to know how I feel. Why?”
When Neveah speaks next, her voice is low, but it’s incredibly clear. She must be really close to wherever Annie set the phone. “Babe, do you know what he does for a living? Do you have any idea who he really is?”
Annie stumbles over that. “I mean, I think I know. But why? Why are you being so hard on Josh? What do you know? What’s the problem, Neveah? You’ve been acting really weird.”
“He’s not someone you can trust, Annie.” Neveah’s voice is clear, but her tone is really setting my teeth on edge.
“Listen to me, babe. He’s trouble. And all he’s going to do is bring that trouble to your door.
This?” I picture her sweeping her hand around the mess in Annie’s room.
“This is because of him. I’m sure of it. ”
“Wait, what?” Annie sounds genuinely confused, and my gut clenches at the sound. “What do you mean, this is because of him? Josh couldn’t have anything to do with this.”
I feel sick at the fact that she thinks I might have had anything to do with what happened to her room. What’s happening in her life.
But I want to know exactly what Neveah thinks. And then she says something that makes my belly turn over. “As long as you’re with that man, you’re in danger.”