Chapter 47
I finishedmy conference call with the marketing team and checked my watch. My flight back to Providence was in four hours, so I worked on my video game. Last night, I’d figured out how to finish my Level Five for WaterFyre Rising. Vivian had inspired a special character that became the fundamental change for the game.
I created a character called The Dentist, an angler who tried to catch an evil amphibian named Tark, a hybrid toad and shark. It possessed unique teeth that could be ground up and used as medicine. The dentist carried a powerful handpiece and a magical fishing rod with a golden fishing line.
A thrill rushed through me as I added the plot and other details. I was lost in the fantastical world and fell in love with my creation. My phone buzzed, yanking me back to reality.
Vivian: I miss you. Tired today. Going to bed early.
I smiled and replied to her.
Arrow: Miss you more. Good night.
She had no idea how much I’d missed her during this trip. I placed my phone down and returned to the game. A few seconds later, it buzzed. Thinking it was Vivian, I snatched it up.
But it was Kaylee.
Kaylee: You busy?
Arrow: I’ve got time. What’s up?
Kaylee: I need a favor.
Arrow: What is it?
Kaylee: You have connections, right?
Arrow: What connections?
I didn’t like the sound of the question.
Kaylee was too smart for her own good. It scared me how much she knew at this young age. If she didn’t have the right guidance, she could take the wrong path and use her intelligence for something bad. She was like me. If I hadn’t had my boys and Pam growing up, I’d probably be in prison or dead right now.
Kaylee: I need you to punish two women.
What?
Arrow: You want me to commit a crime?
Kaylee: Punishing someone for a crime they committed isn’t a crime, right?
She had a point there, but I wasn’t going to answer that question.
Kaylee: Please don’t tell Vivian I told you.
Something twisted in my gut.
Arrow: What happened?
Kaylee: My sister got jumped today.
Arrow: What? I’m calling you.
“Tell me everything,” I said.
Kaylee gave me a brief description of what happened and sent me the link to Real Rumors, a popular social media outlet.
What the fuck? Two women attacked her in the mall, a public place. She defended herself well, but still.
“I’ll take care of this. I want you to focus on finalizing the Heartstrings App. Don’t worry about this.”
“Will you punish them?” she asked.
“In my way.”
“Do you need help?”
Christ.“No.”
“Thank you.”
“Where’s Vivian?”
“Sleeping.”
“Thanks. Now go to sleep and stop trying to solve crimes.”
She laughed and said good night.
After watching the video several times, I sent it to the PI. “Find out who these women are. Thanks.”
I wanted to call her but didn’t want to wake her. Why hadn’t she called me?
Maybe she knew you were working and didn’t want to interrupt you, dumbass.
I reread her text message. She sounded tired.
I wanted her to know she could interrupt me anytime. Knowing she’d been hurt and I hadn’t been aware of it bothered me. She was a strong woman and didn’t need my help. But I wanted to be the first person she thought of when she got hurt.
Who the fuck were these women? What did they want with Vivian? This was no random attack.