Chapter 39
Noelle
My phone goes off with a text.
Unknown: How do I know this is real? Your location shows you somewhere in the ocean
Me: And what islands are surrounding me?
I look up at Dante and Nik. “This guy isn’t too bright, is he? I set my VPN to be in the Mediterranean Sea. I’m surrounded by Greek islands,” I say it dryly, and they chuckle, the air still tense.
Unknown: 9 pm. Sal’s
Me: I’ll be there
Dante, Nik, and I came up with a game plan. I’m going to talk to Rhett and feel him out, see if I can get him to admit anything. He’s just dying to say what he knows, and this is what I’m good at. Making people talk, letting them feel like they can share their secrets with me.
“It’s reckless, I know. But they already know my name. They’ve already followed me. Meeting him on our own terms might be the only way to take some control.”
“There’s a reason you’ve been staying with me, hidden from all of this,” Nik counters. He’s still not one hundred percent sold on this little plan. But I don’t see any other way around it.
“But I can't stay hidden forever, Nik. Let me do this.”
“She’s on neutral ground, and we’ll have eyes on her,” Dante says as he pulls what looks like a tiny little magnet from the desk and comes over to me. “This is a tracker. Give me your shoe.”
I bend, slipping off my sneaker and hand it to him.
He presses the little tracker to the sole of my shoe and hands it back.
“It’s almost flat, but it’s probably going to feel like a pebble in your shoe.
Get over it and get your story, Moreno.” His lips are tight, but his eyes dance with laughter when I hear Nik growl from behind me.
“Don’t be such a caveman,” I say as I put my shoe back on and then wrap my arms around him. “Just make sure you come get me when I’m done.”
“Oh, I’ll be there. Don’t you worry about that.”
~~
I walk into the dive bar at the far end of town, scanning the area. It’s dark, and only a few people linger at the bar. I keep my head down and eyes peeled. I grab a drink at the bar and look at the booths lining the place.
Bingo.
Rhett is here, and he’s already been watching me.
I move slowly and with purpose as I approach the booth, trying to make it look nonchalant, as if I’m just grabbing a drink with an old friend, but my thoughts are locked on Eva. I know it’s her. I just need to know how deep Rhett is in.
He watches my every move as I climb the two steps to his booth, his cigarette glowing and making me feel like I need a shower just from the way his eyes gloss over every part of me.
“Good evening, Ms. Moreno.” He rolls the r in my name, and it makes me feel even dirtier. “Thought you’d have a game to get to tonight?”
“You’ve got your days mixed up. But this chat is more important right now.”
He chuckles, taking another drag from his cigarette. “You got balls of steel, I’ll give you that.”
I sit down and jump right in. “I need answers.”
“Wrong place, wrong time.”
“I know it’s Eva.”
He huffs a laugh, stabbing his cigarette out in the ashtray with a bit more force than necessary. I knew it, I cheer silently. His actions prove he’s just mad I figured it out, and he couldn’t be the one to drop the bomb. “Dangerous thing, dropping names like that.”
“Tell me what you know.”
“Is this how you conduct interviews? I mean, I figured you'd bring me a drink at least.” He waves his hand. “You bought Trevor lunch.”
I hold his stare. I should have known it was him who followed me that day and sent that picture. I won’t give him the satisfaction of any kind of response, though.
He drinks from his beer bottle, then says, “I’m not involved other than doing what I'm told.”
“No? Not smart enough to have a thought for yourself?
His lips twist, and I don’t like it. “I’m plenty smart. Smart enough to just get paid and not get wrapped up in family affairs, if that’s what you think.”
He isn’t denying it—he’s just refusing to pick a side.
“You were friends; why are you helping to go after him now?”
He holds my stare for a moment before saying, “I’m helping myself. That’s all anyone does. You’d do well to remember that.”
“You know it’s wrong. Is money that—”
He cuts me off with a bitter laugh. “Wrong? You wanna school me on morals now?” He leans forward.
“Your boyfriend rigged a college game for money. Your boyfriend steals tips from his friends for money. Your boyfriend is tied to that club, and Dante is covering him for money. So don’t talk to me about doing the right thing–”
“You don’t know, do you?” I laugh, trying to provoke him.
“You’ve only heard things, rumors in the night that you can’t prove.
” Rhett slides from the booth and stands, taking steps away from me.
I quickly slide out and follow him. “This Ghost isn’t telling you shit, despite sending you on errands, and it makes you mad, doesn’t it? ”
He stops abruptly, turning on me and snapping, “And you’re just a piece of ass to him. Makes you mad, doesn’t it?”
His outburst lets me know I’m getting to him.
And I fucking love it. “Tell me, then. Tell me what you think, what you've seen!” He walks out the back door, and I follow. “Do you want to do a legit interview? I’ll bring you into my editor. It’d be the story of the year, Rhett. You’d be exposing it all.”
The cool air hits me, and I hear the door slam behind me. Rhett studies me, his expression unreadable before it turns sinister. Then, without warning, he moves efficiently. The world goes dark before I can scream.
~~
The rumble of the car beneath me brings me back to reality. It’s dark, and when I try to move my arms, I find they're bound behind me.
“What the hell?” I twist and turn, but I can’t get loose.
I try to quiet myself, listen to anything that will tell me where I am, what's happening.
Stupid, Noelle. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I should have never followed him, but I was getting to him.
I just needed another push, and he would have told me. I know he would have.
The car makes a sharp turn, and I hit the side. I hear gravel underneath the tires, and then we come to a stop. I wait. I listen.
I hear footsteps coming around to the trunk, and when it pops open, I shut my eyes for just a moment from the flashlight blinding me.
“So that’s it? You hand me to her? You’re such a coward,” I spit.
He yanks me by my arms, pulling me to a sitting position and backhands me.
My head snaps to the left with force and my lip burns.
I soothe it with my tongue, the metallic taste sharp letting me know it’s already bleeding.
“Better me than someone else. You dig where you don’t belong, you could end up buried in that hole.
” He hoists me onto his shoulder from the trunk.
“You don’t even know the whole game she’s playing.”
“And neither do you. But unlike others, I’m just following orders. I don’t care why or who.”