Chapter 3 #2
“I love the idea.” Ahri thought of the LAN parties her brother’d had when they were growing up, where his friends had brought over their computers so they could connect them via a router to play together.
“The owner recently converted one room for virtual reality. And where the old theater had video game machines, they have tables for people who want to play things like Dungeons and Dragons or Magic, and there’s room for board games.”
“Did they keep the concessions?”
“That’s where he’s really making his money. Just like movie theaters.”
“Can I come with you?”
“You want to come?” Rafe asked, surprised.
“Oh, please.” Ahri rolled her eyes. “Do you really think I could grow up with Kayn and not be a gamer?”
Rafe seemed to think about it, his brows pinched. “Bill, I wasn’t planning to bring you along. Can we sneak her out?”
The older man studied her for a second before nodding. “Let me see what I can do.”
“You don’t usually travel with a bodyguard?” she asked.
“Not normally.” Rafe pointed to the left. “That should be your room over there. Why don’t you get settled and check out what they’re offering for room service?” He turned his laptop back toward him.
Ahri knew when she’d been dismissed, so she went to her room. It probably should have irritated her, but she found it oddly comforting instead. It was like she had Kayn there after all since he had the same focus on work.
She glanced around the room, feeling a little lost. Knowing that Bill and Rafe were out there made her feel more secure than she had since Zed’s freaky warning. The worry hadn’t left though. She hated not knowing what was going on, what her future would be.
Ahri checked out the toiletries in the bathroom, glad to see they provided what she’d need.
Thinking about that night’s activities, she smiled for the first time since the whole nightmare had started.
The idea of losing herself in a good game fight made her feel better.
It might distract her from thinking about Zed.
Could he have gotten involved in gambling?
If he owed money to a bookie, would she be obligated to pay it back?
She didn’t know what Arizona’s gambling laws were.
Could someone he owed a gambling debt to legally sue her for payment?
Or would it be the creepy kind of Mafia Vinnie and Luigi stereotype villain who came after her—pay up or I’ll break your leg?
That one seemed more likely considering her ransacked apartment.
She and Zed had some savings for a down payment on a house that she could use if she needed to. It made her sick to think of using their hard-earned money to pay for something so useless as a gambling debt. Assuming Zed hadn’t emptied the account.
Worried, she pulled out her phone and checked the balance.
He hadn’t touched any of it. None. Her stomach in a knot, Ahri stared at the screen until it went dark on its own.
He’d left, and she had no idea where to.
As awful as the last year had been with him, she’d cared about him once.
She felt helpless, but he’d made it so she couldn’t do anything for him.
Ahri picked up the room service menu. Any other time, it all would have sounded good, but nothing appealed to her. It wasn’t what she was craving. She took it with her to the living room.
“I’ve made arrangements for a new car to be delivered,” Bill was saying. “It’ll be innocuous. I also picked up a hat for Mrs. Meisner since I didn’t notice any in her boxes.”
“Wait. How would you know what I had in my boxes?” She pressed her fingers against the tight muscles in her jaw. Hadn’t her privacy already been intruded on enough?
“You’re very efficient and wrote the contents on the outside of them,” Bill said. “I didn’t open anything.”
“Oh.” Ahri felt stupid. She needed to stop being so prickly. “Okay.”
Bill shot Rafe an expectant glance, who nodded. Her stomach knotted even worse. They needed to stop doing that.
“Until we know what’s going on,” the security man said, “I’ve counseled your brother to divert your possessions to another state.” He explained his concerns. “It might be nothing.”
“Or it might be something. I guess it doesn’t matter where my things are since I’ll be staying with Kayn for a while.” She really didn’t want to think about it. “Why did you get me a hat?”
“Because you weren’t wearing one when we arrived. Hats make people look different. It’s an easy disguise in case someone’s watching for you.” He handed her an Arizona Diamondback cap. “I recommend you put your hair in a ponytail and pull it up inside when we go out.”
“Thank you.” Ahri accepted it, filled with a confusion of emotions. “Sorry I’ve been such a snot today. I appreciate that you two believe me, but, to be honest, it’s kind of freaking me out again, like it makes it more real.”
“Remember, it’s Bill’s job to consider possible threats,” Rafe looked at her sympathetically. “That’s what I pay him the big bucks for.”
“Yeah.” She played with the hat. How serious was it? Serious enough that someone had searched her apartment. She wasn’t normally the kind of person to push off facing hard things, but she was just done tonight. That was when she realized she hadn’t called her brother yet.
“I should probably let Kayn know I won’t be there tonight.”
“He’ll be glad to hear from you, but he already knows we won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“Oh.” She handed the menu binder to Rafe. “You sure you want to order room service, or do you want to stop for fast food on the way to your gaming den?”
“You prefer fast food to this?” he asked, flipping through it.
“Call it comfort food.” She shrugged. “Don’t you eat fast food anymore, or are you too much of a big shot for it?”
Rafe sent her a flat look. “My mother runs a bed-and-breakfast. She’s probably one of the best cooks in the world. You should hear her rant about the ‘slop’ they serve at fast food restaurants.”
“Rafe is a killer cook himself.” Bill grinned at his boss.
“I think I remember Kayn saying something about that, years ago.” Ahri smiled and turned her attention to Rafe, curious.
“Oh?” he asked.
“He said he’d have just ordered pizza when you all worked together, but you always insisted on whipping something up. He said he’d have been ticked if you weren’t such a good cook.”
“I do make a mean pizza,” Rafe said with a chuckle.
“While you decide where we’re going to eat,” Bill said, rising from the couch, “I’d like to ask Mrs. Meisner some more questions.”
“Just call me Ahri, please.” Her muscles had tensed, and she stretched to ease them.
“All right, Ahri, think back on what your husband said when he left.” Bill pulled out his notebook again. “Can you remember the exact words he used? I’m especially interested in how he phrased it.”
“Zed said it wasn’t safe and asked if I could go to my mother’s.
” Ahri started to pace. “He mentioned a couple of times that it wasn’t safe, that people were after him.
For nearly a year his work’s been really busy with him assigned more accounts.
He said he had to work evenings to stay caught up.
I commented about it to his secretary once, and she didn’t know what I was talking about.
He was really stressed when I asked him about it, and he blew up. ”
“Is this why you were thinking of leaving him?” Rafe asked, his voice soft.
“Six months ago, I wondered if he was having an affair. I reviewed all the transactions in our joint account. I even went through his phone.” Ahri flushed at the memory. “I didn’t find anything. I kept trying to get him to talk with me, to share, but nothing I did worked. It only made him mad.”
“Did he ever hit you?” Bill asked.
“No. I’d have left him for sure if he’d pulled that.
” One thing Ahri had learned from watching her mother was never to put up with that kind of treatment.
“For a few days before he left, he was super stressed. He said he was working late, for the extra money. I called his office yesterday morning, and they said he quit last week.”
The memory of her mortification knotted her stomach. How could he have emotionally divorced her so thoroughly that she’d not realized it? She rubbed the heel of her palm against the pain in her chest. So many secrets. So many lies.
Rafe reached over and covered her other hand between his. She met his gaze, his blue eyes full of compassion and not judgment. He didn’t say anything, but for some reason the warmth of his touch calmed her.
“What kind of accounts did he have?” Bill asked.
“He was a CPA for a bank. It was a good job and paid a decent wage. I have no idea what he was doing during the day or into the night for a week. He told me he had meetings.” Ahri sighed. “I feel so stupid. He probably wasn’t even lying to me, just going to a different kind of meeting.”
“I’ll do some research while we’re at the gaming den,” Bill said. “I’m curious to see if that scorpion is associated with any gangs or other groups. It could just be some middle-aged man wanting to be cool again.”
Ahri wished she could believe that. She wasn’t up to date on current events like she should be.
The news outlets just focused on all the ugly stuff.
She’d had enough of that in her real life, so she’d avoided depressing news.
Some people she knew thought that watching other people going through bad situations made their own seem not so awful, but she’d never felt that way. It just brought her down more.
“You okay to order some dinner or do you really want to go out for fast food?” Rafe asked.
She realized then that his hand was still over hers, and it wasn’t cold anymore. It made her feel comforted. For the first time, she was glad her brother had sent Rafe instead. Kayn would have been ranting and raving about getting justice for her. She didn’t need that right now.