Chapter 14
Cassie
Phineas steps out of his car as if he owns the place. My heart hammers in my chest. I know nothing about this guy, but the aura of danger is intoxicating like it wants to suffocate everything in its reach.
“Lincoln, imagine finding you here… and with such a beautiful companion.” He raises his eyebrows and crosses his arms. His white suit complements his skin tone and sparkling gray eyes.
Lincoln’s jaw ticks, and he backs up. His heat leaves mine, and I’m scolding myself for missing his closeness. His gaze is stormy, so angry. He’s been so sure Phineas has something to do with everything bad since I arrived. Now, seeing the way he’s staring at Phineas as if he is the maker of everything evil, I have to wonder if there’s something between them that I don’t know about.
“Whatever we’re doing here has nothing to do with you.” Lincoln’s drips with disdain.
Phineas pushes off his car, looking Lincoln up and down. The way he observes him is similar to how I imagine he sees the smudge on his otherwise shiny black shoes.
“That’s no way to talk to an old friend. I hear you’ve been having some trouble around town.”
My heart lurches ever so slightly. Friends? Lincoln had referred to Phineas as anything but a friend. What else is he hiding? How much do I really know about Lincoln? It’s been years since I’ve known him—that is if I ever knew him to begin with. Phineas’ eyes flick to me, and a cruel smile lifts his lips.
“Ah, she doesn’t know about our previous… run-ins.”
“There’s nothing to know.”
I’m tired of standing by and letting these two compete in an ego contest while we’re supposed to be catching the guy with the necklace. We might as well get some information out of the situation.
“Were you the one who shot at us?” I ask.
Both men turn their attention to me. Phineas looks intrigued, and Lincoln glares at me as if I just sentenced us both to death. Phineas chuckles, then turns his attention back to Lincoln, which makes my blood boil.
“It’s no secret that you’ve been avoiding me lately.”
“I’ve been busy with a case.” Lincoln’s eyes are on fire, and his entire body ripples with tension. He’s waiting for Phineas to do something. What, I’m not sure.
“Ah, yes, your case. I’ve heard you’ve been blaming me.”
I suck in a breath. How could he possibly know he’s one of our suspects? We haven’t been upfront with that suspicion outside of our little team. Team —how am I now thinking of me Lincoln and Quinn as a team? I’m not part of a team; I’m headed home as soon as the necklace is returned and the bills are paid. It’s looking like Phineas isn’t responsible for the necklace, or at least he’s pretending that’s the case.
Lincoln raises an eyebrow and stares Phineas down.
“I’m not blaming you for anything unless you’re responsible.”
“Still holding me responsible for your open case?” Phineas’ tone makes me bristle. What open case? From what Quinn told me, the necklace is the only case we’re working on. Lincoln’s fist clenches, and fury radiates out from him. If he could kill with a glare, Phineas would have been dead a few times by now.
I shove myself forward, ignoring Lincoln’s hand on my arm. “Did you take the necklace we’re looking for?”
Lincoln turns his glare on me, and this time, he actually looks angry.
Phineas throws back his head and laughs. He’s doing it to annoy us because I don’t see anything funny about the situation. His gaze reminds me of the sleazy villain character in my show. It seems the writers knew what they were doing when they cast him because Phineas could be his twin brother, fictional or not.
“If you think I’d waste my time with a petty small-time heist like that, Lincoln has kept you in the dark about a lot more than I thought. Be careful with this one. He’s good at making people see what he wants them to.”
Phineas steps a little closer, and I waver. The water is rushing over my head with this one. What have I gotten myself into?
“Word of advice? You’re looking for some kid who lives in his mom’s basement.”
My hands clench until my nails are digging into my palms. This man isn’t just laughing at what I said, but at me as a person, and it has an effect on me I don’t like.
“You’re saying some kid managed to get something we all know you want?”
A flash of anger sweeps over his features, and he comes so close to my face that I can smell the cigarette smoke on his breath.
“People around here know better than to antagonize and accuse me of things I didn’t do. You’re new and a friend of Lincoln’s, so I’ll let this one pass.”
Lincoln steps up further in front of me, cutting off my line of sight from Phineas. Only then do I realize that I’m shaking. I stare at his back. Should I be relieved or even more scared? I’m starting to ask myself how much danger I am in because of Lincoln.
Link
“Leave her out of this.” My voice is controlled only because I know what Phineas could do if he really wanted to. Cassie has no idea what she’s playing with, poking and egging him on. She also has no idea what he could reveal about me. The case he mentioned is ten times more dangerous than the one we’re stuck in the middle of, and that’s saying something. The way things are going, she’ll be gone by the time I have to deal with that… I hope.
Familiar sadness pours into my heart at the thought. Having her gone is not what I want, no matter how much it would save me from facing many things.
“You never said if you were the one who shot at us,” Cassie speaks up behind me. I nearly roll my eyes. What will it take to get her to let me handle Phineas? Clearly, she hasn’t gotten a good enough idea of what sort of man he is from everything I’ve told her.
His grin grows. He knows how much it’s bothering me that he is near Cassie in the first place, much less speaking to her. Every muscle in my body is full of tension. Would the things he could tell her shatter how she looks at me? Not that she seems super fond of me as it is, but it would be so much worse if she knew all there was to know.
“There’s no reason I would be shooting at either of you. Is there, Lincoln?” Phineas looks at me again, and I step toward him, closing the space between us. I want to make him believe that fear isn’t filling every pore of me, but I’m not sure I’ve accomplished it.
“If you don't mind, we have some basement dwellers to follow up with.”
“Right… right.” Phineas runs a hand over his chin. He always did have that easy, charming nature about him. He could make anyone believe he was a good man, even a trustworthy one. But once a person starts trusting or giving him a chance, he stabs them in the back just as quickly as a rattlesnake sinks its fangs in a leg. I learned that the hard way, and I’m not about to stand by while Cassie does, too. My gut still screams that he has something to do with the necklace, even if I haven’t figured out what yet.
“I knew you’d see sense.” Phineas’ smile grows. For whatever reason, he’s enjoying the encounter.
“One of these days, I’m going to catch you red-handed, and when I do…” The threat hangs between us, the words spilling out before I can stop myself. What am I thinking, threatening Phineas of all people? And when Cassie is with me. I shudder internally. I’ve lost my senses. Am I trying to look like I have things under control in front of Cassie? Very possibly.
“Right. Keep telling yourself that. Till next time.” Phineas touches his hat in a polite gesture that twists my stomach into knots. His hand pauses on the door handle, and he turns back, his smile picking up again. “By the way, say hello to Quinn for me. I have to say, you’re a lucky man with a secretary like that.”
My mouth opens and closes, and my throat is dry, so dry I can’t speak for the longest minute. Long enough for him to get into his car and drive away. Leaving Cassie and me standing there like a pair of fools.
“What… what was he talking about?” Cassie’s watching me. There’s something in her eyes, something that wasn’t there before. Suspicion. So much like her father, Robby. My previous thoughts jump into my head unbidden. He always called me out on stuff I was involved in. Sometimes, he knew before I did when something was going to be a problem.
Quinn . My brain seizes.
“He… could have just been threatening us, or…” I pull out my keys and phone, throwing the keys into Cassie’s hands. “You drive; I need to call her.”
“Wait, what about the contact?” She gestures to the parking lot.
Whoever was sending messages isn’t going to show up now. If it was Phineas, he’d already come and gone to do what he wanted, and if it were someone else, he most likely saw us talking with Phineas and bolted.
“Doesn’t matter. We’ll circle back to it later.” I press the buttons on my phone while Cassie climbs into the driver’s side. With everything I have to tell Quinn, I can’t be on the phone at the same time. She opens her mouth to say something else but closes it as Quinn picks up. Taking this job was not worth getting on Phineas’ radar. The girls have no idea what he is capable of, and if it’s up to me, they never will.
Cassie is fuming, most likely because she didn’t get to grill Phineas, but it doesn’t matter. Keeping her safe is much more important. Not to mention, letting her find out the truth is not an option.