Chapter 5 #2
“Well, that explains why I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” he said before reaching right past me to offer Felicity his hands. “I’m Chuck, by the way.”
“Felicity.” She shook his hand with a smile. “And this is my friend, Sophia. We’re from Los Angeles.”
“Is that right?” He didn’t seem all that impressed. “So, whatcha’ girls doing all the way up here?”
“We’re recording a story about the photographer who disappeared behind the Wall.”
Chuck’s beer glass stopped halfway to his lips. “Now, why in God’s name would you want to do that?”
While Felicity explained about the gallery exhibition and the opportunity to satisfy public interest, I took the opportunity to take a closer look around the tavern.
Even though everyone had gone back to their business, there were still plenty of coldly curious looks being thrown our way.
I had a feeling it wasn’t just because we were the only women in the bar.
Clearly, this wasn’t the kind of town that appreciated strangers. Especially ones that asked a lot of questions. I could tell it was going to take every last shred of Felicity’s charm to warm them up to the idea of talking to us.
“So, you’re here to cash in on our town’s misfortune,” Chuck said dryly once Felicity had told the whole story.
I couldn’t help the laugh that came bubbling out of me. “Cash in? We’re not the ones charging a fortune for a room in a crumbling termite palace.”
Chuck shot me a surprised look, almost like he’d already forgotten I was there. But before he could tell me to watch my mouth, Felicity leaned to smooth things over.
“The town is that upset about the abduction of Hannah Carter?” she gently prodded.
“And the murder of the soldier she went out there with,” Chuck answered solemnly.
Felicity and I shared a silent look.
“That’s horrible,” she said. “We didn’t hear anything about someone dying.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Chuck said, raising his empty glass toward the bartender as he came back behind the bar. “That’s ‘cause the government doesn’t want it to get out.”
“Why?”
“They’re worried about ‘bad press’.” He threw up his fingers in air quotes. “As far as they’re concerned, the less the public thinks about the Wall, the better. They’d rather sacrifice the memory of a dead hero than let the truth get out.”
My stomach twisted slightly as I saw a spark of opportunity light up Felicity’s eyes. “We could help you get the truth out there.”
“Nah,” Chuck quickly shook his head. “That ain’t work for nice girls like you. Trust me, I know. I used to deal with those alphas. I know what they’re capable of.”
“What do you mean you dealt with them?” I asked.
Chuck shook his head as he waited for his next beer. “I used to run with a group of guys that worked the Wall a while back.”
Felicity’s brows pulled down over her nose. “Worked the wall?”
“You know,” Chuck hemmed before dropping his voice down low. “Smugglers.”
In an instant, Felicity’s whole face lit up with pure delight. “Wait, for real? You were a smuggler? Working with real life ferus?”
“Keep yer voice down,” Chuck hissed before gracing her with his best roguish smile. “But yeah, I was.”
“That’s bad ass,” Felicity said, lifting her glass to him.
“I guess it was kind of bad ass, wasn’t it?” For a second, pride shone in Chuck’s eyes, and he straightened his back. “Of course, my wife made me quit after Franklin’s murder. She said there wasn’t enough money in the world for all that kind of risk.”
“Really?” Felicity leaned in, curious. “Exactly how risky is it to visit the Wall?”
“Well, not very, truth be told,” Chuck admitted. “That was the first death in a hundred years. But damn, if it wasn’t a grizzly one. You wouldn’t believe what an alpha can do to a man. He’d been ripped into so many pieces they had to pour the poor bastard into his coffin.”
My stomach twisted. That was…vivid.
“Have there been any deaths since?” Felicity asked.
The man shook his head. “Nope. Now that you mention it, things have been real quiet around the Wall since then.”
“Great,” Felicity said before shooting me an apologetic look. “Do you think any of these smugglers would be willing to drive us out to where the photographer was taken?”
Excuse me?
“Uh, Felicity.” I tugged on her sleeve, but she refused to look at me. “I’m not sure that’s a great idea.”
Had she not just heard the bit about being poured into a coffin?
“I’m sure it will be fine,” she said. “Chuck just assured us it isn’t that dangerous.”
“Maybe not, but why risk going out there at all? We can record everything right here.”
“Because people are going to want to see where these crimes took place,” she argued. “And if we aren’t brave enough to show, then someone else will.”
“Fine by me,” I said, fear getting the better of me. “Let them get torn in half over some stupid show.”
A stab of guilt tore into my chest as I watched Felicity’s confident smile falter.
Damn it.
I knew how important this was to her. Maybe not this podcast specifically, but creating something important. Something that mattered. Something that proved that she was more than just another flighty daydreamer with her head in the clouds.
And while I couldn’t help but feel that both of us were in way over our heads with this ridiculous podcast, this was the closest Felicity had ever come to success. If I ended up being the reason that it failed, I’d regret it the rest of my life.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that,” I said before turning to Chuck. “Do you really think it’s safe out there?”
“I mean nothing’s a hundred percent,” he hedged with a shrug of his shoulders. “But yeah, as long as you’re with someone who is used to dealing with the ferus, you should be fine.”
“Okay, then.” With a reluctant nod, I let out a long sigh. “Then I’m in. Let’s contact your friends and see if they’ll agree to take us out there.”
Maybe we’d get lucky, and they’d refuse.
“No need,” Chuck said. “I can take you.”
Oh, I didn’t like the sound of that. But for Felicity’s sake, I tempered my concern. “I thought you didn’t do that anymore. What about your wife?”
“What she don’t know won’t hurt her…or land me in the doghouse,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, this ain’t smuggling. It’s just taking two tourists to do some sightseeing. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.”
“You’re sure you can get us to the exact spot where Hannah Carter was abducted?” Felicity narrowed her eyes, her hard stare as close as she would get to due diligence.
“Don’t you worry, darlin’,” Chuck assured her. “I know every secret way in and out of this whole area. And for a thousand bucks, I’ll take you there right now.”
“Now?” I gasped.
But Felicity wasn’t half as shocked by the idea.
“Deal!” Felicity she shouted, already digging into her handbag for the money.
“But wait,” I said, butting into this sudden black market deal. “Now you want a grand? What happened to the guy who chastised us for ‘cashing in’ on tragedy?”
“He was just worried that he wasn’t going to get his cut,” Chuck chuckled as Felicity handed over the bills.
After neatly folding the stack in half, he slipped the money into his pocket, picked up his nearly full beer, and downed it in one go.
Then, standing up from his seat, he smacked the empty glass down on the bar with a resounding thunk. “Now let’s get you ladies to the Wall.”