Chapter Eight #2
When Ryan’s phone finally charged, he saw several messages from Damian.
They had been sent the same day he left for the cabin, but he had never seen them.
A few days later, Damian sent a final message confirming he was leaving the city and wishing Ryan all the best. Damian never said where he was going, and when Ryan tried to reply, the message failed to deliver. The number was out of service.
“Why?” Ryan asked.
“I don’t know,” Amanda continued. “He was different after the party. I think he felt betrayed by Callie, too. He sided with you, you know. But he’s gone now, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Where has he gone?” Ryan suddenly felt his gut turn. He didn’t like that feeling, and he reminded himself he didn’t care.
“He got a job in some small town,” she explained. “I can’t even remember the name. Honestly, I don’t care. It’s probably for the best. Seriously, what was I thinking with him? I’d just end up hurt like you.”
“Yeah, probably,” Ryan agreed.
Ryan returned to the office a few days later. His assistant said that Edward Kline had requested a meeting. But Ryan delayed meeting with Edward as long as he could. Eventually, Edward decided to show up unannounced, and Ryan was cornered.
“If this conversation isn’t about one of your deals, it’s not happening,” Ryan said, closing his office door.
“Sit down,” Edward demanded harshly.
Ryan stared at him for a moment, then complied. Edward sat across from him and slid a sheet of paper across the desk. Ryan picked it up and tried to make sense of it. It was the results of medical tests, but he didn’t understand what they meant. He did see Callie’s name at the top of the page.
“What’s this?” Ryan snorted. “You’re telling me she was on drugs? That she was high that night? How does that change anything?”
“On drugs, yes,” Edward said, ignoring his rudeness. “But she wasn’t high. Do you know what flibanserin is?”
“No,” Ryan shrugged.
“What about Rohypnol?”
“The date rape drug?” Ryan asked. He wasn’t sure where Edward was headed with these questions.
“Flinaserin is a drug known as the female Viagra,” Edward explained. “I had a friend run a tox screen on Callie’s sample, which I collected from her that day. The results are in front of you. There were extremely high levels of flinaserin in her system, along with Rohypnol.”
“I don’t understand,” Ryan admitted.
“I doubt Callie roofied herself,” Edward continued sternly. “And I really doubt she was taking flinaserin.”
“What are you suggesting?” Ryan asked suspiciously. He knew Edward always had feelings for Callie and expected him to defend her.
“Ask your cousin what that would mean,” Edward said. “Then call me back so we can continue this conversation. By the way, you should know you aren’t the only one who’s gone missing. Though I doubt Callie is playing Survivor Man in the mountains.”
Edward left, and Ryan reread the report Edward had left behind.
It made no sense to him, and he tried to remind himself he didn’t want to care.
But he was curious. He didn’t like making decisions without all the information.
He was a lawyer who looked for facts. He took a picture of the page, carefully excluding Callie’s name, and sent it to Amanda.
She called him as soon as she received his text.
“Where did you get those lab results?” she asked instead of saying hello. “Is this one of your cases? Who are they from?”
“What does it mean?” Ryan asked, ignoring her question.
“It means someone likely had a very bad night,” Amanda said carefully.
“That is a very dangerous combination. She would have been knocked out or completely unaware of her actions, and with that much flinaserin, she would have been horny as hell. If she was conscious, I doubt she would have been able to control herself.” Amanda suddenly stopped mid-sentence. “Ryan, whose test results are these?”
Ryan didn’t respond. He just ended the call. He understood what Edward was suggesting. Callie had been drugged. He reminded himself again that he didn’t want to care, but he dialed Edward’s number.
“You said she’s missing?” Ryan asked Edward.
“Yes,” Edward replied. “Let’s have dinner. I’ll have my assistant send you the reservation details.”
Edward explained further what Amanda had already told him.
The combination of those drugs would have left Callie unaware of or unable to control her actions.
She was likely passed out, or close to it.
If she was unfortunate enough to wake up, she would have experienced uncontrollable urges.
There was no way Callie would have taken those drugs voluntarily. Someone had drugged her on purpose.
“Did Marco drug her?” Ryan asked, completely confused by what he was hearing.
“You know Marco. You tell me,” Edward replied.
No, Marco would not have drugged Callie.
He had been a loyal friend for a decade.
The man was the dictionary definition of integrity.
He loved his wife. He would not have drugged Callie.
As the new reality of what had happened that morning became clearer, Ryan started to feel sick.
He had been so quick to judge them and to throw them out of his life that he never considered there could be an alternative.
Callie had left over a hundred messages, begging him to forgive her or at least speak to her.
Did Callie know she had been drugged? The idea that she didn’t terrify him even more, because it meant she believed she had willingly cheated on him.
“Fuck,” Ryan said aloud, running a hand through his hair.
“Ryan, you can’t blame yourself,” Edward said. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to do this to you and Callie. And I would have wagered that if we had had the chance to collect a sample from Marco, there would have been some crazy shit in his system, too.”
“Who did this?” Ryan demanded. He couldn’t think of anyone at the party who would hold ill will toward them.
“Who would have a grudge against you and Callie?” Edward asked. “I think we can assume Marco was merely a tool in this.”
Marco wasn’t a random tool in this setup.
Ryan knew exactly who was behind it. They had threatened the Night Service.
In return, the Night Service had promised to retaliate if his father approved.
His father must have approved. And for them to destroy him, Callie, and Marco with one move was a very successful outcome for them.
Ryan realized he had done this to himself.
He had naively threatened them, arrogantly believing he could scare them away.
And now they had proven they could destroy everyone’s lives with minimal effort.
“The Night Service did this,” Ryan told Edward. “But how?”
Edward went quiet, and Ryan realized Edward knew how. Ryan knew Edward would explain everything, but he sensed Edward was hesitant.
“Edward! How?” Ryan demanded.
“I had a date for the party,” he replied, embarrassed. “A girl from the Service.”
Edward explained that after he saw the test results, he questioned his date.
She had confessed that Mr. Wilson had paid her extra to drug Callie and Marco, given the chance.
Ryan had given her the perfect opportunity when he got shit-faced drunk and argued with Callie.
Edward’s date slipped the drugs into their last drinks while they stopped to eat.
Once she noticed the drugs taking effect, she intercepted Callie and got her into Marco’s room.
She then returned to the party, waiting for Marco to start stumbling.
She got him to bed as well. She undressed both of them and staged the room to look like a passionate night had taken place.
“Fuck!” Ryan swore again after Edward finished explaining. “Edward, does Callie know any of this?”
“I can’t find her,” Edward admitted. “After she quit your firm, I offered her a job. She said she wanted a couple of days to think it over. I gave her that time, but when I tried to reach her again, she was gone and had changed her phone number. I convinced the doorman at her building to let me into her condo. She had packed her personal belongings and cleaned up, as if she weren’t coming back. ”
“Did she go home? To her father's?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Edward said. “I hired a private investigator. He’s been searching, and that was the first place he looked. Where is Damian? Maybe he’s spoken to her.”
“I’m not sure,” Ryan admitted.
He felt horrible. Damian had every right to be mad at him. He had reached out to Ryan, but Ryan had ignored him. Ryan had tried to reply after returning, but by then Damian had changed his number. Caleb confirmed he was still communicating with Damian about the case but only by email.
“Annie?” Ryan suggested.
“She’s still in rehab,” Edward said. “Marco has been checking in on her in your absence.”
Ryan sat and stared at Edward, considering everything that had happened.
In the last few weeks, he had closed off again, reverting to being the asshole.
But at least he didn’t have to worry about caring for people.
Even though he knew the truth now, he wondered whether it was still for the best. They had all parted ways, and no one was physically hurt or dead.
Maybe if the Night Services knew their plan had worked, they wouldn’t come after them again.
It may be safest for everyone if they didn’t go near each other again.
And he didn’t have to worry about getting hurt again.
“It’s better this way,” Ryan said slowly. “Let them win, because they won’t stop until they do.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Edward objected.
“No,” Ryan interrupted. “This is my fault. I went to them even after you warned me. I threatened them, but they laughed and said they would come after us.”
Edward shook his head at Ryan, but Ryan could see he was considering what Ryan had said. Callie and Damian had disappeared, giving the Night Service what they wanted: silence. Trying to find Callie now would only put her in danger again.