She filled my mug and I sat there, trying to catch my breath.
I needed a plan and I needed one fast. If Luke found me, he’d kill me. That I knew for sure. I couldn’t give up Wes either. He was the only one who had tried to help me, to save me. But if I tried to find him and got near his boss, Aton, I’d be killed. No matter what I did, I was screwed. I was better off just sitting alone in the cafe drinking coffee until I was shaking from the caffeine. All I wanted to do was have a second to explain everything to Wes. I owed him that much at least, even if I wasn’t owed a second of his time. Then again, he lied for me and him. Now what was he going to do?
My cell beeped with a text message.
It was from Macie.
Macie!
I grabbed the phone but then reconsidered. She could be with Luke. Then again, she might know where Luke was right now. Or where he was going.
I didn’t text back to her but called her instead.
“Hey,” I said. “Where’s Luke?”
“I don’t know,” Macie said. “I was calling you to ask the same thing.”
“Oh?”
“Well, if you want the dirty details… we were together last night. All night.”
I cringed. “Good to know, Macie.”
“But he left at like three in the morning. He was all dressed up and said he had a business meeting. I was half asleep when he was talking to me. He brought these pills over that were really crazy to take. Then he was gone. I haven’t seen him since.”
I stood from the table, spilling coffee over the rim of my mug. Everyone then looked at me. I grabbed a five and dropped it to the small table and hurried out of the cafe. I went to the side of the building and down the alley where Wes had dropped me off.
“Macie, where are you now?” I asked.
“My apartment.”
“Can you come get me?”
“Okay. Are you alright?”
“No,” I said. “Listen to me. Luke is dangerous right now. There’s so much about my brother you don’t know. I know you think it’s all hot and sexy. That’s fine. But he is dangerous. He’s…”
A car horn beeped and I jumped. I turned and saw someone sitting just outside the cafe, beeping and waving their hand at someone who must have darted in front of their car.
“Rose? What’s going on?” Macie asked.
“Listen to me. I need you to pick me up. Then we’re going to a hotel for a little bit, okay? I need to figure some things out.”
“Are you in danger?”
I opened my mouth to scream Yes! but I held back. “You are, Macie. Get here and get me.”
I ended the call after telling her what cafe I was at. I just stood there in the alley like a fool waiting for my ride. All that raced through my mind was Wes. I didn’t want him wrapped up in all this mess. It wasn’t his fault. And if he tried to challenge Luke… sure, in a fist to fist kind of thing, it would be intense, and maybe Wes would win. Then again, Luke didn’t train to fight. He trained to kill. That’s what got all of us in so much trouble. That’s what made me run when I did.
That’s what got me accused of murder.
Macie finally showed up and I wasted no time getting into her car. I then told her to drive. Get out of the village - Portsmonth - because Luke would have eyes and hands everywhere. There was no doubt in my mind that he was after me. Leaving at three in the morning like he did with Macie wasn’t his way of dumping her off after sex. That was for business and business meant bad things when it came to Luke.
Macie asked me ten times what was going on, but I refused to answer until we were in the hotel.
I made her park around back where nobody would see the car.
Once we got into the room, I shut the door, locked it, and finally felt able to breathe. I had made sure to make her pay for the room with her credit card so there was no trail to me, just in case Luke was somehow watching or tracking us.
“Okay,” Macie said. “This is insane. I feel like I’m in some scary movie. Like a killer is just going to jump through the door.”
“That could happen,” I said. “You don’t get it. Everything I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“What?”
“Luke is a murderer. He kills people. Now he’s after me.”
“His own sister?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“It’s too hard to explain,” I said. “When he left at three in the morning did he say where he was going?”
“No. Just that it was business and that I should go back to sleep.”
“Shit,” I said. “That means he’s out looking.”
“For what?”
“Me,” I whispered. “Macie, Luke will kill me if he finds me.”
“How did you get to that cafe then?”
I gave a quick rundown of Wes. She sat on the bed and covered her mouth. “You were shot at, taken by this guy, kidnapped by his boss, and then he pretended to be your husband?”
“In a nutshell, yes. But then I told him that it was Luke who killed his brother in a fight and he went crazy. He wants to take on Luke. So he dropped me off at the cafe to go talk to his boss, who is connected to a family. This is bad, Macie. This is so bad.”