Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
That was entirely more energy and planning than I’d ever put into anything with Arden. She wasn’t going to find him on that path. I’d had nothing to do with his disappearance. I started to shake my head when the door to my apartment building opened, and Wayne—one of three security guards who alternated working the front entrance—stepped outside. He was older, possibly sixty, but built like a linebacker with broad shoulders. His slick, bald head made him appear more intimidating than he actually was.
“Is there a problem, Ms. Romeo?” he asked me, his gaze flickering from me to the other woman, then back again.
The woman’s jaw was jutted out, and her hands were clasped tightly, pressing close to her stomach. I felt bad for her. No mother should be put through this.
“Uh, no,” I said to Wayne, trying to attempt a reassuring smile.
He looked back at the other woman. “Doesn’t seem very friendly out here,” he drawled, turning his gaze back to me.
Did he think I needed protecting from a woman more than twice my age?
Come on, Wayne. She’s not about to tackle me to the ground or take my purse and run.
“You know something. And my PI is suddenly missing. I don’t care how much money those trashy books of yours has made you.” She raised her eyebrows at me with an air of haughtiness. “I will find out what you’ve done! You will pay!” Her voice rose enough to draw attention from others passing by on the street.
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but stopped before I did. She didn’t want to hear my truth. She needed a lead to her son, and believing I was it was all she had to cling to. When I said nothing more, Wayne stepped between us to block her view of me. I looked from him, then leaned to the side slightly to see her spin around and stalk away.
“She don’t seem real sane, Ms. Romeo,” Wayne said, drawing my attention back to him.
“Her son left town with nothing but a note. She’s upset, and she wants answers,” I explained.
His brows drew together. “Not an excuse,” he said with a shake of his head. “No need to go taking it out on you. You’ve not done a thing.”
I smiled at Wayne, although I didn’t feel like it. The interaction had bothered me, but I didn’t want him to know that.
“It’s fine. I’m fine,” I reassured him. “His leaving was odd and hard to believe for everyone. It wasn’t like him. I’m the only lead she thinks she has.” And I did feel bad for her.
“Might be best if you came on back inside for now,” he suggested.
“No,” I said. I had to get out. “I need the fresh air and some time to think about my words before going back up to work.”
He crinkled his nose and looked around. “There isn’t anything real fresh about this air,” he pointed out, causing a small laugh to bubble out of me. He was right, of course.
“A walk will do me good. Even with the questionable air quality.”
The corner of his mouth quirked. “All right then. But keep your eyes open. Stay alert.”
I nodded once. “Will do.”
Glancing around him one more time to see that Arden’s mother was no longer in sight, I sighed a breath of relief and gave Wayne a small wave before heading in the opposite direction.
Sixteen
Ransom
Pacing, I stared down at my phone, watching the tracker I’d put in Noa’s phone and the lining of her wallet. After Wayne had called me to tell me about the visitor she had on the street, I’d escaped to my room so that I could keep tabs on her location.
Fucking Arden was a pain in the ass. Causing more problems. Why couldn’t he disappear properly?! Dammit!
We’d shut up the PI, but I did have a line I wasn’t going to cross, and torturing his mother was on the other side of it. I had to find a way to get her to stop her pursuit of him without doing any bodily harm.
She’d been walking in the direction of her apartment earlier, and she should be there by now.
Zooming in, I looked to see the name of where she had stopped. Swanky Brew—must be a coffee shop. So far, on her outing, she had stopped at a bookstore, two boutiques, Dainty Cakes—which I’d looked up online, and it was a cupcake bakery that had gluten-free items—and now coffee. Part of me was glad she was out of the apartment, but then there was the other part that liked her to stay where I could see her. That was selfish, but my rationality was getting more questionable, the longer I was kept from Noa. If I turned into a full-blown psycho, then it was Linc’s fault—no, make that Blaise’s fault. It would be all their damn fault.