Page 98 of Mr. Match

She answers on the first ring. “Yes, Katya?”

“Can you meet at the coffee shop? I have so many new things to tell you.”

“I’ll be right there, darling.”

She hangs up as I stare at the phone. Darling. I love that word. Oliver calls me that every once in a while. It just slips out like it’s my name. But only every once in a while.

Forget it, Katya. Just think about what you have to do next.

I try to put my sister out of my mind. I try to pretend that she’s smart enough to have known this was coming. I try to talk myself into believing that she is waiting somewhere safe until all this shit blows over.

But I’ve been in that moment too many times lately. So no matter how hard I try… I just don’t believe it.

Chapter Forty-Three - OLIVER

“You ready?” Pax asks me as we cross College Avenue and head towards the shooting range behind Shrike Bikes. What a weird place he chose. But it’s in our favor, so I don’t care.

“I’m ready,” I say as we cross Maple Street at a jog. There’s a dark car with dark windows parked in the parking lot. This asshole can’t look any more suspicious if he tried. The only thing he has going for him is that no one is working at Shrike Bikes right now.

Lucky him.

But that’s still a problem for us.

The door to the car opens and some tall redhead chick gets out looking like a middle-aged whore. Pax shoots me a look. I shrug, no clue who this bitch is.

“Hey,” I say, talking to Liam once we are within range. “You can’t leave that car here. My parents will be at the shop in eighteen minutes and in twenty-five minutes, the police will be knocking on that window. If no one answers from inside, they will proceed to tow it, per my father’s posted warning sign.” I point to said posted sign. “And I don’t know about you, but I don’t need any more attention today than I already have.”

Liam looks agitated. His hands are stuffed into his dark trench coat, his shoulders hunched against the wind. He doesn’t like the cold, I take it. He wants to be back inside that car or this building. He looks at the woman and says, “Pull the car around the block. We’ll wait here until you get back. But hurry the fuck up. I hate this goddamned wind.”

The woman obeys. Pax and I exchange a quick glance.

“That’s quite a job you did,” Liam says to Pax.

“We can talk about it inside,” Pax says.

“Why did you do it?” Liam asks.

“I said we’ll talk about it inside,” Pax practically growls. “So shut your fucking mouth until that happens. Then you can ask all the bullshit questions you want. OK?”

All three of us look in the direction the woman drove off in. And a few minutes later we’re rewarded with her tall figure jogging back to us.

Car moved out of sight. Check.

“OK,” I say. “Let’s get the fuck out of this parking lot before people start noticing us.” I go for the door, key in the security code, and hold it open as Pax, the redhead, and Liam all go in. I close it up as they wait on this side of the construction plastic, then say, “Follow me.”

I lead them through the plastic, down a hallway, and into the main part of the building.

“What is this place?” the woman asks.

“Well, one day, when my father pulls his head out of his ass, it will be a shooting range.”

“Not much to look at,” Liam says, studying the lack of progress to indicate that this place is anything but a condemned building.

I just keep walking until we reach another barrier of construction plastic, and then pull it aside so they can enter the nothing-special office lounge.

Liam eyes the table, decides it’s not too dirty to get comfortable, and then does just that.

“OK,” Pax says. “I made good on our deal. Now tell me what the fuck is going on with all this Mister shit.”