AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She felt shy all of a sudden but nodded. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
“Did you just get here?”
“Um, no, I’ve been here about a half-hour. You?”
He lifted a bag he was holding, packed full of pamphlets, posters, and other swag. “Nah, I’ve been here a while now. I was just about to leave, but… if you want to stick around for a while, I think they were about to do a big reveal on a new X-Box game over in Auditorium One.”
He angled his body around in the direction of Auditorium One without taking his eyes off Farren as if to encourage her to go along with him.
“Okay, sure,” she agreed, and they walked side-by-side, maneuvering through the crowd together to get there.
After some time spent beta-testing the new game and a few more stops at various displays, Farren yawned.
“You’re not tired, are you?” Raphe teased. “You want to go grab a coffee or something?”
Up to that point, Farren had felt comfortable around Raphe. He had a laidback and easy-going personality. He smiled when he talked, and he seemed passionate about things she was interested in. The conversation came easy, and it felt more like she was hanging out with an old friend than a stranger she’d just met a couple days ago, but when he asked her to get coffee, a red flag went up in her mind.
It was one thing to be there in the midst of busy crowds, but leaving to get coffee with just the two of them felt a little more intimate than she knew would be right.
Then again, her thoughts went to Rogan on his business trip with Edith. It was already after nine o’clock in the evening, and he still hadn’t bothered to call or text her. She didn’t want to think about it. She’d finally gotten her mind off of things and was enjoying herself, even if the dull, nagging feeling remained persistent in the depths of her thoughts. She wasn’t ready for the temporary distraction to end, not yet.
“Okay, one coffee,” Farren agreed, holding up one finger. “But just as friends?”
Raphe smirked with a confused look for a split second, and then said, “Sure. Let’s go.”
They walked out of the Convention Center and crossed the street to a local, mom and pop coffee house.
TWELVE
Rogan stepped out into the hallway from Edith’s room adjusting his disheveled clothes. He shook his head with squinted eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose above where his glasses rested.
What the hell just happened? He thought.
He went back to his own room and tried to focus on work. Between what had just happened with Edith and what he was planning to do before they left New York the following morning, he was on edge and needed a drink much stronger than the flimsy Merlot Edith had tried pushing.
He walked to the wet bar of his own ritzy hotel room and saw that it was only stocked with the customary, miniature bottles of various spirits. He shook his head, thinking he’d just try to get some sleep and put this whole night behind him. He showered and climbed into bed wearing boxer briefs and the
crinkles that set in his furrowed brow.
His mind went to Farren, and he thought about calling her to see how she and Harley’s day had gone. Then he thought better of it, knowing she was still pissed at him for coming to New York and not taking her with him if her radio silence the entire day had been any indication.
She had certainly made it a point to stay away the previous night, burying herself in some video game rather than coming to bed with him. If that woman’s technical brain didn’t turn him on so fucking bad, he’d probably have tossed that game in the trash and carried her to bed caveman style with her kicking and screaming if he had to, but he had let it go, giving her some time to come to grips with the whole thing.
He knew she wouldn’t have the slightest clue what he had planned, and that was good because he wanted to keep it that way, at least for now.
He dozed off in the dark, lonely silence of the hotel room, and just like any time he went to bed without Farren in his arms, the nightmares came.
*
11 Years Ago
Dusk was just setting in when the men approached the dilapidated, run-down neighborhood on their rumbling bikes. They slowed when they got to the entrance of a trailer park, and Hugo waved his hand back to motion for them to get into formation.
It was the time of day the seedy residents of this place were just getting out and about to start the hustle under the cover of night. Once they heard the thunderous roar of the five bikes, they’d know something was up, so the men had to work fast. It was go-time.
They rounded the corner and shot through the dirt driveway, past rows of trailer houses, until they got to the one they were looking for, number 402. Craigan, Dean, and Bull stayed put on their bikes while Hugo and Rogan each took a side of the house to get in from, Hugo taking the front door and Rogan taking the back.
Rogan waited until he heard a muffled crash indicating Hugo had busted through the front door, and that’s when everything started happening at once.
