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Nobody paid any attention to Charlotte and her father because their presence was non-corporeal. The Dream Lord pointed to a man trying to woo a woman by the bar. Charlotte and her father glided toward them.
The man was dressed as a body-shop employee that hadn’t bothered to change even though it was already after hours. He seemed to be in his late twenties but was already showing premature baldness. He had beady eyes, too large of a nose and a scrawny frame.
The woman sitting next to him seemed to know the man. She was a redhead, rather comely and busty. If she weren’t an acquaintance, Charlotte doubted she’d give him the time of the day.
“Let me buy you a drink. Or twenty,” said the man.
“Oh?” The redhead arched a stenciled eyebrow. “Feeling generous tonight?”
“Just got me some dough today.”
“Whose wares did you fence?”
“Ouch.” The man pretended to look hurt. “It’s legit, Darlene. I got paid for doing some guy a favor.”
The Dream Lord turned to Charlotte. “Do you recognize him?”
She shook her head. “Not really. Is he the one who ran me over?”
The Dream Lord looked at the man and touched his forehead.
Suddenly, Charlotte could see a cinematic view of the man’s memory. His name was John Bettuci, and he was flat broke. When his former boss, a drug dealer in Compton, approached Bettuci with a job, Bettuci jumped on it without a second thought. The job paid ten grand in cash. Bettuci was given a burner cell and told to wait for instructions.
On the day of the job, Bettuci stole a truck from a train station parking lot and then spied on Charlotte. Bettuci was supposed to clip her when she was exiting the hotel. Bettuci couldn’t believe his luck when Charlotte decided to walk to a park. Bettuci did her in. It was easy. He’d done the same kind of thing before. Twice. Both of his victims had died instantaneously.
Charlotte shivered.
There was a knot in her stomach that seemed to be twisting her insides into a ball as she thought of how close she’d come to being his third successful kill. This scum had taken the lives of others as if it was nothing.
Her father’s expression darkened, but he said nothing. He flicked his fingers, and they were transported somewhere else.
This time, they were in the memory of the drug dealer who’d given the job to Bettuci. The man’s name was Raymond Vargas. He was a long-time offender with a rap sheet in multiple states. He’d made Las Vegas his current base, where he supplied drugs in Sin City. He was the co-owner of several nightclubs.
One of his silent partners had come to him with a problem and asked Vargas if he could solve it. The job was worth a cool hundred thousand dollars. Vargas gladly accepted and promised the man, Antoine Fielding, a satisfactory result.
The Dream Lord flicked his fingers again, and they were dream-walking into another cinematic memory—Antoine Fielding’s memory. Fielding was a stockbroker for a renowned firm in Wall Street. His clientele included several movers and shakers in New York City. Besides being employed by a respectable firm, Fielding was also running an illegal gambling circle. He dealt with money-laundering, prostitution, and he provided “special services” that his clients needed. Murder-for-hire was one of them.
So when Jeremy Addington, his biggest client, came to him and complained that he had a thorn in his side that needed to be taken care of, Fielding gladly suggested leaving the matter to him. He didn’t even bother to ask why. Having someone from the Addington family owe him a favor would secure his connection to high society in New York.
The Dream Lord snarled in disgust at Fielding’s revelation. Once more, he disconnected the man’s memory, and then dream-walked into Jeremy Addington’s mind.
Charlotte saw what she’d seen before—Jeremy’s jealousy of his stepbrother— and Daniel’s position as the pride alpha. Daniel’s massive wealth and power that he could never have. Envy and greed consumed him so deeply that he’d embezzled millions from the family coffers and schemed to usurp Daniel.
Charlotte had seen enough.
She was sick of watching this never-ending human greed. Tugging her father’s sleeve, she said, “I know what I have to do.”
The Dream Lord waved his hand, and they returned into the kitchen of her grandmother’s farmhouse. He stroked his daughter’s hair lovingly. “As much as I want our little family to be together again, now is not the time.”
Charlotte nodded. “I understand. But for you, a human lifespan must feel like the blink of an eye.”
“You could say that. I’ll be waiting, Princess.”
Charlotte hugged her father tight. “I love you, Dad. I have to go now.”
He saw her in the very spot where they’d first met. Only Daniel wasn’t in his car, and she wasn’t riding her bike. She appeared to be waiting for someone. Daniel broke into a run.
“Charlotte!” He grabbed her in his arms and held her until she protested from lack of air. “I’ve missed you.” He released her and scanned their surroundings. “Am I dreaming?”
