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I’ve got to keep it together. I’ve got to keep it together for Katelyn.
Her safety depends on me.
Which means I cannot screw this up.
God, I want a drink. I want a drink so badly. A nice smoky bourbon that burns my throat. Just one sip. That’s all I need to take the edge off.
Just one sip.
I walk. I walk toward my parents’ liquor cabinet.
One step. Two steps. Then three and four steps.
Again and again, I step, until I’m standing right in front of the mahogany cabinet.
Inside is the best liquor money can buy. My old man is a scotch drinker, but he keeps a little bit of everything for any guests who may be here.
Inside will be the premium bourbon.
Just between this wooden door and me.
I crack open the door. Look inside.
All the bottles.
Just one.
Just one sip. It will help.
I need to be calm to get through this.
I pull the bottle off the shelf, and—
My phone dings with a text.
40
KATELYN
“What do you mean?” My heart beats rapidly against my chest.
“There’s a reason you’re here,” Buck says. “I know these guys. They don’t take people for no reason.”
“Meaning…” I gulp.
“Meaning you’re important to someone.”
“I’m a no one. I’m not important to anyone.”
“Except your waiter friend.”
“But I told you. He’s nobody. He’s a waiter in Manhattan.”
“Is he?”
“I…”
Is he? I don’t know. I know very little about Luke. Except that I love him. I love him so very much.
“Listen,” Buck says. “I don’t want to scare you. That’s the last thing I want. But I know you’re here for a reason. Maybe it’s not your boyfriend. Maybe it’s someone else.”
“I don’t know anyone else. I’ve been gone for—”
“What about your parents?”
“My dad’s a tech guy. We’re well-off, but we’re not billionaires or anything.”
“And there’s no way your father would be involved in any kind of drug business?”
“No. I told you. My father’s in the hospital.”
“Anyone else?”
“Just the Wolfes. And…”
“And what?”
“Well…I ran into one of the guys from the island in Manhattan. He recognized me. His name is…” Ice Man. His name is Ice Man. “Pollack, I think.”
“Okay. Now we may be getting somewhere.”
“Okay.”
“Tell me everything about this Pollack.”
“It’s… I don’t like to talk about it. He was one of the guys who came to see me on the island.”
“You don’t need to go into detail. I just need to know if he may have any connection to this drug organization.”
“He should be in prison, obviously.”
“He probably turned evidence.”
“Yeah. That’s what Luke said.”
“Luke. The boyfriend.”
“Right.”
“What does Luke look like, Katelyn?”
An interesting question. “He has brown hair and brown eyes.”
Buck nods.
“Except…he doesn’t.”
Buck drops his mouth open. “What the hell do you mean?”
“He colors his hair and wears colored contacts. Apparently he’s actually blond…with blue eyes.”
Buck pushes his hair back from his forehead. “Blond with blue eyes? Is his hair long or short?”
“It’s short. Why?”
“I guess he could cut it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“In fact, of course he cut it. If he’s hiding from King. Hiding from me. Hiding from everyone.” Buck seems to be talking to himself now.
“Let me in. What are you talking about? You’re scaring me.” My words are ridiculous, of course. I’m already scared out of my mind.
“Just a theory, but I’m wondering if your waiter from Manhattan is the man I’m looking for.”
“The man who hurt your sister? No, he can’t be. Luke is kind and gentle.” I curl my hands into fists on instinct. No way will I let this guy malign Luke’s good name.
“Yeah, it’s a long shot.”
“Of course it is.”
“But still… There’s a reason you’re here, Katelyn. And if Luke is who I’m looking for, that would explain it.”
“Why? Why would that explain it?”
“Because the man I’m looking for is the son of a local producer from old money. His real name is Lucifer Charles Ashton the third, but his street name is Lucifer Raven.”
My jaw drops.
“What?” Buck asks.
I have no words. All I can think about is that tattoo of the raven on Luke’s left arm and shoulder. Black and red with fire shooting from its wings.
It’s a remnant of something I’d rather forget.
Luke’s words.
No. It can’t be.
My Luke would never harm anyone. My Luke is a good man. The best man. He feeds stray dogs.
He loves me. He wasn’t lying about that. Words are just words, but I felt it. I felt his love for me.
“Katelyn…”
I shake my head. “No. Absolutely not. Luke is not the man you’re looking for.”
“He may not be. But you’re here for a reason, like I’ve said. I have to consider the possibility.”
“Tell me, then. Tell me all about this Lucifer Raven.”
“You’d know him if you saw him. Blond and blue eyes like you said, and he has a tattoo,” Buck says. “On his left arm and shoulder.”
My stomach turns. Acid crawls up my throat, and I retch.
It’s dry heaves. I’m not sure when I last ate, and luckily nothing comes up, but I retch. It hurts my throat, and I double over with cramps.
