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“I have to go. Maybe I’ll see you when you get back.” She blinked back tears as she ended the call, staring at his picture for a long moment. It wasn’t a good idea to be involved with him. She shouldn’t have been playing his violin. It was a dream that could never come true. She needed to accept that and learn to be content where she was.
* * *
Mark stareddown at his phone, the “Call Ended” message flashing for a moment before the screen went black. Emily didn’t sound okay. She sounded... off.
He stared out the window, wishing he knew where she lived. He’d go over there and make sure she was okay.
But did he really want to know what went on at her place? She slept with her customers. He tried not to think about it, but it was the truth.
What did he do with that? Whatcouldhe do?
She wasn’t there by choice. She was, but she wasn’t.
He glanced at the time. Almost noon. Early evening in Germany. He searched his contacts for Alex’s number. He knew his godfather would call as soon as he’d heard something, but Mark was antsy and needed to do something.
Alex answered in German. “Hello, Mark. I was just about to call you.”
“You were?”
“I finally heard back from Chase. He was on a job and called me an hour ago. He’s willing to help with anything he can. I’m also waiting to hear back from Seth, for an extra set of hands over there, but I’m sure he’ll help out too.”
Mark slumped into the chair. He hadn’t doubted the men would help, but hearing it from Alex’s mouth reassured him at a deeper level. “What can I do?”
“Give Chase a call and talk to him. He’s very good at taking care of things like this. It’s been so long since I’ve lived in America, I would defer to him if I were there.”
“Will you come?”
“If I’m needed, of course, but Chase and his team are extremely capable. And Vati hasn’t been well. I’m hesitant to leave him.”
“Oh, Alex, I’m so sorry.”
“He’s lived a good life, but these last few years have been difficult on him.”
“I can imagine.” They were quiet for a moment. Mark remembered Wilhelm as a strong, confident older man with a heart of gold, but something had happened a few years ago that had rocked the entire family. Wilhelm hadn’t been the same since. It saddened Mark to think of Wilhelm as anything less than the virulent man he’d known and admired growing up. “I’ll give Chase a call and see what he suggests.”
“Have things changed?”
“She didn’t sound quite right this morning.” Mark sighed. “I’ve only known her a few weeks, though. I might be wrong.”
“Places like that don’t ever get better.”
“I don’t know why they would.”
“Call Chase. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Thanks.”
They said goodbye and then Mark searched for Chase’s number on his phone. They’d only met a handful of times, but Mark had found the Bostonian as kind and experienced as Alex.
Chase answered after a few rings. They spent a few minutes in small talk and then Chase mentioned he’d talked to Alex about Mark’s question. “I’m happy to help in any way I can.”
“I appreciate that. What did Alex tell you?”
“That your girlfriend was in a bad situation and that her workplace needed to be shut down. The less I see of that man, the harder it is to understand his accent.”
Mark chuckled. “I suppose it might be. Though she’s not my girlfriend...” Mark explained how he’d met Emily and went into as much detail as he could about what he knew about her past and the Café.
“What did you say the name of the place was?”
