AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re going to tell me where she is,” I finally spell it out.
“I, uh…I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her tone is suddenly surly. I remain still, staring at her. She glances back at me like a deer looking into the headlights of an oncoming truck. Luka has moved around the bar, stopping behind her with arms folded. She knows there’s no way out.
“What…what do you want?” she croaks, her fear gradually taking over.
“Do you need me to draw you a picture, Lena?” I ask. It’s all I can do to stop myself from hauling her over the counter and shaking her. “Where the fuck is Scarlett?”
“Look, I don’t know anything.” Her voice is now shaking as she fumbles with the rag. “She’s just someone who used to come in here. I don’t know everything about every one of my patrons.”
I hear Luka scoff beside her. “Do yourself a favor and spit it out,suka. This is no amateur hour.” When her eyes fly wide, I realize there’s a blade in Luka’s hand.
“I…I…” she stutters, eyes darting between us, then down at the knife.
“Stop wasting my fucking time and start talking!” I roar; my voice is ice-cold. A few of the drunk idiots in the back are now looking at us. Not that I care. None of them will have the balls to stand up to us.
“Alright, alright!” Lena chokes out, realizing she ran out of options. Holding up her hands, fear is now etching lines into her face as Luka steps closer. “I… I told the guy about you. Cartwright.” She’s twisting the rag between her fingers. Fingers I want to break one by one.
“I fucking knew it!” Luka snaps.
“Look, it was nothing personal. It was just…just…” She’s now fumbling for words. “Just business, okay?”
“Business?” I roar, taking a step closer. I don’t know why human greed should surprise me, but from this unassuming woman, it does.
She makes a squeaking sound in the face of my fury. A wet spot is beginning to form around her thighs. She’s panicking, which is exactly what I want. She will tell me everything I want to know.
“I’m sorry,” she bleats. It’s no consolation, but I hold myself back, letting her speak. “We’d… We’d all heard about the stranger who bought the old Tucker estate. Big money, by all accounts. I figured I could-” She stops.
“You could what?” Carl steps in.
I can’t believe what’s coming out of this woman’s mouth.
“I’ve got bills to pay, okay? You think this bar earns me a fortune?” Her words come out in a nervous rush as she sweeps a hand around her. “I’ve been looking for a way out of my debt, alright? When I saw the ad for the nanny, I figured it was a way to get in with you, so I showed it to Scarlett. We already got along pretty good. I just…I just thought she might be able to share some useful information.”
“You sent her to spy?” I frown.
“She had no idea,” Lena admits. Now that she’s talking, she’s singing like the proverbial canary. “But when those guys came into town, I knew it was all coming together. They were offering big money, mister! Real big money. So when… When I saw Scarlett in town, I told them.”
“Who else is involved in this shit?” I demand because it seems impossible that one stupid little barmaid could be so brazen.
“Noone! I mean…well, it was Hector and me.”
“Hector, who?”
“A guy who hangs out here! He was here at the bar the night you met Scarlett, remember?” She gnaws on her lip. “We were gonna split the cash. But it’s yours. All yours. I don’t want anything to do with this!”
“Fuck this,” Carl scoffs.
She glares at him, and again, I’m consumed by the urge to grab her by the throat and squeeze the life out of her. My thoughts must show on my face because she shrinks further back.
“Where is Scarlett?” I ask again.
Lena shrugs, clearly not knowing how to respond. I know how she should be responding though.
She should be screaming.
When Carl darts a look at me, I realize I’m resting my hand on the grip of my pistol.
“Anton…” There’s a warning in his tone. Lena’s eyes are huge with terror.
