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She shrugs as she pulls back. “Well, I wasn’t in much of a position to refuse when he asked.” Holly pauses as if to look around for someone. “Where is Chase? I would’ve thought he was with you.”
“He’s on his way.” I hold back from saying more. Even if Holly knows something, it’s not fair for me to give Chase the third degree on staying quiet while I sing like a bird.
She smiles brightly. “Well, I don’t want to hold you up.”
Before I can respond to the sudden turn in the conversation, she turns on her heel and rushes off with a wave. More of a brisk walk than a jog, but wherever Holly’s going, she seems in a rush.
As I watch her leave, Chase comes out of the alleyway and they almost crash. They both leap back as if burned, barely make eye contact, and continue on.
Holly keeps walk-jogging away.
Chase approaches me, an easy smile forming on his handsome features. “Ready?”
Chapter4
Chase
Instead of sitting on the bar stool like he usually does, I find Zayn alone on the couch at the very back of the bar. Great, there won’t be anyone to overhear what we have to talk about.
“Chase, good to see you,” he says as he stands. He looks toward Aria and his eyes flicker. “And who would you be?”
“Aria,” she responds, tensing as her chin lifts infinitesimally.
“Ah, right. The girl he always talks about.”
Zayn smiles at me while Aria looks unnerved at the comment, making me grit my teeth.
Zayn motions for us to take a seat, his smile widening, clearly not registering the rising tension. “Chase’s probably filled you in on who I am, but allow me to introduce myself.” He waves his hands over himself as he sits. “I’m Zayn, Chase’s partner as we hunt down Night Fang.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Aria says, her own smile tight.
Zayn leans forward. “We’ve already met, though it wasn’t really in the best of circumstances.”
Aria stiffens. “I’d prefer not to remember that.”
“Right…sorry.”
The tension is thick enough for me to see it seething in the air. It hasn’t even been ten minutes and things are already going sour. With the way Aria’s staring at Zayn, one could mistake him for one of the organization’s thugs.
Looking over to a waitress, I call her over to the table with a gesture of my hand. I know Aria is against us drinking right now, but the way I see it, the meeting isn’t going to work if the tension is this high. “Can I get three glasses of wine, please?”
Aria gives me a quick side eye, but I arch my brow. She looks unsure, but eventually gives in with a sigh. We both know Peter is living on borrowed time, we need as many people on our side as possible.
“So you know why we’re here,” I say to Zayn.
He nods. “Aria has an issue that needs to be investigated…discreetly.”
“That’s right,” I say, squeezing Aria’s hands. “It’s probably best if you tell Zayn everything you’ve told me.”
“My brother’s been kidnapped. He disappeared, then a ransom letter turned up, so I’m not sure,” she answers, her fingers tensing in mine. “It came in a white envelope. That’s all I know.”
The red-eyed man.
I hadn’t made the connection until now. Until the same modus operandi was used in the recent homicide. Yet it makes sense the red-eyed man was also involved. There’s a possibility that by looking for Holly I was digging somewhere too close for the organization to take lightly.
That attack in the alley was either an attempt to send a message or an attempt to silence someone. I can’t imagine it would be me, since the organization should know that sending anyone else other than the red-eyed man is paramount to suicide.
If they’re smart enough to cover their tracks that well, then they’re obviously smart enough to know that. But that poses another, more unnerving question.
