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Tamara whipped around. All the color drained from her face and her eyes went wide with shock.
“Hi, Geneva.” She smiled, nervously telling her brother she would have to call him back. “I thought you had already gone home for the day…” she trailed off. I glanced down at her hands. They were trembling.
“Cut the shit, Tamara,” I warned her. “I heard every word you just said to your brother on the phone about me.” My voice raised to a shout. “It was you all along. You were the one who broke into my hotel room and tried to scare me!”
Tamara paused and flashed a smile I didn’t believe for one second. “I don’t know what you are talking about—”
“Save it,” I interrupted her, flashing the phone in front of her eyes. “I recorded every word.”
She knew when to drop the stupid innocent act. The smile melted away and she gave me a vicious glance. “So, what do you want then? Are you going to blackmail me or something?” She took a bold step closer to me and narrowed her eyes. “Tell me your cost.”
At this point, there was only one thing I wanted from her.
“Quit,” I told her flatly. “If you don’t, I’ll turn you into the police.”
Chapter 29 - Worth
I glanced at Caleb. “It’s been hours. Where is she?”
“Calm down, man, she’s a grown woman,” Caleb said but I could see the flare of worry in his eyes.
Geneva wasn’t answering her calls or texts, and when we drove by her house, we noticed that her car was still not parked out front. The worry brewing in my gut was giving me a massive belly ache.
I paced the floor and fretfully ran my fingers through my hair. It was possible Geneva was out shopping or… something. How long did shopping take anyway?
Who was I kidding? I was almost out of my mind from worry. “There’s something wrong, I can feel it. She could be in serious trouble.”
Caleb gave me a look as if he wanted to get something off his chest.
“What?” I pressed.
“Ethan and I went to visit Geneva’s work today,” he said. “We ran into her friend Tamara. Guess what kind of car she drives?”
My stomach clenched. “Green Camry?”
“Bingo. I get the feeling that was her who was driving up and down the street last night.” Caleb fidgeted awkwardly on the barstool. “Yeah, plus… I don’t know, man, there was just something really strange about Tamara today. She just seemed empty inside. I don’t know how to explain it, but she gave me the creeps.”
I took a deep breath. I opened the fridge door and slammed it shut again. I walked over to the cabinet, opened one and shut it. I was fretting at this point as I glanced out the window. No sign of Geneva.
“Maybe we should go back to her work and see if her car is still there,” I suggested, staring out into the street ahead.
“We probably should fill Ethan in and pick him up, too,” Caleb said. “We rode with him earlier, but it’s possible that Geneva might have gone back to her house to get her car or something.”
I grabbed my keys on the counter and started walking to the front door. “Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll find her car at the studio.”
“I’ll drive,” Caleb offered. “I was just there a few hours ago, so I know how to find it.”
“Sounds good.”
We took off, trying not to speed as we desperately attempted to narrow the gap between Geneva and ourselves. About half an hour later with Ethan in tow, the three of us ventured to the studio, calling and texting her along the way. We still hadn’t had any luck in reaching her, so when we pulled into the parking lot and found her car sitting right out front, we were relieved.
“Come on.” I said impatiently, gaining a substantial lead on the other two as I rushed to the front door. “We’re wasting time.”
Ethan and Caleb slammed their car doors and jogged up to meet me on the sidewalk in front of the building. I tried the set of glass double doors leading to the reception lobby inside. They were locked.
“This is no good.” I pushed on the doors aggressively to release some of my bubbling frustrations.
Caleb peered inside. “I don’t see anyone in there.”
