Page 135 of Wicked Promises
I clear my throat. “‘It had to happen. My poor baby. It was easy enough to hide from the kids, but Ben… I fear he’s never going to look at me the same. I know he’s taken a lover to get back at me. The betrayal stings. I thought he would be better than this.’”
“Shit,” Riley says.
We’re both quiet for a moment.
Then she asks, “What do you think she means by that? What had to happen?”
“Something she hid from me and Caleb,” I guess. “Which could be anything.”
“We’re almost there.”
I grab her arm. “Park around the corner. Just in case.”
“Roger that.” She glances at me. “Should we call someone?”
“Like the police?”
“Well…yeah.”
I bite my lip. She parks near the diner, and we both hop out. I draw my jacket closer around me. The wind is fierce downtown, funneled between taller buildings.
“We don’t know if anything is wrong,” I eventually say. “Unknown—Claire—has been targeting me this whole time. Why suddenly take Caleb?”
“Classic villain move,” she murmurs. “He’s the bait.”
We get to the first window of the diner, and I hold her back. Carefully, I push up on my tiptoes and peek inside.
I don’t see Caleb, but Claire is pacing up and down the main aisle. I crane even farther. Maybe he’s sitting in the short row of booths, just out of my sight.
Claire turns toward the window, and I duck.
“Did she see you?” Riley hisses.
“I don’t think so. I couldn’t see Caleb either.” I steer Riley back around the corner, to safety. “There’s always a back entrance, right? For safety?”
She stares at me. “You’re not seriously?—”
“She has Caleb.” I’m firm but also shaking. My hands tremble. “And if she does anything to him… Yeah, absolutely not. I can’t just sit out here.”
“Fine.” She pulls out her phone. “I’ll call them.”
“Good idea. May as well tell Eli’s dad, too. I have a feeling at least one of us is going to need a lawyer.”
She groans, but I ignore it. I jog around to the alley and slip into it. The street is deserted, which is the weirdest part. Not a single car has passed us. Then again, this area of town is run-down. Old and tired. The corner of the brick building is chipped and crumbling, and the alley is gross.
I stop in front of a large metal door. Someone put aLucky’ssticker on it. A big leprechaun with a green hat, the name of the diner in thick yellow script, and it’s skewed to the left.
The door very well may be locked.
Claire could have Caleb at knifepoint or something.
Taking a deep breath, I twist the door handle. It opens easily, and I pause.
Listen.
I can’t hear anything.
Here goes nothing.