Faith frantically tried to call Chase,
leaving a message that it was very important he call her right away. And then she’d even typed “911” into
text, knowing he’d likely be freaked out by the urgency of her attempts to
contact him.
But what was she supposed to do?
Chase had been robbed. That man—he’d called himself
Charles, Boogie, whatever—that man had taken a lot of money from Chase
and Faith had done nothing to stop him.
She was still shaking, even half an hour
later, as she once again peered out the window to the street, just to make sure “Boogie” wasn’t lurking nearby, waiting to do some new piece
of nasty business.
Of course, he had no reason to stick
around. He’d come into Chase’s home
and gotten what he was after.
Money.
She could still picture the man’s hooded
eyes, the wariness and slyness in his gaze, and the confidence of his
gait. How old had he been? He’d moved with the ease of someone
still relatively young, but his beard had flecks of gray and she’d noticed deep
creases around his mouth and on his forehead.
He might have been thirty-five or even
fifty for all she knew. The man had
frightened her with the way he’d talked knowingly of Chase’s sordid past,
“running the streets.”
Faith shivered.
She partly wanted to leave Chase’s
apartment and go home—go somewhere safe. But what was safe nowadays? Between Club Alpha and now this new
shadowy figure who ’d entered the picture, Faith wasn’t
sure that she could trust anything or anyone to keep her out of harm’s way.
And to think, just a short time ago she’d
been basking in the glow of hot sex and the feeling of being loved. Chase had even said he was falling in
love with her.
He said he was falling in love, which
should have been something to celebrate. But instead she felt only dread and fear.
Faith sat on the couch, checked her cell,
and waited for Chase to call her back, while she occasionally peeked out the
window, just to be sure.
As she was waiting, her phone rang. Hopeful it was Chase was finally
returning her calls—she glanced down and saw her sister’s number instead.
“Shit,” she muttered, but then figured it
might keep her mind off her anxiety to talk to Krissi for a minute or two. Answering the phone, Faith tried to keep
her voice light. “Hey,” she said.
“Is it true?” Krissi practically shrieked
in her ear.
“Ouch,” Faith said, squinting and pulling
away from the phone. “Try not to
burst my ear drum.”
“I can’t help it,” her sister yelled. “People sent me pics from last night and
they’re either crazy good at Photoshop or you’re leading a secret life.”
Faith sighed, realizing that of course
the news had made its way around town by now. “It’s true,” she admitted.
“It’s true? Are you serious? Chase Winters was really with you at the bar last night,” her sister
said with disbelief.
Faith had to smile now. “Yes, he really was with me .”
And
I’m even sitting in his home right this very instant , she wanted to say, but held her
tongue. Especially since that might
warrant her admitting that she’d been present while some strange and sinister
man robbed him of potentially thousands of dollars.
“How did this happen? I feel like I’m dreaming,” Krissi said.
Faith laughed painfully. “Tell me about it. I know the feeling.”
“He’s, like, the most popular guy on the
planet and he’s hot—and rich—and he’s got women everywhere who want
him.”
“Right,” Faith said, her jaw tensing, “so
why would he want to be with a dog like me?”
“That’s not how I meant it,” Krissi told
her. “Come on, Faith. Don’t be mad. Tell me how you even met him.”
Faith scratched her head. “We met at the game the other weekend,
when we all went to the VIP box. Remember how they brought me down for the meet and greet?”
“And he saw you
Similar Books
