I could see them whispering among themselves. A few of them were even sizing me up.
Please don’t make this hard.
When I saw one of them grin and reach for what was either a brass knuckle or a knife in his pocket, I got up and walked over to the bar. There were two men working behind it—correction: one man and a boy. He had to be in his early twenties, but from the way he stood, he looked like a teenager stuck in a locker.
Leaning in, I smiled and said, “One Belhaven. And you’re going to need more ice.”
“What?” he questioned. The older man beside him just nodded.
“Pretty boy,” a voice said. I turned back to face the three idiots behind me with knives. “How about you give us the cash, and we let you make it home in one piece?”
The old man put the beer right beside me. Reaching over, I grabbed it and twisted the top off, my eyes never meeting theirs.
“Did you think this over?” I questioned before drinking.
“You think we fuckin’ playin’ with ya?” the second idiot shouted, spit landing on his own beard. “We’ll end you right here.”
“The money. Where it at?”
Sighing, I put my beer down and answered, “Next to your mother’s balls, ya bas.”
“You fuck—” The moment the first charged, knife out, I grabbed his arm, kneeing him in the stomach and slamming his face onto the bar when the second came up to me. I took the knife and stabbed him in the shoulder, and he went down quickly, leaving me standing face to face with idiot number three. Before he could blink, I had a .44 in his face, his eyes wide. For a split second, I saw him relax, which meant one thing.
Facing back, I fired once into the kneecap of the first idiot who didn’t know when to stay down, before pointing it back in front me.
“Would you like to rethink this decision now?”
He dropped the knife, backing away before making a run for it. Moving back over to the bar, I grabbed my beer, moved back to my table, and once again kicked up my feet.
Southbend had to be one of the few places were you could shoot a man in the knee and no one would bat an eye, let alone tell a soul. That, on top of the fact that Austin was blocking out all of the phones made it insanely easy for me to be here. Hell, some of them even looked bored. I didn’t blame them, but again, I would wait. Someone knew something.
Amelia
There has to be more I can do, I thought, stepping out of my heels and walking to the window.
I felt ornamental. I wanted to do something—truthfully, I wanted to be the badass. It was selfish, really, but I was annoyed that Noah had taken Austin with him. That he was the logical choice. But then again, what could I do other than make a bigger mess out of things?
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
“Mayko, hey,” I said into the phone, moving to take a seat on the couch.
“Hey, Amelia. I’m sorry to bother you. I know you’re super busy—”
“No, it’s fine, Mayko. What’s wrong?” She didn’t sound like her normal free self.
“I’ve been trying to contact mom …”
Shit.
We—Noah, Austin, and I—weren’t going to bring her up until New Year’s. Until then, I was just supposed to—
“Amelia?”
“Huh? I’m sorry, Mayko, I haven’t heard from her in a while. Is everything okay?” I questioned, playing with the chain around my neck.
“Yeah. I mean … no,” she sighed into the phone. “I know she’s flakey, but she was supposed to be getting an honorary award from W.E.W.A.—you know, Women Empowering Women Association. She made this huge deal about Antigone and I being there, and we get there an hour early, and she isn’t here yet. We tried calling all of her phones, and we even called her house in Miami, and she isn’t picking up. I’m getting a bad feeling.”
“Mayko, breathe.” Goddamn it. I had forgotten all about her award. She had talked about it earlier in the year, but like I’d learned to do with most things Esther said, I had tuned it out. “She most likely fell in love again and ran off to some island—like last time.”
“But—”
“What’s most important is apologizing to the W.E.W.A. Do you have their number? I could call in myself on her behalf or maybe promise to come next year?”
“Amelia, I’m so shitty with these kind of things,” she whined, reminding me again that she was only nineteen. “You think you can hop on a jet to Chicago?”
“It’s in Chicago? I’m here.”
“What? I thought you and Noah said you’d be in New York.”
“Long story. Send me the address, okay?”
She let out a sigh of relief. “God, you are a lifesaver.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m going to have to think of a speech … or you guys could come up on stage with me—”
“What was that Amelia? Sorry, they’re asking us for help with … with some stuff … see you soon! Love you. Bye!”
Dial tone.
I stared at the phone for a second before falling back to the couch. Even from beyond the grave, Esther still knew how to make it about her during the worst possible fucking times.
Buzz.
The text read, “37th Williams Ave. Crown Rose Hotel.”
Come on, Amelia.
I pushed myself off the couch and moved to my suitcase, pulling out a simple black knee-length fitted cocktail dress and my makeup bag, heading over to the bathroom. I didn’t have time to doll up more than throwing on some red lipstick and reapplying eyeliner. I pinned my hair into a side bun updo and took off all but one of my bracelets and rings.
“Daniel?” I said into the phone when I entered living room with my heels.
“Yes, ma’am,” his dull, deep voice resounded.
“I needed to be at the Crown Rose Hotel right now. Do you think you can get me another car?”
“Mr. Sloan said to make sure—”
“I’ll repeat myself. I need to be at the Crown Rose Hotel.”
Silence.
“Daniel?”
“I’ll get one now.”
“Thank you. I will be down in a few.” Hanging up, I sat down, applying lotion to my feet and legs before stepping back into the only pair of tan heels I had brought. Noah wanted to leave before I could really pack. I was lucky I even had a dress.
Thank you, Prada, I thought, closing the door behind me.
On the elevator, I thought about texting Noah, or at the very least Austin, but I had no idea what the hell could be going on with them. And right now, I needed to focus on honoring Esther, the woman I couldn’t even bear to call my mother anymore, for the Women Empowering Women Association.
The irony.
“Ms. London,” Daniel said, nodding as he waited in front of the hotel. Standing behind me, he led me out. To my relief, no press were here yet. I shivered as the wind blew right through me and all but jumped into the Escalade.
“We will be there in ten minutes,” he said.
“It’s that close?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Nodding, I watched the hotel fade into the background behind us. Watching the buildings around us change, I remembered the poem Noah had recited earlier. This was his home, and I knew hardly anything about it or the people around him.
“Daniel, how did you start working for Noah?”
“Austin found me.”
Of course, Austin the fucking puppet master.
“Yeah, but where? I’m sure you didn’t just fall out of the sky.”
For the first time, I saw him express an emotion aside from his usual serious face. His brown eyes met mine in the mirror.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
That got my interest.
“Try me,” I sat up.
“Pet store.”
What? “I’m sorry, what?”
He nodded. “I was working in a pet store when Austin came in searching for fish food for his German Blue Ram and Flowerhorn Cichlid. He offered me a job when he saw me train the pit bulls.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out except a quick giggle. I tried to stifle it, but it turned into a full laugh.