Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Josslyn is down the hall, turning toward the exit, and the woman she was speaking to walks in my direction. She smiles at me as she passes. I’ve definitely seen her. I stop before I reach the lobby and look down the hall in the direction that Mallory went the night she died. They’ve remodeled the wing. You can’t even tell there was ever a fire here. It’s as if nothing ever happened, which serves as a reminder as to why I’m doing this. Mallory can’t just be forgotten. Before I turn to leave, I catch sight of the John guy coming out of one of the rooms.
I don’t think. I head his way and take him in fully. He’s much shorter than I am, but I can tell he works out a lot. From experience, I know that doesn’t mean much in a fight. I consider it, but I know it won’t do me any favors. Instead, just as he’s about to walk past me, I get closer.
“Hey, I hope you don’t mind me asking,” I say, making him stop walking. “I saw you talking to a woman in a black dress earlier. Long dark hair, tan skin...”
He frowns slightly. “What about her?”
“Are you involved?”
His brows shoot up and understanding replaces the suspicion on his face. “Not yet,” he says, smirking. “You interested?”
My heart pounds hard against my chest. “Would you be able to make that happen for me?”
“Maybe.” He shrugs. “For a price.”
I cross my arms to keep from reaching out and choking him. “How much?”
“I run an exclusive group and she’s thinking about joining,” he says. “There’s a membership fee, but if you want to get to know her, you should check it out.”
“Do you have a card?”
He fishes out a card from the inside pocket of his jacket and hands it to me. I take it and glance at it briefly. “Call me and we’ll set something up.”
I give a nod and walk away. On the way to my car, I text my cousin about John Petrov and Google to see what information I can find. I’m not surprised to find Josslyn's car is gone. I call my mother to let her know I won’t be making it to dinner and promise her I’ll come next time. Most likely, she told some woman that I’d be there and was hoping I’d magically become interested in her. As soon as I hang up, my phone vibrates with a call from Lucas.
“Why the hell are you talking to that guy?”
“Who is he? The card says nothing but his name and number.”
“He’s the one who ran the underground club with the fifty-thousand a month membership. The cops were called once because a wife showed up here after finding out her husband was a member. Stop me when any of this sounds familiar...”
“I vaguely remember it,” I respond, frowning.
He laughs. “Jesus, Finn. The wife tried to sue us.”
“When did this happen?”
“Last May.”
I remember him telling me about the incident. “I was in the middle of playoffs.”
“Right. Well, John doesn’t conduct business here anymore.”
“He does at Onyx.”
“I heard. He’s good friends with the owner there, so it doesn’t surprise me,” he says, pausing when someone starts speaking to him. “Were you at Onyx?”
“What are the underground groups like?” I ask, ignoring his question.
“They’re mostly for swingers or high-profile people who really want to keep their shit private and are willing to pay to ensure no one finds out about them.”
Huh. I stare at the card as I flip it between my fingers. I think about Josslyn’s meeting with that woman and her interaction with those guys earlier. I know this has something to do with my sister. Most likely, this is her trying to get information that’ll prove her stepfather’s innocence to me. Does that mean Mallory was involved in these? What the hell was she thinking?
“I gotta go,” I tell Lucas.
“We’re still on for golf, right?”
“Yeah.” I hang up and shut my eyes as I lean against the headrest.
Hypocritical as it makes me, I don’t like the idea of her being in contact with any of these people. On the drive back to my place, my stomach churns when I think about Josslyn in a room with men like John. The feeling frustrates me more than it should but it proves that I need to put an end to this madness ASAP.
26
JOSSLYN
Instead of meeting Livie and some of our teammates at the bar like I was supposed to, I decide to head home. My head is spinning from everything I just learned from Scarlet and the men she introduced me to. I knew Mallory had a group of friends she met with there. I think about the man we saw at a restaurant one night, and Mallory’s strange reaction to him saying hello. He looked like the typical rich, older man. From the way he greeted her, I figured he had to be a friend of her parents, but her panicked face and shaky hands when we walked out said otherwise.