Page 151 of Wicked Dares
We reach the building, and I get my phone out to see if Alice has messaged. She said she would.
I frown when I see my phone has gone black.
There’s no way the battery is dead. I left it charging all day.
I tap at the screen to see if I can wake it up. Nothing happens.
Great.
Just what I need.
I put it back in my bag.
Thankfully, I remember the name of the café she said we should meet at.
Khristy’s. It’s supposed to be by the river.
Inside, the building smells like roasted coffee and a mixture of fine foods. People sit at small tables with laptops. They look like the after-work crowd.
I spot the café sign ahead.
“I’ll come in with you,” Martin, the tallest guard, says.
“Thanks. Can you guys just sit somewhere close by so I can sit with my client?”
“Of course.”
We move into the café.
It’s not too packed.
The guards sit across from me, and I take a seat toward the middle so Alice can see me when she arrives.
She knows what I look like from my website.
I’m gazing at the door, watching people walking in, when someone drops into the seat in front of me.
I’m about to tell them I’m waiting for someone when I find myself staring face to face with Reece.
Instantly, I recoil and move to stand, but he pulls out a gun and points it at me.
“Oh my God,” I gasp.
He smiles at my response, and with his free hand, he pulls out a little microphone-looking device.
“Hi, sugar. This is Alice. It’s so great to meet you,” he says. Through the device, his voice sounds exactly like the sweet lady I thought I was speaking to earlier. A crazy smirk lights up his face when he watches realization dawn on me.
I’ve been catfished. This was a trap.
“You fucking bastard,” I hiss.
“Smile, sweetheart,” he whispers. “Or I start shooting. I will shoot everyone in here if you don’t come with me. Get up.”
My whole body locks.
Nobody has seen what’s happening yet. But when I stand and Reece rises while aiming the gun at me, they do.
People start screaming and running out of the café the moment the gun flashes.
