Page 41 of West (The Moral Compass 1)
“Woah, jealousy already, handsome? I’ve only met you a few minutes ago,” she snipes.
“Answer the fucking questions, Kara!” Sutton spits.
“Jeez, slow your roll, bitch. It was just a guy.”
“Given everything we have told you beautiful, I really need a rundown of how you met, what you talked about, and if you have made plans to see him again,” I ask softly to try and make sure she understands this is a very sensitive issue and not us just prying.
“Okay, okay. I was at the bar minding my own business, and I had just challenged Paul the landlord to a game of pool, but he said no since Josh hadn’t turned in for his shift yet, but said he would play later. There was a guy who stood next to me ordering an Italian lager, and he paid for mine too. He then said he would take up the challenge, so I played him at pool. Beat him seven to five, too. Got to say, he got better as we played, so I cut it off whilst I was in the lead. You know I don’t like losing, Sutton.”
She smiled and winked at her best friend.
“Sorry. So, after we played, we sat and listened to the band for a bit, and then it was last orders. I got the last round in, and we stayed chatting until Paul said we had to leave. The guy was fascinating, Sutton. He’d been all over the world and spoke six languages.”
I looked over to West. The hairs on my neck were standing up, and I could tell he was feeling the same way.
“What did you talk about, Kara? I need a few specifics here.” I was getting concerned, and I needed the information a little quicker.
“Okay, okay. Let me think. He asked about me, about what I did, where I worked, and who I lived with. You know me, Sut, I told him a pack of lies. Told him I lived with my mum, and she was away with her boyfriend. Told him I was a medical receptionist for a doctor’s office in town.”
This girl is smart, but I still think she’s been compromised, so I pull out a picture of Ralph and put it on the table.
“Is this the guy, Kara?” I ask softly.
“Fuck, yeah. How do you know? Have you been following me?” She’s looking at Sutton with crazy eyes. “I want to know what the fuck is going on and I want to know now. No more bullshit. I know you haven’t told me everything,” she whispers angrily.
The nightshift man has been pretending to be on a call for a good ten minutes, but before he leaves, he comes back in, gives a note to one of the other guys, and walks out. A napkin is placed under my coffee cup and the second guy leaves. I look down at the note.
Followed
Black Audi Q6
Blacked out windows no visual on driver
Registered to Raphael Mortiznic
Fuck. We always knew it was a strong possibility she’d been made, hence, why we had four of the best tactical men in the world positioned in this coffee shop.
“We need to make a move. Kara, you need to phone in sick to work with shingles. You have a severe rash that’s blistered and sore. You are really unwell and have gone to stay with a friend until you’re better as you are too weak to look after yourself. Nothing more than that, Kara. Is that clear?”
She nods. “Will you tell me what’s going on if I do?” she asks.
“Yes, we will tell you everything, but I need you to make the call, and then we are going to leave. You are going with Jack. He will be a few steps behind you until you reach the car. West and I will have Sutton, so don’t worry about her.”
I nod to Jack and point to Kara, He stands and makes his way to the counter and drops two twenties. He goes back to his seat and waits. Kara makes her call, and she did it really well. We all stand to leave, and West also drops a couple of twenties on the counter. The owner smiles and says loudly, “Come again, anytime.”
Poor guy. This will be my last time in here. I’ll make sure of it.
Once outside, we all make it to West’s car safely. No one is watching from what I can see, but I’ll get a full report later. We pile in and set off.
“Where are we going?” Sutton asks.
“You’ll see” West replies.
Chapter 33
West
Ipulloffofthe main road onto a side road. From what I can tell, we haven’t been followed, and I’m pretty good at sensing things. I drive for another mile and then take another turn onto a single-track road. I look to Sutton, and I can see she has a thousand questions, most of which will be answered in about three minutes. I pull up to the security gates and enter the fifteen-digit security code. Yes, excessive, you may think, but with the money that is behind those gates, that’s only a tiny part of it.
