Page 62 of Her Selfless Warrior (Omega Sky)
“Go away.”
Lark continued to pound on the door.
After at least four solid minutes of pounding, the door was flung open, and she was confronted by a man who was her height, but just as wide. His shoulders were huge, and he looked mean.
Lark was blasted with the noxious scent of garlic and tequila as he shoved her and she fell back two steps.
I should have known.
“Get out of here.”
“Your wife is in trouble.”
He squinted at her, then his eyes shifted up and right.
Great, here come the lies.
“I haven’t seen her in months.”
“The last time she and I got together, which was three weeks ago, she told me that you’d been working together,” Lark countered.
“She lies a lot. What’s more, she’s almost my ex-wife.”
“Something’s wrong. She’s not at her apartment, and she hasn’t shown up to work. I’m worried about her.”
“And that’s my problem why?”
Spittle hit her face and she wiped it off with her sleeve. “Don’t you care that she might be in trouble?”
He propped his hand on the doorframe and leaned in, his belly almost touching her. “No, I really don’t.” He leered. “Why is it important to you?”
Because she’s my friend, and because of you, I’m afraid she’s got really bad people after her.
Lark stood her ground. “Because she’s my friend, and I’m worried about her.”
He pushed into her face so that they were almost nose to nose. “Who the fuck are you? And what’s in it for me if I help you?”
“I told you, I’m a friend of Candy’s.”
“If you’re such a good friend of Candy’s, shouldn’t you know more than me? She and I haven’t been together for over four months.” He started to cough. He couldn’t seem to stop. She could hear the phlegm rattling around in his lungs. He coughed some up, then Lark jumped back as he spit right next to where her left tennis shoe would have been. He gave her a brown-toothed grin.
“Look, Jay, Candy told me that she’s still involved with you. She said that you and she have been working together on a project and that she meets with you at least twice a week, so that’s why I thought you might know something.”
“That’s horseshit. The bitch is lying.” He shoved her shoulder. “I haven’t seen her in months, now get the fuck out of here.” He backed up and started to close the door.
Damn, I’m losing him.
“Look, Jay, I don’t care what you and Candy have been up to. It doesn’t matter. She and I have our own situation that we’re working on. I think something is really wrong. I was really hoping that you could think of something, somewhere or someone she might have gone to when she went on the run.”
He frowned and gave her a slow, long look. “What kind of situation do you have going on?”
Gotcha.
“Nothing you need to know about.”
His beady eyes shone. Not only was he sleazy, but he was also opportunistic and greedy.
“Don’t be like that. If Candy is into something, then I should know about it. I can probably help. I taught her everything she knows. Especially if it has something to do with the bank she’s working at.”
