Chapter 13
Kathryn
Crystal smiled at me as I walked into the apartment. I wasn’t sure I should tell her about the SUV that had been waiting outside for two hours. I didn’t want to disrupt her naïve happiness with what could just be paranoia and coincidence.
“Hey, sister. How was your day?”
I shrugged, still a bit shaken. I couldn’t let go of the feeling I was still being watched. And on top of that, I was done with waiting to hear from Zane. I felt jilted, and the fact that these people were parked outside my house did nothing to put him in my good graces. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I really needed to see him or hear his voice. I had to know if I’d chased him away.
To Crystal, I said, “It was all right. I had a really busy day, so it went by fast. What about you?”
She poured our usual coffee and sat at the table with me. “I had a really good day. I made a lot of sales, so I should get a nice check with all the commission. Maybe we can go to Wet’n’Wild or something.” She loved taking us somewhere special when she had extra cash, and I appreciated it. I tried to do the same. Now, though, she blushed. “And you can bring Zane. I’ll bring Marshall.”
I looked at her with interest. “Is that the guy from Wednesday night?”
She nodded eagerly. “I think we might be seeing more of each other. Well, we’ve actually seen all there is to see already, but we might be seeing all of each other more often.” We laughed, and she said, “I’m not getting as serious with him as you seem to be with Zane, though.”
I wrinkled my nose and scowled. “I’m not so sure about that. Every time I think we have a breakthrough, something happens to knock me back a couple of steps.”
She groaned. “What now?”
I shrugged. “I haven’t heard from him since Wednesday morning, and I think I might have scared him off with my waterworks.”
Crystal rolled her eyes. “He came here, knowing you were emotional. I doubt seriously that you ran him off. You just need to step up and grab the reins here, Kitty-Kat. You’re not the type of person to sit back and wait for the stallion to run into the corral. You need to chase him down and herd him in!”
I smiled reluctantly. Another of her twisted ways of giving good advice. And she was right. I had to do something on my own. But at this point, I didn’t feel like a phone call or text was good enough.
Today was Friday, and based on the schedule he’d told me, Zane would be working at the Purple Dragon. I nodded. “I think I know what I’m going to do.”
She gave me that look, the one that told me she wanted the juicy details of my plan. I sighed and told her, “I’m going to the bar tonight. He’s supposed to be bartending, so I shouldn’t have a problem finding him. And since it’s quieter there, I can probably corner him for a few minutes and ask him why he hasn’t called or anything.”
“Good for you,” Crystal said. “It’s probably nothing, you know? He’s busy, and every time he gets ready to call, he thinks about how intimate your conversation was and gets nervous. He’s a guy. Guys have issues with being all lovey and stuff.”
I hoped that was the case. Crystal didn’t have all the information. She didn’t know about the blond in the Lincoln outside, and she didn’t know about the pictures I’d found before, of Zane with a blond woman. But what she said still made sense. A lot of men shied away from some of the deep, emotional confessions they made and had to work back up a little courage to commit to the relationship. In fact, I was the same way, since I’d been burned by Jarrett. Hadn’t I failed to contact Zane?
I was just as nervous about what would ensue, and that’s why I’d kept from contacting him, waiting for him to make the next move. If he was doing the same thing, we were doomed to failure before we even got started. I had to stop the cycle. “I’m sure you’re right,” I told Crystal. “Either way, I’m going to get my answers tonight.”
* * * * *
I strode into the Purple Dragon a few minutes after nine. I’d dressed up a little, but I hadn’t overdone it. I didn’t want Zane to think I was trying to coerce him by distracting him with a knockout appearance. I had on a muted, charcoal version of the standard little black dress with a fairly modest neckline and a pair of low heeled black pumps.
Zane had worked the end of the bar nearest the front door every time I’d been in here, but I didn’t see him. The usual guy was at the other end, and some older man with salt and pepper hair was at Zane’s end. I was a little surprised, but I wasn’t going to give up. He had to be here somewhere. The bar was busier than I’d ever seen it, and maybe they’d called in an extra bartender to help with the crowd. Zane was probably going to the bathroom or taking a break.
I walked up to the bar, squeezing between a couple of stools where the people didn’t seem to be engaging with each other. The older guy smiled at me sweetly. He was a mild mannered guy, far different than Zane, who was all relaxed charisma. “Hey, sweetheart, what can I get you?”
“Actually, I was wondering if Zane was working tonight,” I told him, returning his smile.
The guy frowned. “Who?”
Now, I was a little worried. “Zane. He usually works here Wednesdays and Thursdays and some Fridays.”
“I don’t know anyone by that name who works here. I’m sorry.” He shook his head, looking bewildered.
And then I realized my mistake. I’d met him at this bar as Alexander, and everyone had called him that. I hoped I hadn’t caused him any grief by using his real name by accident. “Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry, I’m mixing up my favorite waiter and my favorite bartender. I meant to ask about Alexander. He’s the guy I’m looking for.”
That got me a look of recognition, and he nodded. “No problem. But he’s not in tonight. That’s actually why I’m here. He called in sick. I’m not going to claim to be as good as him, but I mix a pretty good drink,” he teased.
I tried to smile at him, but I was frustrated and confused. I knew there were times Zane had to change his schedule around, but as adamant as he was about how he wanted to come here to clear his head of the heavy responsibilities at his nightclub, I couldn’t imagine him skipping out on a night.
“No, that’s alright. Thank you, though.” I gave the guy the best smile I could muster and let my disappointment wash over me for just a moment before I squared my shoulders and marched away from the crowd. I walked out of the bar, not sure what to do next. I took out my phone. What if he was really sick? That would explain why he hadn’t called. Maybe he’d overexerted himself between running a club, working at the bar, and taking care of me the other night.
But it didn’t make sense. Zane was always busy, and that meant that the only reason he wouldn’t be here is if there was something he had to do at the Machine. I turned in the direction of my apartment, but I didn’t take a step. The Machine was across town, and I couldn’t walk there. I would have to take a cab, which meant I needed to decide how important this was to me.
But I couldn’t let it go as I pictured the Lincoln again, heard the sniveling man and the harsh, angry blond woman. With my phone in my hand, I started to call a taxi, but I got lucky as one passed by. I hailed it and told the driver to take me to the Machine.
It took a while to get through the Friday night downtown traffic, and it was a little after ten by the time I got to the club. The music thrummed, and I paid the cover, entering into a crowd that was already thick with revelers. I didn’t see anything about a special event, but then, since he’d spent so much time with me, it was possible Zane had to deal with a backlog of paperwork and such here.
I started to ask one of the bartenders if he was here, but I didn’t have to. I spotted him quickly, up by the bar in the front. It wasn’t difficult – he stood out with that devastating smile and his sex appeal. Besides, there was a crowd around him, and he was passing out shots that the bartender had lined up on the counter.
He held one up, said something I couldn’t hear over the din around me, and tossed it back as a cheer went up around him. I saw at least half a dozen people tilt their heads back and drink, and it actually made the two goons on either side of Zane stand out. They had perpetual scowls on their faces, wore drab suits, and crossed their arms over their chests.
That seemed unusual, and it threw me off. As he parted the crowd and excused himself, they followed, and I wondered what that was all about. Had someone threatened Zane? Did he feel like he needed bodyguards? They didn’t intimidate me, though, and I was curious. I started toward him as he stopped on the far side of the dance floor to look out over the crowd. I figured I could be cheesy and lighthearted about it, ask him what was up with the entourage and make him laugh.
But he caught sight of me as I started to round the dance floor, and we locked eyes. I would have smiled, but he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. I scowled, asking a question with my expression, and he gestured toward the two guards without moving his head, only his eyes. Now, I was more concerned than ever. Who were those men, and why didn’t he want me coming near him while they were around?
I knew I’d been around Crystal too long when I started coming up with conspiracy theories. I thought maybe they had come to take over the club by force and were using Zane now as a decoy, so no one knew what they were doing. They would dispose of him later and claim to have bought the place, having him sign it over to them with death threats.
When I decided that was too far out there, I decided they must be government agents, maybe DEA. They’d gotten a tip that Zane was running a big drug operation with the club as a cover. Either it had been made up by the blond because the jealous ex wanted to ruin him, or it was true and explained why he had two names and was so secretive with me. If he was out of the country, collecting a large shipment of cocaine or something, it would also explain the gaps between phone calls.
I needed to calm down before my imagination got any more out of hand, so I went to the nearest bar and ordered a drink. I found an empty barstool that gave me a pretty good view of most of the club, allowing me to watch Zane as he worked the crowd, the two goons in tow. I knew I was spying on him, but I didn’t care. He knew I hadn’t left. I saw him glance my way several times, even though he wouldn’t meet my gaze.
I watched him shake hands with a few public figures I recognized, and he flirted with a lot of women. I didn’t get jealous – I saw the difference in his demeanor toward them from how he had always been with me. He turned the charm up to a ridiculous level and was over the top in his feigned admiration. I found it almost comical, and that helped me calm down a little.
I was just waiting for an opening. There had to come a point in time that the men walked away, or that Zane went somewhere they couldn’t follow. I saw my chance as he said something to them, quick and sharp, and then headed toward the short hall where the restrooms were.
I put my drink down and proceeded directly toward the restrooms. The two emotionless statues had posted themselves on either side of the hall entrance, but I ignored them. Women had to use the restroom, right? I didn’t go into the ladies’ room, though. The goons didn’t even turn around to look at me, and I waited right there, outside the men’s room, for Zane to appear.
It didn’t take long – men never did – and as he stepped out of the restroom, he stared at me with wide eyes. I’d caught him off guard, and that meant that, hopefully, he wouldn’t have a chance to make excuses. I wanted the truth.