Despite the sunglasses covering his eyes, he glares down at me with an unsavory look on his face. "Ma'am. Do you know how fast you were traveling?" He asks assertively.
"I believe just the speed limit, sir." I respond, knowing I broke the speed limit.
He leans in closer, revealing his sweaty forehead from the day's sun. "And do you know what the speed limit for this road is?"
"No." I reply stupidly.
He pulls off away from my window, and yanks a notepad-looking thing from his belt.
"Can I have your driver's license please, ma'am?" He demands with an authoritative voice.
Already in a rush to get to the Plaza Hotel, I quickly pull out my driver's license from my handbag and hand it over promptly with trembling hands.
"Here you go, sir. Am I in trouble?" I ask in hope rather than expectation.
An unfortunate look suddenly appears on his face. "Ma'am, you was 30mph over the speed limit, therefore I'm going to issue you with a caution and $50 fine. If you are pulled over again for the same offense, you will face prosecution." Just the word 'prosecution' scares the living hell out of me.
With the fidgeting of my fingers, I sit anxiously while the officer writes out my fine. I lean my head further into the headrest, trying to comfort myself.
The noise of the officer tearing the paper off his notepad jolts me forward.
"You have two weeks to pay this fine in full, if you fail to repay this, there will be a warrant out for your arrest." He finishes.
I reluctantly take the slip from his hand, and apologize before winding up my window.
"Could my day honestly get any more worse?" I hiss privately.
I swiftly turn the engine back on and resume my journey to find answers.
****
I finally pull up into a parking lot across the street from the Plaza Hotel. I sigh in relief that I'm here, but dread soon shrouds my temporary ease as I don't know what's going to transpire here. I scan the dense horizon for Dean's motorbike, but I cannot see anything. I look again, but to no avail.
What if he's parked up at another street? He might already be in there. In fact, he might have already come and gone. Ugh. My loss of appetite becomes more potent with each passing minute that I don't see Dean. As I rub my hands repeatedly on my pants, my inner anxieties force me to open the window. The breeze gives me an artificial sense of bliss.
I pull out my phone from my handbag to take a look at the time. It's 2:38pm. He should be here soon, if he isn't here already. I dial Amy's number again. Please pick up, please.
"Hey! This is Amy, bit busy right now. Leave me --" I hang up angrily.
The one time I really need her, she doesn't pick up! I shake my head. I guess it isn't her fault. This whole thing is stressing me out. A huge part of me wishes I never met Dean! As I lean back into the seat of my car, a familiar roar echoes down the street. I begin scanning the horizon once again. The noise becomes louder, and I suddenly spot a whizzing object in the corner of my eye. It's Dean. At least, I think it is. Loads of people ride motorbikes in Vegas.
With short, jerky movements, I lean in towards the steering wheel to further inspect the bike and the rider as they pull up in the parking lot of the Plaza Hotel. This has got to be him! With a twist of the key, the roar of the engine now becomes silent. As the rider pulls off his helmet, the distinctive medium length dark brown hair confirms to me that this is Dean.
Fucking asshole! I've got you now. As he makes his way towards the Plaza Hotel's entrance, he pulls out his cell phone and places it straight to his ear. He's got to be speaking to her. Instinctively, I do up my window and pull the keys out of the car, ready to confront him.
As I go to open the door, my body out of no-where suddenly freezes. The quick breaths and rapid heartbeat haunts me yet again, reminding me of when I got cold feet last minute at Cafe Mojito. I'm not doing this again!
I swing open the door and promptly shut it. I look back to where I last saw Dean standing, but he is no-where to be seen. He must have gone in. Shit! How am I supposed to know what room or floor he's gone to? I grip my hair with both hands in complete despair. How could I have possibly lost him in a matter seconds? I know that he was walking towards the place, but he was at least 100 yards away from the hotel's entrance. I cannot believe this. With my heightened senses, I scan around the parking lot where he pulled up, in hope that he is still hanging around outside, but it's no use. He's not there! He's got to be inside. I'm screwed now! There are hundreds of rooms in that place, it's going to be impossible to find him.
There wasn't even a name on that text message that I could use at the reception. Agh! I clench my fists in anger at both me for letting him slip, and the fact that I have now pretty much missed my one, and only chance to find out what the hell is going on.
With adrenaline still coursing through my veins, I am only able to use it to open the door of my car and sit back down before closing it. The silence in my car is deafening. I slump my head on the steering as the surge of adrenaline starts to dissipate from me, leaving my body feeling fatigued and irritable.
I cannot believe I let this slip through my fingers. It's the story of my life. It seems that everything I touch, or get too near to, turns into a pile of rubble. Resigned by the fact that I may never get the opportunity to catch him in the act, I peel my head up off the steering wheel and begin turning on the engine. As I look out in front of me, in one last ditch attempt to see if Dean is still around, my eyes suddenly bulge.
Jess sharply exits the Plaza Hotel. What the hell is she doing here!?
Chapter 3
As I watch Jess leave the Plaza Hotel, I scramble for something rational to explain why the hell she would be here. She pauses in her footsteps right outside the entrance, and answers a call. Within seconds of answering it, she hangs up and proceeds walking towards the back of the parking lot. With a rise in body temperature, and every negative emotion under the sun coursing through me, I find myself fidgeting more and more vigorously.
What the hell is she doing here? As she walks further into the parking lot, it becomes apparent that she is heading towards a black jeep. My gaze becomes cloudy, just like my thoughts right now. She jumps into the backseat of the vehicle, leaving me with one burning question.
I grab my cell phone and call Jess immediately.
With not even a second to spare, she answers. "What's up?"
In shock with how suddenly she answered, I stutter for a moment. "Er -- where are you?" I ask.
"I'm working at the moment. Spit it out, what's up?" She insists.
"Nothing, nothing. I just thought I saw you at the Plaza Hotel when I drove past, that's all." I rub my forehead uncontrollably.
With a noticeable stressing groan, I can tell she's getting twitchy. "Yeah, I'm here right now. I had to check some CCTV footage of something. Look, Dana, I've got to shoot. I'm busy."
"Alright, alright! Speak later." I hang up.
As soon as the conversation ends, the jeep she's in suddenly drives out of the parking lot, and off they go back onto the main road. I let out a huge sigh of relief, but I still am left with a ton of unanswered questions. Despite the fact that Jess's reasoning for being here is legitimate, I can't help but think there is a little more than meets the eye. It's probably just my paranoia kicking in from the whole situation. I choose to believe her. She's always at hotels and casinos getting information from someone. Plus, she's on the hunt for that fraud gang she mentioned last week anyway.
As I'm about to torture myself with what Dean is potentially doing right now across the street, the sound of my ringtone belts out. It's Amy! With shaky hands, I pick up the phone frantically.
"Hello!" I yell.
"Hey! Are you alright?" She asks with a great deal of concern.
"No, Amy. I can't believe it... basically me and Dean made it official last night and I felt so happy, but now I think he's playing me!" I launch into a flurry of emotions.
"Are you serious?! What has
he done to make you think that?" She prods with anger.
I pause to suck in a deep breath. "I woke up this morning while he was in the shower, and I noticed a text on his phone from some unknown number basically saying that Dean hasn't shown up in the last couple of days, and that she's worried about him. She goes on to suggest that they both meet up at their usual spot." I blurt out with anguish.
"That fucking -- !" She pauses. "So he's definitely seeing another girl then?" She finishes.
"That's the thing, it didn't have any kisses or names on the message --"
"Kisses don't mean shit. No-one messages someone like that unless they are a bit more than friends! That text sounds way too conspicuous. Have you confronted him about it?" She hisses.
Not feeling any better by her take on the situation, I start to sink into the car seat, desperately wishing I didn't have to deal with this. I glance back towards the hotel with a corded neck and grinding teeth. That asshole is somewhere in there right now, probably doing all sorts of things. Nausea soon spreads like a rash throughout my entire body.
"I know. He's definitely up to something. I feel so sick! I haven't been able to eat anything all day! To answer your question, no I haven't confronted him about it, I didn't know what to say, it's wrong of me to have read the message but I didn't even intend to! I've followed him to the Plaza Hotel, and it's just my luck that I literally just missed him going into the hotel, and now I have no idea what floor or room he's in." I reply to her question.
"Plaza Hotel? Wait a moment, you're going too fast." Her voice jerks into confusion.
I take in a huge gasp of air, and reveal everything. "Basically to cut a long story short, I overheard a phone call between them two. He said that he would meet her at the Plaza Hotel for 3pm. And that's where I am, it may sound crazy that I have followed him, but I need to in order to get answers. Oh, and I got fined for speeding on the way! This day is the worst I've had in a while!"
"Fuck." She pauses to try and digest everything. "You don't need me to tell you this, babe, but it seems pretty obvious he's fucking around with another girl. What a slippery asshole! I probably would have done the same and followed him too. How do you feel right now?" She asks curiously.
I raise both my eyebrows in confusion. "Well, other than feeling severely sick and angry, I'm fine!" I reply, clearly irritated by her question.
"Good! Well, not really, but y'know! I've got an idea..." She pauses, waiting for my 'go-ahead'.
"Go on..." I mumble.
"I think you did the right thing not confronting his lying ass just yet. If we are right, and he is definitely seeing someone else, then he will see her again real soon. I say you continue acting normal, and ask what he's up to over the coming days. Ask to hang out or something! If he's been doing the dirty for the past week or so, then you will know that the next time he is 'busy', he'll be back at the hotel you're at and you will be able to bust him, the same way you would have today if he didn't disappear into the hotel." She finishes and takes in a deep breath after her long-winded idea.
"Okay... and what happens if today is the last time they meet?" I ask apprehensively.
"I don't think it is, Dana. Something in my gut tells me he will do this again. How long is he still in Vegas for?" She asks.
"Err... another couple of weeks, I think."
"Well then, he is definitely going to be seeing her again soon. If they already have a 'usual' spot, then it's only a matter of time. And by the sounds of things, this unknown whore has been missing him, going by the text you read." She adds.
I start rubbing my forehead. "I don't know, Amy. I might just --"
She interrupts with an angry voice. "No, no, no! You're going to do this! Do you know why you're going to do this? Because it was only yesterday afternoon that you told me this is the 'new you', and right now, you sound like the 'old you'! Let's confront this lying asshole, slap the bitch he's with and tell him that you'll be going separate ways once the investment thing is done with."
A surge of motivation pulsates through my fatigued body, causing me to sit up straight.
"Alright. I'll head home now and call him. I so wish you were here to do this with me!" I say out of regret for not having a sidekick.
"I know! But hey, perhaps this is something you need to do by yourself. No matter what the outcome is, you will be way stronger from this situation. I stick by what I said yesterday, you are noticeably different. It's times like now that it's going to test whether you are for real about remaining this strong person or not." She says.
For the first time today, I break out with a smile. She's right.
****
As I close the front door behind me, I start to drag my feet to the living room where I intend to throw myself on Jess's couch. Exhausted is an understatement right now! Today has been so draining. The knots in my stomach from this morning are still not letting up, however they're not as strong as they were. Perhaps my body is too fatigued to even care.
Throwing myself on the couch, I begin to close my eyes, enjoying the quietness of the house. I let out a shallow groan. I could get use to this silence. In fact, I should look into the idea of renting out my own apartment. Even though Jess is hardly ever in, I can't help but feel like I am treading on egg shells when I'm here. Plus, she constantly steals my underwear and tops, which is becoming super annoying!
Luckily I still have that check for $25,000 in my handbag. That will easily cover my rent for a while until I can find myself a job or something. I swear, despite me hating Dean's guts right now, I really hope he pulls this investment off. I'm not ready to go back to world of work yet!
I'll have to go to the bank tomorrow morning to deposit the check. I'm too tired to do anything right now. All I want to do is curl up into a ball and relax! I think it's the least I deserve after today's events.
As I take in another deep, but slow breath, the sound of the front door unlocking halts my attempt to nap. With a quick slam of the door, the distinctive sound of Jess's fast and furious steps connecting with the wooden floor causes me to sit up straight.
She heads straight into the living room where I am. "What was that all about earlier?" She demands as she sits in her favorite armchair.
I sigh with exhaustion. "As I drove past the Plaza Hotel, I thought I saw you, so I called to see if it was."
"Fair enough. Why did you go past there anyway? Shouldn't you be at work?" She asks while typing on the cell phone with her typical serious-look.
My pulse picks up some speed, as I don't want her knowing the real reason why I was there, nor tell her about me leaving my job. "I was just heading out for a drive, it's my day off, and I didn't want to be stuck in all day." I respond somewhat proud of my lie.
"I see..." She pauses while looking at her phone intensely. "I still find it hard to believe that you saved up all that cash for your car since Colorado. Most young women spend their money getting wasted! You really need to get out some more, Dana, perhaps invite Amy or someone over. Why not hook back up with Ryan, considering you dumped him? He seemed pretty hot." She probes deeply.
My throat suddenly becomes very thick, and my mouth starts to dry up. She has no idea about the things that happened back at Colorado with Ryan. As far as she knows, I dumped him because I got bored of him. If I told her the truth, she would get him locked up. But I know that's only temporary. If I was to ever press charges against him, he would simply get one of his 'boys' to pay me a visit. I'm keeping the past right where it belongs - in the past.
"Not everyone my age wants to go out and get wasted every weekend, Jess. Sorry if I preferred the idea of a new car over hangovers." I sarcastically reply with a hint of outrage over her assumptions.
Her phone starts to ring, and she promptly stands up. "And that's why you have no friends and prefer to drive past hotels for fun! Right, I've got to rush to the office anyway. In future, don't call me during work hours. We've got a lot on at the moment!" She digs at me before answering the phone.
The sound of the door slamming indicates that she's left. What a bitch! She doesn't realize how hurtful her words can be. In a way I'm grateful that I am so tired, I've grown numb to anything that could upset me.
I reach my cell phone from out of my bag, and twiddle with the idea of calling Dean. As I move about on the couch, unable to sit steady in one place, I rewind back to what Amy and I agreed. I've got to act normal, so I can get honest answers.
I take in a deep breath and put on a fake smile. Here we go.
Chapter 4
After two failed attempts of calling Dean. I resign myself, once again, to the fact that he is too 'busy' with someone else, all shacked up somewhere in the Plaza Hotel. Rage starts overtaking the sickening void that has consumed me for most of the day. All I want now is justice and answers! Like Amy said, I'm not the old Dana no more. I'm not the soppy young, immature woman that I was. I need to start making the right decisions, and if that means cutting cords with Dean permanently, then so be it. I can't say I won't be upset, especially as he was the one that got me to trust, and believe in myself again.
In the midst of these thoughts, my phone starts to ring. I hold my breath for a moment as I pull the phone from my fresh set of pants. It's Dean! I take in a sharp breath in a bid to tame down the rush of adrenaline.
Doubt #2 (The Deception Series #1) Page 2
