Love Me Last

by Rhea Wilde

  “Listen,” I said, trying to remain focused. “The club is just around the corner. You want to tell me exactly what you’ve got planned?”

  “I’ll scout the club. I’ll try to get a detailed floorplan in my head.”

  “In your head?”

  “I’ll remember where all of the important places are. The important places where a man like Owens would be staying. Once I find him, I’ll track his movements. Then hopefully, he’ll lead me to some evidence.”

  “He comes here for fun. Maybe he doesn’t keep any details of his business here. It’s not his club.”

  “Then I’ll just have to corner and interrogate him.”

  He turned to me. I didn’t have to ask him to know he was serious.

  “That doesn’t sound like the best plan,” I said.

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  “I could have just brought my car and parked outside. I would have tailed him.”

  “Owens isn’t some ordinary man. It’s likely that he’s already being followed. He knows it, too. You would have been spotted before you even had a chance to start your car.”

  “All right,” I sighed. “What do I know? I’m just a private investigator and you’re a Green Beret.”

  “That doesn’t mean I don’t need you on this. There may be other people of interest in the club.”

  “I’m with you. You don’t have to worry about that. That doesn’t mean I have to feel comfortable with all of this. I feel like I’m walking right into the lion’s den…”

  I looked down at the ground and shook my head slightly. The nerves were tensing within me. I couldn’t remember the last time I got butterflies in my stomach from working on a case. Despite the warmth of the summer night, the rush of a cold, tingling sensation shot through me.

  “We’ll be fine,” John assured me. “I’ll get the information we need, one way or another.”

  It felt like we’d only been walking for a few seconds when the club came into view.

  Sinful was New Gardens’s latest hot spot. Whenever a new nightclub popped up, everybody had to be there. It was a shiny new toy that just had to be played with. The bright sign and massive strobe light pointing up into the sky were more obnoxious than anything you would ever see.

  There was a line of people waiting to get in. Young socialites. College grads who looked like they were doing a bad Lee Taurus impression. There were even some older people who were too old to be heading into a club like this. It was likely they had money they wanted to impress the younger crowd with. It always came down to money. It was the best excuse for such annoying behavior.

  John and I got in line with the rest of them, doing our best to look like a couple just out for a night on the town.

  “Owens,” I said. “I couldn’t find anything on him. Are you sure he’s the right man?”

  “I’m sure,” John responded. “He went to a great deal of effort to make sure people didn’t recognize him. If we do find him tonight, he’ll be using an alias.”

  “And how am I supposed to know? I don’t know what he looks like. I’m only going by what you’re telling me.”

  “He’s changed his appearance over the years. The intelligence files I have on him are dated. Physical details are not accurate.”

  “That doesn’t explain how you’re gonna find him.”

  “Owens lived a strict military life. He spent most of his adult life following rules and regulations. He got tired of those. I think that’s why he went rogue. You’ll know him when you see him.”

  John glanced at me, giving me a knowing look. There was no point in questioning him any further. I was already in too deep and my only option was to go along with his half-baked plan.

  The line moved quickly. Some of the people in front of us were rejected for a reason I couldn’t figure out. They scuffled with security, making a scene like any drunk would on a night like this. When we got to the front of the line, security eyeballed the both of us and our IDs. After a quick inspection, the velvet ropes were taken down and we were allowed entrance into New Gardens’s latest happening spot.

  Sinful was a spectacle. The music was loud and the crowd was even louder somehow. Two floors of people dancing, drinking and mingling with one another would have given anybody claustrophobia. The lights were flashing constantly, making it hard to see anything clearly. A smoke machine created a mist of fog that wafted through the air. It was so hard to tell what was going on with so much around me and the task of finding Owens became that much more daunting.

  “We need to blend in,” I shouted to John over the music. “I’m heading to the bar.”

  He gave me a nod. His serious demeanor would have been noticeable by anybody in the club if they weren’t already distracted.

  I wrapped my arm around his. I didn’t know why I was so surprised to feel how hard his bicep was. It took me a second to forget about it and remember I was here on a case.

  John escorted me to an empty spot at the bar. The bartender greeted me with a half-smile.

  “What are you having?”

  “Give me a gin and tonic,” I responded.

  “And your friend here?”

  I looked up at John. He wasn’t paying any attention. Instead, he moved his head back and forth like an oscillating fan, surveying the crowd.

  “Hey.”

  I nudged him in the stomach with my elbow and he finally turned to me.

  “What are you drinking?” I said.

  “I’m not drinking tonight. I have to stay focused.”

  “You have to drink something.”

  “I do?”

  “You have to blend in. Just order something.”

  “All right… Give me a double shot of whiskey,” John said.

  John pulled his arm away from me and returned to surveying the club.

  “There’s a big crowd,” he said. “And this place is larger than expected. I should start moving around to see just how large it is.”

  “Right. Get that blueprint in your head.”

  John started to walk away. Before he did, I grabbed his hand. He turned and looked at me in confusion.

  “Are you forgetting something?” I said.

  I motioned at his drink on the bar with my eyes. John took the whiskey and quickly gulped it down.

  “Call me if anything comes up,” he said.

  Before he had a chance to leave, I heard a voice right next to me.

  “Hey, gorgeous. What do you got going on tonight?”

  I turned and saw the man standing next to me.

  Oh, God…

  He was exactly the man I wasn’t hoping to run into. His long hair was greasy, tied behind his head in a messy ponytail. He looked at me over the shades dangling on the edge of his big nose. His goatee was thin and his smile was something you would find in a police sketch. I glanced down slightly to see his shirt was more unbuttoned than buttoned.

  “Listen, I’m a little busy—”

  “Too busy for a friendly chat?” he interrupted me.

  “Yeah, too busy.”

  “How do you know that? We barely know each other.”

  “Listen… What’s your name?”

  “Dixon.”

  “Listen, Dixon. I…”

  I looked at John standing next to me. He wasn’t paying attention. Without thinking, I reached up for his face with both hands and pulled his head toward me. I shut my eyes tight and pressed my lips to his. He didn’t reject me. Our kiss was deep, my tongue instinctively pushing forward for a few seconds. I smacked my lips against his to make sure I got my point across.

  I pulled away from John and quickly turned to Dixon, who just gave me a nod and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Who’s next?” he said as he began to look around.

  He didn’t seem down after my rejection. If anything, there was a bounce in his step as he walked away. I rolled my eyes and sighed before gulping down my drink and ordering another one.

  From the corner of my eye, I notice
d John staring at me. He had a blank look on his face but his eyes were locked right on me.

  “We have to blend in,” I said without looking at him.

  I could feel him still there. I counted the seconds until he walked away. I struggled to control the rush of embarrassment flushing toward my face.

  “You have a job to do,” I said. “Get to it.”

  “Of course. Eva…”

  I stared at my drink as he nodded to me. I watched him walk through the crowd of dancing people. He stuck out because he was taller than all of them.

  “Well, at least I still have something to keep me company.”

  I took a sip of my drink while I searched through my phone. John and I exchanged numbers and I double-checked to make sure he was on my speed dial in case of an emergency.

  Thankfully, nobody else bothered me as I stood next to the bar by myself. I kept searching the club, looking for any sign of a man who could be Owens while I sipped on my drink. It was a futile effort since I didn’t know what he looked like. John wasn’t sending me any messages and I hadn’t seen any sign of him. I decided to take matters into my own hands.

  I started walking through the club. I ignored all of the people on the dance floor. They just looked like the average unruly patrons you would find in this type of place. Instead, I looked at all of the booths that lined the walls.

  The booths were segregated from everybody else. It wasn’t just the space. A considerable amount of security guards stood by each one of them. There was a good chance Owens was sitting in one of these booths.

  I nonchalantly walked by each one of them, pretending like I was just passing through. I glanced at the people sitting in them. There were rich socialites like I expected. Powerful businessmen that were probably in bed with Lee Taurus. Or at least, they pretended to be.

  I didn’t know how long I was walking when I got to the end of the room. There was a long hallway. I looked down the hallway to see what was there. One of the security guards moved in front of me, blocking my path.

  “Can I help you, Miss?”

  “Yeah, I, um, I’m just a little lost…” I said, trying to search for an excuse to get down the hallway.

  For a reason I couldn’t explain, I knew I had to see what was there. It was just a hunch, but I had to act on it.

  “Bathrooms are on the other side of the club,” the security guard said as he pointed. “This area is reserved.”

  “Oh, that’s it,” I said. “I’m… I’m here to see someone.”

  “Is that right? Who are you here to see?”

  Shit, what am I doing?

  “Owens. I’m here for Owens.”

  I said it without hesitating. I was dumb enough to try something so blatant. I figured the worse thing they could do was deny me and send me on my way.

  “You’re here for Owens?” the security guard said.

  “That’s right. I’m here for Owens.”

  The security guard looked me up and down for a second like he was examining me. Then he turned to the other guard. They both smirked at each other.

  “You know he likes the blondies. She looks like his type.”

  “She does.”

  Their friendly banter did little to put me at ease.

  “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

  “Amber,” I responded.

  “Amber… There’s no Amber on the list.”

  “Oh?”

  I looked up at the security guard and gave him a seductive gaze, batting my eyelashes and grinning at him.

  Come on. I can do this.

  The bodyguard looked at me before sighing and shaking his head.

  “You’re not on the list,” he said, shaking his head. “No exceptions.”

  Shit.

  “All right,” I said. “But if Owens gets mad one of his girls hasn’t shown up, he’s going to be pretty upset. He might take it out on someone.”

  “Hmm… You’re right. I suppose I should do something about this.”

  The two security guards looked at each other and nodded.

  “Right this way,” one of them said.

  They turned around and began walking down the hall.

  Holy shit… It worked.

  I walked just behind them. As we moved down the long hallway, the music and the rest of the club grew distant. I wasn’t even sure they were leading me to Owens. I could have been walking into anything. Before I had a chance to reach into my phone and send John a message, they stopped at one of the doors.

  “Right this way,” the security guard said.

  He held the door open for me. I took a step forward then peered through the doorway. Before I had a chance to see what was there, a shove moved me forward.

  “Hey!”

  I stumbled forward then turned around.

  “Nice try, Amber.”

  The two security guards laughed and shut the door. I rushed forward and banged on the door.

  “Hey! Hey!”

  It was useless. The door was closed from the other side and there was no way to get back in. I looked around and found myself in the back alley outside of Sinful.

  “Shit…”

  I muttered to myself as I pulled out my phone. I messaged John, telling him what happened. There was no way I was going to get back into the club. Not without having to wait in line again.

  While I waited for a response, I looked around to take in my surrounding. The back alley was nearly empty except for a bunch of garbage bags that were all lazily stacked together next to a trash bin.

  “What is that?”

  I noticed something strange. Something sticking out among the garbage bags.

  I slowly crept toward them to get a closer look. I removed some of the bags aside to see what it was.

  “Is that…”

  It looked like a hand. I moved another bag and saw the arm connected to it. I frantically pushed away the other bags until I saw the rest of it.

  It was a man. He looked like he was in his twenties. His clothes were dirty and ruffled. His skin was pale and yellowing. His eyes were open but lifeless.

  “What the…”

  Before I had a chance to take it all in, a sudden burst of light flashed on me from one end of the alley. The loud sound of a police siren broke the state of confusion I was in.

  “What do we got going on over here?”

  I turned to the voice and put my hand up to block the blinding light. I stepped away from the body with both of my hands up. I could barely make out two police officers approaching me.

  “Officers,” I said. “There’s…”

  “There’s what?” one officer said.

  I was still speechless. I pointed at the body among the garbage bags and they both moved to it to get a closer look. Then they turned and looked at each other before moving their attention to me.

  “What’s your name?” one of them said.

  “Eva.”

  “Eva, you’re under arrest.”

  “What?” I exclaimed. “For what?”

  “We have to take you in.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re saying that I did this?”

  “What were you doing in the alley?”

  “They put me here! They kicked me out!”

  The two officers looked at each other skeptically before moving back toward me.

  “Just put your hands behind your back. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

  “Damn it…”

  I muttered to myself in frustration. There was no point in trying to fight back. All I could do was stand there in the alley while they cuffed my hands behind my back. My night was over.

  Chapter 6

  EVA

  In all my years as a private investigator in New Gardens, I never had any serious run-ins with the police. There were times when they thought it was strange that a woman like me was out in the middle of the night with a camera, but they never gave me a hard time about it.

  I knew the law well enough.


  Bend it?

  Maybe a little.

  Break it?

  Never.

  There were times when I would visit the jailhouse. Sometimes the only contacts I had for cases were locked up. That was the only time I bothered dealing with the police station. The most dangerous people I ever dealt with were petty thugs at best…

  *

  As I sat in the small room, I kept my head down to avoid the light shining down on me. It was just as bright as those stupid lights I saw at Sinful. It wasn’t just the light that was bothering me. This whole situation was a giant misunderstanding. With how strange this case was, it only seemed appropriate I ended up here.

  I put my free hand up to rest my forehead on it, sitting alone in silence. The silence was broken when the door slowly opened and closed with a loud thud.

  “Hello, Miss Lynch.”

  Two people walked in.

  One was a man wearing a sloppy black suit. It didn’t fit him well, like he borrowed it from his dad. His tie was crooked and wrinkled. His black hair looked like a wig. Either that or a terrible Halloween costume. I would have guessed he was some punk they pulled off the street to pretend he was a cop to try and make me laugh.

  He took a seat down in front of me. I glanced up at the other person.

  I couldn’t tell because of how bright the light shining down on me was. I squinted my eyes and I could just barely make her out. She was a woman in a dark pantsuit. Her blond hair was tied-up in a neat bun on her head. She looked like all of the other stuck-up bureaucrats I saw in the business district but thankfully never had to deal with.

  “How are you doing?” the man asked me.

  “How am I doing? I’ve been in this room for 30 minutes. You handcuffed me to the table. You wanna know how I’m doing?”

  “Do you need anything? Would you like a glass of water?”

  “How about a fifth of vodka?”

  I rolled my eyes at him and leaned back in my chair. I barely noticed the small manila folder he’d placed on the desk between us. I closed my eyes for a moment, the alcohol I had earlier beginning to take a toll on me. The sound of him shuffling the papers filled my ears.

  “Eva Lynch,” he said. “Says here that you’re a private investigator.”

  I didn’t respond to him.