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“Excuse me, but have you seen this dog running around? His name’s Jack,” he said, bringing his phone closer. It was a medium-sized apricot-colored mutt with cute brown eyes.
Shaking my head, I peered up at him. “No, I’m sorry. How long has he been missing?”
The guy turned his back to me, and there across his shoulders was a giant dragon tattoo which snaked across his back and shoulders. “Uh, maybe an hour or so. Jack’s never been one not to listen.”
“I hope you find him. I’m sure someone will get him back to you.”
Still with his back to me, he laughed. “Oh, I have no doubt, Emma.”
Shivers raced down my spine, and even though it was hot outside, I was chilled to the bone. “How do you know who I am?”
“I know a lot of things, sweetheart.” I reached for my phone slowly, but he sat down next to me, casually stretching his legs. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I’m only here to talk. You’d be wise to smile and pretend we’re having a friendly conversation.”
“Who the fuck are you?” I snapped.
He tilted his head back and laughed. “Wow. Such dirty obscenities out of that pretty mouth of yours. I’m shocked.”
“What can I say?” I fumed. “I’m a fighter at heart.”
The guy scoffed. “Yeah, well, I know about that fighter family of yours. It’s why I’m here.”
My stomach sagged in understanding. “Are you the one who sent the letter?”
He shook his head, still not bothering to look at me. “Nope. That would be a mutual friend. Someone in New York delivered it for him. I’m just here to get the job started.”
Heart pounding in my throat, I swallowed hard. “What job?”
The guy laughed, the sound sinister and evil. “I can’t explain right now. You need to meet me tomorrow.”
“Seriously? Do I look stupid?” I spat, shaking my head incredulously. “I don’t know who the hell you are or who you work for.”
“Yeah, you do,” he replied, turning his sunglasses-covered eyes my way, “and if you don’t meet me, dear ole mommy and daddy will pay the price. Maybe even your sister, but we already have plans for her if you don’t cooperate. This isn’t a game, Emma.”
Gripping a fistful of sand, a mixture of both terror and the need to fight battled inside of me. “Where do you want to meet?”
He glanced around at our surroundings and patted my thigh; it was an intimate touch, and I jerked away. “Right here will be fine,” he said, smirking. “It’ll be a day date, so meet me here at noon. Plenty of people around and so forth. No need to worry about anyone hurting you.” He got up and looked down at me. “If you don’t show, I don’t think I have to explain what we’ll do. The rules are different now; it’s not like when your father and the others played the game.” He lifted his sunglasses and pierced me with his electric blue gaze. The feeling of familiarity grew stronger like I’d met him before, and there was no way I could forget his eerie presence. “See you tomorrow, Emma. And do me a favor, don’t tell anyone about our meeting. I don’t want any interference.”
His full-toothed grin made everything inside of me tremble with fear. Whatever he wanted from me couldn’t be good, and I knew the outcome if I didn’t comply. Someone would die if I refused, and I couldn’t allow that.