Page 71

A minute later, Calvin arrived wearing a beanie hat, a leather jacket, jeans, and boots, looking more exhausted than the last time I’d seen him.

“Hey.” He smiled, pulled out a chair, and folded himself into it.

“You want anything to eat? Or a drink?”

“No thanks.” Heglanced around the restaurant, probably looking to see if Arrow was around.

“He’s not here.” I sipped my drink. “You asked me to come alone, so here I am.”

He smirked and leaned into the table. His expression turned serious, and I was afraid of what he was about to say.

“I’ve got some news for you.”

My stomach knotted from the somber tone. “Did you find her?”

“Yes and no.”

“What does that mean?”

“I saw someone who looked like her in Chinatown and at the front of the Boston Children’s Museum. I parked my car and went to look, but couldn’t find her. She was with a man both times, but she didn’t look terrified.”

“Maybe she was scared. Maybe he forced her to act that way.”

“Could be. The girl looked like her.” A kid from a nearby table dropped a drink on the floor, drawing his attention away for a moment. When he turned back, he said, “I’ve got some stuff I need to deal with. I won’t be able to continue helping you. You should head to Chinatown and the Children’s Museum. Ask around. Maybe someone recognized her there.” He met my eyes. “Consider our deal nullified, okay?”

“Our deal with the mystery price?” I asked.

“Yeah. That one.” He smiled.

“If you had continued to help me, what would’ve been the price?”

“A date.”

My eyes widened. “Why?”

“Because I want to annoy Arrow.” He shrugged. “Just to see what he would do. He seems very protective of you.”

I rolled my eyes. “You have that much time on your hands?” Shaking my head, I asked, “When did you see the Aimee lookalike?”

“Yesterday. I was in the city for a meeting.” He sighed. “I know it’s not the best news, but it’s something you can work with.”

“Thank you. It’s useful information. Right now, anything is helpful. It gives me hope,” I said. “I’ll check it out.” He looked tired, making me wonder if there was chaos within The Triad. “Is everything okay with you?”

He flicked me a look. “Dealing with traitors is never okay?—”

The fire alarm shrieked out over the crowd, startling everyone. My body jerked from the loud noise.

“Let’s go, everyone!” shouted the chef and the hostess.

People rushed out of the restaurant.

“Let’s get out of here!”Dion rushed out with his group of friends.

If I had seen him earlier, I would have gone over to say hello. He fist-bumped Tim and Raul, who had come from somewhere. Then the boys rushed off around the corner.

Calvin and I walked across the street, where everyone was standing around. I didn’t see any smoke. The fire alarms were blaring all along the strip mall. What had happened?

“Protective and possessive,” Calvin muttered and glanced at his watch. “Gotta go. I’ll let you know if I receive more info on Aimee.”