Page 21 of Hold Me
“I’m listening.”
“I need you to track down someone for me. I know you retired, but...”
“Say no more, my dear. You know how much I love my job. Who do you want me to find?” he asks.
I smile to myself. Prescott has always lived for his job, and even after he retired, he’s still waiting for a call from one of his friends so he can do some work. Some think he’s too old to do his job properly, but he’s one of the best.
“I’ll send you the details, but there’s one thing... My father mustn’t find out about this,” I say.
“What did you get yourself into this time, young lady?”
“Nothing, really. My friend... She’s hanging out with some strange people. I just want to make sure she stays safe.” It’s easy to lie and shift the blame for this whole thing onto someone else. I wasn’t too successful in my original plan because Caleb was good at evading my questions, so I need to find out more about Caleb while I’m still able to walk away and pretend I wasn’t really trying to get him to like me or anything.
“Okay, I’ll be glad to help you. Send me what you have, and I’ll look it over.”
“Thank you. You’re amazing.”
He snorts. “I hope you’ll still think that when I hand you what I find.”
“Of course I will.” I laugh. “Bye.” I end the call, and immediately text the details to Prescott’s private number. It’s not the first time I have a job for him.
I chew on the insides of my cheek, my stomach fluttering. Maybe I shouldn’t have done this, but what’s the worst that can happen? I can find out that Caleb is not who he pretends to be and is only being nice to me because he is trying to get me to hire him again. Ah well, I wouldn’t be the first dumb, rich blonde to fall for the tricks of a beautiful man. I still don’t regret anything, though. At least my life is no longer boring.
The piercing sound of my phone rouses me from sleep and I feel around for it on my nightstand until I find it. My eyes still bleary, I squint at the overly bright screen and swipe at it.
“Yeah?” I ask, unsure who to expect on the other end because I didn’t see the caller’s ID.
“Honey, it’s me,” my mom says. “Are you still in bed?”
“Yeah, I... What’s wrong?” It’s Monday, and I’m sure my mom wouldn’t be calling me on Monday morning if it wasn’t something important.
“Do you remember Mr. Prescott? Your father’s friend?” she asks, and I sit up, suddenly wide awake.
“Yeah. What about him?” My pulse speeds up, and I want to jump out of my skin. Has Prescott told my father about what I’ve asked him to do?
“He passed away. Your dad thought you might want to attend the funeral, so...”
“What?” I nearly drop the phone. No, that isn’t possible. It can’t be. My mind is racing and I can barely form coherent thoughts. “How did he die?”
“A heart attack,” my mom says. “They found him at home last night.”
“Oh, that’s...” My relief is so strong I nearly sag back onto the bed, but my throat constricts at the thought that such a kind and nice man is gone, and my father has lost one of his dear friends. “How’s dad?”
“He’s shocked. He didn’t expect something like that. Prescott wasn’tthatold and he didn’t have heart problems or any other serious health issues, but these things happen and...” My mom sighs. “You’ll be there for the funeral, right?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Good.” We say our goodbyes and I stare at the phone in my hand, tears pooling in my eyes. What if he was too upset about something he discovered? What if it is actually my fault? Caleb didn’t look dangerous to me, but Katherine said I shouldn’t be around people like him and her explanation didn’t sound quite convincing. I take a deep, shuddery breath. No, I can’t think like that. This is just a coincidence. It has to be.
“How’d your date go?” Isaac claps Caleb on the back. A smile tugs at Caleb’s lips as he sits down on the floor with Isaac and Jade, who is holding a pillow in her lap.
“Where’d you get that?” Caleb nods toward the pillow and Jade hugs it to herself.
“Sam gave it to me. Raphael said I could keep it.”
Caleb shakes his head in disapproval. Keeping things and getting attached to them is a terrible idea. As soon as Jade displeases Raphael, he’ll take the pillow away and then she’ll be sad again. That’s exactly why Raphael allows it in the first place. “You sh...”
“Who cares about the fucking pillow,” Isaac says. “Tell us about the date. I haven’t just spent hours in the dungeon so you can go out for nothing. And don’t say you don’t want to talk about it because I can see that look on your face, and I want to know everything.”