Page 80 of Malicious Marriage
The truth isn’t going to stay hidden much longer. Maybe I should be scared that Dean will be so angry he’ll leave me in a strange country, or that he’ll kill me here and no one will know since we’re entering Greece via secret means that only he knows. When I boarded and explained I had no passport, he just smiled at me.
We truly exist in different worlds and I’m in danger of just being collateral in his. Especially after Trisha broke his heart.
But if I get my sister back, it will be worth it.
This is the closest I’ve gotten in four years. I can’t let things slip now.
We land several hours later and Dean takes us to a hotel to clean up. After showering and throwing up one more time, we head out into the small, idyllic town resting at the foot of the Pindus mountains.
“This place looks like a postcard,” I murmur as we pass a small cafe, a gift shop, and a small local art shop. “It doesn’t feel real.”
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Dean’s hand remains locked in mine. “So now that we’re here, we need to find the bank. The account that was almost accessed is just a small checking account, but it was in Hailey’s name. A woman by the name of Clara presented ID, but it was fake. We ran it.” Dean reads off the messages in his phone. “The bank might not give us anything but in a place this small, someone must have seen something.”
The four of us come to a stop at the crossroads. I glance down each road until I’m distracted by the gorgeous, towering mountains that hang over the town. Could it be that she was brought here by whoever Malcom sold her to and she’s beenimprisoned ever since? Maybe her attempt to get into the account was her way of sending a cry for help back home, desperately hoping I would notice.
And I did notice.
I’m here, Hailey. I will find you.
“Jack, Bobby, you take those streets. Ask what you can but don’t raise suspicions. As light as I’d like to keep this, we don’t want to alert anyone.”
“Understood.” Bobby sends me a cautious glance then heads off with Jack down one of the streets while Dean and I take the other.
For hours we hop into each shop, from gifts to libraries and even one that looked like an antique store but turned out to be someone’s house. We ask questions about the town and our friend Clara, but no one seems willing to talk to us. Most either try to sell us something or laugh as if our questions are ridiculous. I can’t decipher what they really mean and anxiety twists my stomach into knotted barbed wire.
Until someone finally guides us to the local bar, telling us we’ll find Clara there.
Dean texts Jack while I almost drag him to the bar. Inside, we’re treated by thick wooden walls, pine tables, handmade stools, and a scent that’s right out of a Christmas movie. Stag antlers hang on the walls alongside paintings of the mountain and people fishing by the local river. Multiple people look up when we enter, but other than a curious glance, no one pays us much attention.
Dean leads me to the bar and catches the attention of a burly man with a beard so thick I can barely see his mouth.
“Two lemonades, please,” Dean orders, sliding onto the stool. I sit next to him and glance around, scanning each face for either Hailey or someone I might recognize.
There’s no one. An elderly couple sits near the pool table watching two teenagers rack up the balls. A couple huddles together sharing what looks like a pasta dish and several men with large mugs of beer litter the rest of the tables, all sharing the same conversation.
“Tourist?” the barman asks as he sets our glasses down.
I take the drink and down it quickly, savoring how much sharper it tastes compared to lemonade back home. This entire town looks, smells, and tastes like something out of a dream.
“We’re looking for someone, actually,” Dean says. “But it’s not going so well.”
“Someone round here?” The barman pauses his chopping of fresh lemon slices. “Ain’t many round here.”
“And yet it’s almost impossible to find her.”
“Who?” He resumes chopping.
“Clara.”
The barman’s knife slips right off the lemon and hits the board. Slowly, he lifts his gaze and glances between the two of us. “She in trouble?”
I almost surge out of my seat. “You know her?”
Dean’s hand lands on my thigh to calm me. “She might be,” Dean says. “We’re hoping to avoid that.”
I’m trembling all over and my heart hammers so fast that my teeth ache. The bartender looks us over once more and his beard moves as if he’s chewing something, then he nods just once.
“Come through the back.”