Page 9 of See You There

Her head was down, staring at her phone, when the hairs on the back of her neck lifted, and she whirled around. The two men she’d seen the day before at Phipps Plaza were hurrying toward her.

Dahlia fumbled for her gym bag, where her car keys with the can of mace on the key chain were.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Usually, Dahlia had her keys in her hand, but it was still light out and she’d let her guard down.

“Hang on. We just want to talk.” Both men lifted their hands, palms up, away from their bodies.

“Stay back,” she said, as firmly as she’d learned in the self-defense class. To her surprise, they did, stopping several feet from her.

“We just want to talk about your boyfriend, sweetheart.”

“Chandler isn’t my boyfriend.” Dahlia looked toward the Pilates studio, but most of the other students had left before her. Surely the instructor would come out any second.

“Right,” the larger man scoffed in a slight accent. “I’ve seen pictures of you two all over the internet.”

“That’s not real.” Dahlia licked her lips. “It’s an act. I have nothing to do with Chandler. He told me he owes you money, but that’s none of my business.” It was bad enough when she used to get threatened over Scott’s debts. She wasn’t doing it for Chandler.

The man who had spoken rubbed his jaw. “See, that’s where we disagree. You two are an item,” he said. He held up a hand when she objected. “If it’s real, not real—I don’t care. I’m not stupid. I’ve heard about that kind of thing. My wife likes gossip blogs,” he said, when his friend’s eyebrows flew up. “But the two of you are a commodity. If something happens to him, it will reflect badly on you. Right?”

Dahlia shook her head, and his eyebrows came down, meeting over his nose. “Okay, let me put it this way. We think you have sway over pretty boy, and he’s been dodging us for months. But you’re here…” He lunged toward her.

Dahlia had considered herself safe when they stopped at a distance, but in a split second, she saw she had miscalculated. The man grabbed her biceps tightly, just short of painful, his face serious.

“You need to convince your fake boyfriend, or whatever he is, that we want our money. We don’t care if he has to go to his agent or the studio. I’m sure there are many people with a vested interest in him looking pretty for all these events you have coming up.”

He trailed a finger down her face, and she shuddered. “If his people won’t come up with the money, maybe yours will. One way or another, we’ll get what we are owed.”

Dahlia was paralyzed. His threat was obvious. What he didn’t understand was there was no one in her orbit who could get together that kind of cash.

“Do you understand me?”

Dahlia nodded, her teeth chattering despite the warm evening, and the man immediately released her arm.

“There’s another game. Same place. Tomorrow night. Tell pretty boy we will expect him.” He stopped and considered her. “You, too.”

Dahlia’s eyes grew wide. “Why do I have to go?”

His lips turned up without a trace of humor. “Collateral. Don’t make us come find you again.”

CHAPTER THREE

The car servicedropped Luke at the top of Dr. Elliot Keller’s driveway. He paused, looking at the modest house. The Kellers had been in and out of all of the Blooms’ homes countless times. But it suddenly hit Luke that, to his knowledge, none of them had ever been invited to the Keller home.

The realization bothered him. Had they ever really known the family at all?

A woman in scrubs exited the front door with a medical bag over her shoulder. “Are you here for the doctor?” she asked, as he reached her car at the same time she did.

“Luke Bloom.” He gave what he hoped was a friendly smile.

Her mouth flattened. “Are you a family member?”

“An old friend.”

She grunted. “He seems like a nice man. It’s sad none of his family is here to care for him. He’s just taken his pain medication, but Dr. Keller would probably love a visit.”

Her eyes went back to the house, and her voice was conspiratorial when she said, “I think he’s lonely. I’ll be back this afternoon to check on him again. Just go in, if he’s expecting you. Oh, wait!”