Page 44 of Single Malt
“How do you know them?” Carson asked.
“The meeting I came to the city for was at their club. Club Privé.”
Carson’s eyebrows shot up, and I didn’t need to ask if he’d heard of it, though I did wonderhowhe’d heard of it. He’d never seemed particularly interested in sex, even as a teenager.
“I have several questions,” he said, “but the first one is…does anyone else in the family know that you’re going to be selling whiskey with our mother’s name to a BDSM club?”
I burst out laughing. “That’s not exactly something you bring up at a family dinner.”
“True.” He grinned at me. “Now, for my second question…did you get a tour?”
Twenty-Seven
Freedom
High fifties and sunny,with a promise of hitting sixty this afternoon, the day was absolutely beautiful. Since the forecast didn’t even call for clouds today, I parked near the end of the lot. Neither Aline nor I minded walking, especially since neither of us were in heels. Just our normal Wednesday classes, nothing special. And I really needed some boredom for a while.
After Monday’s disastrous lunch, neither Korbin nor Karina had reached out to me, and since Dr. Ipres hadn’t said anything, I assumed neither of them had talked to her either. Not that I’d really expected them to, but I was still grateful for their silence. Now, I could focus on Aline and me getting through this last semester and deciding on the next steps for both of us.
“I meant to ask you earlier but forgot.” Aline broke the silence between us. “Is that lecturer, Dr. Worthington, extending his stay?”
“What?” That came out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t apologize. I was too focused on her question.
Aline shielded her eyes against the sun as we stepped onto the sidewalk and turned east. “Hickson and Margarite were talking yesterday about how they could go hear him now that he’d announced another week of lectures.”
I sighed. “I hadn’t heard that, but Dr. Ipres did say that every lecture he’d given had packed the room. It makes sense that they’d want him to stay longer.”
I really hoped that didn’t mean I wouldn’t have to deal with him again, though. I–
A loud pop, followed by a second one, jarred me out of my thoughts.
“What the–?”
I heard another, and this time, it was louder. Sharper.
“Gun!” Someone else screamed.
I didn’t think. With a surge of adrenaline, I grabbed Aline’s arm and pulled her after me as I ran for the closest building.
Three more shots, but I couldn’t tell which direction they were coming from or where they were aimed.
I pushed Aline between me and the wall of the building, my mind going a thousand miles an hour without processing any specific bit of information. I needed to think. What building was this? Where was the door? Was it better to stay put here or try to get inside?
Stop.
Focus.
What did I know?
The gunshots didn’t sound like they were coming from inside a building, which meant inside was the safest option.
“Freedom, what’s happening?” Aline grabbed the back of my shirt. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” I said, hating myself for not having an answer for her.
We were too exposed where we were. No shrubbery or trees for us to hide behind. Depending on positioning, we could either be completely safe and out of the line of sight, or we’d made ourselves sitting ducks.
No.I’dmade us sitting ducks.