“I don’t know anyone else. I’ve been gone for—”
“What about your parents?”
“My dad’s a tech guy. We’re well-off, but we’re not billionaires or anything.”
“And there’s no way your father would be involved in any kind of drug business?”
“No. I told you. My father’s in the hospital.”
“Anyone else?”
“Just the Wolfes. And…”
“And what?”
“Well…I ran into one of the guys from the island in Manhattan. He recognized me. His name is…” Ice Man. His name is Ice Man. “Pollack, I think.”
“Okay. Now we may be getting somewhere.”
“Okay.”
“Tell me everything about this Pollack.”
“It’s… I don’t like to talk about it. He was one of the guys who came to see me on the island.”
“You don’t need to go into detail. I just need to know if he may have any connection to this drug organization.”
“He should be in prison, obviously.”
“He probably turned evidence.”
“Yeah. That’s what Luke said.”
“Luke. The boyfriend.”
“Right.”
“What does Luke look like, Katelyn?”
An interesting question. “He has brown hair and brown eyes.”
Buck nods.
“Except…he doesn’t.”
Buck drops his mouth open. “What the hell do you mean?”
“He colors his hair and wears colored contacts. Apparently he’s actually blond…with blue eyes.”
Buck pushes his hair back from his forehead. “Blond with blue eyes? Is his hair long or short?”
“It’s short. Why?”
“I guess he could cut it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“In fact, of course he cut it. If he’s hiding from King. Hiding from me. Hiding from everyone.” Buck seems to be talking to himself now.
“Let me in. What are you talking about? You’re scaring me.” My words are ridiculous, of course. I’m already scared out of my mind.
“Just a theory, but I’m wondering if your waiter from Manhattan is the man I’m looking for.”
“The man who hurt your sister? No, he can’t be. Luke is kind and gentle.” I curl my hands into fists on instinct. No way will I let this guy malign Luke’s good name.
“Yeah, it’s a long shot.”
“Of course it is.”
“But still… There’s a reason you’re here, Katelyn. And if Luke is who I’m looking for, that would explain it.”
“Why? Why would that explain it?”
“Because the man I’m looking for is the son of a local producer from old money. His real name is Lucifer Charles Ashton the third, but his street name is Lucifer Raven.”
My jaw drops.
“What?” Buck asks.
I have no words. All I can think about is that tattoo of the raven on Luke’s left arm and shoulder. Black and red with fire shooting from its wings.
It’s a remnant of something I’d rather forget.
Luke’s words.
No. It can’t be.
My Luke would never harm anyone. My Luke is a good man. The best man. He feeds stray dogs.
He loves me. He wasn’t lying about that. Words are just words, but I felt it. I felt his love for me.
“Katelyn…”
I shake my head. “No. Absolutely not. Luke is not the man you’re looking for.”
“He may not be. But you’re here for a reason, like I’ve said. I have to consider the possibility.”
“Tell me, then. Tell me all about this Lucifer Raven.”
“You’d know him if you saw him. Blond and blue eyes like you said, and he has a tattoo,” Buck says. “On his left arm and shoulder.”
My stomach turns. Acid crawls up my throat, and I retch.
It’s dry heaves. I’m not sure when I last ate, and luckily nothing comes up, but I retch. It hurts my throat, and I double over with cramps.
Buck rushes toward me, helps me to a bathroom that I didn’t even know was there.
Then I’m in front of a toilet, still dry heaving.
“It’s okay,” Buck says softly. “Let it out. Let it all out.”
But nothing comes out.
Empty. I’m empty.
And I fear I’ll never be filled again.
41
LUKE
Go to the Beverly Hills Hotel. A car will come for you.
Thank God. At least now there’s something I can do. I race out of the house, ready to go when—
“Lucy?”
Shit. My mother.
“Yeah, Mom?”
“Your sister is coming for dinner. Your brother also.”
“All right, Mom.”
“They’re both looking forward to seeing you.”
“I already saw Bas.”
“Yes, he mentioned that.”
“Mom, I’ve got to go.”
“Dinner’s at seven o’clock sharp,” she says. “Don’t be late.”
“Right.” Then I walk toward her, give her a kiss on her cheek. “I love you, Mom.”
She lifts her eyebrows. “I love you too, Lucy.”
She’s surprised. I can’t remember the last time I told anyone in my family I love them. But I do, especially my mother.
She’s the one who always believed in me.
As I look at her beautiful face, her blue eyes so much like my own, I realize this is the last time I’ll see her.
Ever.
“See you at dinner,” she says with a smile. “And Lucy?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s so good to have you home. It’s just so…good.”
I nod.
Losing me will kill my mother, as my father says.
I wish things were different. I wish I could go back ten years and make different decisions.
But I can’t, and it has all led me to this.
“Mom, I want you to do something for me.”
“Of course, Lucy. Anything.”
“There’s a woman. Her name is Katelyn Brooks. Her parents live here in LA somewhere. Her father’s in the hospital, something with his liver. He’s waiting for biopsy. She and her mother are at the Beverly Hills Hotel.”
“Okay. What about her?”
“She deserves the best. Could you do something for me?”
“I can try.”
“Take care of her. Find her and take care of her. Make sure she has the best of everything.”
“Lucy, I—”
“Love you, Mom.” I kiss her cheek again. “See you at dinner.”
The words are acidic on my tongue. They’re a lie, but I need to give my mother this. I need to give her an afternoon free from worry.
The worry will come soon enough.
An hour later, after grueling traffic, I’m waiting outside the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Car after car, limo after limo, and none are for me. Until—
A silver Mustang drives up. A man dressed in black gets out of the car and meets my gaze.