Chapter Fifteen
ADAM
He left the room, and I groaned, resting my head back against the wall. My entire head throbbed with pain, emanating from my nose, which felt like it had been flattened to my face.
He was gone a few long minutes, and then he returned, Lenore by his side.
“What the fuck, Marco? Or should I assume he ‘slipped’?” Lenore reached out a hand to me, and I let her drag me to my feet. I made sure to keep an eye on that big bastard the whole time.
“Yeah, clumsy old me.” I murmured, dropping onto a stool at the breakfast bar.
“I’ll ring Jeffrey. You make him a fucking drink.” She snapped, slapping at Marco’s shoulder as she passed him.
Her voice changed completely when whoever was on the other end of the phone answered her, but I quickly tuned her out, because Marco was suddenly leaning on the counter facing me.
“Listen man, I have a bit of a problem when it comes to risks to Lenore. I shouldn’t have lashed out like that.”
“Ya think?” He grabbed a glass, and poured a shot of something into it, sliding it over to me.
“I’m driving, you dickhead.”
He shrugged. “We own quite a few of the police. Seriously, drink it.”
I lifted the wad of bloody paper towels from my face tentatively, checking to see if the bleeding had slowed.
“Any chance I can get a couple of fucking paracetamol with that?” I grumbled at him. He smirked as he grabbed a pack, and practically tossed it at me.
I glared at him, as I washed down two of them with my scotch. “Seriously, man. I was only trying to find out what I need to know, to get the job done. You know I’m gonna do my best to protect her too, right?”
He nodded. “I just can’t let her be put back in a position where this can hurt her. I lost my shit, I’m sorry.”
I leaned my arms on the counter. “We’ve pulled together some falsified data, showing that Lenore is currently holidaying in the South of France. But that means she needs to be discreet out in town. If he sees her, the game is up. I’ll lose any credibility I have with him. So she needs to know.”
Marco groaned. “I don’t want this fucking with her head.”
We heard a heavy sigh from the doorway, to the side of us. “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that? Assuming I’m the ‘her’ you’re both referring to… which is really rude, by the way.”
Lenore slid her phone onto the counter, and reached for the bottle of scotch. I watched Marco’s eyes narrow at her as she did, but he didn’t stop her from pouring a glass of her own.
“So, what is it that you guys are keeping from me, and apparently punching each other for?”
I held up my hands. “I never punched anyone. I’m purely the lucky recipient of fucking fists of fury over there.”
Marco snorted, leaning against the counter.
“Harvey’s dad is in town.” He said simply, and we both watched her face twitch a little.
“Jeff’s here? I, uh… I’ve been dodging his calls.”
I nodded, sliding my glass at Marco, hinting at my need for a refill. He glowered at me, as he poured another measure.
“I’m cutting you off now. You probably don’t drive any better than you defend yourself already, without alcohol making it worse.”
I ignored him, taking the glass as I replied to Lenore. “Yeah… he’s worried you’ve disappeared too. You know… like his son, and the other missing girl the police have connected to his disappearance. I’m betting you know who she is, too.”
She groaned. “I knew this would come back to us. Maybe I should just speak to him. Tell him what happened.”
Marco and I both disagreed with her at the same time, although Marco’s was more an angry bark. Like a huge fuckoff rottweiler, with a bad attitude.