Page 4 of Plunge into Obsession

“Yes,” the first woman said. “But do you really think it was dismissed because the man is innocent? I mean, come on. People say he killed his older brother to inherit the family business.”

My heart beat loudly in my ears, and I could barely make out the words.

Killed his brother?

What had Lucinda gotten herself into?

“What’s the family business?” one of them asked. I was no longer keeping track of who was talking.

“The Mexican cartels.”

I stayed where I was as the women walked out of the bathroom, their voices fading into nothing, until it was just me in the bathroom with the thumping of the beat of the music—but even that was now drowned out by the roaring in my ears.

I quickly got up and left the stall, washing my hands and grabbing the paper towels. I went back to where I had left Lucinda.

My heartbeat was harsh and disjointed when I got to our booth and found it empty, save for my clutch.

Romeo was watching me intently, but I couldn’t tell what the look in his eyes meant, not in the dark, with the strobing lights hitting his face at different angles along to the beat of the music.

I grabbed my clutch and looked inside. Lucinda’s ID and phone were still there.

I walked over to Romeo. “Where is she?” I asked him.

He looked at me but didn’t answer, his dark eyes assessing me. I had a feeling he knew, but…

He wasn’t going to tell me.

I left the booth, ignoring the unfinished drinks still on the table, and searched for her.

I didn’t know why, but I had a bad feeling, and it feltcrucialthat I find her.

My eyes roamed about the place, but nothing and no one seemed to stick out. They all blended into a sea of unfamiliar faces.

No sign of a red dress, of the girl who had been my best friend since childhood. No sign of…

I shook my head, tears burning my eyes. I didn’t know how long I searched for her, both inside and outside the club.

She wouldn’t have left without telling me.

Lucinda could be careless at times, but she knew me.

She knew I worried too much, and she wouldn’t have done that to me.

Not unless she wasn’t given the chance to tell me she was leaving.

I swallowed back the sob and walked back to the booth where we had been sitting.

Romeo was no longer around, and no one stopped me when I climbed over the ropes and sat down.

I debated calling the cops, but they wouldn’t do anything since she’d been gone for such a brief time.

And I didn’t have proof she was missing.

So I sat there and waited, praying it was merely carelessness, and she forgot to tell me she was leaving.

Any moment now, she would walk through the doors, apologize, introduce me to a man who wasn’t the head of the Mexican cartels—even the fucking words sounded ridiculous in my head—and this would all be over.

This night would be over, and everything would go back to normal.

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