Page 54 of A Night of Indulgence and Sloth
There’s a pause before Calantha whispers to someone. A door creaks and then the animal sounds fade away. “She didn’t stay with you last night?” she asks, fear clouding her voice.
“No… Did she not stay with you?”
“No. She was supposed to come over to catch up, but when she didn’t show, I figured she’d been dickmatized by you guys. She was definitely at the apartment yesterday afternoon, though. The laptop was on the coffee table. I just assumed she stopped by to pick something up. Hold on.” Another door opens and there’s a few thumps before Calantha comes back. “Let me see if she left anything open on the laptop. This isn’t like her.”
Fear settles in the pit of my stomach while we wait, and I scour my mind for what might have caused this. Maybe it was our new shared relationship that made her run, though that didn’t seem likely. Liliana seemed happy with us. Hell, even Calantha had mentioned how content she seemed. But then, what could it be? I wouldn’t let myself think of the worst yet. If I did, if I considered for even a second that she didn’t go willingly, I wouldn’t be able to function.
“Hmm,” Calantha breathes through the phone. “Did something happen between you guys? It looks like she sent out resumes yesterday and even had an interview.”
Kaleb and I glance at each other, confusion and alarm lining our faces. “Not that I’m aware of. Everything seemed fine before my meeting with the contractor yesterday. When I came out, she was gone.”
“Ah, shit,” Kaleb mumbles.
“What?” Calantha and I ask simultaneously.
“I think I know why she’s upset, but that still doesn’t explain where the hell she is. Who was the interview with yesterday?”
I consider pressing Kaleb for more details, but whatever it is, he must not want to share it with Calantha, so I hold back.
“She interviewed around four pm with a company called HealthRx. Have you heard of them?”
“We have, but…” Kaleb tells her before looking at me.
HealthRX is the top suspect in the fire incident at Allegiance Medical. Fuck! We should have told her more about the investigation. But why would Liliana interview there? Why would she want to leave at all?
“We don’t have anything concrete, but from what we know so far, they aren’t good.”
Calantha starts freaking out on the phone, even more worried about her sister since clearly we have no goddamn tact. Kaleb interrupts her, his voice soothing. “We’re going to look into this, Calantha. We won’t let anything happen to her. You have our word. The moment we know anything, we’ll let you know.”
“In the meantime, be normal. Go to work, save the animals, and don’t look into this on your own. This is important, Calantha. Not just for Liliana’s safety but for yours, as well.” I’m half tempted to explain further, but even though she might not think so now, my cryptic answer is much better than the truth.
“I’ll try,” she replies unconvincingly before hanging up.
“What happened?” I ask Kaleb, unsure if I want to hear the answer but knowing I need to.
“Look, I don’t even know if this is why she ran, but it’s the only thing I can think of. Jasper stopped by here for a visit yesterday, and he called me Fitz a few times. She wasn’t with us when he did, at least not that I’m aware of, but we both know sometimes this office can be a maze. I was out of the office for about an hour, so I didn’t even consider it an option yesterday when she went home sick, but now…”
“Now she knows you were at the club too and that we lied to cover it up.”
We’re both silent for a minute when suddenly Kaleb’s face pales. “That report we got back from Elliott about Burt’s call logs… Wasn’t there someone listed there who worked for HealthRX?”
My stomach drops, practically hitting the floor as I process what he just said. “Fuck. Shit!”
Turing to my laptop, I open up the report and scan for any mention of that goddamn fucking company. I find it next to the name Hank Stuart, along with a list of calls between him and Burt that are practically a mile long.
“Do you think he has her?” Kaleb asks, his voice hard.
“If he does, he’ll pay.”
It didn’t take us long to arrive at the HealthRX head office and even shorter still to find out that despite the shabby-looking building and lack of funds, the receptionist was loyal. If things were different, I’d be impressed, but with Liliana missing, it only pissed me off.
Other than finding out that Hank didn’t show up to work today, she wouldn’t give us any information about his interview from yesterday or where he might be today. Kaleb and I knew how to get what we wanted, but we didn’t have time for blackmail or schemes. We just had to hope she’d accept a bribe.
Taking a wad of bills from the pocket of my coat, I slide it across the desk. “Look, Sarah, it’s imperative that we speak with him today. Life or death, even. Do you know anything that could help us find him?”
She hesitates, then takes the cash and starts flipping through, counting each bill until her eyes grow wide as she notices I’ve just dropped a thousand dollars for information. What she doesn’t realize is that I’d drop way more than that to find my Petal.
Even though our girl might hate us right now, she’s ours. No one will take her from us, and we sure as fuck won’t let anyone harm her. Even if she chooses never to see us again.
