Page 46 of Fatally Yours
After the lengthy journey back to town, we finally pulled up to the auto body. There was little conversation about our past sins as Mandy cranked up the radio so loud that it drowned out August and his lovely voice. He turned it down only after we reached town, citing that we didn’t want to draw any more attention to ourselves than we already were. That earned another snap from her and a sly remark from him that made her mouth clamp shut.
She didn’t even bother turning off the engine as she drove by the door, pausing to read a hastily scribbled-down sign taped to the door.Closed,it read. I was focused on August’s pinched face, curling fists, and his jaw clenched with rage.
“Must’ve skipped town when he realized they were closing in on him,” she said, not helping the situation. Before he could do anything rash, I set my hand on him, hoping to bring him to a calm like I had so many times in the past. Unfortunately for me, his muscles still tensed beneath my touch, making my chest ache. There was only one person who came to mind who might be familiar with the local auto body shops.
“We could go see Nick,” I suggested, weaving my hand in his. “He should be getting off work right about now. Maybe he knows where he’s at.”
“He knows I’m dead, Tash. I can’t just show up there.” My eyes connected with his, hoping he could sense how serious I was about this. I wanted revenge just as much as he did. Randy Clark ruined my life, too.
“I can talk to him. He doesn’t know about me, um,dyingyet,” I said. His gaze flicked to mine as his arm relaxed, and all the tension washed away. Taking a breath, he set his hand atop mine, losing the pent-up expression he had previously held.
“Can you handle that?”
I nodded. “I got it.” Mandy looked back at us, her eyes mischievous, almost like she was enjoying this just as much as we would be.
“So, Chappy’s it is, then?”
“Yeah.” August took my hand in his. Once more, my stomach fluttered to life at his touch, in addition to the growing worry that I might not lie as well as he could. We should be fine if Nick didn’t ask any stupid questions or stick his nose where it didn’t belong. I at least had that much confidence in myself.
“Far out,” Mandy said.
The three of us were waiting with bated breath, watching patiently for Nick to emerge from the restaurant and give us answers. The radio was off, the night was in full swing, and the silence was thick with unease. August’s hand was still in mine.
The squeal of the back door shattered the tranquility, and a joyful whistle echoed through the darkness. Nick emerged from the rusty building, spinning his keys on his finger so carelessly that it almost made me jealous. The only thing illuminating him was a handful of overhead lights in the lot. I took this as my cue to bolt, and I gave August a squeeze before climbing out the door and closing it without a sound.
My feet hastily tapped against the pavement as Nick plunged the key into the lock, none the wiser to my presence, until I could see the whites of his eyes. He muttered an obscenity under his breath as he dropped the keys in panic with a gasp, turning towards me as I came into the light.
“Natasha?” His voice was laced with surprise as he knit his brow together.
“Hey,” I said, raising my hand weakly. He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing was not a figment of his imagination. For good measure, he even rubbed his eyes before leaning over and picking up what he discarded.
“Where the hell have you been, girl? We miss you.” He inhaled as he eyed me, surely noticing the deathly white tint of my skin and the dark circles around my eyes. If I were lucky, he wouldn’t notice the scars on my neck. “Um, you don’t look so good. Are you okay?”
“I’m great, Nick.” Oh, how I wished I was as good at bullshitting as August was. If he were to inquire further, I wouldn’t be able to devise a suitable excuse and would surely dig myself into a deeper hole, so I dismissed him. Knowing him, he wouldn’t give me any trouble, but I could never be too sure. My nerves were frayed from my experiences in the past few days, even if there was more excitement than worry growing in my gut.
“I need to talk to you about something,” I said. His head swiveled left and right like a prey animal, looking for an apparition ready to pounce on us. Like someone was watching,hunting.In a way, his inhibitions were right.
“You’re not in danger or anything, are you?”
“No, I’m not.”
His stance relaxed, and I was envious that I couldn’t experience the same feeling. “That’s good, baby doll. What do you need?” I thought I broke out in goosebumps hearing him call me that, only because I thought about what August would do if he heard him. Of course, he often stopped by my place of work in life and knew Nick well enough to know he called every girl that, but I couldn’t be too sure with his new state of mind and his penchant for vengeance.
“I need to know where Randy Clark is. Your car guy.”
“Randy? Hell, I haven’t seen him in a month or two. But last I heard, he was over in Pine Bluff. Said he was runnin’ from some trouble, I guess,” Nick said, popping the keys into his pocket. It seemed he had no idea about his crimes. He was probably too focused on starting a family. “It’s a damn shame, too. Some kids scratched up my paint job, and I can’t find anyone to beat his price.” Any semblance of joy I thought I would feel from therevealing of his location was shattered by his response.
Pine Bluff was a fifteen-hour drive, states away, with time we didn’t want to spend.Ididn’t want to spend. All I wanted was to return to normal as soon as possible and get this revenge thing behind us. Fifteen hours of anticipation was not going to help anything. Yet, I faked a smile, recalling all the times August got us out of a situation with such a simple gesture.
“Well, I have to pay him a visit,” I said. “Do you think you can give him a call for me and see where he’s at?”
“I suppose I can.” He smiled, none the wiser about our sinister plot. Of course, he wouldn’t catch on. As far as he knew, August was still in the ground decomposing, and I was just gone for a few days—I hoped. “But aren’t you missing or something? Shouldn’t you go to the police and let them know you’re okay?” My stomach flipped as I pinched my fingers along the seam of my pocket, hoping to distract myself from the discomfort.
“They already know I’m fine, Nicky.”
“Oh, that’s great. Maybe you’ll come back to work soon,” he chuckled.
“Maybe.” I returned his fake laugh, and he gave me a crooked expression but dismissed my awkward attempt. He was much too kind for this world and me. “Can you reach out to him soon? It’s a little urgent.”
