Page 53 of Hart of Darkness
17
Dillon
It had been two long days since I’d talked to Maggie, seen my father in the hospital, and learned that Grace could be alive. After I’d left my old man, I’d driven by the Crow. I’d even knocked on the club’s door since the lights had been on, but no one answered.
The sign had readClosed for renovations. Updates are posted on our website.The grand reopening date, according to their sign, was next week. I was itching to talk with the owner or anyone in the club to see if they would recognize Grace. Now that my old man had given me a new description of my sister, I had a little bit more to go on, although I didn’t need to know that her hair was short. The hummingbird tattoo on her neck was a clear identifier and hard to miss, as were the tats on her arms.
I lounged on the couch in my game room, with my laptop on my legs and my phone on the cushion next to me. The stereo was on low as I checked the Crow’s website for any updates on whether they would open a little earlier than expected. I’d even called the number listed on the site, but the phone rang endlessly.
My next move was to see if Duke had seen Grace. I also wanted to ask him if he had any knowledge of the Black Knights. But my brother was out of town on business. I’d stopped by his penthouse and learned from the bellman that Duke wasn’t due back in town until late the following week.
It seemed as if the stars weren’t aligned for me to find out anything else on Grace, which was par for the course since I’d started searching for her. I would get a tiny ray of hope, only to find that the lead didn’t go anywhere.
I was tempted to call Duke. After all, I didn’t need to see him in person to ask questions. But I wanted to see his body language when I told him that our old man had seen Grace a few months ago. I wanted to read him when I asked if he’d seen her too. It was hard to think that Grace wanted nothing to do with me.
My phone rang, making me flinch a little.
“Dillon, it’s Manny. I’m returning your call. Sorry, I’ve been busier than ever.” I heard papers shuffling in the background. “Norton is still here. He’s struggling through, but he seems to be a fighter.”
“That’s great. Any sign from my old man?”
“Sorry, I’ve been looking out for him, but no.”
I wasn’t surprised. I’d called Manny the day before to check on Norton and give him a heads-up that maybe, just maybe, Jerome Hart might walk his drunken ass into Manny’s shelter.
“Thanks for the call. If Norton disappears or my old man shows up, can you give me a shout?”
“Sure thing. Got to run.”
At least Norton had listened to me. I hoped that my father would take my advice since he’d gotten alcohol poisoning. I wished I cared as little about Grace as I did about my father. The notion that she could be alive was eating a hole in my stomach. One minute, I was smiling that she hadn’t ended up like all those dead girls I’d seen in the morgue over the years, or like Nadine. Then the next, I was fuming.
I snagged the remote control for the stereo and turned up the song “Lullaby” by Nickelback instead of thinking about Grace. If I wasn’t thinking about my sister, then Maggie occupied my thoughts constantly.
At the thought of her name, I shoved my fingers through my hair. I’d been dying to call her, but after our encounter in my kitchen on Tuesday, I’d wanted to give her some space. Something other than Ted was bothering her, and I didn’t know if it was me or not. I’d been kind of cold to her during our discussion about a platonic relationship. I was also worried that she could be in danger. However, she’d mentioned that she had work to do, and I knew she had a deadline to get a story written for the Sunday paper.
The war going on in my head ended when a text from her lit up my screen.
Hey. Are you around?
I grinned and sighed heavily.What’s up?
Are you free? Can I stop by?
I wasn’t planning on heading over to the shelter. I’d spent the last two days in my office, doing paperwork, researching the Crow, trying to get a hold of Duke, and cleaning up the yard at the shelter. Angel and Debbie were doing well, and Rafe and Hunt had the security under control.
I’m at my house. Come on over.
The doorbell rang.
I arched an eyebrow as I ran upstairs.
The bell went off again. Surely, Maggie hadn’t sped over here.
When I opened the door, my jaw dropped, not so much because she’d texted me while standing on my porch, but because the sadness in her eyes gutted me. I almost reached out to hug her, but we were doing the friend thing.
Friends hugged each other, but not me. One hug, and I would want to keep going. Hell, I had wanted to strip her bare when I was consoling her as she’d cried over Nadine. I wanted to throw her up against a tree at Paul Revere Park and kiss her lights out. But kissing equaled feelings that were too intimate for me. Plunging headfirst into a steady relationship wasn’t what I was expecting, but I was on the verge of wanting that with and only with Maggie.
The woman was driving me insane. Platonic could go suck the big one. I could kick myself for suggesting we keep sex off the table.
