Page 41 of Chaotic Curse
My heart jumps.
The gifts.The cryptic messages.
They must be coming from Hernando Reyes.It all lines up.
“It’s wonderful that you still see him often.”Robin smiles.
Man, for a veterinarian, she is one hell of an actress.
“It is,” she agrees.“He always showers me with gifts while I’m here.Last time he got me this.”She shows us the Rolex on her wrist.
Which seems oddly out of place with her general demeanor.
“It’s beautiful,” Robin says.
“Thanks.It’s not my style, really, but Uncle Nando is so generous.”
“He is,” I say, fighting back nausea.
Robin rises.“I think we can call it a wrap,” she says.“Thank you so much, Juno.I’ll get this written up as soon as possible.”
“When will the article be published?”Juno asks.
“That’s up to my editor-in-chief,” she says, “but he was excited about the interview, so I’m sure it will be sooner rather than later.I have your email, so we’ll let you know when it goes live.”
Right.
Sooner rather than later for a publication that doesn’t exist.Juno will be waiting for that email for quite some time.
Oh well.
Once Juno is gone, my phone buzzes.
It’s Hawk.
I move away from Robin to where Vinnie has taken a seat with his laptop.
“Hawk?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”His voice is breathy.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.I’m good.Where are you?”
“At this coffee shop with Vinnie and Robin in downtown Austin.It’s called Bean There, Done That.”
“Perfect,” Hawk says.“I’m not far from you.I’ll meet you there in ten minutes.We have to talk.”
13
HAWK
When I getto the coffee shop, I can’t believe my eyes.
Sitting outside on one of the benches is Juno Reyes, the artist I bought one of my favorite paintings from.
What is she doing here?
