Page 25 of Poisoned Promise
Something is missing.
I adjust my boobs, twist both ways in the mirror and add a swipe of glitter across my eyelids, but something is still missing.
The hair.
My blonde wig slips from my head with three gentle tugs and my natural coppery-orange curls spill out around my shoulders.
Hiding my natural hair for fifteen years creates an odd sensation in my chest now that it frames my face in long waves and rests around my shoulders.
Perfect.
Phone in hand, I grab my bag and head outside to wait for my taxi but as I lock my door, the sound of a car door slamming catches my ear and I spin on the spot.
A man stands at the bottom of the steps with his hand outstretched for me to take. “Dove.”
Squinting, I study his square jaw hugged by a close-cropped beard, his twinkling blue eyes, and thinning brown hair while slowly walking down the steps.
Just as I reach his hand, it clicks in my mind like the snap of fingers.
“Toph?!”
“It’s really good to see you again,” Toph says gently, and there’s something hidden in his tone. A pain that strikes right at my heart.
“You still work for Felix?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
I take his hand and wince, letting him guide me down the last of the steps. “Don’t call me ma’am. Makes me feel old.”
“Growing old is a luxury for us,” Toph replies. “You should take it as a compliment.”
He’s right.
Despite my relationship with Felix being mostly a secret back when I was a teenager, Toph helped keep that secret.
He drove Felix to all of our secret rendezvous and even helped me escape a couple of tight situations.
Seeing him again is as surreal as seeing Felix.
“Toph, I?—.”
“No need to explain.” He cuts me off immediately. “Felix sent me. He wanted me to pick you up like old times.”
“Old times?” I repeat as we reach the luxurious sedan. “Does he think that’s all it takes?”
“You know Felix,” Toph replies as he opens the door. “He’s a passionate, determined man.”
Obsessive is a better term.
If he’s going this far to stay in touch tabs on me already then my future becomes abundantly clear as I ease into the back seat.
If Felix refuses to let me go, I’ll just have to kill him.
8
FELIX
Soft jazz drifts through the empty tables and chairs ofLa Lanterna, a quiet little Italian restaurant situated deep within a dark, rather intimidating alley.
