Unravel Me. Lynn Montagano

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       CHAPTER TWO

      I navigated the streets of downtown Orlando in a fog. The loud blast of a truck’s horn jolted my attention. I swerved sharply, avoiding a collision. Sitting at the red light, I shook from fear and anger. By the time I arrived at Stephanie’s condo I needed a stiff drink.

      She opened the front door as I trudged up the walkway.

      “Jesus Christ, Lia.” She ran out, grabbing the overnight bag from my hands. “Were you followed here? Are you alright?”

      “I don’t know.”

      “Come inside. I already have wine poured.”

      Smiling a bit, I followed her into the kitchen. The table was set for a romantic dinner for two. Raising my brows, I glanced at my best friend. Her jet-black hair, which she was letting grow out, sat perfectly arranged in a low bun. She looked fresh off the pages of Vogue in her lime green tank dress.

      “Am I interrupting something?”

      “Um, well.” She blushed. “Sorta. But don’t worry about it. This is more important.”

      “You had a date?” I sat down and took a sip of wine. “Stephanie Ann Tempe, are you keeping secrets from me?”

      She rolled her eyes, sitting down. “Not really. He’s just some guy I met last week. We’ve gone out a couple times. Nothing to get all excited about.”

      “Last week? Why didn’t you tell me?”

      “You were busy with Alastair. I didn’t want to intrude.”

      “For crying out loud. Telling me about a date isn’t intruding. Stop being ridiculous.”

      “It’s not important.” She waved her hand. “What are you going to do about Nathan?”

      I took a long sip from the glass. Dealing with Nathan wasn’t my main concern. Telling Alastair about this weighed heavily on my mind.

      “I think— I’m not sure if he’s the one behind it.”

      “Are you nuts? This is his dirty work. I have no doubt.” Her ice blue eyes flashed with determination and anger. She despised him almost as much as I did.

      “That’s the thing. It does reek of him but it’s too perfectly arranged. I mean, really. Is he cocky enough to invite me to dinner under the false pretense that he has some big juicy gossip about someone only to scare the shit out of me by leaving an envelope filled with pictures at my doorstep? He’s an asshole but he’s not that twisted.”

      While Stephanie droned on about Nathan’s ability to manipulate various situations, I thought back to the birthday party I went to at Sydney’s. I thought I’d seen something flash in the sunlight. A car windshield? A camera lens? My head pounded.

      “Have you told Alastair yet?”

      I snapped out of my reverie and looked up.

      “No. It’s, like, three in the morning over there. I’m not waking him up.”

      “You have to tell him.”

      I bristled at her tone. Honestly, one minute she’s warning me about him and the next she’s pushing me to run to him for help.

      “I will, I will. Relax.”

      “Before you go see him this weekend.”

      “What are you, my mother?”

      “I’m only trying to help.”

      “Really? Then mind your own business for once, please. I’m not a defenseless animal who needs rescuing.”

      We stared at one another for a minute, tension billowing through the kitchen. Sometimes being her friend tested my patience. I knew her concern came from a good place and I appreciated it, my only problem was she didn’t know when to back off.

      “Fine.” She sighed. “You can stay here as long as you want. Have you thought about going to the police?”

      “Yeah. I just don’t know what they can do. There wasn’t a threatening note or anything. A pile of pictures in an unmarked envelope doesn’t exactly scream mortal СКАЧАТЬ