Viktor(8)

“Sorry. She’s a little grumpy from … uh … cramps.” What a shitty excuse, but it’ll have to do.

“Oh, I get it,” he says, raising his hands in surrender. “It’s fine. I’m already glad you don’t wanna go with her. Girls always wanna go together and shit …”

“And witness that bloodbath? No thanks.”

He muffles a laugh. “I like your style, Alexis.” He pulls a small piece of paper from his pocket. “Now, I don’t normally do this, but the client asked me to, and I can’t ignore a client’s request, so I’m going to make an exception here.” He hands the note to me. It has a telephone number written down on it.

“Call it. Make the appointment. You’ll get the cash. You split it with me.”

I look up at him. “And you trust me with this?” It’s not often Deangelo hands out his contact information.

“Yeah … shouldn’t I?” He leans back.

“No, yeah, of course, I don’t mean it like that.” I flush.

“Relax, just kidding,” he says, laughing again. “I mean it, I trust you. I know you won’t run off with the money.” He leans in close. “Besides, it’s not like you actually can run away. Not without me noticing anyway.” He shrugs as if he just said something completely normal, but I know it’s so much more than that. It’s a threat. A test. He wants to see if I’ll cheat.

And to be honest, I don’t blame him. I know myself … and when that money is waved at me, it’s hard for me to share it with someone else. Except Alisha, of course. I’d share my fucking life with her if I had to.

“All right. I’ll call.” I nod slowly, leaning back. “And you get half the money, right?”

“As usual. But don’t you share that phone number with nobody, you understand?”

“Yes, Sir,” I say, saluting him, and we both laugh a little.

“Well, I hope I can trust you with this. I don’t hand these out often, so you’d better keep it safe.”

“I will. Is it one of my old clients or a new one?”

“Old. And I’m sure you’ll like it once you find out who it is.” He winks, but then looks up and turns his head. “Hey, shouldn’t that sister of yours be back by now?”

“Alisha? Right …” I look at the clock on the wall. “She’s been gone for like fifteen minutes now, hasn’t she?”

“Maybe she’s sick,” he says.

“I asked her, but she said she was okay.”

“Cramps?” he muses.

I laugh. “Maybe I’d better go check on her.” I scoot my chair back, tucking the paper into my pocket. “Be right back, okay?”

“Sure, babe. I’ll go pay the bill.” He gets up too, but I’m already gone.

I walk to the bathroom and go inside, calling her name. “Alisha. Are you okay? Please just answer me.”

No response, so I look under all the stalls.

No feet.

Not in any of the stalls.

“Alisha, I swear to God, if you’re lifting your legs up to the seat just so you can avoid talking to me, I’m going to be pissed at you.”

When she doesn’t respond, I bang the doors.

“You hear me? Don’t play games now. If you wanna talk, talk. If you want me to leave you alone, tell me, but for fuck’s sake, at least let me know you’re here.”

Still no response.

So I do the only thing I can think of … I kick in all the doors.

Until all swing open.

And she’s still not there.

“Alisha …” I whisper.

She’s gone.

I run out of the bathroom and out the restaurant with Deangelo right behind me.

“Where ya going?” he asks.

“Alisha. She’s gone. I gotta find her.”

“Gone? What d’ya mean gone? She was in the bathroom just a minute ago.”

“Yeah, and now, she’s not,” I say, walking to his car. “I have to find her.”

He sighs and nods. “I’ll drive you home.”

“I just hope she’s there,” I say as we get in.

He drives as quickly as he can, passing red lights and pushing the limit. But I know my sister. It’s been longer than fifteen minutes since I last saw her, and she knows her way around this city, probably even better than I do. She could’ve gone home by now … and then somewhere else.

Deangelo drops me off at home, and I thank him before rushing up to our apartment.

When I slam open the door, she’s not there.

She’s really gone.

With my heart pounding, I step inside. I’m frustrated, angry … but above all, scared. Scared of what she’s going to do. Because the check was missing for a few hours this morning before I found it again … and it has his address on it.