by AR Winters
“That’s classified government information. Are you two friends?”
I shook my head. “I hardly know him.”
“We heard you were friends.”
“From whom?”
“That’s also classified.”
I shook my head. “You can’t even tell me who told you we were friends? Because we’re not.”
“You’re not friends?”
“I met him through a friend of mine—”
“What’s his name?”
“Her.” I paused, trying to think if I should lie about this. But there didn’t seem to be much point. “Sophia Becker.” I made a mental note to call Sophia as soon as Blondie and Mr. Bald were gone, to tell her not to talk to them.
Blondie wrote down her name, and Mr. Bald said, “We were told you and Stone were close friends.”
“Who’s been telling you this stuff?”
“We can’t say.”
“Really? Then I’m done talking to you, because I don’t think you’re really CIA.”
I moved to close the door, but Mr. Bald said, “Wait, wait. It was Jack Weber who said you two were close. Now, will you tell us what you know about him?”
I looked at him in disbelief. “Jack told you I’m friends with Stone?” Mr. Bald nodded, and I sighed. “I can’t believe this.”
“Why not?”
I looked carefully from Mr. Bald to Blondie. I couldn’t believe Jack would be so petty as to try to set a bunch of thugs on Stone. And even if he was that petty, couldn’t he just get in touch with Stone himself? But Stone always screened his calls, and I was pretty sure his cell phone was a burner. If Stone didn’t want talk to you, it wouldn’t be easy to get in touch with him.
“I – never mind.” I wondered once again if these two were really from the CIA. Regardless of where they were from, I shared Mrs. Weebly’s perspective: they weren’t very nice, and they shouldn’t find Stone. “I haven’t seen Stone in a while, maybe a month now? We were never really friends, just acquaintances.”
“And your friend – Sophia – she might be able to help us?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Do you have a contact number for Stone – an address, anything?”
I shook my head. “No. I lost his number, and I don’t know where he lives or works.”
Sooner or later, these men would find somebody who’d tell them about Stone’s office in the Riverbelle Casino. I just needed to stall them until I got in touch with Stone.
“Ms. Black,” said Blondie, speaking for the first time since I’d seen him, “this is a very serious matter. Jonathon Stone is a dangerous man. If you’re hiding any information, you could be charged under the National Security Protection Act.”
I shrugged. If I was charged under whatever act, I’d say I’d had temporary memory loss. “I can’t help you. Maybe Sophia can. And if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to bed.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Mrs. Weebly waited for a few minutes after the men had left and then emerged from my bedroom. Before heading back to her own apartment, she said, “I hope they never find him. There’s no reason for the CIA to be after someone as nice as Stone.”
I couldn’t help but wonder about that last bit.
I called Sophia Becker as soon as Mrs. Weebly left. It turned out that Sophia was holidaying in Madrid, and she really had lost Stone’s number. I had nothing to worry about from Sophia, so my next call was to Stone himself.
He answered after three rings. “Tiff.”
“Meet me at the place where Mrs. Weebly got mugged. I can’t talk.”
I hung up immediately, hoping nobody had been listening in.
My phone rang within seconds.
It was Stone. “You didn’t say when.”
“Right now. I’ll be there in ten minutes, it’s urgent.”
I hung up again, and rushed out the door. Hopefully Stone would drop whatever he was doing and be there.
I don’t know why I’d picked that spot behind the Cosmo Hotel. So much had already happened there, and the streetlights still hadn’t been fixed. It was dark enough for anyone to disappear into the shadows.
I checked behind my shoulder every now and then as I rushed over to our meeting spot, hoping that the Mr. Bald and Blondie hadn’t thought to follow me.
I was half-way down the alley when Stone stepped out of the shadows. His dark eyes watched me seriously.
“You’re here,” I said.
I must not have been breathing, because suddenly, all the air left my body in one long whoosh. I wrapped my arms around Stone and leaned into him for a moment. He smelled of leather and something dark and musky. His arms wrapped around my waist, and I could feel the strength of his muscles against my body.
We stayed like that for a moment. The dark air around us was chilly, but I could feel the heat radiating off Stone’s body.
I pulled away reluctantly after a while and looked at Stone.
I could make out the contours of his face in the darkness, the shadows under his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Stone asked.
I took a deep breath and looked away, unsure of where to start. There wasn’t any time to waste. “Two men were looking for you. They said they were from the CIA, but I think they made that up.”
Stone’s eyes grew narrow and glinted in the dark. “What did you tell them?”
“Nothing. I said I didn’t know you well, or your phone number or where you lived or worked.”
“They believed you?”
I nodded.
Stone said, “Did they say why they were looking for me?”
I shook my head, no.
“Did they tell you anything about me? At all?”
I looked at Stone. Uncertainty rippled through my veins. “No. What would they tell me?”
“Nothing.”
“I thought they were thugs, just pretending…” I let my voice drift off.
Stone shook his head. “I’ve been expecting this, I just hoped… I was being wishful. I hoped they’d forget me.”
“Forget you how? What do you mean?” I glanced around, worried we were being tracked.
“It doesn’t matter.” His voice was low and hoarse. “I’m sorry – sorry for dragging you into this. I forgot, at some point, I’d have to disappear again.”
I frowned. “What do you mean, ‘again?’”
Stone shook his head. “I need to go. You won’t see me. I hope—” In the dim light, I saw him gulp, and for a moment, he looked unsure of himself. “I hope you remember me.”
His arms wrapped around my waist again, and our eyes locked. For a moment, I forgot all about the men looking for him. Stone’s eyes were dark and deep, and as he leaned down, I could feel his breath warm on my skin. Our bodies pressed together, and I closed my eyes as I felt his lips against mine.
We kissed for what felt like a long time but was probably only a few seconds. Stone pulled away too soon, and I stared up at him, wondering why we’d waited so long to do this.
I could only vaguely remember the two men in cheap suits. Stone made all problems diminish; next to him, the two men seemed like a silly little hassle.
“We can deal with the men together,” I said.
Stone shook his head. “It’s not so easy. Goodbye, Tiffany. Take care of yourself.”
He turned away and walked a few steps towards where he’d parked his car.
“Stone,” I said softly, “Stop.”
But he didn’t hear me. I saw him slide into his car and then he drove off, away.
There was a lump in my throat, and I said, “This can’t be goodbye.”
There was nobody there to hear me. But it didn’t matter. I would find Stone, and we’d sort everything out.
This wasn’t goodbye. It couldn’t be.
I knew exactly what I needed to do.
Reality Check in Las Vegas
Book 5 of the Tiffany Black series will be published on May 2nd, 2016!
Click here to pre-order yo
ur copy of Reality Check in Las Vegas
When Tiffany's friend Stone decides that he needs to disappear, Tiffany tries to track him down.
In her attempt to find Stone, Tiffany runs into self-proclaimed diva, Lana Fierst, who also happens to be a judge on a reality TV show. Lana claims that her life is in danger - and when Tiffany and Ian agree to help her out, they soon find their lives endangered, too.
Meanwhile, Karma's grandchildren drop by Las Vegas for a visit, and Tiffany decides to throw caution to the wind and learn to bake her own cupcakes.
Will Tiffany find Stone, and whoever is trying to kill Lana, before it's too late?
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