when the seats were full and the sound of my name echoed through the air. When I ventured inside, Zane was right there to greet me.
“You’re late,” he said, tapping his watch.
“I know, but I had something to tend to.”
He waved his hand for me to follow him. “All I need you to do is change into your gear for the photo shoot. Chance will be in it with you.”
I followed him to the KTM dressing room and Chance was already there.
“You have ten minutes,” Zane said, shutting the door.
Chance grabbed my arm, his eyes frantic. “Holy shit, dude, you won’t believe what I just found out. I was two seconds away from calling you.”
“What is it?”
He took a deep breath. “Apparently, Skylar did have help getting you to the back bedroom. You’re not going to believe who it was.”
It was two o’clock and I was so excited about going to Luke’s race. I kept waiting for Grayson to show up, but thankfully, he didn’t. The last thing I wanted was to get into a verbal fighting match at our restaurant. Our restaurant . . . What had I been thinking, getting involved with a friend who was also a business partner? Someone should have warned me.
“Lara, I’m here,” Victoria called out. She was out of breath and rushing toward me. “I know you have to go.”
“Thanks, Victoria. I’m going to head out. Have a great shift!” Turning on my heel, I started toward the back door, when a person came barreling into the front door, straight to the bar. My breath hitched and my veins were on fire. Luckily, the lunch crowd had diminished, and there were only a few people inside the restaurant.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I growled.
Skylar turned around, her gaze frantic. She slammed a small backpack into my chest and cried. “I give up. The cops said he wouldn’t press charges if I confessed.”
“Didn’t you already do that?” I was confused. What the hell was she talking about? She nodded, tears running down her face. I peeked inside the backpack and almost dropped it to the floor. It was filled with a whole bunch of money—at least a few thousand. “Holy shit. Why are you giving this to me?”
“Because it’s his,” she shouted, pointing at the bar. “The redhead who works back there. It’s all his fault. I’m here to give it back to him. I want to be free of it.”
Bile rose to the back of my throat and I stumbled into the bar. I didn’t want to believe she was referring to Grayson, but he was the only redhead who worked behind the bar. The room spun, and I had to hold onto the bar to keep my balance.
Skylar stood there and cried, causing everyone in the place to stare at her. Grabbing her arm, I pulled her into the back, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Once we were in Summer’s office, I let her go.
“You’re trying to say this was Grayson’s doing?” I hissed. My whole body trembled in rage.
She nodded and lowered her head. “I was upset because Luke wouldn’t pay attention to me anymore, and he heard me complaining. He said if I was willing to do whatever it took, he’d give me Luke. That’s why we drugged him, hoping you’d get rid of him. That way Grayson could have you back and I’d have Luke.”
“What about the money? Where does that play into all of this?”
Lips trembling, she burst out in sobs. “To keep quiet. He didn’t want anyone to know he was involved. At the party, he was there. He’s the one who helped me get Luke to the back room.”
“And the pills? Was that you?” I snapped angrily.
She shook her head. “Not all of them. He gave me the Sec–secobarb . . . whatever the hell that shit was. Luke told the cops he wouldn’t press charges if I told the truth, and now I have. I thought you should hear it first. Luke’s not the only one who was deceived.”
The whole thing made me sick, and I couldn’t think straight. My mind was a jumbled mess. Gripping the bag of money, I slammed open the door.
She gasped and followed me out. “Where are you going?”
“To end this, once and for all.” I blocked her out and went straight to my car.
Grayson was going to pay for what he did. How could he betray me like that? He could have killed Luke, and for