just saying I didn’t steal your phone.”
“Then tell me who did, or I will definitely press charges.”
She fixes me with a hate-filled glare. “If you do, I’ll ruin you.”
“How, exactly?” I snort in contempt. “You’ve burned one too many bridges, and even tabloids have to follow the law. If I press charges, you’ll be fired. So if you want to salvage your career, I’d start talking.”
“You can’t do this to me! I was just doing my job. It’s not fair!”
Oh, please. The woman who’s been making a career out of slandering me and the band, just because I didn’t go for it when she tried to flirt with me, is now whining about “fair”.
“You can keep your job. Just tell me who gave you the phone.”
She glares at the desk. “I found it.”
Frustration simmers in my gut. The more I think about it, the more I’m sure that she’s working with someone else. Probably someone she’s bribing for information. But is it tied in to the weird accidents we’ve been having? Would she create all those accidents just so she could write about “the curse of Heat Lightning”?
She stays sullenly silent.
“That’s your choice,” I say to her. I look at the cop. “I’m pressing charges.”
“Home again, home again,” I say, flopping down on the couch in the barn.
“It does feel kind of homey,” Magnus acknowledges. “When I was carrying my bag up to my room, Mrs Abernathy stopped me in the lobby, told me I looked peaked, and said I should take Vitamin C and get some sleep. I see where Callie gets it from.”
“Speaking of Callie.” Monica pokes me in the shoulder.
“Speaking of Callie, what?”
“Have you heard back from her?”
“No, I have not, Mrs Match-Me-If-You-Can, but I know how busy she is, with the Tricentennial planning and all. I’ve arranged for her to meet me here in the barn tonight for dinner. Six p.m., so you guys all need to skedaddle before then.”
“How did you arrange it?”
“I sent her a text telling her what time to be there.”
Monica’s skeptical expression makes me defensive.
“She’ll be there.”
Monica shakes her head. “You don’t know women very well, do you?”
I arch an eyebrow. “I know Callie. She’s the only woman I need to know”
She and Parker exchange skeptical glances and wander off. Magnus just shrugs and heads over to his drum set.
I’m not going to tell the band this yet, but I’m hoping this is our last sneak-around meal. I want to be able to take her out to a restaurant. I want to walk down Main Street, holding her hand. I mean, why not? What do we have to hide? Chris can suck it, as far as I’m concerned. He’s not going to cancel a highly lucrative tour and album release just because I’m taking Callie out to dinner. Not with his wife breathing down his neck.
After we get some rehearsal time in, I set up a perfect meal for her. I go to the flower shop and buy a bouquet of lily of the valley in a crystal vase. I turn the lights down low and light candles for her.
When Callie and I were dating, her favorite dinner was chicken-fried steak and crispy French fries, so that’s what I’ve made. From scratch. I’ve actually practiced it several times over the last few weeks, until I got it just right. Dessert is pecan pie, which I purchased from Bitter Bites.
I know my girl. Callie is compulsively punctual. At 5:55, I take my seat at the table and wait.
And wait.
The sun sinks on the horizon. The food grows cold. My appetite fizzles.
I’m genuinely worried. This isn’t like her. Normally she can’t wait to see me.
I haven’t heard any sirens. Could she be injured?
The only person I can think of calling is Crash. I’ve already hired him to take over security for the band. He’s brought in a bunch of his ex-military friends to watch over our equipment, our vehicles, and us when necessary. His wife is Callie’s cousin, so he’d have to know if something has happened to her.
He answers right away when I call. I hear music blaring in the background.
“Sebastian? What’s up?”
Hell. This is tricky. I can’t tell him what Callie and I have really been up to, but I need to make sure she’s not lying in a ditch somewhere.
The mere thought makes my mouth dry with panic.
“I’m trying to get ahold of Callie Abernathy, I just have a question about our rooms. Uh, she said she would get back