“No, Sofia the leprechaun who’s been chatting me up every time I go to the newsstand,” Maury drawled.
I shot him a look. Right, so Maury apparently moonlit as a stand-up too.
“Okay, we’re serious,” he said, lifting his hands in defense. “I get it.”
Too serious had been a character flaw of mine for a long while, at least when it came to interactions. It had cost me friends and boyfriends before. I swallowed down the sting, along with another sip of tea.
“So, what’s your question, then?” he asked. “What information are you seeking?”
Resolve settled inside me. “My dad’s missing. He hasn’t returned to his apartment, and I don’t know where to even start my search.”
Hope twisted inside me like a wet rag. If Maury didn’t have answers, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. I’d have to scour his apartment again for clues or at this point involve the police.
He shook his head, that easy smile still on his lips. “That’s a simple one, I’m afraid.”
My stomach plummeted. Somehow, I didn’t figure this would be good news.
“You know the casino on the outside of town?”
I bobbed my head, that unease building, building, building. Everyone knew of the Spires, the set of buildings that rose to pierce the sky like cragged castles, owned by cutthroat businessman Cillian Ashmore. People didn’t go to the Spires for casual gambling. They went to lose their souls.
“Your father was last seen outside the Spires.”
Oh, fuck.
Chapter 2
It took all my resolve to make it through my shift at the library today.
I pushed the cart over to the children’s book stacks and started my work reshelving. The section was massive and always active, but the repetitive movement helped keep me from running out of this place screaming, which I’d been tempted to do quite a few times today. Peregrine City Library was a marvel, a building I could spend years in and never tire of, and my dream of being surrounded by books was a simple one I’d chased from childhood onward. When the bullies at school had become loud, I’d run off and escaped with a book. When the loneliness had corroded me, I’d also escaped with a book.
They’d been a refuge for me from an early age.
Despite the higher volume of people in Peregrine City, the move hadn’t brought me more friends either. I liked my coworkers, and we got along, but I was shit at putting myself out there. They made plans with each other, lived in these bubblesof sociability that I could never penetrate, no matter how hard I tried. The words that had marked me from youth lingered, and no matter how I tried to scrub them off, they wouldn’t leave.
I slipped a few books onto the shelf, taking a moment to make sure they lined up. Haphazard or sloppy books were the worst.
Tonight, I’d be going to the Spires.
If I’d thought approaching Haven was bad, it paled in comparison to this.
However, Maury had given me a direction to go in, and I had to chase the lead. My dad was the only family I had left.
“Beau, someone’s here to see you,” Laura called from the circulation desk. She was a peppy and ponytailed brunette, and she greeted every patron with a smile.
I froze in the middle of shoving a book back on the shelf. Dad never visited me at work, but he’d also never gone missing before either. Once in a blue moon, he had a business appointment that took him out of town, but he usually gave me advance notice. I’d only moved out a few years ago, and we still tried to have dinner on a weekly basis. When I glanced to circulation, though, the sight there socked me in the gut.
No Dad.
Instead, Damian stood at the front desk next to Laura, and his stare bored into me. He wasn’t an unattractive guy, and the girls at work told me I was insane for not dating him simply on looks alone. The swoop of his black hair, the chiseled chin, the muscular chest—yeah, he was built like a fitness model, but he was also insufferable. Damian was one of those guys who loved to hear himself speak and hated to listen.
He also reminded me far too much of the bullies from my grade school days. Instant pass from me.
I sucked in a sharp breath and plastered a fake grin onto my face. I was at work. I couldn’t break down here.
No, I reserved that for when I returned to my apartment on my own.
“Hey,” Damian said, striding toward me upon my approach. He must’ve swung by straight from his job, as he still wore his button-down and tailored suit, all neat lines. He had this permanent swagger some might find attractive, but it set off my warning bells. I’d spent so long being glossed over or ignored that if I chose to date, I’d want a guy who sawme, not just what they wanted from me.
