He comes around the booth and stands next to me as I pull out the walkie-talkie I was given.
“Booth eighteen to base,” I call out.
Nothing but static comes back.
“Booth eighteen to base.”
Still nothing.
I growl, pulling out my phone. I try to dial Asher first. My phone looks like it is dialing before it says call failed. I frown. I try Calloway next.
The call still doesn’t go through.
I look to where Asher was. I don’t see him through the crowd.
“I want my mommy. Take me to my mommy,” the boy cries out.
I look down at him, hating how upset he is. I know I should wait here, but Meek is watching, right? Besides, if I find Asher, I will feel better.
“All right. Let’s go see what we can do,” I tell the kid as tears start to well in his eyes.
Grabbing his hand, I pull him toward where I saw Asher last. He will know what to do.
“What does your mommy look like?” I ask.
“She has brown hair, and she’s tall like you, but she isn’t as pretty as you.”
“Aww, don’t say that. I’m sure your mom is really pretty.”
“Oh, look. There she is.” He pulls on my hand, pulling me away from where Asher was the last time I saw him. I look back once more before I follow the kid.
He leads me up to a woman facing me as she talks with a security guard who is faced away from me.
“Oh, thank God. Thank you,” she tells me, reaching her hand out for the boy.
Then the security guard turns, and my blood runs cold.
“Here you go, ma’am.” He hands her an envelope of cash before he smiles at me.
“Aspen, lovely to see you again. Why don’t you come with me?”
I’m not in the present, though. No, I’m in the past.
I’m back in the hellhole knowing that I am well and truly fucked because the man in front of me isn’t a security guard.
No.
He’s the devil.
ASHER
Talking down a bunch of idiot men wasn’t on my bingo card today, but here I am telling a grown man that if a woman is willing to sleep with his best friend, then maybe she and the best friend need to be cut from his life.
He seems to think he still loves the girl, but I don’t know how he could love someone who showed him she was never who he thought she was. He’s blaming his buddy, and his buddy is in the wrong, but from my point of view, she didn’t try to stop him. She wanted his dick as much as he wanted her pussy.
To each their own, I guess.
After coddling the crying brute and finding him an escort out of the carnival, I make my way back to the booth. I hated not being able to keep a closer eye on it, but with the surge of people, it was hard to keep Aspen in my view.
