Page 49 of Drunk In Love

“So, Franco asked to meet by the fountain of the park, not too far from the kids’ play area. His jobs is only a few minutes’ walk, so I’ll head over there now.”

“Before you go, let’s test the device. Make sure I can hear you,” I say.

“Good idea,” Kam says. “I’ll step out and see if you can hear me. If I stay in the car, we’ll hear horrible feedback.”

I pull up the app for the device and wait for Kam to slam the door shut. I see her mouth moving and then a few seconds later, her voice picks up. There’s a slight delay, but the sound is crystal clear. I give her a thumbs up, letting Kam know everything is in working order.

I watch as she makes her way down the block to the park. The sounds of cars driving by or honking come through clearly on the phone. There’s some light left, but the sun has nearly set.

“I’m almost at the fountain area,” Kamaya says. The device is only feeding me her surroundings, but she won’t be able to hear me.

A few seconds pass and there are only the sounds of the city becoming fainter the farther she goes into the park. The next thing I hear makes my blood run cold.

Kamaya’s scream.

CHAPTER 17

Kamaya

This side of the park isn’t very populated at this hour. The playground is normally full of elementary-age kids but is completely desolate now. I hear the sounds of a basketball and sneakers squeaking in the distance. The fence separating the basketball court is far enough that I have to squint. Other than that, there isn’t much activity going on.

I decide to text the number Franco called me from earlier today. He should have beat me to this area by the fountain, across from the swings, and near the corner of Mulberry and Worth.

Nothing happens for a few moments. I decide to step closer to the direction Franco should be walking from. According to the maps on my phone, he should be arriving on the north corner from the restaurant.

I nearly trip when I spin around. When I look down, it’s a pair of feet. The body is obscured by a dark-colored bench. I open the flashlight app on my phone, and my hands are shaking when my fear is confirmed.

Franco lies slain behind the park bench. His throat has been slashed from ear to ear, and dark-red blood is oozing out.

I scream so loud I hope all of the city hears me. I call out Maxwell’s name because I know he’s listening and is probably on his way over after hearing my scream. I begin dialing emergency services. Before I can press nine, I feel the sharp, cold tip of a knife at my throat.

“I hate to do this to you, but you can thank that motherfucker,” says Zach. “He should have left well enough alone.”

“Why are you doing this?” I ask. I can’t keep my tears at bay. The sharp edge of the knife presses into my skin. One wrong move and my throat will be slashed.

Instead of the feel of Zach’s hands, it’s leather-clad fingers that grip my chin, turning it towards Franco’s slain body. It’s not my fault what happened to him. Zach is clearly an insane person to do this to someone, and even worse, someone he used to work with.

Zachary is a cold-blooded murderer.

“Your boyfriend can’t help you now. You’ll be next.”

I try holding back the tears springing to my eyes. It may be a futile exercise in holding onto my dignity in what could be my final moments.

Where was Maxwell? Surely, the feed was still going to him. Unless the sound cut out? I wanted to check the device in my pocket, but I didn’t need Zach’s attention on it because he surely wouldn’t hesitate to slit my throat right here.

The click of heels to our right has Zach turning at the sound. “What is taking so long?”

Cecily van Zandt appears in a dark-blue gown, looking every bit the society maven she pretends to be. If I didn’t make it out of this night alive, my only hope was that Zach’s and Cecily’s crimes would be exposed.

She stands before Zach and me, partially blocking Franco’s body from my view. “Well, well. Look what we have here.”

She looks at me with disgust. Like I’m not worth her time. If the situation weren’t deadly, it would be comical that the four of us were out here. Cecily in her gown and jewelry glinting in the twilight. She looked like she should be on a red carpet. Instead, she was here getting her flunky to kill me.

“You won’t get away with this,” I spit out.

Zach’s arm draped over me gets tighter and pulls me closer to him. So tight I can’t escape his grasp.

Crazy to think of how long I’ve wanted to be held by Zach. Little did I know it would be under these circumstances.