♡AN ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS ROMANCE♡
Attending the same college is the only thing Sebastian Hutches and Tara Van Doren have in common.
To Sebastian, Tara is a rich, spoiled girl, obsessed with her looks and status.
To Tara, Sebastian is a rude, arrogant...
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"When did it start?"
I release the four words into the stiff kitchen air. There are too many people for an average-sized room. Just like that day.
"The detective talked to me in September," Ed says. "But not about your father. It was something about a vehicle they were looking for."
September, when Bast and I became partners in Ethics.
"And then he was waiting for me by the gates in November," Celeste chimes in, twisting a lock of her bright Auburn hair around her index finger. "I don't remember what he wanted...ah, right. Now I do. The girls. He showed me two pictures and asked if I'd seen them around. And I laughed. Where do y'all think I'd see them? In the woods? Not here, that's for sure." She purses her glossy lips and gives a noncommittal shrug.
He wanted me to move in with him because he didn't have a choice. Right after Halloween. He acted like a jerk but apologized when I didn't think he would. Because he hated me. "When in November?" I ask with a traitorous tremor in my voice.
"The beginning of the month," Celeste says. "And then two weeks later, the detective showed me pictures or two more girls and asked about my schedule."
It could have been anything. I sit on a stool next to Cara, and her warm hand cups my knee.
"So, why do you all think it has anything to do with my father?" My gaze roams the employees' faces. I hope they're wrong. I need them to be.
"After Christmas, the questions changed." Ed shifts his weight, and Cara spears him with a glare.
I cover her hand on my knee. "Let him speak."
"He wanted to know our schedules. When we had a day off. When others had theirs. He and a colleague of his asked us the same questions as if they were hoping to catch us lying. But we have nothing to hide, right?" Ed looks at the group as if he needs confirmation.
"And since your father gave us more days off in the last year than in all the years we've worked here," Tom speaks for the first time, fiddling with his grass-stained cap, "we started to get suspicious. Also because that Hutches guy told us to keep quiet, otherwise, there would be consequences."
So, Bast's dad has been collecting info for a while. For almost as long as I've known his son. Bile climbs the back of my throat. "So, you didn't say a thing to my father?" I ask.
"He's hardly been here this week." Cara tells me. "And he didn't come home last night. I called him, but he didn't pick up."
"Then I should ask him what's going on." I unzip my purse and fish out my phone. Everyone except Cara says their goodbyes and files out of the kitchen.
I unlock the screen. There's a missed call from Sadie, but none from my father. Nothing makes sense. If he had financial troubles, why would they question our people? What does it matter when they have a day off work?
