Deceived 4 - The Wedding by Eve Carter Read Free Book Online Page B

as I reflected on the events of the past few weeks. It felt like things were back on track again. The sickening feeling of having my dreams derailed finally left my stomach. I could relax and be happy again, knowing this thing was under control and with any luck, like the quirky lawyer said; it could be over in a couple weeks. I looked at Patrick, still engrossed in a conversation with Ryan. Without missing a beat he took my hand when the doors opened on the ground floor and led me out, all the way out to the sidewalk where the three of us stepped out into the sunshine of a new summer day.
    “ Thanks for helping with this, Ryan. Text me or call me as soon as you’ve talked to the private eye.”
    Ryan shoved his hand in his pockets and fished out his phone. “I’ll call him right now and set up an appointment, hopefully today or tomorrow. We need to move quickly on this.”
    My brow furrowed. I was happy to have Ryan’s help, but also a little surprised about the persistence with which he was pursuing it.
    Ryan punched in the investigator’s number and it rang a couple of times. With the phone still at his ear he looked at us and said, “It’s his voicemail…Hi, Mr. Davenport, my name is Ryan Barrick. Listen, Brad Falcon told me to give you a call. I’m representing a client who is in need of your service locating certain delicate information. Please give me a call back as soon as possible on 555-951-3030. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you.” Ryan pocketed his phone and turned to us. “Well, I’m sure he will get back to us soon. I have to run to a meeting, but I’ll give you a call when I hear something.”
    Patrick clapped him on the back with a friendly gesture. “Sounds great, buddy. I’ll talk to you later.”
    “See you, girl friend,” Ryan said, pointing at me, then turned to the street and hailed a cab. A few seconds later, one pulled up and he disappeared into the wash of traffic.
    As soon as the cab door shut , Patrick grabbed me in a warm embrace. “Chloe, I’m so sorry about all this. Apparently, our life will always be infiltrated by crazy ass bitches,” he chuckled.
    “Don’ t worry, baby,” I said bravely. “We can handle them. And we have Ryan to help us. He always has your back. You can count on him, he’s a rock. I’m so grateful for all the times he has helped us out, like that thing with the baroness. Who knows what my life, I mean our life, would have been like if it weren’t for him.” A light breeze blew a stand of my hair into my face and I tucked it behind my ear.
    Patrick smiled at me and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. “Come on. Let’s get some coffee, there’s a shop right here.”
    He took my elbow and guided me to a small, cozy coffee shop where we sat at a wooden table for two, tucked into the corner. Blowing across the top of my steaming mug, I leaned on my elbows and mused out loud. “Can I ask you something about Stephanie?”
    “Of course. You can ask me anything.”
    “Ryan told me that you two were together all through high school. How come you guys split up? Did you break it off or did she?”
    Patrick’s face turned somber. He set his coffee on the table and stared into the black liquid. “Well,” he looked up and squinted to the ceiling as if he would find the words he needed up there. “There is a story to that. It goes way back. Fourteen years.” He took a deep breath. “Back in high school, my senior year. I had been dating Stephanie for three years when it happened. It was Super Bowl weekend. Steph’s parents were out of town so she had the house to herself. It was a huge mansion and she invited everybody to a pre Super Bowl party. I think there must have been a hundred kids, at least. I don’t remember much else from the party. I got pretty drunk and passed out in Stephanie’s bed. She was so pissed at me, but what she did next defies sanity.” He shook his head and cupped his hands around his coffee mug, lacing his fingers