Chapter 858

Chapter 858: Chapter 858

I stopped the car and killed the engine. Eleanor leaned back fully into the passenger seat, resting her head against the headrest as she let out a long, tired exhale. I could tell she was exhausted. The new karaoke opening at Stingy Ladies had probably been keeping her busier than she wanted, although at least she was getting paid extra for the additional work. Back when I used to work at that gas station, we wouldn’t have gotten anything for taking on more responsibilities. They would have probably just told us to be grateful for having a job.

"I hate this new karaoke thing," Eleanor groaned, rubbing her feet through her shoes. "My feet are killing me."

"I can only imagine."

She closed her eyes for a moment, and we stayed quiet while the rain continued tapping against the windshield. The parking lot was mostly empty, with the neon lights from Stingy Ladies reflecting across the wet pavement. I was about to say something when I noticed someone walking toward the passenger-side window.

It was Sophia, one of the security guards.

Her buzzcut was completely soaked from the rain, and droplets were running down the sides of her face. She wore a long black jacket that looked like it had been designed specifically for standing outside in shitty weather, and her eyes were as sharp as ever. Working security at a place like Stingy Ladies couldn’t have been an easy job, especially on nights when things got busy.

Eleanor rolled the window down, and Sophia leaned forward, resting one hand against the hood as she brought her face closer to the opening. Now that she was close, I noticed a reddish mark forming on her right cheek.

Damn.

Apparently, security here came with a few occupational hazards.

"Hey." Sophia gave Eleanor a small nod. "You’re late."

"Yeah, sorry." Eleanor straightened slightly in her seat. "A friend of mine was involved in an accident, so I had to stop by the hospital and visit her."

"How’s she doing?"

"She’s good," I answered before Eleanor could. "Thanks for asking."

"Mm."

"What happened to your cheek?"

"A fight broke out. I got caught in the crossfire." She shrugged as though it wasn’t worth discussing. "But I handled it. Don’t worry."

"Again? Wow."

Sophia’s eyes shifted toward me. "Evan, let’s talk. Just you and me."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Eleanor, you can go. Charlotte is waiting for you."

"Got it." Eleanor opened the door and stepped out, pulling her jacket tighter around herself as the rain hit her. She leaned back down toward the window for a moment. "See you later, Evan."

"Yep. See you."

I watched her hurry toward the entrance before Sophia opened the passenger door and climbed into the car. She closed it behind herself and settled into the seat.

Well, that was unexpected.

I had no idea what Sophia wanted to talk to me about, and considering everything that had already happened today, my brain really didn’t need another problem to process.

Sophia crossed her arms and looked straight ahead. "Imagine my face when a waiter came to tell me that, in one of the karaoke rooms, she found a semen stain on the floor."

"Oh..." I cleared my throat and stared through the windshield.

"And I swear I saw you entering that room." She turned her head toward me, giving me a suspicious look.

"Yeah, I, uh..." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Sorry. It won’t happen again."

"It better not." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. "Because if I find something like that again, I’ll make you clean the whole room yourself. With your clothes if I have to. Got it?"

"Yep."

"Good."

She nodded, apparently satisfied with my answer, but she didn’t get out of the car. Instead, she remained in the passenger seat and continued looking at me.

"And I hear you and your friend Melvin were here again. Harassing Isabella."

"We weren’t harassing her," I corrected her. "There was a guy who was..."

"I know." Sophia waved her hand dismissively. "Isabella told me about it. She told me how you watched everything happen while Melvin stepped in."

"Hey, Melvin has a crush on the girl." I leaned back in my seat. "I’m trying my best as a matchmaker. Honestly, I think I’m doing a pretty good job."

"That guy has no chance." Sophia closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "He should find someone else."

"Yeah, tell him that. He doesn’t see anyone except her."

"Whatever." She opened her eyes again. "I wanted to talk to you about something else. Not the idiotic stunt you pulled in the karaoke room, and not Melvin."

"Okay?"

"A woman came here recently. Really suspicious-looking woman." Sophia’s expression became more serious. "She was asking around about you."

My eyebrows rose. "What? Wait, was she..."

I tried to picture the person she might be talking about.

"Did she have black, messy hair? Eyes that looked like she hadn’t slept in days?"

Sophia stared at me for a second.

"No. She looked sharp." She shook her head. "And I doubt she was asking about you for any good reason."

"What was her name?"

"I don’t know." Sophia shrugged. "She didn’t introduce herself."

I frowned. "Did she tell you why she was looking for me?"

"No. She just asked questions about you." Sophia glanced toward the entrance before looking back at me. "She was carrying a piece, too."

"A gun?" I asked, my voice immediately becoming more serious. "Fuck... that’s... that’s bad, huh?"

Sophia nodded.

My mind immediately started going through everyone who could possibly have a reason to look for me, but nothing made sense. There were plenty of people I had pissed off recently, but someone showing up at Stingy Ladies with a gun specifically asking about me was a little more concerning than a simple grudge.

"You helped Emilia," Sophia continued. "You helped this bar when you didn’t have to. I’m returning the favor."

She reached for the passenger-side door.

"We’re even."

Sophia opened the door and stepped out, but before closing it, she looked back at me.

"Now get out of the parking spot."

I stared at her.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

She shut the door and walked back toward the entrance, leaving me sitting there with a dozen questions running through my head.

Someone had been asking around about me.

If it wasn’t Cora, then who was it? Maybe the cops, considering I had broken down the door to Cora’s apartment. But that didn’t make much sense. They already had my information, and they knew where I lived. There would be no reason for them to come all the way to Stingy Ladies just to ask Sophia about me.

So who the hell was looking for me?

I couldn’t think of anyone.

That was what bothered me the most. If I knew who it was, at least I could figure out what they wanted. Not having a single name to work with made the whole thing feel even more unsettling.

I glanced toward the entrance where Sophia had disappeared, then started the car again.

"Great," I muttered as the engine came to life. "I have a fan."

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