The Tales of Flesh and Blood

I Successfully Bluff The Hitman

Frenice eventually pulled into a parking lot that belonged to one of Gallin's most popular, expensive restaurants, known as Richard's Feridye, a Feridian restaurant, of course. Heavily known for their pastas.

The building contained an old, homy look to it, made of dark brick with wooden panels to shape the sides and door. Lights lined the wooden panels, while wide, curtained windows evenly spaced the front and, from what I knew, the sides of the building.

There were many reasons why I've never been here before, and money had little to do with it. This was where tourists and foreigners came to eat, whereas locals only came here to make shady deals with even more shady people. The only reason I did not hop out of Frenice's car and disappear among one of the neighborhoods down the street was because I didn't know who was watching, and I wasn't willing to put it past the rich snob to have people waiting somewhere between the parked cars in such a crowded parking lot.

Still, when the older man shut down the engine and went to open my door, I made no move to get out, fixing my eyes intently on the windshield.

"I am sorry about the gun," Frenice said after an awkward moment of waiting. I clenched my hands in my lap.

"Oh, are you, now?" I replied sarcastically, hoping that I was better at hiding the terror building up in my chest than I felt. "Who else are we meeting with?" Who's waiting to snag me if I decide to run? Stupid. How many idiot girls fell for ploys like this? Would Landon really have set me up?

Why would Landon try to get rid of me?

"No one. It is just us."

I laughed, breaking my gaze from the windshield and looking down at my hands.

"Alright. Let me make a phone call, then," I said, peering up at the giant of a man. "I'll call one of my friends, and if I don't contact them again within a certain amount of time, they call the police - or come over here themselves."

Frenice smiled, but stepped back, anyway.

"You have powerful friends?"

"You don't even know."

"Very well. I can wait," Frenice shut the door and turned his back, stepping forward so that he was at the front of the car.

I didn't waste any time; I fumbled for my small flip phone and searched through my contacts, wondering who would be the best person to ask for help. Certainly not Hadi. Hadi would be the last resort - she would call the police immediately. Shit, I wasn't expecting Frenice to actually take the offer - I thought for sure he would call my bluff.

Who can I ask for help without being in unpayable debt? No, better yet, who would ask for a favor that would not involve me sticking my neck out much more than what it was now? Any other situation, I would call Landon. But, as he was the one who set me up with this guy, he was obviously out.

There were three others, but they were almost as bad as calling Hadi. Two of them wouldn't even know what to do, and the third was more than likely passed out on the floor somewhere.

Then I saw a name I did not expect to see on my phone. Jaxon Knov.

Oh, damn. The only reason I had his number was because of some lame project we had to do in a science class a couple of years back. I had meant to delete his number right afterwards, but then I figured that he might actually have some decent ties and was one of few people who did not hate me, so I kept it. Next to Hadi, he was meant to be one of those last resort things that you never expected to use.

Well, he was better than Hadi, and I was willing to bet that he had better ties to this place than the police. Maybe. I was also assuming that he wasn't in on this, either. I mean, who pays someone sixty-five dollars to get back at another person over a prank? I grinded my teeth. There were a few other people I had in my phone from the apartments, but they wouldn't be much help. They were probably stoned or blackout-dunk by now.