He wasn’t there.
Cassie narrowed her eyes as she scanned the murky, gloomy bar. No familiar steely blue eyes looked back at her. Before her was what could have been a replica of the bar she remembered Marcus first talking to her in. A few stragglers played pool, patrons sat by themselves at the bar nursing beers. There was a waitress walking around in clothes that were too tight for how old and droopy she was.
But no Marcus.
Cassie wilted under the knowledge. She’d been sure he’d be sitting in there smiling placidly at her before he took her arm and led her off to some isolated spot in the woods. She felt the relief and fear at once. What was Marcus’s game? Why the elaborate set up? Why wasn’t he here?
She sat down. She kept her eyes down, avoiding the inevitable moment when Marcus Lea
