Veronica Mars by Rob Thomas

Author:Rob Thomas [Thomas, Rob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8041-7071-0
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2014-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

A short, shrill scream burst out of her throat before she could stop it. Eduardo grabbed her by the bicep, his fingers digging into her bare flesh. He dragged her farther into the library behind him.

“How the fuck did you get back here?” Spittle flew from his mouth. She instinctively shrank away from him, but he had an iron grip on her arm.

The sound of footsteps pounded along the corridor outside. Rico burst into the room, Willie on his heels.

“What’s going on?” Rico stopped in his tracks and stared. Behind him, Willie went pale, his eyes round.

Eduardo shook her roughly back and forth. Her teeth clattered against one another with the impact. She gave another little cry of pain, her breath short and shaky.

“This little bitch is wandering around where she shouldn’t be.” His words came in a wild cascade, tumbling in rapid-fire bursts out of his mouth. He sniffed loudly. “What the fuck, Rico? She one of yours? You can’t just let people wander around this place, ése.”

He sniffed again, as if he were allergic to something in the room.

Dilated pupils, runny nose, diarrhea of the mouth: someone’s been sampling the company product. Her eyes fell on an ugly gilded clock on the mantel, naked cherubs gesturing toward the face. It was just after ten thirty—almost fifteen minutes since she’d called Lamb.

Rico held up both hands. “It wasn’t me. I’ve never seen this chick.” He gave her an appraising look, his lids heavy. “I’d remember.”

“Eduardo, man, I think you’re hurting her,” Willie said, his voice uneasy. “Why don’t you let her go?”

“Shut the fuck up, Willie.” Eduardo jerked Veronica close to his body, his face only inches from hers. The smooth-talking flirt of the night before was gone. This Eduardo was taut and aggressive. Tendons strained in his neck and arms, and his hair stuck up where he’d been running his fingers through it. Between that and his bulging eyes, he looked quite mad.

Tears sprang to her eyes, but she didn’t try to hide them. She wanted to look as defenseless, as nonthreatening, as possible. “Don’t you remember me? We talked the other night, down by the pool. We were going to take a walk on the beach, but I was here with my boyfriend. I came back tonight to find you. I didn’t mean to do anything wrong.”

“You think I’m some kind of idiot?” he spat. “I want to know who you’re working for!”

She glanced over at Willie and Rico. She didn’t know what she was hoping to see in their faces—sympathy, maybe, or even exasperation. Instead, Willie was looking studiously away, his twitching rabbit eyes darting around the edges of the room, as if he were politely trying not to notice the way Eduardo was twisting her arm. Rico, on the other hand, grinned foolishly. He looked like he thought he was in for a treat.

“I’m really sorry,” she whispered. Her vision blurred for a moment, and a tear cut down the side of her cheek. She held very still, trying to keep her focus steady.

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