Rough Rockstar: A Bad Boy Romance by Maggie Carpenter

Author:Maggie Carpenter [Carpenter, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stormy Night Publications
Published: 2020-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Taking a minute to catch his breath, Patrick turned off his phone, then headed into the hotel gift shop. Finding a souvenir travel mug with a tight-fitting lid, he asked the cashier to place it in a large paper bag. Returning to the cocktail lounge he walked quickly to the bar, retrieved a fifty-dollar bill from his wallet, and hailed the bartender.

“Here’s your drink, sir,” the bartender said, placing it on the counter.

“Thanks, and this is for you,” Patrick said, handing him the cash. “I’m buying the glass. Keep the change.”

Breaking into a smile and nodding his thanks, the young man hurried away to serve the waiting customers.

Though Patrick doubted the presence of any usable fingerprints, he carefully picked up the cut crystal tumbler with a paper napkin. With the paper bag in one hand and the drink in the other, he moved cautiously through the crowd to the men’s room, and inside a stall, he poured the contaminated cognac into the safety of the travel mug. With the glass and mug in the gift bag, he hurried back to his room and he locked the bag in the small safe. Turning on his phone, he found two voicemails and three texts, all from Jim. Not surprised, Patrick called him back.

“What the hell?” Jim asked sharply. “You scared the crap outta me. Why did you hang up so fast and turn off your phone? What’s going on?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t be interrupted,” Patrick said hastily. “I’ll give you more information, but only if you agree not to speak with Lander about any of this until after the day after the concert.”

“If you think it’s that important.”

“I do, Jim. The band’s morale is high right now, and I need to keep it that way.”

“Okay, agreed, but I want to be in his suite the minute he’s finished breakfast.”

“It will be midday. Regardless of how things go, he won’t be asleep until the early hours.”

“Fine. Now tell me about Popcorn. Who is he?”

“Was. He’s dead. He was a pimp and a drug dealer in Manhattan. On the night Spikes was raided Lander came across him in an alley beating up one of his girls. You may not know this, but Lander’s a tough guy. He chose music over boxing. Anyway, he rescued the girl, but Popcorn turned into a problem. A dangerous one. That’s why Skye left. She didn’t know it at the time, and Lander didn’t tell her for a number of reasons, but that’s what happened. Lander sent her away to protect her.”

“No shit,” Jim muttered. “That’s one helluva story, and believe it or not, I can add to it, but first, what happened to you? How did someone try to poison you?”

“I’m pretty sure my drink was spiked. I was at the bar and ordered my favorite cognac. Jim, it smelled like almonds.”

“You think someone slipped cyanide into your drink?”

“I know it sounds crazy, but a woman dropped her handbag behind me and I turned away to help her. I’ve been drinking that cognac for years.

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