The Perfect Liar (Last Stand #5)(34)
Author: Brenda Novak

"You’re an evil bitch," Kalyna screamed. "I hope you burn in hell!"

A click signaled that she’d hung up.

Trembling, Ava turned off her phone. The venom in Kalyna’s parting words had surprised her. She hadn’t expected the call to go smoothly, but such palpable hate was beyond anything she’d ever experienced.

Was this irrational anger what Luke had encountered with Kalyna?

Ava was wil ing to bet it was.

Luke was in touch with Ava Bixby. He’d called her, or she’d called him. Maybe they’d even met.

Somehow that bothered Kalyna more than the fact that Ava had decided to take herself off the case.

What had happened between Luke and Ava that had made Ava’s decision so absolute? Would it poison Major Ogitani’s good opinion of Kalyna, too? Would the prosecutor drop the case as Ava had hinted?

If so, Luke would get away from her.

Kalyna’s heart thumped at the thought. It felt as if he was slipping away already….

"Hey, there you are!" Tati approached from the other side of the bar, where she’d been playing darts. "Where’d you go?"

"I had to step out," Kalyna said. "I had a call." She hadn’t wanted Ava Bixby to know she was partying.

"Oh." Tati didn’t ask who it was or if everything was okay. She probably didn’t want to know. Since last night, she’d been careful to avoid any topic that might cause friction. Which was just as well. Kalyna was tired of her disapproval.

"Are you ready to play darts?" Tati jerked her head toward the two burly guys, obviously brothers, who were waiting for them in the corner.

Their barrel chests were stuffed into Van Halen T-shirts with the sleeves ripped out. Dirty jeans, black boots and wallets attached by chains added to the biker-wannabe effect. They didn’t interest Kalyna, not after someone like Luke. But on the positive side, they were younger than most of the men in the bar. "They keep asking when you’re going to join us," her sister whispered.

Because they could see she was more attractive, Kalyna thought.

Too bad they weren’t good enough for her. "Not right now," she said. "You go ahead without me."

"Are you sure?"

"I’m sure." Knowing Tati was out of her element, Kalyna smiled. "Go.

Flirt. Have fun."

Tati hesitated, but eventually went back and started another game.

Soon, she was laughing as if this was the best time she’d ever had. Kalyna was just thinking how pathetic that was when a middle-aged man carrying fifty extra pounds around the middle approached.

"What do you say, beautiful? Wil you let me buy you a drink?"

The gray in his whiskers and the lines in his face made her want to tell him to get lost. How dare he think he could hook up with her? He was twice her age. But she was tempted by the free drink. And if he could stil get it up, she might be able to use him for something more. The pregnancy test she’d begged Tati to buy for her and taken before coming to the bar had been negative–a bitter disappointment. But if she got pregnant right away, she could stil pass the baby off as Luke’s, couldn’t she? She’d have nine months or so before he could prove otherwise. And wouldn’t she look pitiable in court with an extended belly?

Picturing herself pregnant, she smiled as she studied the rest of the men in the bar. Surely someone here had to be virile enough to make a baby with her. And wouldn’t it be funny to have sex with each and every one of them while her sister played darts, completely unaware of it all? If Tati thought these men were taken with her, she knew nothing about the real world. In a mere five minutes, Kalyna could make sure they never looked at Tati again.

"Tell the woman I came in with that I had to take another call," she said. "Then meet me in the alley. You can buy me a drink later."

He seemed confused. "You want me to meet you outside?"

"Only if you’re hoping to get lucky."

His lips parted in surprise, then that gleam of excitement entered his eyes–the gleam that made her feel like the most desired woman on the planet–and her br**sts began to tingle with anticipation. It didn’t matter that he was one of the ugliest men she’d ever met. He wanted her with the singular focus she craved. "How much is it going to cost me?" he asked.

Obviously, he was aware of his shortcomings. And she did need gas money to get back to California. "If you’l send a few customers my way once we’re finished–and if you can do it without my sister catching on–I’l give you a discount."

"How much of a discount?"

"I’l do it for forty dollars."

"I don’t have that much," he said. "But I know most of the regulars in here. And I can be subtle. Wil you take twenty?"

Twenty bucks was cheap, even for a bargain basement streetwalker.

But Kalyna wasn’t doing it exclusively for the money.

She glanced over at Tati, caught her sister’s eye and waved. "Fine, twenty bucks," she said. "But that doesn’t get you anything kinky. And you can’t wear a condom."

Distrust dampened the man’s eagerness. "You’re not one of them weirdos who try to spread diseases, are ya?"

"Nope, I’m clean."

"So what’s up?" he asked.

"I’m on the pil . I don’t need to worry about birth control. And I think a rubber ruins all the fun, don’t you?"

He moved close, so Tati wouldn’t be able to see what he was doing, and cupped her left breast. "You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?"

Watching her sister over his shoulder, Kalyna unsnapped her bra and moved his hand inside the collar of her shirt. "Does it matter?" she asked as his fingers curled around her breast.

He didn’t answer.

"Just imagine what I could do to you," she whispered, and walked out, knowing he’d be in the alley.

On the way home, Luke called his parents and got his mother on the line. "I just wanted to tell you not to worry. Things are looking up for me–I think."

"Why, what’s happened?" she asked, her voice fil ed with relief.

"I met with a woman named Ava Bixby tonight." He adjusted his Bluetooth. "She was actually Kalyna Harter’s victim advocate, but she said she’s going to drop the case. I’m pretty sure she knows Kalyna is lying."

"Does that mean they’ll be dropping the charges, as well?"

He wished. "Not necessarily. But there’l be one less person working to put me in prison. And I get the impression she would’ve been formidable."

"Well, I wish it was more, but I’m happy to hear it, Luke. Your father and I have been so worried."

"That’s why I wanted to tell you."

"I can’t believe the nerve of this Kalyna woman," she fumed. "Your father’s been talking about hiring a private investigator to take a look at her background. Do you think we should? People like this don’t suddenly start lying. They typically have a history of it. If we could prove she’s unreliable, it might help."