29. Thank You

My phone rings a few minutes later and I grab it quickly. It’s a strange number calling. I don’t waste time wondering who it could be before receiving it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, you need to come get your friend,” the person on the other side, a man, says.

I get off the couch, frowning at the same time my pulse doubles. Is it Cole? Is it Jude? “My friend?”

His voice becomes detached as he asks, “Hey, what’s your name?” A few seconds later, he says, “Name’s Cole. He’s outside Club Twenty on 7th Street.”

He hangs up before I can ask any more questions. Not that there’s any need for that. Cole is outside Club Twenty on 7th Street, and I have to go get him.

I hail a taxi and then rush into the bedroom to get dressed. I try to call Jude again, but his phone is still off. If he’s not with Cole, where is he?

I head downstairs and wait in the lobby until my taxi arrives. The ride to the club takes twenty minutes, which seem like hours. Fortunately, the roads are clear at this hour, so there’s no del