"I didn't want it to come to this, but if I have to, I won't hesitate to call your friends and tell them what you're doing, Kerem."
He slammed on the brakes. His expression tightened as he said in a hard voice,"You wouldn't dare."
I lifted an eyebrow."Wanna bet, Hotshot?"
He stared at me in fury. Even though it was hard, I forced myself not to lose my nerve and kept my defiant look in place. In the end, he was the one who let out a tired sigh.
"You're a complete headache, Sunshine."
I grinned and shrugged."I know."
With a devilish smile, he added, "I might admire the guts it takes to threaten me, but don't think you'll get away with it, sweetheart."
For a second, it felt like I'd just shoveled dirt onto my own grave.
Once we were back on the road, I asked the question that had been bothering me.
"Don't rich people usually hire private detectives for this kind of thing? Why do you insist on doing the opposite and constantly putting yourself in danger?"
"Yeah. That didn't work out so well for me," he said.
I looked at him, curious."What happened?"
"When everything first started, I met someone who agreed to help. He was the one who found the woman at the bar using the phone number I gave him."
"And then?"
"At our last meeting, he said he'd go talk to the woman at the address he found and try to learn something about the man who kept calling me. A few days later, he disappeared. When he stopped answering my calls, I went to his office. His assistant said she hadn't heard from him either, so I went to his house. Do you remember the men who chased me last time?"
I nodded briefly.
"I ran into those men at the detective's house. The detective wasn't there, and those two thieves were tearing the place apart. When they realized I'd caught them in the act, they tried to attack me. You already know the rest. Bottom line, the detective vanished, and I had to continue the investigation on my own."
"Did you ask the woman at the bar too? Maybe that ghoul caught your detective with his girlfriend, lost his mind, and did something to him. Like he did when he saw us."
"I asked. She swore no one had gone to see her before me."
I tapped my chin and nodded thoughtfully."Hm. No matter how you look at it, there's nothing normal about this story."
"I can't believe I didn't think of that. Thank you so much, Sherlock."
I rolled my eyes."Do you have to be this annoying?"
"Admit it. You like me, Sunshine."
I fixed him with a flat stare."Sure. I'm the biggest masochist in history."
He grinned, clearly pleased. I gave up imagining strangling him and turned the music on to distract myself. After a few songs, I couldn't help it and looked back at him.
"How much longer?"
"Why? Want coffee again?"
The question alone brought back bad memories, and my hand moved to my stomach on its own.
"Forget coffee. I don't think I'll ever ask you for a drink again, Hotshot. I just need to use the bathroom."
"How old are you, five? Hold it."
"If you hadn't kidnapped me out of the house on your back like some Stone Age caveman, I could've gone before we left."
He let out a weary sigh."Just hold on for ten more minutes, okay?"
I nodded and looked ahead.
When the navigation app announced we'd arrived, he struggled to find an empty spot between the long rows of cars lining both sides of the street and finally parked.
He got out and was about to shut the door, but when he saw me still sitting there, he leaned in.
"Are you getting out?"
"I wasn't sure if you wanted me to wait in the car."
"I don't think I can handle the stress of becoming a father for the second time, Sunshine. So you'd better get out."
I rolled my eyes and stepped out."Even doing you a favor backfires."
He started walking without commenting. I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets to protect them from the cold and followed him across the street.
As we walked toward the address through a street lined mostly with old, neglected apartment buildings, a sharp wind suddenly swept through, strong enough to make my eyes water. The weather instantly reignited my hatred for winter, and I grumbled under my breath. Why did things like this never happen on nice days?
Forget the other dangers. Just the cold alone made me want to curse my own judgment for deciding to come. I quickened my pace to catch up to Kerem a few steps ahead, squinting and sniffing.
One way or another, it was too late to turn back now.