Page 93 of No Headlines Please

Walt was wrong. Whatever the guy's name was – Maddox, Cal, or Slick – I could blame him for a lot of things.

He'd totally misled me – and not only about his name.

Had any of it been real?

Good Lord. He'd even kissed me.

But of course, I'd practically begged for it while puckering up like the world's biggest fool.

If I was smart, I'd hustle back to Tessa's apartment, stuff everything back into my suitcase, and run for the hills.

Except I had no hills to run to.

Tessa might be in Miami. But maybe not. And even if she were, I had no idea where to find her, and she wasn't answering my calls. Plus, how on Earth would I get to Miami when I had literally zero money?

My parents would be worse than no help. If I went there, all I'd get were a bunch of questions I wasn't ready to answer. That's if I was lucky. If I was unlucky, I'd get the usual grief from Mom despite the fact she'd pilfered a few grand from my account.

My jaw clenched. This, of course, assumed she was even home. For all I knew, she was still shopping in Paris – using my money, which would've come in super handy right about now.

And then, there was the place I really wanted to go – Mackinac Island. But I couldn't go there either, because the last thing I wanted was to bring this mess of trouble to the doorstep of Maisie and her dad.

And besides, how could I go anywhere at all?

Forget buying gas. I couldn't even pay to get my car out of that stupid parking garage.

I gave Walt a desperate look. "You said he gave you a card? Like…a business card? Do you still have it?"

Walt shook his head. "Sorry, I tossed it yesterday."

I felt like screaming in frustration. "But why?"

"Because I saw the two of you meet up." He spread his hands. "Why keep the card after that?"

Damn it.

That was actually a good point.

My gaze drifted to Walt's kitchen. Just past those groceries was a tall, beige trash bin sitting near the end of his kitchen counter. I bit my lip. Just how deep was that card buried?

As if reading my mind, Walt said with an uneasy chuckle, "Dig if you want, but the only thing you're gonna find is banana peels and coffee grounds."

For one terrible second, I actually considered it.

Then I remembered Mrs. Stelter.

No.

Absolutely not.

Apparently, even I had limits.

Probably.

Plus, the way Walt talked, the card wasn't even there.

Still, I felt compelled to confirm it. "So you already took out the trash, huh?"

"No. But I tossed the card in that can by the elevators."