Page 219 of The Bluffing Game

“Okay. What files?”

“Just read them.” He grabs his phone, opens something, and hands it over to me.

“What am I looking at?”

“You’re looking at a police report,” he says.

“Seriously?” I scan his screen.

A victim, whose name was redacted, accused a man by the name of Parker Preston of trying to slip a roofie into her drink.

I press my lips together. “What is this, Dalton?”

“I think that your Parker is not as sweet and innocent as he portrays himself to be. The man’s got issues.”

“How do you know this? How did you get this?”

“I had Brett look into him.”

“Are you freaking kidding me? Why would you do that?”

“Because, like I said, something about him sent warning bells off in my head, and I have a very good intuition when it comes to sensing bad guys.”

I need a minute from his proximity, so I walk over to the window. I look out at the water and take five deep breaths. A few seconds later, I hear footsteps coming toward me, and he stops right behind me.

“I’m sorry.”

I don’t say anything in response. Instead, I watch a surfer attempt to get back on his board and ride away. The water is so treacherous. It looks so beautiful, yet it’s dark, deep, and murky.

I turn to him slowly. “You sure it’s Parker?”

He nods. “There are other reports that date back to his college days at Stanford.”

I wait for him to go on.

“He’s never been arrested though. They were just reports, nothing to prove what he did.”

“But he seemed so nice.”

“They always seem nice, Sage. Haven’t you noticed that?”

I nod and look back at the water.

For some reason, what he showed me doesn’t shock me. In some ways, it does, but I know you never really know a man until you know him. And I don’t really know Parker. I never thought he’d be capable of such a thing, but I’m not taken aback as I should be. In fact, it’s the opposite. I feel bad for the women who didn’t get justice. I wish there were a way to ensure they got their resolution. I am lucky I was stopped from getting to that position, because I have no doubt Dalton gave me factual information.

“I should call him,” I say, though I’m not really sure what I would say to him.

“For what?” Dalton sounds surprised. “To ask him questions?”

“To call off the date.” I let out a low sigh and start taking the curlers out of my hair. “I guess I don’t need these.”

“You’re going to call it off? Just like that?”

“I trust you, Dalton. For all my misgivings, I still trust you. And if I’m honest, something about him didn’t feel right. I wish we could somehow bring him to justice.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve got Brett doing some investigating. He will see what he can do to help the police.”

“You would do that?”