Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 59146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
I sat forward in the chair. “What did he say?”
“I told him no, again. He didn’t argue or try to sell me again or anything. He just went quiet for a long time, and then he said he’d pass it along to his client. That was it.”
The dread settled into my chest like something physical, a cold weight pressing against my sternum. He’d pass it along. To Brett.
“Then, about an hour ago, Brett came into the shop,” she said. Her voice quivered slightly. “About an hour ago. Just walked right in like nothing had happened.”
I hurried out the door as I spoke, moving quickly. “Where are you now?”
“Compound parking lot. I drove straight here.”
“I’ll be there in two minutes, honey.”
She didn’t argue, which was its own kind of alarm bell. I jogged the rest of the way, gravel spitting under my boots, and found her sitting behind the wheel of her sedan. She looked small and fragile behind the glass. A couple of prospects approached her car cautiously before they saw me. I waved them off. Both of them gave me a nod and went back to the gate.
I rapped my knuckles on the driver’s window. She unlocked the door and I pulled it open, crouching beside her, one hand on the seat back and the other on her knee.
“Tell me everything,” I said.
She took a breath. Let it out slow. “He came in near closing. The shop was empty except for me. He was… calm. Warm, even. Said he just wanted two minutes.” Her voice steadied as she talked. “He told me the offer was never his. Said a client asked him to make an introduction, and he only passed along a name. He was sorry if it frightened me.” Her mouth twisted. “He was the picture of reasonable concern.”
“Did he touch anything?”
She frowned at me. “What?”
“Your bag. Your phone. Anything behind the counter. Did he touch anything?”
Her eyes flicked to the passenger seat where her purse sat, the strap coiled neatly beside it. “My bag was on the counter behind the register, where it always sits. I turned to get his coffee, and when I turned back he was standing closer to it than he had been.” She shook her head. “But he didn’t touch it. I would have seen.”
“Are you sure?”
“Jesus, Inferno. Yes, I’m sure. He drank half the coffee, said his piece, and left. He was gone before I had to ask him to go.” Her hands tightened on the wheel. “It means nothing. He’s just trying to get under my skin. That’s all this is.” She looked down at me with wide, frightened eyes. “Right?”
I stood up and offered her my hand. She took mine and let me pull her out of the car. She grabbed her purse from the passenger seat and slung it over her shoulder, and we walked to my building together in silence. Her shoulder brushed mine with every other step. I could feel the tension coming off her in waves.
I watched her as she moved through the room. She set her purse on the kitchen counter, then picked it up again and carried it to the couch with her, setting it beside her hip like she was guarding it. A small, unconscious movement. She probably didn’t even know she’d done it.
“Juniper.” I sat beside her, close enough that our thighs touched. “I need you to think very carefully. When you turned around with the coffee and Brett was standing closer to your bag than he had been. Did he brush against it? Lean on the counter near it? Anything at all.”
She looked at me. Her mouth opened, then closed. Her eyes went to the purse beside her, then back to me. “He might have,” she said quietly. “I don’t know. The counter’s narrow there. He could have bumped it when he shifted his weight.”
“We know Brett bought two trackers. There’s every possibility he can find you. Searching your bag and your car is easy enough, but until we know for sure, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to leave the compound alone.” I held her hands in mine as I spoke, trying to be as calm and easy as I could. If I tried to back her into a corner and force her to do what I wanted, she’d bolt.
She nodded, looking angry, but slightly dazed. “OK.”
I pulled her against me and held her there, her face pressed to my chest. She curled her hands into the fabric of my shirt and clung tightly. I could feel her heartbeat against chest and the way she trembled in my arms.
My phone sat on the desk beside the documents. On the screen, the name of my contact from my firefighting days stared at me as a random notification lit up the screen. Frank Danner stared up at me, reminding me I needed help with this outside the club. People I trusted who were good at their job. Tomorrow, I would call him. Tonight, I held Juniper in my arms and listened to her breathe and tried not to think about how close we’d already come to losing each other.