I run my tongue over my teeth. Fuck. He could be telling the truth, or he could be lying. I have no way to know for sure.
I hold the phone up to his face. “Listen to me carefully. Cora is done with you forever. You don’t go near her, you don’t call her, and you don’t send her messages. Touch her, and you’re dead.”
He nods, sweat beading on his forehead.
“If I find out you’ve been anywhere near her, even in the same building, you’re a dead man.”
“We might run into each other on the street by accident...” he mumbles.
“And I care because?” I raise my eyebrows. “If you see her, you run in the opposite direction. Clear?”
He nods again.
“Good. I hope we understand each other. I don’t enjoy repeating myself.” I shove his phone back into his jeans pocket. “Don’t make me come here again.”
He swallows hard, Adam’s apple bobbing.
I return to my car. It took every ounce of self-control not to end his life right there. Even if he didn’t send the message, I don’t trust him.
I shake my head and start driving. The fact that Cora’s message contained the same phrase the mugger used nags at me like a splinter in my mind. The empty streets of the city stretch out before me, neon signs and streetlights blurring into a kaleidoscope of colors. There are two possibilities: either Arlo is messing with her head, trying to scare or hurt her, or worse—the mugging wasn’t random, and it’s the same person behind both incidents.
And we’re back to square one.
Cora’s father hired security when he heard about the mugging. Why? What does he know that he’s not telling us?
I press the speakerphone button and dial.
“Mercer,” he answers.
“You’re back?”
“Yes.”
“The team?”
“Everyone’s fine.”
I stifle a sigh of relief. Many of my former military teammates now work for Zane, continuing to risk their lives, this time for pay. When I know they’re on a dangerous mission, all I can do is pray they return safely. Sometimes, being in the field is less frightening than waiting behind, not knowing what’s happening.
“What do you need?” he asks, cutting to the chase.
“I need to know about the old case. The robbery. The one I told you about.”
Silence hangs between us for a few moments. “Why?”
“The client received a threatening message with the same phrase the mugger used, which means?—”
“It wasn’t a random mugging,” Zane says. “Why do you think the old case is related?”
“The father rushed to hire security on something that was supposed to be random. I think he’s hiding something. I can’t protect her like this, not when there’s information I don’t know. I want to talk to him.”
“No.”
“I have to talk to him. She’s in danger, and I don’t know from what. I think he knows something.” I stop at a red light, scanning my surroundings out of habit. The woman in the car next to me smiles, probably thinking I’m trying to flirt.
“No, don’t talk to the client,” Zane insists. “I’ve known him for years. I don’t believe he’s hiding anything that could hurt his daughter, but if there is something, it’s better if I talk to him. I can get it out of him.”
The light turns green, and I press the gas, my mind racing faster than the car.
