Not at a pet store.
Not heading back to the penthouse.
At her old apartment building.
My blood turns to ice.
“She lied.” The words come out flat, empty.
“Who lied?” Boris asks.
I’m already reaching for my earpiece, syncing it to Mary’s bracelet audio feed. The connection takes forever; three seconds that feel like three hours.
Then sound floods in.
“—been thinking. Maybe I was too hasty.”
Male voice. Familiar but wrong. Not threatening yet, but every instinct I’ve honed over the years screams danger.
“Too hasty?”Mary’s voice, tight with strain.“You called me boring. You said you didn’t see this going anywhere. You blocked me.”
Evan. Her ex-boyfriend. The one Boris punched. The one who dumped her via text and disappeared like a coward.
He’s in her apartment.
“I was stressed. Work’s been hell. Sandy from Palm Springs turned out to be a total bitch. And then I realized… I realized I missed you.”
The surveillance SUV suddenly feels too small. The air too thin. I can hear Mary backing away from him, hear the shift in her breathing that means fear.
“Dima, take the lead for this mission,” I say.
Boris’s head snaps toward me. “What?”
“Da, boss.” Dima nods without looking over.
I’m already moving, reaching for the door handle.
“Boss, wait. What the hell is going on?”
Through the earpiece:“Look, I know I screwed up. I know I hurt you. But we can fix this. Six years, Mary. You can’t just throw that away.”
Six years of this piece of shit making her feel small. Making her think she wasn’t worth more.
“You threw it away,”Mary’s voice, stronger now. Angry.“You cheated on me. For months.”
I cross the street at a run. Lev’s straddling his bike, helmet still dangling from one hand. He sees my face and goes still.
“Mary’s in trouble,” I tell him.
He doesn’t argue. Just slides off and holds the bike steady as I swing my leg over.
The engine roars to life, 2,500ccs growling like it knows where I’m going. My hands lock on the grips, the vibration crawling up my arms.
That’s when I hear it, clear in my ear.
A door slamming. A deadbolt turning.
“Making sure you listen,”Evan’s voice. Harder now. Ugly.“We’re not done talking.”
