“Why should any of this concern me?”
“Because if the police dig deep enough, they’ll find my profile on that forum. The only way to make sure they don’t is to take the entire site down.” The implication hung heavy between us. Irina had paid me a lot of money to dispose of her horrible husband, and Feliks hadn’t yet gone to trial for it.
“How will speaking to Feliks change any of this?”
“So Feliksdoesrun the site?”
“I don’t recall saying that.”
“You didn’t deny it.”
Irina stayed quiet for an uncomfortably long time as she weaved the Spider in and out of traffic. I squeezed my eyes closed, my shoulder slamming into the car door as she took an exit way too fast.
“If,”she finally said, “Feliks did run this forum—and I’m not suggesting he does—why would he be foolish enough to entertainsuch a request? A site like that is worth a great deal to his business. It would cost him more than you can imagine to take it down.”
“Maybe,” I admitted, “but an investigation into that forum will cost him a lot more than that. The last thing Feliks wants is the police digging around that site. And the last thing you and I need is for Feliks to figure out that I buried your husband and you let Feliks take the fall. If you tip him off that the police are investigating the forum, he’ll have to work fast to cover his tracks. Hopefully, he’ll shut the entire site down before he looks too closely at what he’s erasing.”
“Feliks is no fool,” Irina cautioned. “He will want to know how I came by this information.” She shook her head through a pause. “No, I cannot be the one to speak with him about this.”
I braced myself against the dash, only realizing where we were as the Spider came to a screeching halt in front of the dealership.
“Go home, Ms. Donovan,” she said, as Sasha and Alan rushed from the showroom.
“That’s it? But what about all that stuff you said at the health club a month ago? About women helping women and sticking together—”
“I said, gohome,” she said firmly. Her voice dropped low as Sasha appeared beside the Spider and opened her door. “I’ll be in touch.” Irina smiled up at him, placing her hand on his arm as she stepped gracefully out of the driver’s seat and dropped the key in Alan’s waiting palm. Neither of them bothered to help me out of the car.
CHAPTER 26
I sat in my van in the parking lot of the dealership, my head against the steering wheel, fighting the lingering car sickness after my test-drive with Irina.
On the positive side, I had confirmed that the women’s forum belonged to Feliks.
On the downside, Irina’s refusal to help me hadn’t left me any better off.
Hazy winter sunlight beat through the windshield. Lifting my head, I checked the time on the dashboard clock, surprised to find it was already noon. I sighed as I considered my options: go home and scarf down a box of Oreos with Vero, or drive to Julian’s apartment and see if he was home. He’d been the one who suggested we talk today, and I couldn’t exactly call him since I hadn’t replaced my phone.
A death rattle reverberated through the van as I turned the key in the ignition. I headed toward Julian’s apartment complex before I could change my mind. My heart rate kicked up when I spotted his Jeep in the parking lot. Coat pulled tightly around me, I knocked on his door. A TV blared inside, the voice of a sports announcer leaking through the walls. I knocked again, louder this time. My breath rushed out of me in a white puff as the door swung open.
A young woman stood in the threshold wearing an oversized sweatshirt over leggings and a pair of fuzzy socks. The sounds of a football game roared out around her. More voices billowed from inside. The smell of pizza and garlic bread. The crackle of a beer can. A collective cheer as the announcer called a touchdown.
“Can I help you?” The girl’s nose was freckled and peeling, her auburn hair pulled back in a careless ponytail. Her green eyes widened, waiting for me to say something. I checked the number beside the door, even though I recognized the furniture and posters inside.
“Is Julian here?”
Her sun-kissed forehead wrinkled as if she was trying to place me. She held the door open and moved to let me by. “Go ahead in. He’s in his room.”
I thanked her and stepped inside. Open pizza boxes covered the kitchen counters and crushed cans overflowed the recycling bin on the floor. The sofa and love seat were crammed with bodies. A few heads turned from the flat-screen TV as the door shut behind me. The girl’s curious stare was heavy on my back, watching me pick my way to Julian’s bedroom. The fact that she hadn’t pointed out which one was his felt like a test, but it was too late to pretend I hadn’t been here before.
His door was cracked. I held up my hand but couldn’t make myself knock. I couldn’t get past the idea that he’d locked down his accounts. That there were things about his life he didn’t want me to know. I turned, ready to slip quietly out of his apartment, when his door opened.
“Hey!” I spun around as Julian dragged a T-shirt over his head. His curls were wild and slept on, his bare feet poking out from under the shredded hems of a faded pair of jeans. He rubbed his eyes, as if he’d just woken up. “I wasn’t expecting you. What are you doing here?” He drew me in for an awkward hug. His T-shirtsmelled faintly of sun lotion, and his eyes were a mix of whisky and sea-foam against the sun-bleached streaks in his hair.
Tucked in the hollow of his chest, I met the curious gazes of his friends. My cheeks warmed, and I pushed out of his embrace. “Sorry,” I said over the blare of the TV, “I would have called, but I lost my phone. I thought maybe you were trying to reach me.” I shook my head. How stupid did that sound?
Julian took my hand and led me into his bedroom, closing the door behind him so it was barely cracked. I took in the disarray of his room: his rumpled sheets and the stacks of law books on his dresser. A duffel bag lay open at the foot of his bed, its sand-crusted contents spilling onto the floor.
“Iwastrying to call.” He pulled me close, wrapping his arms around my waist. “I dropped by your place when I rolled into town last night. I left you a note.”
