This girl had potential, and I wasn’t about to eliminate her. No. She’d piqued my curiosity, and now all I wanted was an audience with this mini-terrorist. I wanted to compare the person in real life with the one in this file.
If she were half as fearless and resourceful as the record said she was, I just might study her some more.
Strategy. Not interest.
I closed the file slowly, my fingers brushing against her photograph.
“Let’s see what you’re made of, Kiera Jane.”
Chapter 3 — Kiera
It had been a few days, and so far I hadn’t noticed anything suspicious around the office. Ever since July told me that the men who abducted her had eyes and ears even in this office, everyone had become a suspect.
Jake was on the top of my list because I was convinced that he knew something I didn’t. And whatever it was, it was connected to this case. I’d been more careful and super mindful of my surroundings.
But no matter how much I paid attention to every detail my eyes could catch, I still hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. I could easily ask Jake why he didn’t want me involved in the case. However, I didn’t want to raise suspicion on my end.
The last thing I wanted was to hint at my secret investigation into his life. He believed that I was focused on the case. True. However, what hedidn’tknow was that while doing that, I was also looking into his history.
In my line of work, people’s pasts were never really buried; dig deep enough, and you would find what you’re looking for. Sebastian was a friend of mine in the IT department. The man was good at things like digging out buried information.
The thought crossed my mind to go to him for help. But since it involved investigating our colleague, he might not want to be a part of whatever I was up to. Besides, how sure was I that he wasn’t one of the moles planted here?
I had to do this alone. On my own.
Crazy how, over the past few days, I felt safer in these office walls than anywhere else. I knew there were wolves amongst us. But at least in here, I didn’t feel like every step I took was being watched.
Everything seemed fine, and people were invested in their cases and tasks. Even Jake hadn’t given me any reason to beworried. He still dropped by my desk every day, making jokes about random stuff that often made me laugh.
His actions were smooth enough to fool anyone. And at some point, a part of me began doubting his involvement in the case. I started to think that maybe he wasn’t one of the moles planted in the office. However, I knew better than to trust him or let my guard down.
So I played his game, pretending that all was well, even though I felt in my gut that I was being targeted.
Although the moles at the office blended so well that it was almost impossible to spot them, I had a list of potential suspects. Jake was number one, of course.
There was also Amber. Quiet. Barely mingled with others and hardly ever smiled. Her desk was just across mine, and on several occasions before this incident, I’d caught her stealing glances at me. Suspicious glances.
Then there was Paul. The man was too nice to a fault. Always happy was loved by many. Perfect disguise. With such a persona, no one would ever suspect him of something like this. He was charming, witty, and humorous. But I knew something was off about him.
Elijah, the grump. Like Amber, he was quiet and liked to stay in his lane. Honestly, I never would’ve suspected him if he hadn’t developed a habit of secretly texting or replying to texts.
From my seat, I could clearly see him. Most of the time, when everyone was engrossed in work, he’d glance around to make sure no one was watching. Then he’d lower his head, a serious look on his face. His fingers would begin rattling across his phone’s screen as though he were quickly sending a text.
It might be that he was dealing with a private problem that had absolutely nothing to do with me. True. But at this point, I couldn’t be too careful.
Yelena was last on my list. She was Russian. I hated myself for suspecting her simply because of her nationality. It was stupid of me, yes. Notwithstanding, I couldn’t afford to leave any stone unturned.
Yelena wasn’t even helping matters at all; she had this really stern look that always gave me the creeps. If, in the end, it turned out I was wrong about her, I would feel like shit. Justifiably so.
These were the people on my list for now, although everyone at the office was a fuckin’ suspect. Everyone. Including my superiors.Especiallymy superiors, because in every organization, the greedy ones were always at the top. And the primary cause of treachery was greed.
Maybe I should shift my focus to the top for once. I was sure that if I began digging into those above me, I would find enough dirt linking them to these cases. Besides, Jake did say the case was above my pay grade.
Therefore, someone at the top had a hand in this. Maybe the reason I hadn’t found anything fishy about Jake’s past was because he might be involved. At least not directly. It was possible that he wasn’t a mole, but he knew those at the top were shady.
Whatever the case, I had to be very careful around these folks.
Speaking of cases, I hadn’t made any significant progress in solving this one. Yet. Every corner I turned was a dead end. Every question I asked in the streets was avoided like a plague. People were afraid, and no one wanted to get involved in my investigation.
