“Anyone who knows about this shit and hasn’t gone to the authorities is complicit,” Jagger said, finally tearing his eyes away from his computer. “They’re no better than the fuckers actually committing the crimes.”
“Agreed.” I heard the door close from the front of the house and turned toward the patio doors, open to the kitchen, just in time to see Hawk stride outside with his phone in his hand.
His expression was grim and I knew right away something was fucked.
“What’s wrong?” Cassie said, beating me to the question.
“You haven’t seen the news,” Hawk said.
“What news?” she asked.
“Neo sent me a text with a link to a breaking news update.” Hawk handed Cassie his phone. “Out of London.”
I righted my chair so that all four legs were back on solid ground. “Anna?”
Hawk nodded. “She’s dead.”
Cassie’s face went white. “This can’t… it can’t.”
She stood so fast her chair tipped back onto the patio.
“I’m sorry,” Hawk said. “I wanted to tell you before you heard it from someone else. I got back as fast as I could.”
Cassie’s back was to us and it took me a minute to realize her shoulders were shaking. When she turned around, her cheeks were treated with tears.
“We did this. This is our fault.”
Jagger stood. “Bullshit. The only people responsible for this is the people who did it.”
Cassie shook her head. “Shetoldus.”
You may as well come in. The damage is done.
“It was too late by then.” I thought about the man Hawk and I had chased through the woods, the cigarette butt Hawk had found on the ground. “Even she knew it.”
Cassie went still. “What do you mean?”
Hawk closed his eyes with a sigh, like he knew what was coming.
“Someone was outside,” I said. “That’s why Hawk and I left. We tried to run him down but he got away in the woods.”
Cassie’s eyes widened as she looked from me to Hawk. “Youknewshe was in danger? You knew and didn’t say anything?”
“There was no point.” Hawk had turned on his FBI voice, but there was no way to tell him that was a bad idea here. “We’d already been made.”
“No point?” Cassie’s voice rose and broke on a sob. “No point? We could have gotten her out of there!” she shouted. “We could have gotten her someplace safe.”
“Do you really think Anna would have gone?” Hawk asked her. “Did she look like a woman who was ready to leave on a dime? Spend the rest of her life on the run?”
Hawk had a point. Anna had the air of someone who — for better or worse — was settled in for the long haul.
The damage is already done.
Now I understood why she’d sounded resigned. SHe’d known they would come for her.
“That wasn’t for you to decide!” Cassie said. “You should have told me! You should have toldher!”
“Come on, Cassie.She knew!” Hawk roared. I’d never seen him so agitated, his face red, shoulders tight. “Fuckingthinkabout it! She knew!”
