"I assume it's about Marcus."
"You assume correctly." He turns to face me, and the emptiness in his eyes makes something cold slither down my spine. "My brother is dead. I know it. And I know you had something to do with it."
I keep my expression neutral, my voice steady. "I'm sorry for your concern, but I had nothing to do with Marcus's disappearance. We had a business disagreement, yes, but that's all it was. Business."
"Disappearance." Dominic smiles, and it's the coldest thing I've ever seen. A corpse would show more warmth. "Is that what we're calling it?"
"That's what the police are calling it."
"The police are idiots." He takes a step toward me, then another, closing the distance between us with deliberate slowness. "They found his car in the mountains with the keys still in the ignition. They found his wallet in the glove compartment, his phone dead in the cupholder. They found everything except him, and their best theory is that he wandered off into the wilderness and got lost."
I force myself not to step back. Not to show any sign of the fear that's currently wrapping itself around my heart and squeezing.
"People do get lost in those mountains. The terrain is dangerous if you don't know what you're doing."
"Marcus hated the outdoors." Dominic is close enough now that I can smell gun oil and something underneath it, sharp and medicinal. "He got sunburned walking to his car. The ideathat he decided to take a spontaneous hike in Angeles National Forest is laughable."
"Then perhaps you should share your theories with the detectives assigned to the case."
"I have." His pale eyes bore into mine. "They're not interested. Too busy, they say. Following other leads. It's almost like someone is making sure they look in all the wrong directions."
The implication hangs in the air between us. He knows. He might not have proof, but he knows.
"I'm not sure what you're suggesting, Mr. Webb, but I don't appreciate the insinuation."
"I'm not suggesting anything." He leans in, close enough that I can see the small scar above his left eyebrow, the broken capillaries in the whites of his eyes. "I'm telling you, directly, that I'm going to find out what happened to my brother. I have resources the police don't. Connections they don't. And I don't give a shit about evidence or due process or any of the rules they have to follow."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a promise." He straightens, adjusting the cuffs of his jacket. "Marcus wasn't a good man. I know that better than anyone. He had vices, weaknesses, a mean streak that got worse as he got older. But he was my brother. My blood. And someone is going to answer for what happened to him."
"I hope you find your answers, Mr. Webb. But you won't find them here."
"We'll see." He turns and walks toward the door, his footsteps silent on the thick carpet. When his hand is on the knob, he pauses and looks back over his shoulder. "That girlfriend of yours. Jade, isn't it? Pretty girl. Quiet. Keeps to herself mostly."
Every muscle in my body goes rigid. "What about her?"
"Nothing. Just an observation." His smile is a razor blade wrapped in silk. "She seems like the nervous type. Jumpy. Like she's waiting for something bad to happen. Interesting quality in a person, don't you think?"
"Stay away from her."
"I haven't gone anywhere near her." He pulls open the door. "Yet."
Then he's gone, the door clicking shut behind him with a soft finality that sounds like the closing of a trap.
I stand frozen behind my desk for a long moment, my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my teeth. My hands are shaking, and I clench them into fists to make them stop. The city spreads out below me, millions of people going about their lives, completely unaware that a man just walked out of my office who might destroy everything I've built.
Everything I love.
I grab my phone and dial my father's number. He answers on the second ring.
"Phoenix. I'm in the middle of something."
"Dominic Webb just paid me a visit at my office."
Silence. Then: "What did he want?"
"He knows, Father. He doesn't have proof, but he knows. And he's not going to stop looking until he finds it."
