Page 26 of Rogue’s Mark

I almost miss it. It's buried in the third page of the second folder, easy to overlook if you're not specifically hunting for it. I law firm I've seen in my father's files. He’d circled it and added a question mark beside it. I have no idea why.

"Rogue."

He looks up.

I point to the name without touching the page. "That law firm. I've seen it before. In my father's files."

He looks at it. His expression doesn't change but he photographs the page twice.

"You're sure?"

"I've read those files enough to have them memorized."

He nods. Armen, who has been listening, says nothing.

Dad underlined a lot of things in those files. He only put question marks on the ones he hadn't cracked yet. Whatever this firm was, he died not knowing.

I don't make a big deal of it. I just straighten up and keep looking through the folder.

Outside, through the frosted glass door, I can see the shape of Sting on the step outside, shoulders square, arms crossed. A woman approaches the office, slows, stops. She looks at Sting for a moment. She leaves.

Two minutes later, a man in a suit does the same thing.

Sting doesn't move, doesn't speak, doesn't appear to notice either of them. He's just standing there being Sting, which is all it takes to scare people off.

Rogue finishes with the folders and slides them back into their original positions.

Back out on the street, I glance at my father's old office.

"You okay?" Rogue says beside me.

"Working on it," I say.

He doesn't push. He just starts walking and I fall in beside him.

16

VI

We're two blocks from the Rot when I see her.

Mara is standing just outside the gate, arms crossed, scanning the street in both directions. When she spots us, she doesn't wave or call out. She just holds her position and watches us cover the distance, which tells me before we've said a word that whatever is on her mind must be pretty damn important.

Rogue spots her at the same moment I do. His pace doesn't change but something in his posture does, a small tightening, and I know he's already running scenarios through his head.

Beside her, slightly back, is Kade. He's got his arms folded and his eyes on the street, giving Mara space without actually going anywhere. Hmmm.

I reach her first. "Mara. What’s up?"

She glances at the guys, then back at me. "He came to me."

"The man from the corridor?"

"He found me in the hub. Said he was looking for someone who could help him locate an old friend. Used Fischer's name." Her jaw tightens. "By name, Vi. Not Tommy. Fischer. Like he knew him."

"What'd you tell him?"

"That I didn't know anyone by that name and he should try the main office." She shrugs. "There is no main office. I made it up on the fly when I didn’t know what else to say. He knew that too. He just smiled and said thank you and walked away."