Chapter 31 #2
Before she could answer, he was out of the SUV and storming around the front.
He opened her door and grabbed her arm. He wasn’t grabbing her hard, but she cried out anyway, just in case Dekker or some other Voss goon was within earshot.
Colin slammed the door, hit the lock, and then he practically frog-marched her to the entrance.
The polished marble lobby was empty. The directory said the law office was on the second floor. They took the elevator. Even going up, Colin maintained his act. The elevator doors opened, and the office was on their left, facing the street.
If hammock was wrong…
Dammit, tell me the code word for sure, Mira.
You already know it. I know you know it.
That was the problem with imaginary voices—they only knew as much as you did, even if they pretended to know more.
Last chance, Mira, if it’s not hammock, we’re sunk.
But Mira’s voice told her, You’ve got it, sis.
They crossed the hall and Colin stationed himself outside the office door.
“Don’t try a fucking thing, understand? You won’t get far.”
Maren nodded. “I won’t do anything while they have Juni.”
Colin looked away, staring at the elevators as if he were made of ice.
Hailstorm fits him.
Maren pulled the glass door open and stepped into the office. A receptionist sat behind the desk. She looked up.
“Good afternoon. Do you have an appointment?”
Maren’s mouth went bone dry. “I do.” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “I’m here to see Mr. Howell. Mira Walsh.”
The receptionist looked at her screen. “Yes, Ms. Walsh. He’ll be right with you. Have a seat. I’m Amy. Can I get you something to drink, some water maybe? You sound like you need to hydrate.” She was already standing up.
“Thank-thank you.”
Amy went to a small refrigerator with a glass door and took out a bottle of water. Maren took it with another thank you and twisted off the top. The water was ice cold and she drank it too quickly, giving herself a stomach cramp.
Great. All I need to do is get sick on the lobby floor. That would really sell it.
Amy’s phone buzzed. She stood up again. “Mr. Howell is ready for you.” She walked to an oak door and opened it. Maren followed Amy down a hallway to the corner office. The receptionist knocked twice before opening the door and gestured for Maren to step inside.
Nate Howell looked like he was in his forties. Maren could smell his expensive cologne the moment she walked in.
“Welcome, Mira.” He came around his desk to shake her hand then gestured at one of two leather chairs. “I’m Nate. My father retired six months ago, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with me today,” he joked.
Now that she was here, time seemed to stop. “I don’t know if your father explained the agreement we had?”
“The agreement, yes.” He opened a file on his blotter and took out a photograph. Maren looked down into her twin’s face. Mira smiled back up at her through the years. The photo had been taken in this office.
“I’m confirming this is you, Mira Walsh,” Nate said as he looked between her and the photo. “Now I just need the code word and we can continue.”
Please let me be right.
Maren swallowed. “Hammock.”
Nate paused. Then he nodded. “How can I help you?”
“I need everything I left with your father, please.”
Nate stood up. “I’ll go get it for you. It’s in the vault. I’ll be right back.” He gave her a smile and left his office.
Maren stared at her sister.
We did it!
Of course we did, sis, Mira answered her. I knew you’d remember.
You didn’t have to trick me, you know.
I do now.
Today is the day I step out of your shadow, Mira.
About damn time, her sister answered, her voice fading as the door behind her opened and Nate returned carrying a thick manila envelope.
Maren stood up and he handed it to her.
“Here you are. Do you want to go through it to confirm that everything is there?”
“Oh.” The envelope felt heavy. She undid the string tying it shut and looked inside. There had to be at least a hundred pages of printouts—receipts, spreadsheets, screenshots—several photos of documents lying on a desk, and a thumb drive.
There was also a single, legal-sized envelope with Maren’s name on it.
“It’s all here. Thank you so much for keeping it safe.” She resealed the envelope with the cord, looping it back and forth between the buttons, creating the sign for infinity.
Colin was exactly where she’d left him outside the office. The moment she opened the door, he yanked the envelope out of her hands.
“Now what?” she snapped.
“Come with me.” He took her arm and marched her to the elevator. When the doors opened to the lobby, a man in a suit stood there, briefcase in hand, eyes flicking from Colin’s grip on Maren’s arm to the manila envelope.
Maren’s heart stopped.
Is that someone Voss sent?
Colin didn’t hesitate. He tightened his grip on Maren’s arm just enough to sell the lie.
“Move it,” he snapped.
The man stepped aside quickly, hands up. “Hey, you got it, chief.”
Maren kept her head down all the way through the lobby and out to the SUV. Colin opened the passenger door and shoved her inside hard enough to look real, not hard enough to hurt. Then he jogged around the front, got in, locked the doors, and started the engine.
For one second, he dropped the act. His hand came up to her face, his thumb brushing her cheek as his eyes searched hers. “There you are.”
“I did it,” she whispered.
“You did. Now we’re one step closer to home.”
Colin called Elissa. “Ironman. We have the package.”
“That’s the good news,” Elissa said.
“What’s the bad?”
“The handoff is in a parking garage. The same one where Mira was hit.”
Maren froze. She looked through the windshield at the bright San Diego street, the blue sky, the palm trees moving in the coastal breeze like nothing terrible had ever happened here.
“He’s making me walk where she died,” she said. “He wants me scared.”
Colin put the SUV in drive.
“Then he’s about to be disappointed.”