Chapter Twenty-Three
Erin
This morning, Dave and I loiter by the coffee machine on our floor.
I am showing him a video of a cute raccoon and we both giggle at the goofiness of the critter.
Allan didn’t join us—he is busy on the fourth floor on a surveillance mission, namely following a business deal over surveillance camera live feeds and coordinating possible backup. So it is only the two of us.
Dave has become a very good friend, and lately I have the feeling that he is looking at me like he wants it to be more than just friendship.
I don’t know if I’m ready to date again, but his quiet attention fills the cracks in my heart with something warm.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to date again, get back on the bike as they say .
And I know that Dave would be the perfect boyfriend, he is funny, caring, and he’s smart.
He has everything a girl would want. But I am not attracted to him, not in the slightest.
“Hey, I was thinking that we could go see a movie on Saturday evening? There’s a new sci-fi movie I’m sure you’ll like,” he asks me with a shy smile.
There it is, the decision I have to make . Panic claws its way up to my throat, and in a blink of an eye I realize that I need more time to lick my wounds.
“That sounds awesome—” I begin when a sharp bark cuts me off from behind us.
“That’s enough. You think I don’t see what you’re doing, Dave? Flirting with my consultant. Stay away from her or I’ll make sure you regret it.”
My jaw hangs open from shock. How. Dare. He .
“Matteo,” Dave says nervously, “I’m just talking. No harm meant.”
Matteo steps closer, now looming over us and looking like he is ready to rip Dave’s head off with his bare hands.
“Dave, you’re my employee, Erin’s my consultant. Mixing business with personal life complicates things. I can’t have distractions, not from anyone. Is that clear?”
Dave swallows hard but backs down. “All right, I get it.”
Matteo doesn’t spare him a glance, his cold eyes are on me. “Office, now.”
I trudge after him into his office, my fury ready to erupt. Once we are inside, Matteo slams the door shut and I whirl around to face him.
“What the hell, Matteo?” I scream, not caring if the whole city hears me through the walls. “Why do you have to go that far? You threatened Dave like he was some fiend. He’s a nice guy, a friend!”
“He’s not just a friend . He’s a fucking asshole trying to take what’s not his to take.”
I let out an unbelieving laugh. Is he for real ? “I’m working for you, Matteo. I’m not yours . You can’t control me and prevent me from talking to other people.”
He takes a threatening step closer, and I am tempted to take a step back, but I won’t show him any weakness.
“Try me,” he snarls.
“You are insane!”
“You think that I’m insane? Maybe. But I’m protecting you from the ones who want to take you away.”
My fury is now boiling over and I am shouting at him. “I don’t need protection from you. I need space. I need to breathe without you ruining my friendships because you can’t handle someone else talking to me.”
He recoils like he has been slapped. He looks at me with his chest heaving, face grim. “Then maybe you don’t know what you mean to me,” he replies coolly.
That makes me freeze. My hot anger has been replaced with bone-chilling rage. Is he serious ? I give him the coldest stare I can muster. “I know exactly what I mean and what I don’t mean to you. You’ve made that very clear. I’m your consultant, that’s it. So back off, you’ve got no say in my life.”
Not waiting for a reply, I brush past him and yank the door open. I need to get out, need to breathe. Preferably not the same air as him.
I don’t look toward Dave when I stomp through the office to the elevator.
On the ground floor, I storm across the lobby, my steps echoing like gunshots. The moment I push through the glass doors into the open air, I suck in a lungful of oxygen. My heart is still racing, my hands trembling, adrenaline fizzing through my bloodstream like poison.
The confrontation keeps replaying in my head and my brain is too fried to make any sense of what just happened.
I walk fast, half-jogging down the sidewalk, needing motion, distance, anything to outrun the heat still burning my skin.
After a block or two, my pace slows. But the storm inside me doesn’t.
That man…he is robbing me of my last shred of sanity. I can’t do this, I can’t keep—
“Ms. Skye?” someone behind me calls out.
I freeze. I turn around slowly, my stomach flipping. A man in a dark suit approaches. He looks like he is in his late-forties and his strides are purposeful as he steps closer.
“Who are you?” I ask, pulse spiking again. “How do you know my name?”
“Agent Adam Rourke. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston field office.” He flashes his badge and credentials, then holds out his hand for a shake but I don’t take it.
I scan the ID. It looks real. My blood goes cold. My thoughts fragment. Shit. Shit. Have they found me?
I force my face into a neutral mask. “Is there a problem, Mr. Rourke?” I ask him as calmly as I can manage.
He holds up his hands in a placating gesture. “I want to talk, nothing more.”
“About what?”
“You recently started to work in the building over there, right? The Bastion.”
I nod, careful not to let my face show any emotion.
“We’re looking into the man who owns it.” He lowers his voice. “Matteo Di Rossi.”
Every nerve in my body goes still.
“I’m listening,” I say, flatly.
“We’ve been trying to build a case against him for years. But until now he has been careful, or very lucky.” Rourke leans in slightly. “You’re inside. You might even have access to sensitive information. You can help with the investigation.”
My mind is reeling. The FBI is investigating Matteo. Not me.
“Let me get this straight.” My voice is brittle. “You want me to spy on my employer?”
He smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “You don’t know who you are working for.”
I almost snort. Of course I know !
“This man is dangerous,” he goes on. “And we believe he’s connected to a trafficking syndicate that calls itself Manticore.”
My heart stops. I can’t breathe.
Manticore. They think Matteo is involved .
I force my face to stay impassible. “I’m just an employee, I make coffee and handle spreadsheets. What makes you think that I can help you?” I ask.
“You moved here out of nowhere, you worked part-time in a vet clinic. And suddenly you are working here, for whatever reason I don’t know, but I will find out.”
I turn and start to walk toward The Bastion. Could this day get any worse?
“I’m sorry, Mr. Rourke, but there is nothing I can do to help you, I’m just an ordinary employee, I don’t have the kind of information you are looking for. Have a good day.”
He stops walking, and I hear him say, his voice low and laced with animosity, “This isn’t over, Ms. Skye. You’ll be hearing from me again.”
I don’t turn around and keep walking, heart thudding in my chest, the weight of his words crushing my heart like a vise.
The FBI is investigating Matteo because they think he is part of Manticore.
No, I can’t believe it , he wouldn’t be involved in something so immoral . My heart refuses to accept it.
Then why don’t you tell him about the message you found on his server ? Hypocrite , my mind chimes in.