Chapter 40
Tuesday afternoon
Sabre waited until the guard stepped back, then sat down across from Bay Mercer.
“Why did you ask to see me?” Bay wanted to know, then added, “You’re alone?”
“For now,” Sabre said. “But we’re going to be clear about something before we start.”
Bay seemed wary.
“Nothing you say stays here,” Sabre continued. “I’ll talk to you alone, but everything you tell me goes to Mr. Vale.”
A flicker of resistance crossed Bay’s face. “I thought you weren’t—”
“I’m not your attorney,” Sabre reminded her. “He is. And I’m not going to work around him. If you want my help, that’s the condition.”
Silence stretched between them.
Bay finally nodded. “Fine.”
“Good. Because what we’re doing right now isn’t working.”
Bay’s brow tightened. “You think I don’t know that?”
“I think you’re telling me just enough to keep me here,” Sabre said. “And not enough to actually help you.”
Bay didn’t respond.
“So, we’re going to try something different.”
Another pause.
“I’m not going to ask who you are,” Sabre said. “Or who sent you. Or who you’re trying to protect.”
Bay’s eyes narrowed, confused now.
Sabre’s voice stayed calm. “If you walked out of here right now, where would you go?”
Bay blinked, thrown off balance. “I wouldn’t,” she said automatically.
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Somewhere no one’s looking,” she said finally.
“Like where?”
“Not here.”
“Would you stay in the city?” Sabre asked.
A quick shake of Bay’s head. “No.”
“Would you leave the state?”
A pause. Then, quieter, “Maybe.”
“What name would you use?”
Bay looked up, eyes sharper now. “Why does that matter?”
“Because it tells me how long you think you can stay hidden.”
Another silence.
Bay looked down at the table. “Not mine.”
Sabre absorbed that. “Would you use one you’ve used before?”
Bay’s head snapped up. “I don’t know. You said you weren’t going to ask that.”
“It’s a different question.”
Bay looked away.
Sabre shifted again, keeping her tone casual. “What would you do first?”
No answer.
“Get money?” Sabre pressed.
A slight nod.
“From where?”
Bay hesitated. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does if you’re used to doing it.”
Bay took a moment before answering. “Places that don’t track it.”
“Cash only,” Sabre said.
Bay gave a small nod.
“Where do you feel safe?” Sabre asked.
Bay’s fingers curled against the table. “Nowhere.”
“Where do you feel less unsafe?”
“Near people,” the girl said. “But not where they’re paying attention.”
“Busy places.”
A small shrug.
“Places where someone could disappear,” Sabre added.
Bay didn’t answer, but she didn’t argue either.
Sabre reached over and touched her hand. “You’ve done this before.”
Bay froze for a second. “I haven’t—”
“You didn’t think about your answers,” Sabre said quietly. “You knew them.”
Bay’s eyes hardened. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“No,” Sabre said. “But I know patterns.” She shifted gears, her voice firmer. “Right now, you don’t have a defense.”
Bay’s gaze snapped back to her. “I didn’t have a choice. I had to stop him.”
“That’s not a defense,” Sabre countered. “That’s a statement.”
“It’s the truth.” A little more intensity.
“And right now”—Sabre matched her energy without raising her voice—“it’s not enough to keep you out of prison.”
Silence.
“You have a story you won’t tell,” Sabre continued, “and a situation that makes you look guilty.”
Bay stared at her, breathing a little faster now.
“Mr. Vale can’t help you if you don’t give him something to work with.”
Sabre let a beat pass. Then, quieter, “You said I didn’t finish something. It was a case I was on with Hannah years ago.”
Bay’s reaction was minor, but unmistakable.
“Help me finish it,” Sabre said.
The words settled heavy in the room. For a long moment, Bay didn’t move. Then she spoke, almost under her breath. “You don’t use the same place twice.”
Progress! Sabre hid her excitement. “Who doesn’t?”
Bay shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“But it does.”
Another shake. Firmer this time. “No. It doesn’t.”
Sabre held her gaze. “It tells me how they move.”
Bay swallowed. “They don’t stay anywhere long.”
“Near highways?”
“No.”
“Truck stops?”
Bay’s eyes flicked up again. “No.”
“In houses or apartments?” Sabre asked.
A pause. “Mostly.”
“What’s the longest you ever stayed?”
“Two years.”
“How many do you protect?”
“We protect each other.”
“Does he protect you?”
“Yes.”
“But not this time?”
Bay swallowed, but didn’t respond.
Sabre pushed her chair back and stood. “We’re done for now.”
Bay looked surprised. “That’s it?”
“For today.”
Sabre turned toward the door.
“Wait,” Bay called.
Sabre turned back.
“If you tell Vale everything,” Bay said, her voice lower and tighter. “They’ll know.”
Sabre glanced back over her shoulder at Bay. “They already know,” she said.
A flash of fear in her eyes.
“That’s why we stop reacting,” Sabre added. “We start getting ahead of them.”