Face to face
Chapter 34: Face to Face
Amara Queen had spent her entire life being underestimated.
Too young.
Too small.
Too quiet.
Too pretty.
People saw what they wanted to see.
A talented doctor.
A successful businesswoman.
A genius.
Very few people looked deeper.
Very few people noticed the predator hiding beneath the white coat.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The woman who sent the photograph had made that mistake.
And now?
Now Amara was annoyed.
The realization pleased her.
A little.
Maybe more than a little.
The photograph sat on her desk.
The elegant handwriting.
The expensive paper.
The subtle threat disguised as a compliment.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Lorenzo stood beside the window making phone calls.
The atmosphere around him had become dangerous.
Again.
A recurring problem.
A very recurring problem.
"No."
Silence.
The mafia don listened.
Then frowned.
Immediately.
A dangerous sign.
"Find her."
Another pause.
"No excuses."
The call ended.
A second began.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The entire Vitale organization appeared to be mobilizing.
The woman had successfully annoyed both of them.
An impressive achievement.
A stupid achievement.
But impressive.
Amara picked up the note again.
Studied the handwriting.
The phrasing.
The structure.
The psychology.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then she smiled.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
The wrong smile.
The terrifying smile.
The smile that made experienced surgeons nervous.
Lorenzo immediately noticed.
Of course he did.
"What."
The single word came out cautiously.
Reasonably cautiously.
Amara looked up.
"She's educated."
Silence.
Immediate silence.
Lorenzo blinked.
Once.
Slowly.
"What?"
The surgeon pointed at the note.
"Professional."
A pause.
"Disciplined."
Another.
"Patient."
Another.
"Probably wealthy."
Silence.
The room froze.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because she wasn't guessing.
She was profiling.
The same way Lorenzo profiled enemies.
The same way detectives profiled criminals.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Amara tapped the photograph.
"She wants me curious."
Another tap.
"She wants me thinking about her."
Another.
"She wants me distracted."
Silence.
Lorenzo stared.
Then smiled.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
Because the realization was obvious.
The woman had failed.
Spectacularly.
Instead of distracting Amara...
She had become Amara's project.
The betrayal.
The amateur-psychology betrayal.
Undefeated.
A knock interrupted the moment.
One of Lorenzo's captains entered.
Fast.
Purposeful.
Concerned.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"Boss."
Silence.
Immediate silence.
The captain looked toward Amara.
Then toward Lorenzo.
Then back toward Amara.
A mistake.
A terrible mistake.
"What."
The captain swallowed.
Hard.
"We found her."
Absolute silence.
The room froze.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Lorenzo moved first.
Instantly.
Predator.
King.
Dangerous man.
"Where."
The captain handed over a file.
Immediately.
"She's using an alias."
A pause.
"Victoria Moreau."
Another.
"Checked into the Grand Regent Hotel."
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Lorenzo opened the file.
Photographs.
Travel records.
Financial activity.
Everything they had.
Unfortunately...
It wasn't much.
The woman was careful.
Very careful.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Amara took the file.
Started reading.
Then stopped.
Immediately.
The dangerous stop.
The one everyone was learning to fear.
"What."
Lorenzo already knew something was wrong.
The surgeon pointed at a photograph.
One taken earlier that morning.
A security image.
Hotel lobby.
Several guests.
One woman.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because the woman was looking directly at the camera.
Smiling.
The realization hit immediately.
She knew.
She knew she was being watched.
And she didn't care.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The confidence irritated Amara.
Deeply.
Across Chicago...
Victoria Moreau sat in the hotel restaurant drinking coffee.
She wore a cream-colored suit.
Minimal jewelry.
Perfect posture.
The picture of elegance.
The picture of control.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
A newspaper sat open in front of her.
Unread.
Because her attention wasn't on the paper.
It was on the elevator.
Waiting.
Watching.
Patient.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The elevator doors opened.
A familiar woman stepped inside.
Dark skin.
Afro curls.
Designer blouse.
Sharp eyes.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Amara Queen.
Victoria smiled.
Slowly.
Because she'd known exactly what would happen.
The photograph.
The note.
The invitation.
Curiosity.
Predictable.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Amara spotted her immediately.
Of course she did.
Neither woman looked away.
Not for a second.
The restaurant disappeared.
The noise disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
Two predators recognizing each other.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Victoria stood first.
Elegant.
Confident.
Dangerous.
Amara remained where she was.
Equally confident.
Equally dangerous.
The specialist smiled.
Warmly.
Beautifully.
Like they were old friends.
"Dr. Queen."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Amara adjusted her glasses.
The movement small.
Precise.
Controlled.
A warning.
The kind only intelligent people recognized.
"You're shorter than I expected."
The smile vanished from Victoria's face.
Immediately.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because after days of preparation...
After all the planning...
After all the games...
Dr. Amara Queen had opened with violence.
And for the first time...
Victoria realized this assignment might be harder than expected.
End Chapter 34