Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Cole.
He’s on a sidewalk and it’s from today. I can tell from his clothes. I recognize the federal building in the background as he’s walking toward it.
My throat tightens.
“Mr. Mercer is safely inside that building right now, presumably meeting with the FBI to discuss this case. At some point, he will exit that building. He might make it back safely to Jameson, or he might take a bullet to the head as soon as he steps out. That is all within your power to decide.”
Ice floods my veins and my heart nearly stops. “You’re bluffing,” I say, and I’m proud of how level my voice is.
“Perhaps,” he says. “Are you willing to find out?”
I stare at the photograph. “And what exactly is it you want?” I ask, my brain spinning hard. Would they really kill him? Does it matter? Because the possibility of that is enough leverage over me to get whatever they want.
“I want you to come with me,” Schwartz says. “Have a longer conversation somewhere more private. Answer a few questions. And then we’ll see where we are.”
“And if I say no?”
He looks at the photograph, then back at me. “Then you say no,” he says simply. “And you find out whether I’m bluffing.”
I glance around at all the unsuspecting patrons that have no clue a killer is in their midst. A server laughs near the bar, and it all seems so normal.
I think about Cole at his FBI meeting, phone on silent, completely unaware. I think about Josie at her desk running three simultaneous investigations. I think about Malik in his two o’clock meeting, and Reid, and the building I walked out of twenty minutes ago because I couldn’t bear to sit still for one more hour. I think about Erik Lanning not running when he should have. I think about the photograph before me.
No one knows I’m here, which means no one is coming. Which means the only person who can protect Cole right now is me.
“If you hurt him,” I say quietly, meeting Schwartz’s eyes directly, “I will burn everything down. Evidence to every major outlet simultaneously. Every thread, every document, every name. I will make sure there is nowhere left to hide.”
It’s a lame threat because he and I both know, once I leave with him, chances of me surviving this are incredibly low. I’m the linchpin right now in this whole case, and without me, nothing survives. But Cole might have a chance… if Schwartz is telling me the truth that he’ll leave him be. All I can hope for is that I am able to talk my way around these people, possibly convince them I’m better off alive than dead, but how… I don’t know yet.
“You have my assurances that Mr. Mercer will be left unharmed. We don’t like unnecessary messes if they can be avoided.”
“Fine. Let’s go.” I stand up and he follows. I trail him out of the restaurant into the warm afternoon air, the door swinging shut behind us.
A car waits at the curb. Black. Tinted windows. Schwartz opens the rear door and I slide in, him following right behind. There’s a young man driving, early twenties, but he doesn’t look back at me. He has clear directives apparently because he immediately merges into traffic.
For the longest time, nobody speaks and I watch the city blur by, noting our direction of travel is northeast on SR 522.
The silence is broken by the driver, who glances briefly over his shoulder. “Sir… did you make sure she has nothing that can be tracked?”
Schwartz pales slightly. “Um… no… what do I do?”
“Dump it all,” the driver advises. “Phone, jewelry, purse.”
Schwartz turns to face me. “You heard him… give it all to me.”
I know it won’t do any good to protest or fight. Cole’s life is in my hands.
I take off the bracelet Cole gave me, my gold stud earrings and my watch. I place everything into Schwartz’s open palm, and then slide my phone from my back pocket, handing it over.
Schwartz unceremoniously lowers the window two inches, and one by one, drops each item out into the rushing air.
And nobody knows where I am.
The window goes back up.
Schwartz folds his hands in his lap and looks straight ahead. The car carries us north and east into the gray distance, the city quickly falling away behind us. I press my back against the seat and breathe through my nose and think.
Cole will return from his meeting. He’ll find me gone soon enough. They’ll search the building and see I’m not there. He’ll check his phone, open the tracker and see it sitting motionless on the side of a highway. He’ll know exactly what that means.
I stare at my own reflection in the tinted window and make myself a promise. No matter what happens, I’m not giving up any information. Even if I die, Cole has all the information necessary to take RainVest down.