Chapter 2 - The Man Behind the Wheel
Adrian did not speak.
Tommy's voice filled the car through the hands-free system.
“Chloe.”
She pressed herself against the rear seat.
“Tommy?”
A soft laugh came through the speakers.
“There you are.”
Adrian's eyes remained on the road.
Tommy continued.
“You've caused quite a night.”
Chloe's fingers curled.
“How did you get this number?”
“That isn't the question you should be asking.”
Adrian finally spoke.
“What question should she ask?”
Silence.
Then Tommy's tone changed.
“Rossi.”
“Vale.”
“You have something of mine.”
Adrian glanced at Chloe.
“She says otherwise.”
Chloe almost laughed from disbelief.
Tommy had always described her that way.
My girl.
My responsibility.
My problem.
Mine.
Adrian's refusal was only four words, but something inside Chloe loosened.
Tommy spoke carefully.
“This doesn't concern you.”
“You called my phone.”
“Bring her back.”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
Chloe stared at Adrian.
Tommy went silent.
Then, “Do you know what she did?”
“No.”
“You might want to ask.”
“I intend to.”
Tommy's voice sharpened.
“She stole from me.”
Chloe leaned forward.
“That's a lie.”
“Chloe—”
“I took my own money.”
“You took something else.”
Her stomach tightened.
“What?”
Tommy laughed again.
“You really don't know.”
The call ended.
Chloe stared at the dashboard.
Adrian pulled away from the curb.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere private.”
“No.”
“Then choose somewhere public.”
That surprised her.
He unlocked the doors.
Click.
Chloe looked at the handle.
“You can leave,” Adrian said.
She stared outside.
Empty sidewalk.
Closed storefronts.
Rain.
Somewhere behind them, Tommy's men were searching.
The door was unlocked.
Freedom was inches from her hand.
Yet Chloe stayed.
Adrian noticed.
He didn't comment.
“There's a twenty-four-hour diner six blocks ahead,” he said. “Cameras. Employees. Customers.”
“Fine.”
They arrived seven minutes later.
Adrian parked beneath bright lights.
Chloe followed him inside.
People looked at them.
Mostly because Chloe was barefoot.
Adrian quietly asked the waitress for a first-aid kit.
He didn't touch Chloe.
He simply placed it on the table.
That mattered.
She cleaned the scrape herself.
“Who is Elena?” Chloe asked.
Adrian looked through the diner window.
“My sister.”
Chloe stopped.
“Your sister?”
“She disappeared three years ago.”
“I thought she moved.”
“She didn't.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she called me the night she vanished.”
Chloe's chest tightened.
“What did she say?”
“Three words.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Find Chloe Mercer.”
Chloe forgot how to breathe.
“I didn't know her well.”
“She apparently knew you.”
“No. We talked in the hallway. Sometimes she borrowed sugar. I fed Bruno when she worked late.”
“Bruno?”
“Her cat.”
Something almost like grief crossed Adrian's face.
“He hated me.”
Despite everything, Chloe nearly smiled.
“He hated everyone.”
Adrian looked down.
For a moment he was simply a brother who had lost his sister.
“What happened after she called?”
“I reached her apartment forty minutes later. She was gone.”
“And the police?”
“No evidence of a crime.”
“Tommy?”
“I didn't know his connection then.”
“Do you now?”
Adrian reached inside his jacket.
Chloe tensed.
He removed a folded photograph.
He placed it on the table.
Elena stood outside an office building.
Beside her was Tommy.
Chloe stared.
The picture had been taken years ago.
“What was she doing with him?”
“That building belonged to Vale Development.”
Chloe knew the company.
Tommy had told her it belonged to his uncle.
“Tommy said he worked in consulting.”
“He lies.”
“That isn't exactly news.”
Adrian almost smiled.
Almost.
“Elena was an accountant,” he continued. “She found irregularities involving properties Tommy managed.”
“What kind?”
“Shell companies. Fake leases. Missing money.”
Chloe's stomach turned.
“Why would she ask for me?”
“I hoped you could tell me.”
“I can't.”
The waitress brought coffee.
Chloe wrapped both hands around the mug.
Then she remembered something.
“Wait.”
Adrian watched her.
“When Tommy and I first met, he already knew where I lived.”
“How?”
“He said he'd seen me at a coffee shop.”
“And you believed him?”
“At the time.”
Chloe's expression changed.
“He knew about 417.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“How?”
“The first time he came to my apartment, he looked at Elena's door.”
“What did he say?”
Chloe searched the memory.
Three years of Tommy had buried older details beneath newer fear.
Then it returned.
“He said, ‘Bad luck lives across the hall.’”
Adrian's face hardened.
“You're certain?”
“Yes.”
Chloe put down the coffee.
“What did Elena discover?”
“I don't know everything.”
“But you know something.”
Adrian studied her.
“Tommy was using vulnerable tenants to move money through fake rental agreements. Elena found records.”
Chloe looked toward the window.
“Did Tommy hurt her?”
“I don't know.”
“But you think he did.”
“I think Tommy knows what happened.”
The diner door opened.
Chloe flinched.
A family entered.
Adrian noticed her reaction.
“You need somewhere safe tonight.”
“I'll find a motel.”
“Tommy found you before you reached a bus station.”
“That doesn't mean—”
“He photographed you getting into my car.”
Chloe fell silent.
Adrian continued.
“Someone was watching the alley before you arrived.”
She hated that he was right.
“What are you suggesting?”
“I have a house outside downtown.”
Chloe gave him a flat look.
“You locked me in your car twenty minutes ago.”
“I unlocked it.”
“Eventually.”
“You were about to run into the street while two men followed us.”
“That was my decision.”
“Yes.”
Adrian paused.
“You're right.”
The apology caught her off guard.
“I shouldn't have locked the doors without explaining.”
Chloe stared.
Tommy never apologized.
Not sincerely.
Adrian slid a business card across the table.
ADRIAN ROSSI ROSSI PROPERTY GROUP
An address and office number followed.
“You can call the police,” he said. “You can call a shelter. You can stay here until morning. Or you can come with me, where Tommy doesn't know the address.”
“Why help me?”
“Elena wanted me to find you.”
“That was three years ago.”
“Yes.”
“And now?”
Adrian looked at her.
“Now Tommy wants you badly enough to call me personally.”
Chloe stared at the photograph.
Elena.
Tommy.
Something connected them.
Something connected Chloe.
She opened her purse.
Inside were her wallet, the broken prepaid phone, and a small envelope she'd grabbed while escaping Tommy's house.
She had assumed it contained cash.
Now she remembered Tommy's reaction when he'd seen her holding it.
He hadn't shouted about the money.
He'd shouted about the envelope.
Chloe slowly pulled it out.
Adrian watched.
“What is that?”
“I don't know.”
She tore it open.
A key fell onto the table.
Small.
Silver.
A plastic label was attached.
Chloe and Adrian looked at each other.
“No,” Chloe whispered.
There was also a folded piece of paper.
Chloe opened it.
Two words had been written by hand.
TRUST ROSSI.
Adrian went pale.
“You recognize the handwriting?” Chloe asked.
He nodded.
“Elena's.”
The diner suddenly felt too bright.
Too exposed.
Adrian looked toward the windows.
“Chloe.”
“What?”
“We need to leave.”
“Why?”
“That key wasn't supposed to be in Tommy's house.”
The waitress walked past.
Adrian stood.
Chloe grabbed her purse.
Then her broken phone vibrated.
Impossible.
The screen flickered alive.
One incoming message appeared from an unknown number.
Chloe opened it.
A photograph loaded.
It showed Adrian's house.
Taken seconds ago.
The front door was open.
May you like
And beneath the image were five words:
SHE IS WAITING FOR YOU.
