Chapter 2 - The Man in the Hallway
Reed put his palm against the door before Derek could try the handle again.
He looked at me.
“Stay behind the shelves.”
“What?”
“Now.”
I didn’t argue.
Not because I trusted him.
Because the voice outside had turned my knees weak.
I stood while holding Ava and moved behind the metal rack nearest the back wall.
There was barely enough room.
Boxes pressed against my shoulder.
Ava sensed my fear and began to whimper.
I whispered into her hair.
“It’s okay.”
It wasn’t.
Reed unlocked the door.
He opened it only wide enough to step into the hallway.
Then he shut it behind him.
I heard voices.
Derek first.
“Boss, I was looking for Elena because table twelve—”
“Go back to the floor.”
“But—”
“Now.”
Silence.
Footsteps retreated.
Then the unfamiliar man spoke.
“Callaway.”
One word.
No respect.
No hesitation.
My stomach tightened.
Reed replied.
“You’re not welcome in my building.”
“I’m here for the waitress.”
My hand flew over Ava’s ear as if I could protect her from hearing.
“You came into my restaurant asking for one of my employees?”
“I came for the child.”
Ava made a tiny cry.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Outside, silence fell.
I prayed the walls were thick.
They weren’t.
The unknown man chuckled.
“There she is.”
My entire body locked.
Then I heard movement.
Fast.
A heavy impact.
Someone gasped.
Another crash.
I backed farther into the shelves.
A jar rattled above me.
Reed’s voice came low.
“You made a mistake.”
The other man sounded winded.
“You have no idea whose kid she is.”
I closed my eyes.
No.
Reed said, “Tell me.”
“Ask Elena.”
My heart seemed to stop.
Another impact.
“Tell me.”
The man laughed again.
“The father isn’t dead.”
Everything inside me broke open at once.
I almost dropped Ava.
Her father.
No.
That was impossible.
I had watched paramedics cover Marcus with a sheet.
I had identified his body.
I had attended his funeral.
Ava had been six weeks old.
The official report said a robbery.
Wrong place.
Wrong time.
The words people used when they wanted tragedy to sound random.
The stranger outside was lying.
He had to be.
Reed said something I couldn’t hear.
Then another door slammed.
A moment later, the storage-room door opened.
I nearly screamed.
Reed entered alone.
His collar was slightly crooked.
There was blood on one knuckle.
Not much.
Enough.
“Who was he?”
Reed shut the door.
“We need to leave.”
“Who was he?”
“Elena.”
“You asked me questions. Now I’m asking.”
His face hardened.
“This isn’t the place.”
“He said Marcus wasn’t dead.”
Reed stopped.
So he had heard.
“Who is Marcus?”
“Ava’s father.”
“Last name.”
“Vale.”
For the first time since I had known Reed Callaway, I saw genuine shock.
It vanished quickly.
But I saw it.
“You know that name.”
He looked toward Ava.
Then back at me.
“How long were you with him?”
“Three years.”
“Did he ever talk about his work?”
“He owned a repair shop.”
Reed exhaled slowly.
“He told you that?”
“He did own one.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
Anger flared.
“My boyfriend was murdered eight months ago. I had a newborn. I had no family. I was evicted two months later. If you’re suggesting I should have run a background check before grieving him, you can save it.”
Reed studied me.
“I’m not blaming you.”
“Sounds like it.”
“I’m trying to keep you alive.”
That shut me up.
He stepped closer, still leaving space between us.
“Marcus Vale did own an auto shop.”
I waited.
“It also moved cars for people who didn’t want records.”
“What kind of people?”
“You know what kind.”
The room seemed smaller.
“Marcus wasn’t mafia.”
“I didn’t say he was.”
“You’re implying it.”
“I’m telling you he did business with men who were.”
I looked down at Ava.
Her cheek rested against my chest.
“No.”
Reed continued.
“Three years ago, Marcus started doing jobs for a crew on the South Side.”
“You knew him?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know this?”
“Because one of the cars he moved belonged to me.”
I stared.
“You?”
“He didn’t meet me. He dealt with someone beneath me.”
“You expect me to believe this?”
“I don’t care what you believe right now.”
That coldness returned.
“Someone came into my restaurant looking for your daughter. Belief can wait.”
A chill moved across my skin.
“Why Ava?”
“That’s what we need to figure out.”
“Who was the man outside?”
“Name’s Nolan Price.”
“Never heard of him.”
“That’s good.”
“Who does he work for?”
Reed didn’t answer immediately.
That frightened me more.
“Who?”
“Dominic Rainer.”
The name meant nothing to me.
My face must have shown it.
“Rainer controls gambling, trucking, and collections on the South Side,” Reed said. “He and I don’t share territory.”
“Do you hate each other?”
“That’s an emotional word.”
“You’re avoiding the question.”
“Yes.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because the answer won’t help you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Nothing is helping me.”
Ava began to fuss again.
I bounced her gently.
Reed watched.
His expression changed slightly.
“How long since she ate?”
“She just did.”
“Diaper?”
“I have two left.”
“Formula?”
“She mostly nurses. I have emergency formula in my bag.”
“Clothes?”
“One spare outfit.”
He pulled out his phone.
“What are you doing now?”
“Solving problems.”
“I don’t want your money.”
“I didn’t offer money.”
“That look means you’re about to order half a store.”
He glanced at me.
“You’ve known me four months and apparently think you understand my looks.”
“I serve your table.”
“You avoid my table.”
“Because you make everyone nervous.”
The corner of his mouth almost moved.
Almost.
Then it disappeared.
He typed.
“Someone will bring diapers, clothes, formula, and whatever else an eight-month-old needs.”
“I can buy my own.”
“With eleven dollars?”
Humiliation hit like a slap.
“Give me that receipt.”
He handed it over immediately.
That made me feel worse.
I crushed it in my fist.
“I didn’t ask you to rescue me.”
“I’m not rescuing you.”
“What do you call this?”
“Containment.”
I stared at him.
He was impossible.
“I’m not a problem to contain.”
“No. The men looking for your daughter are.”
Before I could respond, his phone vibrated.
He read the message.
His expression sharpened.
“What?”
He put the phone away.
“We’re moving.”
“Where?”
“My residence.”
I almost laughed.
“No.”
“It wasn’t a request.”
“Then the answer is still no.”
“Elena.”
“I’m not taking Ava to a mobster’s house.”
“You brought her to a mobster’s restaurant.”
“That was before I knew someone was following me.”
“My point exactly.”
“You’re dangerous.”
“Yes.”
The bluntness stunned me.
He continued.
“But right now I’m not dangerous to you.”
“How am I supposed to know that?”
“You aren’t.”
There was something almost cruelly truthful about it.
No promises.
No “trust me.”
Just reality.
He opened the storage-room door and checked the corridor.
Two men in suits stood near the kitchen entrance.
I had seen them before but never knew their names.
Reed motioned.
One moved ahead.
The other stayed behind us.
I wrapped Ava tightly in her blanket and coat.
Reed took my work bag.
“I can carry that.”
“You’re carrying the baby.”
I let him.
We moved through a service corridor instead of the main kitchen.
My shoes slid slightly on the polished floor.
Reed slowed his pace without commenting.
At the rear exit, snow blasted through the open doorway.
A black SUV waited.
The moment I stepped outside, memories struck me.
Marcus loading groceries into our old Toyota.
Marcus laughing because I had bought baby socks before we knew whether Ava was a girl.
Marcus touching my stomach.
Marcus saying, “Whatever happens, you keep her safe.”
At the time I thought he was nervous about becoming a father.
Now those words sounded different.
Reed opened the SUV door.
I stopped.
“What if Marcus knew?”
“Knew what?”
“That someone would come after her.”
Reed’s gaze darkened.
“Then we need to find out what he left behind.”
I climbed inside.
The SUV pulled away from Callaway’s through the storm.
For the first time, I noticed a vehicle behind us.
Gray sedan.
Two cars back.
It turned when we turned.
Accelerated when we accelerated.
My breath caught.
“Reed.”
He looked through the rear window.
His entire body changed.
“Get down.”
I covered Ava and dropped toward the seat.
The driver swore.
The SUV accelerated.
The gray sedan came closer.
Then Reed’s phone rang.
He answered.
No greeting.
A man’s voice came through the speaker.
“Mr. Callaway, tell Elena to check the lining of the baby’s blanket.”
I looked down.
Reed slowly turned toward me.
May you like
The blanket in my hands suddenly felt heavier.
There was a hard rectangular shape sewn inside the hem.
