“The threats being sent to Lumitech have dropped off over the last month.”
“Starting with good news, then?”
He grunts. “Gabe also confirmed that Talia had video surveillance installed at her home and hired a security company. Same one that did the work at the warehouse; solid reputation. Patrols pass the house every three hours.”
“Yeah, she mentioned that a few days ago.”
Sven’s mouth curves the tiniest bit.
I roll my eyes. “Moving on.”
“Tom has a list of suspects he wants you to look at. Do you recognize any of these men?”
He hands me his phone. I scroll down the series of photographs, then shake my head. “No. Wait—” I scroll back up and show Sven the photo that gave me pause. “Doesn’t this guy work at Lumitech?”
He nods. “He’s in IT. Jared Green. Fits the profile of someone who’d have access to your private number and the skills to make the call. He also called out sick the day after.”
I study the man’s face. “I’m not seeing it. What’s his backstory?”
“Divorced single father working full-time and going to law school at night. He’s under watch but at the bottom of the list. There are some serious contenders there, though. Moralist radicals with national followings, fringe religious purists.”
I hand him the phone. “Have we switched to bad news, then?”
“Good, bad, whatever. I only said that to get you talking.”
I smirk. “Bastard.”
“You must be rubbing off on me,” he quips. “There’s something else, too. Tom found a link between the two hit men.”
Every muscle in my body tenses. “What? Or who?”
“It’s a money trail. The families of both men have been making cash deposits every month. Same amounts each time. Not enough to raise suspicions, but the totals are adding up to a substantial payout.”
“Hush money.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, waiting for relief that doesn’t come. “We need more than that. We need to know who’s paying them.”
“The grandmother and sister are being tailed to see if we can catch the next handoff.”
“Good.”
Sven rubs his jaw, eyes avoiding mine.
I sigh. “Spit it out.”
“I was asked to run another group of suspects by you.”
“Who?”
“Executive leadership at Lumitech across all departments.”
I blink, then laugh shortly. “Not this again.”
His expression hardens. “Tom wouldn’t be worth his price if he didn’t consider every angle. And before you ask, no, I didn’t bring it up. Whether you want to face it or not, the list of people who have your private number isn’t long. The list of who has access to your daily movements is even shorter. And then there’s the list of who has the money and connections to hire hit men.”
I frown out the window, tension riding my body as I think about the scars Sven carries because of me. A jagged line on his side. A starburst on his shoulder. Neither wound stopped him from disarming and cuffing the attackers or snapping at me to stop trying to help him and “Fucking call nine-one-one, Kier!”
The crack of a gunshot in my memory still wakes me up sometimes. The horror of Sven’s body jolting against mine. The way time vacillated between hyper-speed and slow motion.
We weren’t supposed to be leaving the office for another hour that day, but my last meeting had been canceled. I shouldn’t have even been in the parking garage. He normally pulled the car around to a secure exit at the back of our building, but I’d gone with him because I was an impatient ass and hadn’t wanted to wait.