Page 22 of No Reason to Trust

“Of course I do,” she said. He heard the wheels on her chair moving over the floor, then the click of her door shutting. The snap of the lock engaging.

“What can I do for you, Jake?” she asked.

“Livvy and I are at my apartment and we’re getting ready to leave for Brooklyn. I wanted to let you know that I installed a keylogger on my work computer about a week ago, and when I checked it this morning, someone had been in my computer.”

Redfield sucked in a breath. “Any idea who it was?”

“Not a clue,” he said. “But I bought some spycams and installed them before I left the office this afternoon. I left an old computer there -- I wiped it of any important information, leaving only old files on it, before I stuck it in a drawer. If anyone tries to access it while I’m gone, they’ll see nothing important and I’ll have their face on the spycam app.”

“Nicely done, Jake,” Diana murmured. “Let me know if you get any hits on the spycams, and if you do, who tried to access your computer.”

“I’ll do that. And I’ll keep you in the loop with this job.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not sure this is significant, but when I went to speak to Nelson this morning, he was meeting someone in his office with the door closed. I know that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but his door is seldom closed. I waited, and Fred Windsor finally walked out of the office. He acted nervous. Wanted to know what I was doing there. Instead of answering, I asked how he was doing, and he walked away. The whole interaction felt…odd.”

Finally Diana said, “An odd question doesn’t mean Windsor is guilty of anything, but I’ll poke around in his phone records and assignments.” She sighed. “I’m clearing a block of time to dig into Nelson, and I’ll add Windsor, as well.” After a beat of silence, she said, “I know I don’t have to tell you to be careful, but please be cautious. Wary. You have no idea what these Bratva members are planning.”

“No, I don’t. But I bought some extra spycams, and Livvy and I are going to install them in the room where I’m scheduled to meet these men. So we’ll get some idea of their plans.”

“Good,” Diana said. “That’s very good. And let me know if someone accesses your computer and who it is.”

“Will do. Take care, Diana.”

“You, too, Jake.” The phone disconnected.

He turned to Livvy. “You hear all that?”

“Yeah.” She rubbed her palms down the thighs of her jeans. “I’m all packed. You want to throw your stuff in a suitcase so we can get out of D.C.?”

“I’m on it. Won’t take me long,” he said as he headed down the hall to his room. “We’ll be out of here in fifteen minutes.”

It was closer to thirty, after Jake and Livvy left tells all over the apartment. Finally they tossed their bags into the trunk of Jake’s car, put their briefcases on the back seat, and drove out of the parking lot.

Jake looked over at Livvy and found her watching him. “We’re gonna do this, Livvy. I’ll take that meeting, you’ll have my back, and maybe we’ll figure out what Nelson is up to.”

“I think what Nelson is up to is making sure you’re dead,” Livvy said bluntly. “But I’m here to ensure that doesn’t happen. So let’s go see what Sheepshead Bay is like.”

Chapter 9

Livvy’s shoulders tensed as they drove past Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, and she swallowed hard when she glimpsed the dark bricks of the building she’d had her meeting in. Jake glanced over at her, and she finally took a breath. “That building over there? The one with the dark bricks and the dirty windows? That’s where I had my meeting with the Bratva.”

Jake glanced toward where she was pointing, and she saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel. “Thank God we’re not going to Brighton Beach.”

“Yeah,” she said, sliding her suddenly cold hands beneath her thighs. “I donotwant to revisit the scene of that almost-crime. Or worse, run into any of the men from that meeting.”

“Hell, no,” Jake said. “I don’t want even the slightest chance of you running into any of those guys.”

“Me neither,” she said with a shiver. She felt Jake’s gaze on her, so she glanced over at him.

He grimaced when he caught her eye. “If someone else had taken that meeting? They’d be dead right now.”

Livvy nodded slowly. “I was lucky,” she said.

“I suspect it was more than just luck,” he said, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. “You were smart and aware of your surroundings. I also suspect you’re very good at reading people.”

“Yeah,” she said. “And what I saw in the eyes of those men? My death.” She swiveled on the seat. “You know that Nelson’s not going to give you a name or a phone number for the agent who’s supposed to back you up.”

“I’m sure he won’t,” Jake said. His jaw tightened. “It would serve Nelson right if I refused to take the meeting without a backup.”

“It would,” Livvy agreed. “But you already know he’s not going to hook you up with an agent from New York. He might give you a name and phone number, but there won’t be an actual person on the other end of the line. Or if there is, it’ll be some random person who’s not connected to the FBI.” She grimaced. “Or worse, it’ll be one of the guys he’s sending you to meet with.”

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