Page 13 of No Reason to Trust

Further research revealed that this group was particularly violent. They were suspected of many murders that had never been solved. And Jake was pretty sure Nelson hoped to addhismurder to that list.

Putting all his source material back where he’d found it, Jake headed home. He parked his car and took the elevator up to the fourth floor. He had just touched the first key on his keypad when he heard a sound from inside his place. A floorboard squeaked in the kitchen. He’d never fixed it -- he figured it was an early warning system. And today it had done its job.

Sliding his Glock 17 out of his underarm holster, he held it in his right hand as he typed in the code to unlock the door with his left hand. The door had a small squeak, which he’d also never repaired. Another early warning system.

When he heard the door unlock, he pushed it open and stepped into his apartment. The noises he’d heard before had stopped. His apartment was completely silent.

But Jake could feel the presence of another person. Was it the very faint sound of someone breathing too fast? The soft brush of clothing against a counter or a chair? The slide of a foot over the hardwood floor?

He’d go through the kitchen into the living and dining area. That way he’d be alerted if someone broke for the front door.

Holding his gun in a tight grip, pointed in front of him, he stepped into the kitchen. No one there. So he slid over the floor to the dining area. Was just about to step into the open space when Livvy appeared in the doorway, her own Glock extended in front of her. “Get on the floor,” she yelled. “Right now!”

His shoulders dropped and he lowered his gun. Replaced it in its holster. “Livvy? What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you today.”

Livvy, her ashen face now bright red, blew out a breath and holstered her own weapon. “Jesus, Dunbar! You scared the crap out of me.”

“Likewise,” Jake said, swallowing hard. “I thought you weren’t coming for two more days.”

“Got away early. Figured we could use the time.”

“Yeah,” Jake said. “We’re gonna need it.” He shrugged off his sports coat and hung it in the hall closet. “You want a beer? I sure as hell need one today.”

“Yeah, a beer sounds good.”

He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Sorry I don’t have any Guinness. I was gonna get some tomorrow.”

“Don’t bother,” she said. “Canned and bottled Guinness doesn’t taste the same. I’m fine with whatever you’re having.”

Jake pulled two bottles of Yuengling out of the fridge, opened them both and handed one to Livvy. “Let’s sit down,” he said, motioning toward the table in the eating area. Then he held one finger to his lips. Watched Livvy until she signaled she understood.

He pulled his bug detector out of his desk and turned it on. Began running it over every piece of furniture, everything hanging on the wall, every cabinet in the kitchen. When he’d finished checking the apartment, he stowed the device in his desk again and turned to Livvy.

“I started doing that when I got home from Helena,” he said. “Your story was disturbing on so many levels.”

“Good. That’s smart. Glad you thought of it.” Gripping the bottle with her right hand, Livvy studied him for a long moment. “You look… unsettled. Uneasy.”

“Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.” He took a long pull of his beer and set the bottle on the table. “I talked to Nelson today.” He drew a shuddering breath. “He’s basically sending me on a suicide mission.”

“What the hell?” Livvy frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

“It’s the Bratva,” he said. “But not in Brighton Beach. This is a group in Sheepshead Bay.”

“Holy shit.” Livvy set her bottle on the table with a thump. “Those guys are all psychopaths. Even the Brighton Beach Bratva are scared of them. What are you supposed to do?”

“Meet with them. Then I’m supposed to go to small businesses. Strong-arm them into paying protection money to the Bratva.” He shook his head. “Nelson suggested that I blacken a few eyes if they didn’t want to pay the protection money.”

“Get out of town!” Livvy stared at him, the bottle lifted halfway to her mouth. “You know that’s expressly forbidden by the Bureau.”

“Oh, yeah. I know. But Nelson didn’t give a damn.” He took another glug of beer. “I figure he expects me to be dead before I can report back to anyone at the Bureau.”

“What did you do to get on Nelson’s shit list?” Livvy asked.

Jake shrugged. “No idea. Maybe he knows I met with you in Montana. That’s the only thing I could think of. Do you even know if Nelson knows where you’re working?”

“I’m sure he does. He’s the kind who does his homework. He knew you were in Helena to talk to Nick and Celia, and he knows Blackhawk Security is there. Maybe that spooked him. Maybe he was afraid you’d talked to me. Or someone else at Blackhawk Security who might know what happened to me.” She set her beer bottle on the table with a hollow thump. “You think he’s just being proactive? Getting rid of anyone who might be a problem for him?” she asked.

“Possible.” Jake took another sip of beer. “Doesn’t make me any less dead if we don’t figure this out.”

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