Page 76 of Steal My Breath Away

“She’s a friend.” I wasn’t ready to talk about Haley with anyone. The guilt of having failed her and then leaving her again coupled with Tony’s pseudo-psychological analysis was eating me up inside. But Jessica was easily distracted. Aside from gossip, there was nothing she liked to talk more about than herself. “Stefan said there were Oscar rumblings about your new role.”

Her face brightened. “I know, and we haven’t even finishedshooting. We’re on set for the next few weeks so you’ll be able to see for yourself. I’ve really gotten into the role. Single mom. Trying to make a living as a waitress. Daughter in the hospital with a mysterious disease. No one can help her so I investigate on my own and discover it has something to do with the water, but of course no one will listen to me because they think I’m just a pretty face.”

“Sounds like it’s right up your alley.” I finished unpacking my bag and then hung my suit up in the closet. I hadn’t worn it since Haley had sung at Bin 46 and I could still smell the lingering fragrance of her perfume. It had killed me to leave her at the hospital, especially when she’d been so badly beaten, her voice so hoarse it had been barely audible. But she had her mom and Paige, and I knew her friends would rally around her. She was surrounded by love. She didn’t need me.

“We’re putting a different spin on it,” she said, thankfully not noticing that my hand was clenched around the hanger so hard it had imprinted into my palm. “The contaminated water isn’t coming from a factory. We’re an unwitting part of a government experiment, and I go undercover to expose them. There’s drama with the sick kid, of course, lots of emotion, crying and such, but also action and suspense. I had to learn how to fight.”

“Always a useful skill.” I had planned to teach Haley some basic self-defense moves at a local fight club where we could practice with matting on the floor so she wouldn’t get bruised. The irony was almost too much.

“You seem distracted,” she said. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course.” I closed the door on the memories and tried to focus on the here and now. “Where are we going this evening?”

“Dash just got its second Michelin star so I’m having dinner there with a few friends. I spoke to the chef, and he’ll have a plate waiting for you. I hope you’re not hungry. Everything is miniaturized. It will be a big change from Chicago. I grew up there and I still miss the food. I get tired of all the deconstructed terrines, the foie gras served with foam or reduction, and all thefermented or sublimated vegetables. Sometimes you just want a burger or a real slice of pie.”

Her face fell when I didn’t laugh with her. “Are you sure you’re okay, Ace?”

“I’m good, Jessica. Let’s get you to dinner.”

Chad texted me a few days later to let me know he needed to speak in person. I managed to find some time when Jessica was in her trailer on set to give him a call.

“I’m here with Theo,” Chad said. “I know two of the guys who kidnapped Haley are dead and the FBI have the other two in custody, but before that happened, Theo had gone on the dark web and found a listing for what he’s pretty sure was the job to disable the cameras on Michigan Avenue. The timing was right, and the skills needed for the job were the same. He messaged the poster and said he was looking for someone to do a similar job and if the dude found someone good to let him know. And get this. Last night, someone answered and gave him a name. He told Theo it was a friend of his and their last job went south so his friend was looking for work.”

My blood ran cold. “That means there are more of them out there. The FBI were certain no one else was involved.”

“We’re working on getting an ID, but we have to be careful. I did some research into the political angle and the election stakes are high. The entire Senate will flip if Haley’s mom gets reelected, and it means some of the controversial bills she’s been spearheading will likely go through.”

“Why wouldn’t they just go after her?”

“It’s too obvious,” Chad said. “It’s much more effective if she steps down and endorses someone else, and the best way to get her to do that is to threaten her family.”

“So, you’re pretty sure this isn’t just a small group of people who were pissed about her position on a volatile issue?”

“You’d need a lot of money to do what they did—four guys,guns, burner phones, vehicles, surveillance, planning… and then there was the CCTV. Whoever hacked the system to erase all the footage had some serious connections and hired people with a lot of skill. The big question is whether it’s the opposing party trying to preserve their Senate majority and stop the senator from joining the presidential ticket, or whether it’s someone from the senator’s own party who wants that seat and the power that comes with it. The only problem with the latter is that even if she drops out, it’s up to the state committee to appoint a replacement, and with only a few days until the election, it seems unlikely.”

“Either way it sounds like some serious corruption,” I said. “You need to talk to the FBI and let them know what you found.”

“I already called the local field office,” he said. “Special Agent Fernandez is in charge. He told me to call back when I had some concrete evidence. I don’t think he took me seriously, since I’m just a student. Just wait until I blow this thing out of the water.”

My pulse kicked up a notch. “Do you think Haley is still in danger?”

“I asked Fernandez that question and he said that the dark web guys we’d found were low-level contractors, and he was confident that the real threat had been neutralized.”

“But you don’t believe him,” I said picking up on the hesitation in Chad’s tone.

I heard some banging in the trailer and Jessica opened the door, yawning. “Hair and makeup are coming to fix me up before I go back on set. You can just let them in.”

I nodded and returned to the call. “You need to be careful. Look what they did to Haley. If they find out you’re poking around, they might come after you.”

“We’re being careful,” Chad said. “Theo’s an expert at moving through the internet without being traced and my contacts are discreet.”

“Who are these contacts?”

“I might have met a few interns at a recruitment event,” Chadsaid, chuckling. “And they might be the kind of interns who like to do things together, if you know what I mean. Did you know Cleveland is about halfway and you can drive there in under six hours?”

“Sounds like you’re really sacrificing for the cause,” I said dryly.

Chad laughed. “If you weren’t with Haley, I would have invited you to join us.”

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