Page 219 of The Invite
Here’s mine.
You failed in working together.
Let’s see how you work AGAINST each other.
Tyra vs Scarlett.
Expose her secret or kill her.
You have until The Massacre Ball.
Cross me again, and it will be your secret out in the world.
Xoxo, A.
“Miss Davenport.”
The smooth voice jolts my spine like a strike of lightning and I jump to my feet, crushing the letter in my fist. Holding it behind my back, I compose myself and turn around. I blink at the two figures standing in the doorway.
One of them is Detective Arjun.
However, it’s the older man standing next to him who shocks me with his presence, making my back go rigid.
“Tyra, sweetheart, how are you?” he says with a kind smile.
I’m assaulted with flashbacks of the morning he visited me at the hospital after I woke up from a medically induced coma. My voice sounds like sandpaper as I greet him, “Detective Michael.”
Or shall I say Agent Michael, since he now works with the FBI.
Both men enter the room and approach me at my desk. I pray that the black envelope stays out of their sight because I have no idea where I threw it. Meanwhile, the letter burns a hole in my hand.
“What are you doing here?” I ask Michael, after I get my bearings.
It’s Detective Arjun who inquires curiously, “Why were you on the floor?”
“Oh, I tripped.”
His expression remains impassive as he nods once. Pretty sure he’s aware I’m lying. His partner, Samuel, was better. He, at least, had a smile on his face. Arjun terrifies me with his silent personality.
“Tyra,” starts Michael.
“Nessa,” I correct him. “I’m Nessa now.”
He nods with a sympathetic smile. Once upon a time, I was Tyra to him, then Stephanie, but hell if I’m going to be anyone but Nessa from now on. The previous versions of me were weak, alone, and sad. A victim of cruelty.
I’m stronger and more confident now.
Happy and in love with a man who breathed life back into me.
A man who doesn’t know who you really are.
Michael showing up unannounced to see me doesn’t bode well for me. I’m shaken by his presence.
“Why are you here?” I shoot straight to the point. I’m not in the right frame of mind for idle chitchat. I’m still processing the bomb Anonymous dropped by discovering my real identity. If it gets out, it’ll lead to blood on the streets. “Do I need to move again? Because I won’t. You promised me this was the last time.”
Michael drops the friendly act and buries his hands in his pockets. “You’re still under the witness protective program, but your face being revealed on the internet has complicated the situation.”
My heart plummets to the ground. Of course they heard the rumor. Something else also makes my hackle rise. “What situation?”
