Page 33 of Insidious Threats
Amanda frowned, and her entire body stiffened. There was a zero percent possibility this was good news. She stepped away and scouted out a private corner of the wide open, charmless space. If someone had told her the airport had once been a barn, she wouldn’t have been surprised. She took a breath and squared her shoulders. Putting it off would just prolong the agony. She pulled out her phone to make the call, and it rang in her hand.
Surprised, she jumped and bobbled the phone, nearly dropping it. At the last second, she recovered and kept her grip on the device. When she checked the screen, she noted that the call was being forwarded from her personal cell phone. The caller wasn’t in her contacts, but they had a 412 area code. Pittsburgh.
A seedling of hope uncurled in her chest.Please. Please be Sasha.
“ATJ.”
“Hi, Amanda. It’s Sasha McCandless. I hope it’s okay to call this early.”
“Yes, it’s fine. I’m at the airport about to head back home.”
Sasha’s voice sounded distant, and faint traffic sounds filtered through the handset.
“Am I on speaker?”
“I’m driving, so I’m connected through my Bluetooth, but there’s nobody else in the car. This call is private.”
“Okay.” Amanda hated to have to take her word for it, but what choice did she have? “Did you speak to your client?”
“I did. I just left her house. That’s why I’m calling.”
The seedling sprouted and stood up taller. “And?” Her leg jittered with nervous anticipation.
“She’s not interested in reducing the amount of the payout.” Sasha pulled the Band-Aid off with dispassionate efficiency.
Amanda’s hope plant withered and died in her mind’s eye. She swallowed and tried to form a response. “Oh,” she croaked.
“I wanted to let you know before Gabe initiates the wire transfer. It seemed like the courteous thing to do.”
“Yeah, of course,” Amanda mumbled numbly. “Thanks for trying.”
In her mounting panic, she didn’t hear what Sasha said next. “I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?”
“I said, if you’re in danger—if you’re legitimately afraid of Leith Delone—I know people. People who can help you.”
The concern in Sasha’s tone was genuine. Amanda could hear it. And for a fraction of a heartbeat, she almost gave herself over to it. She considered saying, ‘Yes, I need help.’ But the moment passed, and she straightened her spine and infused her own voice with ice water. “I’m not afraid of my client, Ms. McCandless-Connelly. I’m not sure where you got that misapprehension.”
Amanda’s frosty tone must have set the other woman back on her heels because it took her a moment to respond.
“I see. My apologies for my confusion. Have a safe flight.” The call clicked off.
Amanda removed the phone from her ear and stared down at it. Sasha had been her last hope for a graceful solution to her problem. Instead, things were about to get messy, very messy.
She inhaled deeply and then exhaled. After letting out a long, slow breath, she reviewed everything she knew as calmly as she could.
One, Leith’s reaction to Maisy Farley’s allegation that he was interfering with reporting on the Milltown case had been undeniably extreme—even given his infamous mercurial temper.
Two, Landon Lewis was involved in that misconduct case as a witness.
Three, one of Leith’s companies had paid a pretty price for the AI program that the police were alleged to have misused in the case. She knew she’d recognized that name, and five minutes of digging through her old emails had refreshed her recollection.
Four, whatever Leith had planned for Landon’s technology, at best, skirted the law, but more likely was blatantly illegal.
And five, the most logical explanation for his obsession with making Maisy’s life miserable was to dissuade her from digging any further into the Landon Lewis story.
There was a sixth issue, but she couldn’t fairly call it a fact. While she had her suspicions about Lewis’ death, she had no proof.
Amanda was many things, but a coward wasn’t one of them. She’d learned long ago that despite her physical size, nobody could make her feel small without her permission. And while she deferred to Leith, she had more leverage in their relationship than anyone knew—Leith included.
