Chương 7
Daniel’s voice was quiet.
“That isn’t love.”
“No.”
Maya looked at their son.
“Not that part.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Rachel stepped in halfway.
“Sorry, but I need to check Maya’s vitals.”
Daniel nodded and stood.
Rachel glanced at the baby.
“He looks comfortable.”
“He has low standards,” Daniel said.
Rachel almost smiled.
She moved to Maya’s bedside and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her arm.
Daniel remained near the bassinet.
Rachel looked at the monitor, then at Maya.
“Your pressure’s up.”
“That tracks.”
“Pain level?”
“Which kind?”
Rachel gave her a tired nurse’s look.
“Physical.”
“Six.”
“Before the slap?”
“Four.”
Daniel’s mouth tightened.
Rachel noticed.
“Security has your mother-in-law downstairs.”
Daniel looked surprised.
“She didn’t leave?”
“No.”
“Of course she didn’t.”
Rachel finished the reading.
“There’s also someone at the desk asking for you.”
Daniel looked up.
“Who?”
Rachel checked the note on her clipboard.
“A Mr. Aaron Pike.”
Maya’s face changed.
Daniel saw it instantly.
“Who is Aaron Pike?”
Maya stared at Rachel.
Then at Daniel.
“He was Caleb Mercer’s partner.”
Daniel looked at Maya long enough for Rachel to stop pretending she was not listening.
“You know him.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He worked with Caleb before I did.”
Daniel shifted the baby higher against his chest.
“You said Caleb worked for Vale.”
“He did.”
“So did Aaron.”
“And you forgot to mention him?”
“I didn’t forget.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
Rachel removed the blood pressure cuff from Maya’s arm.
“I’m going to give you two a minute.”
“Please don’t send him in yet,” Maya said.
Rachel paused.
“Do you feel unsafe with him?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel looked at her.
“That’s comforting.”
“I haven’t seen him in six years.”
Rachel nodded.
“I’ll tell the desk nobody enters without your consent.”
After she left, Daniel lowered his voice.
“What does Aaron know?”
“I don’t know what he knows now.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Maya rubbed at the adhesive edge of her wristband.
“He handled technical research.”
“What does that mean?”
“Records, databases, corporate filings, whatever Vale could legally access and whatever Aaron could convince himself was close enough to legal.”
Daniel stared at her.
“That sounds reassuring.”
“He was good.”
“At breaking laws?”
“At finding patterns.”
“And he was Caleb’s partner.”
“They worked cases together.”
“Were they friends?”
Maya hesitated.
“Sometimes.”
“What does that mean?”
“Caleb liked people too quickly.”
“And Aaron?”
“Trusted nobody.”
Daniel glanced toward the door.
“So naturally he tracked you down on the day our son was born.”
Maya’s fingers stopped moving.
“I never told him I was pregnant.”
Daniel looked at her sharply.
“Did you tell Caleb?”
“I told you I haven’t spoken to Caleb in five years.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
“No.”
“Did Aaron know where we lived?”
“Not from me.”
Daniel walked to the bassinet and carefully lowered the baby into it.
Their son fussed once, face tightening, then settled against the blanket.
Daniel kept his hand on the baby’s chest for a moment longer than necessary.
“How would he know we were here?”
Maya looked toward the door.
“I don’t know.”
Daniel gave a disbelieving laugh.
“I’m starting to hate those words.”
“So am I.”
He looked at her.
“For different reasons.”
Maya did not argue.
Daniel walked to the door.
“What are you doing?”
“Finding out why he’s here.”
“Daniel.”
He stopped.
“Don’t bring him in alone.”
Something in her voice made him turn.
“What did Aaron do to you?”
“Nothing.”
“That answer came too fast.”
“He never hurt me.”
“What did he do?”
Maya looked down at the white blanket over her knees.
“He knew things.”
Daniel waited.
“He liked people to know that.”
“That sounds annoying, not frightening.”
“It was both.”
“What kinds of things?”
“He once told Caleb exactly how much debt I had from looking at the way I opened my mail.”
Daniel frowned.
“That’s nonsense.”
“He had already pulled my credit report.”
“How?”
“I never asked.”
Daniel rubbed his mouth.
“And you worked with these people.”
“I needed the job.”
“You keep saying things like that as if twenty-four dollars an hour explains entering someone else’s life under false pretenses.”
“It doesn’t.”
“No.”
Maya looked at him.
“But it explains why I walked into Vale’s office in the first place.”
Daniel stared back.
The anger in his face did not disappear, but it stopped advancing.
“What happened before that?”
“My mother had surgery.”
“I know.”
“You know she had surgery.”
Maya’s voice stayed quiet.
“You don’t know what happened after.”
Daniel said nothing.
“She couldn’t work for almost four months.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”
“Because by the time you knew me, it was over.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the one I have.”
She shifted and winced.
“My rent was late.”
“My car was about to be repossessed.”
“I had twelve dollars in checking and an overdraft fee waiting for me when my paycheck cleared.”
Daniel looked away.
“I’m not asking you to feel sorry for me.”
“Good.”
“I’m telling you because you asked why I took the job.”
“And when did you find out what the job actually was?”
“Gradually.”
“That’s convenient too.”
“I know.”
Daniel exhaled through his nose.
“What did Aaron have to do with your hiring?”
“He interviewed me.”
Daniel’s eyes returned to her.
“Vale didn’t?”
“Vale came in at the end.”
“What did Aaron ask?”
“Whether I could keep secrets.”
Daniel almost laughed.
“Apparently you aced that.”
Maya took the hit without reacting.
Daniel looked ashamed again.
“I need to stop doing that.”
“Yes.”
“I’m trying.”
“I know.”
A muted argument rose from somewhere in the hallway and ended when a door clicked shut.
Maya listened to it fade.
“Aaron asked if I was comfortable finding information people didn’t volunteer.”
“And what did you say?”
“That everyone does that now.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“I was twenty-four.”
“That does not answer anything.”
May you like
“I told him people looked up dates before meeting them, checked landlords, searched employers, read old posts.”
Maya’s mouth twisted.
