Chương 5
That part was gone now.
Victor watched her carefully.
“What are you going to do?”
Mara placed the phone face down.
She looked at the folder between them.
Then at the man who had spent months trying to defeat her and was now sitting beside her in a coffee shop after midnight.
“I’m going to find out why they needed me to be the villain.”
Outside, a car slowed near the curb.
It stayed there longer than necessary.
Victor noticed it first.
His hand moved slightly toward the folder.
“Mara.”
She looked up.
“What?”
“Don’t turn around.”
Her body went still.
“Why?”
“Because if I’m right, we just found out we’re not the only ones looking.”
Mara did not turn around.
Every instinct she had told her to look.
That was the problem with fear.
It made curiosity feel like survival.
She kept her eyes on Victor.
“What happens if you’re wrong?”
Victor watched the reflection in the coffee shop window instead of answering.
“Then we leave and I buy you another terrible cup of tea.”
Despite everything, a small sound escaped her.
Not a laugh.
Something close enough that she almost disliked herself for making it.
“You’re joking now?”
“No.”
He looked back at her.
“I’m trying to keep you from panicking.”
“I’m not panicking.”
“You’re gripping the table hard enough to break the wood.”
Mara looked down.
Her fingers were pressed against the edge of the table.
She released it slowly.
She hated that he had noticed.
She hated more that he was right.
The car outside remained parked.
A dark sedan.
Nothing unusual.
That was what made it worse.
Suspicious things were usually ordinary until someone had a reason to look closer.
Victor reached for his coffee.
“Wait thirty seconds.”
“Why?”
“Because if we stand up immediately, we confirm we noticed.”
“And if we sit here?”
“We finish our drinks.”
“You’re serious.”
“I’m always serious.”
“That’s not true.”
A faint smile touched his face.
“Fine.”
He looked toward the window again.
“Almost always.”
The thirty seconds felt longer than any court argument she had ever sat through.
Mara watched strangers around them.
A man in a construction jacket eating a sandwich alone.
A couple sharing a dessert and arguing quietly about a movie.
A college student highlighting pages in a textbook.
Everyone had a problem.
Everyone carried something invisible.
She wondered how many people had looked at her the same way over the past twenty-four hours.
As a person.
As a rumor.
As a threat.
The thought made her stomach tighten.
When the second hand on the coffee shop clock moved past the mark, Victor stood.
“Now.”
They left through the side entrance instead of the front.
Mara noticed the alley smelled like rain and old garbage.
Chicago had a way of making even expensive neighborhoods feel temporary.
Victor walked quickly but not enough to look like he was running.
Mara followed.
“You do this often?”
“What?”
“Leave buildings through side doors.”
“No.”
“Then why are you good at it?”
He did not answer.
That was becoming his favorite response.
They reached a street with more traffic.
Victor stopped beside a row of parked cars.
The sedan was no longer visible.
Mara looked at him.
“Gone?”
“Yes.”
“Then maybe you were wrong.”
“Maybe.”
She studied him.
“You don’t believe that.”
“No.”
The honesty bothered her.
They walked another block before Victor finally stopped.
“We should separate.”
Mara frowned.
“You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if someone is watching, two people leaving together are easier to follow than one.”
She almost argued.
Then she realized he was right.
She hated how often that was happening.
“You expect me to trust you enough to walk away alone?”
“No.”
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a business card.
Not his firm card.
A plain white card with only a phone number.
“If something happens, call this.”
She took it.
“Whose number is this?”
“Someone I trust.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one I can give you right now.”
Mara looked at the card.
“Victor.”
He waited.
“If you’re lying to me—”
“I know.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“I don’t think you do.”
Her voice was quiet.
“If you’re lying to me, I lose my job.”
“I know.”
“If you’re lying to me, I could lose my license.”
“I know.”
“If you’re lying to me, someone already decided my life was expendable.”
Victor looked away for a moment.
That was the first time she saw something she could identify.
Not guilt.
Regret.
“I know,” he said again.
This time, it sounded different.
Mara put the card in her pocket.
They walked in opposite directions.
She made it three blocks before she noticed she was still holding her breath.
Her car was parked underground at her apartment building.
She considered calling a rideshare.
Then she stopped.
She did not want to feel afraid of her own routine.
That was how people lost pieces of themselves.
One adjustment at a time.
She drove home with the radio off.
At every stoplight, she checked the mirrors.
She hated herself for doing it.
She hated that she could not convince herself to stop.
When she reached her building, the front desk clerk looked up.
“Mara?”
She froze.
The clerk, a middle-aged woman named Linda who always complained about the elevator music, looked nervous.
“What?”
Linda glanced around.
“There was someone here earlier.”
Mara stepped closer.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Linda lowered her voice.
“He asked about you.”
“What did he look like?”
“I don’t know.”
Mara stared.
Linda sighed.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t know what he looked like, but you know he asked about me?”
“He had a picture.”
The words made the hallway feel smaller.
“What picture?”
Linda looked uncomfortable.
“I didn’t see clearly.”
“Linda.”
The woman looked down.
“He showed me your driver’s license.”
Mara went still.
Nobody should have had that.
Not a copy.
May you like
Not a photo.
The actual information was already public enough in pieces, but the way Linda said it made her understand.
