Chương 4
Silence created uncertainty.
And uncertainty was where experienced killers lived.
"Are you hurt?" Adrian asked.
Claire shook her head.
Her hair had fallen across her face.
The careful image she had built all evening was gone.
She looked younger.
Not weaker.
Just human.
"No."
Adrian looked at Elena.
The waitress was pressed against the floor beside the table, one hand covering her mouth.
Her breathing was uneven.
"Elena."
She looked at him.
"I'm okay."
The answer came too quickly.
He noticed.
"You're lying."
She looked away.
A small cut marked the side of her hand.
Nothing serious.
But enough to remind him that people who stepped into his world usually paid a price.
The restaurant manager crawled from behind the bar.
His expensive suit was covered in dust from the broken glass.
"Everyone stay where you are," he shouted.
Nobody listened.
That was another thing people did when they were scared.
They followed their own instincts before anyone else's instructions.
A group near the entrance rushed toward the front doors.
A server tried to stop them.
Someone knocked over a chair.
The pianist stood frozen beside his instrument, staring at the empty space where the window had been.
Adrian hated chaos.
Not because it was loud.
Because chaos created opportunities.
He looked around.
The attacker had not fired into the room.
The angle was wrong.
The shot had come from outside.
A warning.
Not an attempt.
Someone wanted him to know they could reach him.
That meant the purpose was not killing.
It was control.
Claire noticed his expression.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"That thing where you decide you know something and pretend you don't."
Adrian looked at her.
Even now, she was angry.
Not because she had almost been shot.
Because he was shutting her out.
That told him something.
Claire was afraid of being powerless more than she was afraid of danger.
"You should leave," he said.
Her face changed.
"No."
"Claire."
"No."
The firmness surprised him.
"I am not walking out of here while you stand in the middle of whatever this is."
"This isn't your fight."
She laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
"That's the problem, Adrian."
She looked toward the broken window.
"I think it became mine a long time ago."
Before he could answer, one of his phones vibrated.
Not the one he gave to business contacts.
The other one.
The number almost nobody had.
He looked at the screen.
Unknown caller.
He almost ignored it.
Almost.
Then he answered.
"Who is this?"
For several seconds, there was only breathing.
Then a man's voice.
Older.
Calm.
"You still keep the same number."
Adrian stopped moving.
He knew that voice.
Not because he heard it often.
Because he had spent years trying not to remember it.
"How did you get this number?"
The voice ignored the question.
"You were always stubborn, Adrian."
The restaurant noise faded.
His eyes moved toward the broken window.
"Who is this?"
A pause.
Then:
"You know exactly who."
The call ended.
Adrian stared at the screen.
Claire saw the change in his face.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Recognition.
"Who was that?"
He did not answer.
Elena slowly stood up.
"Mr. Voss?"
Adrian looked at her.
"Did anyone else see that phone?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Good."
Claire watched him carefully.
"Adrian."
This time, there was something different in her voice.
She was not demanding information.
She was asking because she had seen something she could not explain.
"You know him."
Adrian put the phone away.
"I knew him."
The distinction mattered.
Claire heard it.
"So he's alive."
Adrian looked at her sharply.
The question landed harder than she intended.
"What did you say?"
She immediately regretted it.
Nothing about her face suggested surprise that she had made the connection.
It suggested she had been carrying the thought already.
Adrian stepped closer.
"Why would you say that?"
Claire looked around the restaurant.
Not wanting to have the conversation there.
Not wanting to have it anywhere.
"Because when people die, they don't usually call."
The answer was simple.
Too simple.
Adrian studied her.
"You thought he was dead."
Claire looked away.
"Everyone did."
"Everyone who?"
She did not respond.
The silence was enough.
Adrian had spent years believing there were only a handful of people who knew the full history behind Marcus Voss's disappearance.
His brother.
His closest friend.
The man who taught him everything about loyalty before teaching him the consequences of trusting the wrong people.
Officially, Marcus had been killed.
No body had ever been found.
Adrian had buried a coffin filled with uncertainty.
He hated uncertainty.
It was the one thing money could not purchase.
A siren sounded in the distance.
The restaurant manager finally reached them.
"Police are on the way."
Adrian looked at him.
"How long?"
The manager hesitated.
"Ten minutes."
"Too long."
The manager looked offended.
"Mr. Voss, someone just fired through my window."
"Exactly."
Adrian glanced toward the street.
"If someone wanted you protected, they would have already arrived."
The manager did not know how to answer that.
Nobody in the restaurant did.
Adrian turned toward Elena.
"Where is the phone you found?"
She reached into her apron pocket and handed it over.
"You keep this hidden."
"I didn't want anyone taking it."
"Did you touch anything else?"
She looked confused.
"What?"
"When you found it."
"No."
"Good."
Claire looked between them.
"You think she is part of this?"
Adrian looked at Elena.
The young woman flinched slightly.
He noticed.
"Do you?"
Claire was quiet.
That was answer enough.
Adrian sighed.
"I think everyone is part of this until I know otherwise."
Elena swallowed.
The words hurt her.
Not because they were cruel.
Because she expected them.
"That's why I almost didn't warn you."
Adrian looked at her.
She held his gaze longer than before.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me."
"Why warn me then?"
May you like
Her fingers tightened around the edge of her uniform.
"Because I knew what would happen if I didn't."
