Reckoning (Wolfes of Manhattan 5)

“No problem. It’s what you pay me for. Have a good night.”

The day Dick Fallon, head of Wolfe security, was too busy to talk to me was the day he got fired. I quickly sent a call to him.

Rang once. Twice. Then I lost count until voicemail kicked in. “This is Dick Fallon, Wolfe security. Leave me a message and I’ll return your call as soon as possible.”

I opened my mouth to speak and then pressed my lips together.

First, Dick always took my calls.

Second, if he couldn’t, he forwarded his number to one of his subordinates, who always took my calls.

Third, I sure as hell wasn’t leaving a message for him. Not when I wasn’t sure there was a security breach at all.

I went back over the list I made in my head and added Dick Fallon to it.

He’d been head of security for nearly ten years, so he’d worked with my father.

He was a good man. A family man.

I could use that to my advantage.

The server approached once more with my appetizer. “Here you go. Have you and the lady decided on dinner?”

I looked up at him, and then, at his mention of Zee, looked across the table.

She wasn’t back from the ladies’ room yet. How long had she been gone?

I glanced at my watch and then at my phone. The call from Terrence had come in fifteen minutes ago, and Zee had left a while before that.

Unless she was sick, she wouldn’t be taking this long in the bathroom.

Spikes of chilly glass inched over my flesh.

This was not good.

Not good at all.

10

Zee

Katelyn. I’d left her there with two dislocated shoulders. She couldn’t possibly survive, but I couldn’t save her and save myself.

Better one of us dead than both of us.

That’s what I kept telling myself, anyway.

I was trapped in this bizarre place that seemed like an alternate universe. No windows. Lighting that came and went at someone’s whim. It was dark now, and I felt along the walls, the jagged cement sometimes abrading my naked body. Until—

I tripped, nearly stumbling over something on the ground. I steadied myself and then bent down.

My eyes adjusted, and I made out a covered plate. I removed the dome to find a serving of food. It was a meat patty and a potato, still warm. No utensils. I wasn’t hungry after the run-in with Katelyn, but I picked up the patty and took a bite anyway. Who knew when I might find food again? For a moment, I considered taking half back to Katelyn, but I had no idea whether I’d find her again. I erased her from my mind—or at least tried to.

I can’t save us both. I may not even be able to save myself.

The patty tasted like sawdust, though it wasn’t dry. Juices ran down my chin as I ate quickly. I needed to down the food before someone found me.

But the food was still warm.

Someone had left it here, knowing I’d find it.

I was a prisoner, but I wasn’t being starved. Interesting.

The potato was also moist, as if it had been slow-baked inside aluminum foil. Without seasoning, it was bland, but that didn’t matter. The beef patty, though warm and juicy, had been bland as water. Speaking of which, a bottle of cold water stood beside the plate. I unscrewed the cap and gulped down half. I’d take the rest with me.

Nourished, I crept slowly down the dark hallway until I came to a doorway. I turned the knob and found myself in a more open area. No lights, again, but because it was an actual room, I could see better. A toilet sat in one corner. A tub of antibacterial wipes sat next to the toilet. Interesting. Whoever dropped me here fed me and didn’t want me getting ill…but the same group of people had dislocated both of Katelyn’s shoulders. I grabbed two of the wipes and used them on the wounds above my breasts. With another, I wiped the beef mess from my chin.

Fear coursed through me before I could think further. I needed to keep moving, so I made use of the facilities before I checked the two other doors. One was locked, so I went through the other, back into another dark hallway.

I was a rat.

A rate in a maze.

Only I doubted I’d find a piece of cheese at the end of it.

I doubted whether an end to this maze even existed.

11

Reid

I stood outside the ladies’ room at Gabriel LeGrand and knocked on the door. “Zee?”

A woman whisked by me to enter, but I grabbed her arm.

“Hey!” she yelled.

“Please,” I said. “Could you see if my wife is inside? She’s tall and blond. Her name is Zee.”

“Like the letter Z?”

“Just like that. I’m sorry if I frightened you, but please.”

“Yeah, sure. Okay.” She disappeared into the restroom.