Chapter 2 - The Message

Stella stared at the screen until the words blurred.

"Give me the phone."

Jonah did not.

"Stella, why would Dean expect you to be dead?"

"I don't know."

"That answer's not going to work."

She swung her feet toward the floor.

Mara blocked her. "You can barely stand."

"Then I'll barely stand somewhere else."

Jonah watched her. "Going back to him is not an option."

A bitter laugh escaped Stella. "You don't get to decide that."

"Tonight I do."

Her eyes flashed. "That's exactly what men like you always think."

The words landed harder than Wyatt expected.

Jonah remained still.

Stella looked at the money scattered beyond the open office door. "Dean owes you. I delivered it. Our business is done."

"Dean owes me because he borrowed against a trucking company eighteen months ago. The interest is paid on the first Friday of every month. Tonight is Tuesday."

Stella froze.

Jonah leaned back against the desk. "He also pays by wire. Never cash. Never through strangers."

She shook her head. "He said it was interest."

"He lied."

"Dean lies about breakfast. That doesn't mean anything."

"It means you weren't sent here to make a payment."

Wyatt opened the envelope and removed the remaining bundles. "Boss, these aren't all hundreds."

He thumbed through the cash.

Jonah's expression changed.

"What?" Stella asked.

Wyatt pulled out a folded strip of paper from between two bundles.

Not paper.

A photograph.

It showed Jonah leaving Aurelia three nights earlier.

A red circle had been drawn around his head.

On the back were three words.

FRIDAY. EAST ENTRANCE. MIDNIGHT.

Mara whispered, "Jonah..."

Jonah took the photo.

For the first time since Stella had awakened, real anger showed on his face.

Not loud anger.

Cold anger.

Stella's phone rang again.

This time Jonah answered.

"Dean."

Silence.

Then a soft laugh came through the speaker.

"Well," Dean Keller said, "that answers one question."

Stella gripped the sofa.

Jonah's voice lowered. "Which one?"

"Whether she made it."

"You sent her to die."

"I sent you a payment. What happens to delivery girls after midnight isn't my concern."

Jonah looked at Stella.

"You beat her."

Another pause.

Dean sounded amused. "Careful, Pierce. You starting to care about strays now?"

Stella flinched.

Jonah's face went empty.

Wyatt knew that expression. It meant someone had just used up a privilege they did not know they had.

"Where are you?" Jonah asked.

"Far enough away."

"Then keep running."

Dean laughed again. "You should be more worried about who's standing near you."

The line went dead.

Wyatt reached for his gun.

Jonah did not.

Instead, he looked slowly toward the dark glass wall overlooking the empty restaurant.

One table still held a half-full water glass.

Table Six.

It had been empty when Stella walked in.

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