Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO MATTER
Maya stared at the screen until the words blurred.
“Target placement successful.”
She whispered it like saying it differently might change what it meant.
Julian shut the laptop.
Maya looked at him.
“Open it.”
“No.”
“Open it.”
“You’ve seen enough.”
“Do not do that.”
His jaw tightened.
“Do what?”
“Decide what I can handle.”
Julian opened the laptop again.
Maya looked at Derek.
“Who hired me?”
“The agency was called Lakeshore Domestic Placement.”
“I remember.”
“It closed eight months ago.”
“Why?”
“Tax violations, officially.”
“And unofficially?”
Derek looked at Julian.
Maya snapped.
“Stop looking at him before answering me.”
Derek sighed.
“The owner disappeared.”
Maya felt cold.
“Disappeared how?”
“We don’t know.”
“You always know.”
“No.”
Derek’s face was serious.
“We don’t.”
Julian leaned over the laptop.
“The important question is whether the agency knew what Vale intended.”
Maya laughed without humor.
“I’m glad there’s only one important question.”
Julian looked at her.
She stood.
“So what exactly was I supposed to do?”
“Maya.”
“Spy on you?”
“We don’t know.”
“Steal something?”
“We don’t know.”
“Get close to you?”
“Maya.”
She pointed toward the screen.
“It says attachment.”
Julian’s silence became unbearable.
Maya’s face flushed.
“What does that mean?”
“You know what it means.”
“Say it.”
Julian stared at her.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because this is not the moment.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Apparently Vale thinks it is.”
Derek quietly closed the door and left.
Neither noticed.
Maya crossed her arms.
“Were they expecting me to seduce you?”
Julian’s expression darkened.
“No.”
“How can you know?”
“Because if that were the objective, they chose the worst possible operative.”
Maya stared at him.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You spent your first three months insulting my furniture.”
“It was ugly.”
“You called my living room a luxury funeral home.”
“It still looks like one.”
“You refused every gift.”
“Because they weren’t wages.”
“You rejected a Christmas bonus.”
“It was fifteen thousand dollars.”
“It was a bonus.”
“It was a used car.”
“It was money.”
“It was insane.”
Julian stepped closer.
“You never tried to get close to me.”
Maya went quiet.
“I did.”
His voice softened.
“Not like that.”
Maya looked away.
Julian continued.
“You kept boundaries even when I didn’t.”
Her eyes returned to him.
“You think you crossed boundaries?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Every time I asked Derek where you were.”
Maya blinked.
Julian seemed uncomfortable.
“Every time I changed security arrangements without telling you.”
He paused.
“Every time I found a reason to be in the kitchen because you were there.”
Maya stared.
“You hate the kitchen.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t cook.”
“No.”
“You once asked me where we kept forks.”
“I knew where the forks were.”
“You absolutely did not.”
“That is irrelevant.”
Maya almost smiled.
Then she remembered the screen.
The warmth disappeared.
“What if I was planted here without knowing it?”
Julian’s expression hardened.
“That is exactly what happened.”
“You can’t be sure.”
“I can.”
“How?”
“Because Vale’s plan only works if you are innocent.”
She frowned.
Julian moved toward the window.
“He wanted someone I would trust.”
Maya’s stomach twisted.
“Someone who didn’t know she was part of the plan.”
“Yes.”
“He created the debt.”
“Or manipulated it.”
“He pushed me into a second job.”
“Likely.”
“He kept me tired.”
“Yes.”
“Desperate.”
Julian said nothing.
“So eventually what?”
“That is what I intend to find out.”
Maya crossed her arms tightly.
“You keep saying I’m not a problem you can throw money at.”
“I believe I said you weren’t a problem.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
“Then why not pay the debt?”
Julian turned.
She surprised him.
Maya continued.
“If it is fake, why not just pay them?”
“Because they do not want the money.”
“So what happens if you send it?”
“They invent another obligation.”
“What if you send more?”
“Then I teach Vale that hurting you earns him money.”
The answer silenced her.
Julian stepped closer.
“That is a lesson I will never teach anyone.”
Maya swallowed.
“What lesson will you teach him?”
Julian’s eyes went cold.
“That touching you costs more than he can afford.”
She looked away.
“Your mafia lines are terrible.”
“That wasn’t a line.”
“I know.”
“That’s why it worked.”
Her head snapped back.
Julian’s mouth almost smiled.
Maya pointed at him.
“This is not funny.”
“No.”
“You’re enjoying irritating me.”
“Marginally.”
Before she could answer, Derek reentered.
“We found the bakery shooter.”
Julian’s amusement vanished.
“Alive?”
“For the moment.”
Maya stared between them.
“What does that mean?”
Derek ignored the question.
“He was picked up near Humboldt Park.”
“Who hired him?”
“He says he doesn’t know.”
Julian walked toward the elevator.
Maya followed.
“Where are you going?”
“To ask again.”
“No.”
Julian stopped.
Maya almost laughed at the absurdity.
She had just told a mafia boss he was not allowed to interrogate someone.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“You said you’d stop deciding for me.”
“I said I was working on it.”
“That lasted well.”
“Maya, this man fired a weapon at you.”
“Exactly.”
“That is an argument for staying here.”
“It is an argument for hearing what he says.”
Julian looked at Derek.
Derek lifted both hands.
“Do not involve me.”
Julian sighed.
“No.”
Maya walked to the elevator.
“Yes.”
“No.”
She pressed the button.
“Yes.”
“Maya.”
She stepped inside.
“You can either take me with you or spend the next hour wondering where I went.”
Julian stared at her.
Derek covered a laugh.
Julian entered the elevator.
“You are becoming a security problem.”
“I learned from the best.”
They drove to an abandoned printing warehouse on the west side.
Maya expected blood.
There was none.
A man sat tied to a metal chair.
Two guards stood nearby.
Maya stayed close to Julian despite herself.
The shooter looked up.
His face was bruised.
His eyes landed on Maya.
Then widened.
“That her?”
Julian became very still.
The man laughed weakly.
“Jesus.”
Julian approached.
“Who hired you?”
The shooter spat blood to the side.
“You know.”
“I want a name.”
The man looked at Maya again.
“Vale said she’d be prettier.”
Julian struck him.
Fast.
Controlled.
One punch.
The chair nearly tipped.
Maya jumped.
Julian’s breathing changed.
“Do not look at her.”
The shooter laughed again.
“You’re proving him right.”
Julian froze.
Maya felt dread crawl up her spine.
“Proving what?”
The shooter grinned at her.
“That you’re the first thing Croft has loved enough to ruin him.”
Julian grabbed the man’s collar.
“Who told Vale about her?”
The shooter laughed.
“Someone close.”
Julian’s eyes sharpened.
“How close?”
The man’s smile widened.
“Close enough to know she drinks tea when she can’t sleep.”
Maya went cold.
Very few people knew that.
Julian knew.
Derek knew.
Rosa knew.
And one other person.
Maya whispered the name before she could stop herself.
“Elena.”
Julian slowly released the shooter.
Derek’s face changed.
Elena Marconi had supervised Julian’s penthouse security for seven years.
She had also become Maya’s closest friend in the building.
The shooter started laughing.
“You people are so focused on enemies outside your house.”
Julian turned toward Derek.
“Call Elena.”
Derek dialed.
No answer.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Julian pulled out his own phone.
Then Maya’s phone began to ring.
She looked at the screen.
ELENA.
Everyone went silent.
Maya answered.
“Elena?”
There was heavy breathing.
Then a whisper.
“Maya, don’t trust Julian.”
Julian’s face hardened.
Maya switched to speaker.
“Elena, where are you?”
“I found something.”
“What?”
“The loan was only the beginning.”
A noise sounded in the background.
Elena gasped.
“Listen to me.”
Maya’s heart pounded.
“What is happening?”
“You were never the target.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed.
“Maya was bait.”
Elena began crying.
“And Julian was never the real objective either.”
Someone shouted behind her.
“Elena!”
“Run.”
A gunshot exploded through the phone.
The line went dead.
Maya stared at the screen.
Then Derek’s phone lit up with an alert.
One of Julian’s private accounts had just been emptied.
May you like
Forty-two million dollars had disappeared in less than sixty seconds.
And the authorization came from inside Julian’s penthouse.
