Page 57 of Hidden With You

ChapterSeventeen

Ihave zero idea what’s going on. Obviously, something bad. A picture of a dead woman is rarely good. And I can tell that he’s upset. What I don’t know is if this is a friend, a colleague, or someone who got in the crossfire of one of his assignments.

But I’m not going to ask now. Whatever’s going on, he obviously needs time to process it. So do I, for that matter.

Which is why all I do as we drive is reach my hand over and rest it gently on his thigh. He turns, gives me a soft, distracted smile, and puts his hand over mine. He leaves it there for the rest of the drive, moving it only when he needs to put it on the steering wheel.

When we finally drive through the gate and onto the property, he squeezes my fingers, then looks at me after he’s killed the engine. “I’m sorry,” he says.

“I don’t think you have anything to be sorry about.” I study his face, see the pain there, and feel completely helpless. “Is there anything I can do? You don’t have to tell me, but if you want to talk about it, I’m good at listening.”

I see a smile flicker on his lips and relish the feel of his hand holding mine. “I know you are.”

We sit for a moment, then he draws in a breath and lets it out slowly. “She was my lead. The best lead I’d come across in ten years. She’s the reason that I moved to the States. She used to work for a man named Raleigh. Once, to pay a debt, he gave her to a man they called The Maestro.”

I shake my head, trying to follow this story, but I don’t have any points of reference. “To use? Like sex?”

“Yes, but worse. He likes pain.”

I cringe. When I ask my next question, my voice is softer. “So the Maestro is like some gang leader.”

“Something like that. Nobody knows his true identity, but his codename has been going around the underworld for years. He’s violent and cruel and vengeful. And he hurts women for pleasure. He hurt Melinda. Raleigh, the bookkeeper, knew that would happen, and yet he gave her to him anyway. To use. In payment of his own damn debt.” His voice cracks. “That girl went through so much. And yet she helped me.”

“How did she help you?”

“When I was investigating Sandra’s and Bonnie’s deaths, her name came up. I thought she’d been involved. I tracked her down. I cornered her. I made her talk. She told me the story. What had happened with her and Raleigh and The Maestro. She told me that Raleigh had moved to the States. And since he did bookkeeping work for The Maestro, I came here too. That’s part of the reason I joined Stark Security. I keep hitting dead ends. Damien Stark’s money has bought Stark Security some of the best resources in the world. Signing on and having access was my best bet for finding the deep resources I need to track the bastard down.”

“Have you been able to?”

“Not yet. I had a lead, a solid one. But it didn’t pan out.” He pulls his hand out of mine, then clutches the steering wheel.

“Why not?” I can’t believe he would just drop a lead that could help him find Bonnie and Sandra’s killer.

“It’s complicated. But it wasn’t something I could pursue. At any rate, it didn’t have anything to do with Melinda. Not really.”

“Okay. So she told you about Raleigh and The Maestro, and now she’s dead?”

“Yes, but I don’t think that she died because she told me. That’s been a while.”

“What, then?”

“Recently, she got a phone call. Someone told her to call and tell me that Raleigh was dead.” I nod, letting him know I understand, and wait for him to continue.

“Whoever called her told her to give me a message and a number. If I called the number, that would lead me to The Maestro.”

I feel a chill and hug myself before asking, “Did you call?”

“Yes.”

I wait for him to continue, but he doesn’t.

“Well? What happened?”

“The lead didn’t go anywhere.” He sighs. “But I was concerned about Melinda. I didn’t like her being back in all of this. So I asked a friend to go check on her.”

“Liesl,” I say. “The one from the text.”

“Yes. She’s an old friend. I trust her completely.” He shoots me a meaningful glance, and I interpret that as meaning that she’s a friend that he’s occasionally slept with. I draw in a breath and tell myself that we’re in a different place now. And if this woman has information to help him find Sandra and Bonnie, I have no business being jealous.