You’re the target, Alex.”
CHAPTER 16
I swore I could hear myself swallow in the sudden tense quietness. Without realizing I was doing it, I sank back in my chair, my voice a whole lot more restrained than it had been as I asked, “How do you know I’m the target?”
Ling Mai pulled open the top drawer of her desk, not making a sound until she reached in and rustled a sheet of paper. After she pulled it out she unfurled it and slid it across the pristine surface of the desk.
“This is why.”
I leaned forward, afraid to touch that paper as if it could scorch me. But I forced myself to claim it with two fingers, pulling it toward me so I could read it easier.
It looked innocent enough. A few typed words—less than a full sentence altogether.
Today. Shifter training. Remove Noziak. Now.
The spit in my throat dried up, but I was pleased that I could scoot the paper back toward Ling Mai and lean against my chair, acting as if I read death threats daily.
“Where’d you get this?” I asked, my voice only wobbling a little.
“Intercepted a call,” Stone said.
“And you have no idea who was on the phone? Here? I find that hard to believe.”
“It was a fluke that we were able to get as much as we did.” He curled then released his fists against his side. “Everyone who enters this compound has their phones and any other electronic devices confiscated when they arrive. Our tech people were doing a routine surveillance and caught the conversation minutes before we assembled in the gym.”
“By the time they knew there was a threat we were already sparring,” Vaughn added, halting my next question, why were we not warned, in its tracks.
“So how did someone get a phone?” I asked, keeping my gaze on Stone.
He shrugged, his face darkening. “Bribed someone. Snuck one through the perimeter. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
I wasn’t really listening to his answer. After only two months in prison I knew only too well how easy it was to acquire what you wanted, regardless of the precautions. Everything had a price.
Ling Mai leaned forward, voicing the thought already tumbling around my head. “Who wants you dead?”
I wasn’t often at a loss for words, but the question gob smacked me. “Don’t know.”
“Make any enemies where you were?” Stone asked, stepping away from the wall.
I appreciated that he didn’t rat where I’d spent the last two months to Vaughn, even though it was obvious she was more of an insider than an outsider here.
“Big Mad Martha,” I mumbled, then shook my head. “But she hated everyone, so I doubt it was personal. Besides, she was only a big fish in a very small pond. I doubt she could plan something beyond the boundaries of PWCC.”
“Sounds like a delightful woman,” Vaughn muttered, averting her gaze and not asking what, or where, PWCC was.
“Anyone else?” Stone pushed.
I spread my hands wide, which looked really stupid with one mummified with bandages. “There are less than four hundred people in all of Mud Lake,” I said, referring to my hometown. “A few hundred more in the outlying area. I don’t know them all but enough of them to not suspect a single one.”
“There’s got to be someone?” Stone said, his tone a threat.
Vaughn raised one hand. “Wait a minute, Alex has a good point.”
“What, that there’s no one I know in Mud Lake who wants to cross the country to take me out?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m thinking maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way.”
“Meaning?” Stone snapped, taking his frustration out on her, though I wasn’t sure why.
“This is a very organized attempt to kill Alex,” she said, looking mostly at Ling Mai and myself and giving her shoulder to Stone. I knew I liked her.
She continued, “Someone has gone to a lot of trouble and invested a lot of money in this operation.”
“Which means what?” I asked. “Most of the folks I know barely break even year
CHAPTER 16
I swore I could hear myself swallow in the sudden tense quietness. Without realizing I was doing it, I sank back in my chair, my voice a whole lot more restrained than it had been as I asked, “How do you know I’m the target?”
Ling Mai pulled open the top drawer of her desk, not making a sound until she reached in and rustled a sheet of paper. After she pulled it out she unfurled it and slid it across the pristine surface of the desk.
“This is why.”
I leaned forward, afraid to touch that paper as if it could scorch me. But I forced myself to claim it with two fingers, pulling it toward me so I could read it easier.
It looked innocent enough. A few typed words—less than a full sentence altogether.
Today. Shifter training. Remove Noziak. Now.
The spit in my throat dried up, but I was pleased that I could scoot the paper back toward Ling Mai and lean against my chair, acting as if I read death threats daily.
“Where’d you get this?” I asked, my voice only wobbling a little.
“Intercepted a call,” Stone said.
“And you have no idea who was on the phone? Here? I find that hard to believe.”
“It was a fluke that we were able to get as much as we did.” He curled then released his fists against his side. “Everyone who enters this compound has their phones and any other electronic devices confiscated when they arrive. Our tech people were doing a routine surveillance and caught the conversation minutes before we assembled in the gym.”
“By the time they knew there was a threat we were already sparring,” Vaughn added, halting my next question, why were we not warned, in its tracks.
“So how did someone get a phone?” I asked, keeping my gaze on Stone.
He shrugged, his face darkening. “Bribed someone. Snuck one through the perimeter. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
I wasn’t really listening to his answer. After only two months in prison I knew only too well how easy it was to acquire what you wanted, regardless of the precautions. Everything had a price.
Ling Mai leaned forward, voicing the thought already tumbling around my head. “Who wants you dead?”
I wasn’t often at a loss for words, but the question gob smacked me. “Don’t know.”
“Make any enemies where you were?” Stone asked, stepping away from the wall.
I appreciated that he didn’t rat where I’d spent the last two months to Vaughn, even though it was obvious she was more of an insider than an outsider here.
“Big Mad Martha,” I mumbled, then shook my head. “But she hated everyone, so I doubt it was personal. Besides, she was only a big fish in a very small pond. I doubt she could plan something beyond the boundaries of PWCC.”
“Sounds like a delightful woman,” Vaughn muttered, averting her gaze and not asking what, or where, PWCC was.
“Anyone else?” Stone pushed.
I spread my hands wide, which looked really stupid with one mummified with bandages. “There are less than four hundred people in all of Mud Lake,” I said, referring to my hometown. “A few hundred more in the outlying area. I don’t know them all but enough of them to not suspect a single one.”
“There’s got to be someone?” Stone said, his tone a threat.
Vaughn raised one hand. “Wait a minute, Alex has a good point.”
“What, that there’s no one I know in Mud Lake who wants to cross the country to take me out?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m thinking maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way.”
“Meaning?” Stone snapped, taking his frustration out on her, though I wasn’t sure why.
“This is a very organized attempt to kill Alex,” she said, looking mostly at Ling Mai and myself and giving her shoulder to Stone. I knew I liked her.
She continued, “Someone has gone to a lot of trouble and invested a lot of money in this operation.”
“Which means what?” I asked. “Most of the folks I know barely break even year
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