The Blood In the Beginning by Kim Falconer Page B

it.
    â€˜I’m concerned about what happened to you, Ava,’ he said when I didn’t answer. ‘If you haven’t realised by now, I take a strong interest in all my people.’
    People?
    â€˜Your safety is of the utmost importance to me.’
    â€˜I can handle myself.’ I opened the door and stepped a foot on the pavement, shocked at the monumental effort it took to get my ass out of the car. Moving away from him, up to the sidewalk, seemed to help.
    â€˜You can handle yourself?’ His brows went up, no doubt taking in my battered condition. It did weaken my argument. ‘Dinner, Friday at seven?’ He was persistent. ‘It’ll be very casual. Before work.’
    I could just imagine what ‘casual’ was to a man in Armani. I wouldn’t have anything to wear. ‘I’ll text you.’ Yeah, I had put his private number in my phone. Judging by his expression, it wasn’t the answer he expected. ‘Thanks for the lift.’ I closed the door before he could say anything else, and headed up the steps. Daniel Bane didn’t drive away until I was in my apartment. A true gentleman.
    Once inside, I went through the four rooms of my apartment, flipping on lights: lounge, bed, bath and kitchen. Clear. The familiar scents of home, a mix of kitchen spices, vanilla candles and a hint of gun oil, made my shoulders relax. It also made me hungry. In the fridge was a rubber-banded bunch of droopy kale, two eggs and a black banana. I tossed the kale in the sink, rinsed out the blender, and then checked everything with the Geiger counter. A pinch of radioactive isotopes was supposed to be good for the immune system, but that was CHI Tech talking, not me. There were enough things to worry about without starting to glow in the dark, a real possibility with five melting reactors spilling contaminants worldwide, not including the old Fukushima Daiichi, which no one in the world seemed to know how to shut down, even after all these years.
    The Geiger read within the normal range, my sieverts measuring 1.1 mSv/y. Excellent. I cracked the eggs with one hand, peeled the banana, added ice, kale and a generous shake of salt. Yeah, I loved my sodium chloride and trace minerals. So what? My phone beeped before I could hit frappe on the blender. Probably Cate, bored out of her mind waiting for the tow. I answered. ‘Cate!’
    â€˜How was the ride?’
    The way she said it … the tease. ‘I’m his employee. I have integrity and I’m sure he does too.’ I frowned at that.
    â€˜Ava, you only live once.’
    â€˜He’s not my type.’
    â€˜Too rich, too smart or too good-looking?’ Cate laughed and I could hear traffic roaring by in the background.
    â€˜Too …’ I was going to say, too much my boss, but my mind fogged up and nothing came out. I rubbed the back of my neck.
    â€˜Tow truck’s here. Gotta go.’
    â€˜Get some sleep.’
    â€˜Yes, Mum.’
    I tapped ‘end call’ on one device and hit frappe on another.
    The mixture whirled into a creamy green liquid. I poured the smoothie into a tall glass and downed it in long, appreciative swigs. My phone beeped again, a text message this time. I wiped my mouth and smiled. Cate wasn’t going to let this go. But when I checked the screen, one message flashed, unknown number. Not Cate. I tapped it open.
    Ice ran through my veins as I read the single, backlit sentence.
    Enjoying the green smoothie, Ava?
    The phone fell from my hands.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    The air in the kitchen felt thick and smelled of sour sweat.
    Mine.
    It was him, and he could be anywhere. Watching me. The idea took hold, like fingers around my throat. I tried to reassure myself, but it didn’t work.
    I sucked in shallow breaths, picked up the phone, blocked the number and turned it off. Like that’s going to make him go away. A noise jolted me from my thoughts. Someone outside, in the