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“No,” I answer. “Not since the exposure in February. You know that.”
Myra shifts her pointed toes. “I find that hard to believe.”
“It’s the truth. He contacted us that morning. We were supposed to meet up, but he never showed. I don’t know where my big brother is. I really wish I did, believe me.”
“That’s too bad,” she says, reaching into her briefcase for a pack of cigarettes, “because his silence is very loud. Too loud, according to the Boss.”
“What do you mean?”
She pauses for a moment, her eyes flicking between her precious drag and the annoying cashier, before silently turning and leading me toward the restrooms in the back. I follow her into the ladies’ room. She flicks the lock with a hard nudge.
The cigarette balances between her lips as she lights up. “Lilah, where is Fox Fitzpatrick?” she asks.
I furrow my brow. “I don’t know.”
“Your search turned up nothing?”
“Our search led us to Los Angeles,” I recount. “We found no sign of Mercer or his squad. We had a possible lead on Fox but that turned out to be a trap set by his little hacker buddy. He wasn’t there and we aren’t entirely sure where he’d be.”
She eyes me with an impatient twitch. “Then, what brings you all the way out here to the Show Me State?”
I shrug. “We’re on our way back to Chicago to look for Dante again.”
“You’re abandoning your mission?”
“We’ve received no orders since February…” I say slowly. “The organization is gone.”
“Lilah, I assure you that’s not true. We’ve had a few setbacks—”
“Getting exposed is a pretty big setback.”
She exhales some long-winded smoke at me. I hold my breath. “That doesn’t change the fact that you have a job to do. I’m struggling to understand what you stand to gain by lying to me.”
“Myra, I’m not—”
“I’m just going to cut to the chase here,” she interrupts. “I have a theory and right now, every word falling out of your mouth is confirming it. That doesn’t look good for you or your family.”
“What theory?”
“That your big brother is helping Fox and you’re covering for both of them.”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Fox and Dante were always thick as thieves.”
“My family has been nothing but loyal to the Boss. Dante would never help Fox escape like that.”
“Escape?” She raises a brow. “Do you think our organization held him hostage?”
I pull back. “I didn’t mean that.”
“Fox Fitzpatrick joined voluntarily, just like the rest of us.”
“Yes, ma’am. I misspoke and I apologize, but you’ve got the wrong idea. Dante isn’t working with Fox.”
“How can you be so sure if you haven’t seen nor heard from him in months?” she asks, tilting her head.
I swallow to wet my dry throat. “I just know.”
