Page 122 of Jonas

Shit.

“Let’s sit and talk about it.”

Natalie nodded and released me.

Before I could ask her to elaborate, a server appeared at the table. “Can I start you off with something to drink?”

I glanced at the waters on the table and shook my head, “Water’s fine.”

“If you don’t mind, we’re gonna chat a bit before we order,” Natalie told the guy.

He glanced around the room and smiled. “Take your time.”

I waited for him to move along to another patron before I prompted, “Tell me what’s going on.”

Right out of the gate she accused, “You left.”

I’d practiced this and talked it over with Jonas on the way here.

“I did. I’m sorry. Anson asked me to run an audit, and when I found the same thing you did, I got scared. I thought he’d fire me, or worse, I’d be implicated in something I didn’t understand. So I quit.”

“You quit? Sharron said you were a no-show.”

Sharron was a supervisor and I had no problem lying about her.

“I don’t know why she’d say that. I called her and told her I had a better job offer.”

There was movement to my right that caught my attention. Two tables over, a lone man was seated. Dark hair, nice suit, vaguely handsome, and familiar.

Tingling started at the back of my neck, but within seconds a cold sweat was dripping down my back.

I pulled my phone out, found Jonas’s name, and tapped out a text:

Keith Mitchell is here. Need exfil. Now.

When I was done, I looked back at Natalie.

“How about we take a walk?”

She almost looked relieved at my suggestion but there was something else there…excitement maybe.

With a glance around the restaurant she nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

We both pushed back from the table and stood. As soon as I was on my feet, I felt something hard shoved into my lower back.

“If you make one move I don’t like, my friend outside takes out your man,” a voice said from behind me.

Natalie held up her phone, screen facing me, a picture of Jonas sitting in the Escalade across the street.

I didn’t waste my breath accusing Natalie of setting me up. Obviously, the bitch wasn’t who I thought she was.

“Lead the way,” I seethed.

Natalie rounded the table. The man behind me gave me a little shove, and when we passed by Keith’s table, he stood and followed. I was taken through the kitchen. The young man who’d come to our table to offer us drinks stood by the food pick-up counter.

“Glad you got your suspect, officer.”

“Yes. Thank you for your help,” Natalie the lying bitch chirped.