AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Harris pinched her lips together, but Cassie couldn’t tell who the detective was more annoyed with. Reed’s threat was likely empty, but they didn’t want to rock the boat so soon. Harris could’ve taken Reed on her own, but the man downstairs was another story. He’d give her a proper fight—plus, they had no idea who else was in the building.
“It’s fine,” Harris said, motioning for Cassie to put her phone away. “No need to take notes.”
Cassie shrugged, swiping up on her device to get to the camera. “As long as you’re sure,” she said, making a show of holding up her phone so he could track its movements as she went to place it back inside her purse.
Her breath caught as she fought to remember if she’d left her ringer on.
The shutter snapped silently, and she held back a sigh of relief. The photo was a little blurry, but clear enough to see what he looked like. As she pretended to fumble to put it back in her purse, she typed out a message to Jason: Don Reed. Lawyer. Annex. Then attached the picture. She couldn’t risk waiting to see if the text sent, so she slipped it back inside her purse and sat up straighter, all smiles.
“What do you want?” Reed snapped, staring at Harris.
“I buy and sell properties all over the United States, and I’m interested in a certain jewelry store in your possession. I want to turn it into a high-end shop for luxury furs, and I was hoping we could come to an arrangement.”
“I don’t own any jewelry stores. You’ve wasted your time.” He returned to the papers on his desk. “And mine.”
“Annex, LLC?” Harris leaned forward, her voice sweet as honey. “You’re listed as the primary contact.”
“I don’t own—”
“I know.” Harris’ smile broadened. “I want to know who your employer is. I want to strike a deal with him—or her.”
“Nice try, lady. We’re not interested.”
“You haven’t even heard my proposal.”
“I said we’re not interested.” Reed looked up, and for the first time, Cassie sensed danger. This man might not be physically imposing, but the way he held himself told her he wasn’t afraid of much. “Leave.”
“Why don’t you just tell me the name of—”
Reed bristled. “I said—”
“Let’s go.” Cassie stood up, ignoring the sharp look Harris gave her. “We don’t need him. We have plenty of other clients.”
“Listen to your friend, lady,” Reed growled. “You’ll find nothing here.”
Harris rose from her chair. Cassie leaned over the stack of papers and stuck her hand in the man’s face, waiting for him to shake it. She was grateful she wasn’t wearing a low-cut top—not that it stopped him from looking—but regretted the gesture as soon as his hand touched hers. She would’ve been able to ignore the grease clinging to his skin, but as soon as their fingers made contact, a searing heat shot up her arm and nearly made her knees buckle.
Cassie yelped and yanked her hand back, knocking over the pile of folders on the desk. “I’m so sorry,” she stuttered, while Reed yelled at her, and Harris yelled at him. Cassie dropped to her knees and started shuffling papers back into their folders and tossing them onto the desk one at a time. But when she got to the one labeled Annex, Cassie shoved it in her purse, gathered the remaining folders, and dropped them in front of Reed with an apologetic smile. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Get out!” He was practically jumping up and down now. “Get out. Get out.”
Harris emerged from the room with her head held high, but Cassie kept her eyes on the ground. She didn’t want to risk Reed getting a sense that she’d taken something from him. They needed to get out of the building as soon as possible.
Harris came to a halt at the top of the stairs and whirled around, glaring at Cassie. Her teeth were clenched so tightly, her words came out like a hiss. “What the hell?”
Cassie didn’t bother answering. She couldn’t risk anyone overhearing, and she couldn’t trust the janitor to not report their conversation to Reed.
Grabbing the detective’s hand, she dragged her out the front door, ignoring the man still mopping the floor with dirty water. It wasn’t until they were back inside the car that Cassie produced the folder and held it up for Harris to read.
The detective’s broad grin told Cassie that, despite her better judgment, she’d made the right call.
16
Zbirak hadn’t been back to this property in eighteen months. It was one of his favorites. A cream-colored duplex with a large wrap-around porch and a small backyard. He used to rent out the other side to a young couple, but as soon as the wife got pregnant, they moved to a larger house. He didn’t need the money, but it had been nice knowing someone was making use of half the house. There had been far fewer attempted break-ins at that time.
There wasn’t much to steal in his half, however. All his most important belongings—his guns, his passports, his cash—were tucked away where only he could get to them.
Still, he had upgraded his alarm system and hadn’t had any trouble since. It only took one unlucky bastard getting caught red-handed for the word to travel. The rest of them would stay away. Everyone loved an easy target, and Zbirak was anything but.
