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ELEVEN
Decima
“You saidyou could stop by for a visit on the weekend?” my mother asked outside the restaurant where we’d just had dinner with most of the extended family.
I dragged in a breath as my Uber pulled up next to the curb. I was getting used to the smaller family get-togethers, but having the attention of ten or more people on me for hours at a time still exhausted me. I guessed that wasn’t surprising when for most of my life, I hadn’t interacted with anyone other than my trainers. I was used to long stretches with only myself for company, not extended conversations full of small talk and family gossip.
But I did want to be a part of this family. It’d get easier over time, right?
“Bright and early,” I replied with a smile I had to force a bit. “See you then.”
I ducked into the back of the Uber, and the immediate silence greeted me like a warm blanket. The driver pulled onto the road with a rumble of the engine. As I sank back in my seat, tipping my head against the warm fabric, I caught a motion of the driver’s hand. He was setting a phone on the passenger seat next to him and hitting the speaker button.
I sat up straighter, frowning, just as a low voice carried from the phone’s speaker. “Hello again, Rachel.”
My stance stiffened. I’d recognize that slightly hoarse tone anywhere even after only one previous conversation with the guy. My gaze flicked to the driver, but he stayed focused on the road now. What the hell was going on?
“I know you’re there,” the Hunter said on the other end of the phone line.
“How did you know I’d be here?” I snapped. “Why are you bothering me again?” I glanced at the doors, wondering if I should make a run for it. I didn’t like the idea that I was in a vehicle probably controlled by this strange man with his unknown agenda.
But so far the driver appeared to be taking the correct route back to the house in the hill. And I did want to see if the Hunter would reveal more than he had before. The need for answers warred with my sense of caution.
“That doesn’t matter,” the Hunter replied. “You’re still playing happy family with the bunch of them. I thought you’d have smartened up by now.”
I glowered at the phone, not that he could see my reaction. “I’ve done some investigating of my own, and I haven’t seen any reason to think they’re doing anything wrong. And since you won’t give me any specifics, even tell me who you really are, I’m going by my own judgment. If you don’t like that, maybe you could give me more to go on.”
The Hunter let out a faint scoffing sound. “You have the inside access. You obviously haven’t dug very far. Maybe you don’t actually want to know the truth. You’d rather live in a happy delusion.”
His accusation raised my hackles. “The only one avoiding anything is you. If it’s so important to you that I know the ‘truth,’ you could tell me what you know. The fact that you won’t seems like pretty solid proof that you’re just trying to stir up problems for the hell of it.”
“Oh, the problems in this situation aren’t of my making.”
“There you go again,” I said. “All vague, ominous statements. I don’t know you, and I have no reason to trust you. So I’m done with this conversation if that’s all you’ve got to say for yourself. I’m smart enough to realize when someone’s just jerking my chain.”
I didn’t actually move toward the phone. As frustrated as I was, there was a chance that he’d reveal something—at least about his motivations—now that I was turning the conversation around on him.
He chuckled darkly. “Chains. That’s a good one. Fine. Listen carefully. There’s more digging you should do. There are answers in the soil if you know how to read them. And that family does love its garden.”
“What?” I demanded. The remarks sounded like more creepy vagueness. When the Hunter didn’t answer, I unclasped my seatbelt and lunged forward in my seat.
“Stop the car!” I shouted at the driver, gripping his shoulder hard enough to hurt. I snatched at the phone with my other hand.
As the driver jerked over to the side of the road, I picked up the phone, scanning the screen for any details about the caller. But it’d gone blank. The Hunter had hung up on me.
I swiveled toward the driver, still clutching his shoulder hard. His face had gone white. “Who was that?” I said. “Why did you set me up like this? Do you work for him?”
“I—I don’t know anything about it,” the man stammered, looking so terrified I believed him. “I’m sorry. This woman paid me to take the phone and pick you up—she said it was a surprise and that I should stay quiet. I didn’t realize—I don’t even know who you are! I’ve got nothing against you.”
I eased back my hand, worrying at my lower lip. That did sound like how someone like the Hunter would operate. Missed Connection columns and now this. He liked to put as many layers as possible between me and him. That only made his intentions more suspect.
Or maybe it proved he really did feel he had to be careful because of the danger surrounding the situation.
“The woman,” I said. “What did she look like?”
The man rubbed his hand over his face as if trying to produce the memory with the gesture. “Blond hair. A lot of makeup. Honestly, I was more focused on the cash she was offering me.”
Blond hair and a lot of makeup. That wouldn’t get us very far. The makeup might disguise her true appearance and mess with any chance of Blaze using his facial recognition app against her. But we could still try, if the interaction had been caught on a street cam. Which I had to admit, I didn’t think was very likely given the Hunter’s usual meticulousness.
