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“My wife, Jean, and I have done some digging on our own,” Russell said, meeting his eyes. “We know about the investigation. We know about the… allegations against your company.”
Nick held the other man’s gaze. He wouldn’t lie to Alexa’s father, but they couldn’t afford to make this about MIS either, or about Nick’s suitability as a partner for Alexa.
Every second counted. They had work to do.
“Leland Walker has had a target on Alexa’s back for a few months now,” Nick said, moving on. “I don’t know how much she told you about that, but there have been a couple break-ins at her apartment.” Nick flashed to the man in the ski mask, his hands around Alexa’s throat in the moments before Nick had killed him. “And an incident at a hotel.”
Surprised flashed across Russell’s face. It was followed by something too close to pain to call it anything else. “We knew about the hotel,” he said. “But Alexa made it sound random. So did the news for that matter.”
“It was better for them to think that,” Nick said, “for reasons I don’t have time to go into right now.”
“So it wasn’t random,” Russell said, glancing away from Nick. “It was about Leland Walker.”
His voice had taken on a bitter, angry edge. Nick knew it was directed at him, but he couldn’t fault Russell for that. He was right: this was Nick’s fault. He’d drawn the target on Alexa’s back himself the minute he’d told her about Leland Walker.
“It was about Leland Walker,” Nick confirmed. “I’m sure Alexa told you about his other victims.”
“She told us.” The other man’s voice had a neutral quality that made Nick wonder if he believed it or if he’d just chalked it up to exaggeration on Alexa’s part.
“Two of his victims have turned up dead recently,” Nick said carefully.
Russell’s eyes were filled with alarm. “Dead?”
“They looked like accidents, but…”
“You don’t think they were accidents,” Russell said. “You think it was Walker.”
“It’s a bit coincidental, isn’t it? Leland Walker gets elected to the Senate and shortly after he’s sworn in, after some of the attention has died down, people start dying? People who could point the finger at him for various crimes and cover-ups?” Nick asked.
Silence settled between them, Alexa’s dad obviously trying to digest the new information.
“Say I believe you… why would they take Alexa? Why wouldn’t they…”
Nick was glad he didn’t say the rest. Imagining Alexa meeting the same fate as Karen LaGarde was a recipe for insanity.
“I think it’s because of me,” Nick said. “Because of us.”
“Us?”
Nick tipped his head at his family in the living room. “The night of the hotel invasion, someone tried to burn down this house.”
Russell sat up straighter. “I didn’t hear about that.”
“There were no injuries. It would have been a small story compared to the invasion at the hotel,” Nick explained. “But the Walkers know we’ve been working to reveal the cover-up involving Alexa’s accident, and more recently, the other crimes Leland Walker has committed. My guess is that killing us all would bring too much attention. Big family, baby…”
“They’re using Alexa as leverage to get you to stop investigating the Walkers?” Russell asked.
“Maybe.” Nick didn’t want to give voice to a darker fear: that they’d gone beyond warnings, that Frederick Walker was going to make Alexa disappear courtesy of Matis Juska.
Russell’s face brightened. “So that means they aren’t going to hurt her. Not if you agree to stop.”
Nick thought about Matis Juska.
Imagine all the things you think he will do. Then think of the things you cannot imagine, the things you are afraid to imagine.
“It’s possible,” Nick said.
Russell took a deep breath. “Okay, so now what? We wait for them to make contact?”
