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“Too much effort, too much risk,” Lanzo says, glancing at me. “Whether you can do it or not is a moot point. Whether it’s worth the price, that’s the real question.”
Burian chuckles. “Well said.”
“What do you want?” I ask, struggling to keep my voice from quavering. I don’t like how this conversation’s shaking out.
“I want to warn you both. I have a job to do here in Dallas, and until that job is over, I will be very upset if you attempt to get in the way.”
“That’s sort of the plan,” Lanzo mumbles as he taps away, eyes narrowed in concentration.
“I understand you can’t help yourself, Lanzo, but Ms. Renata has some sense in her. You’re aware of who I am, aren’t you? You’re aware of what I can do? I’m sure Lanzo here filled you in. I know you think your wonderful Grandpop is safe, but I assure you, he is not. Convince Lanzo to drop this silly hunt for me and your grandfather will not be harmed. I’ll even make sure I pay you what I owe.”
“I find that hard to believe,” I say, frowning at the floor.
“Despite what Lanzo may have told you, I pay my debts. Consider my offer, Ms. Renata. But if I find either of you are still looking for me, then I will make sure everyone you love suffers. Do you understand?” A coldness creeps into Burian’s voice, and for the first time since this all started, I understand why Lanzo holds him in such high regard.
I can hear the predator in his tone.
“Your threats are worthless, Burian,” Lanzo says before my veins can freeze solid. “You’ve lost a step.”
“I assure you, I haven’t. How close are you?”
“Inches,” Lanzo whispers. Then something happens to his screen: words, letters, numbers, random gibberish begins scrolling past, populating his console faster than he can clear them away, until he curses and jams the power button down, turning it off.
“Remember what I said.” Burian hangs up the phone.
We sit in silence. Lanzo’s laptop screen is black. My heart’s racing. Every word Burian said plays through my mind on repeat, and I start to wonder if Lanzo’s wrong, if Burian really can get to Grandpop, if he can hurt Amy or Penny or Fran.
The only thing holding back the psycho killer isinconvenience.
“Don’t let him get into your head.” Lanzo’s staring at me with a hard expression like he can read my mind. “Look at me, Ren.”
I glance into his eyes but can’t hold his gaze. “He’s killing FBI agents,” I say softly, nearly whispering the words. “What if he’s right? What if he really can get to Grandpop?”
“I won’t let that happen.”
“Like you were going to track him down through my phone? You couldn’t even stop him from crashing your computer.”
His jaw works. “It’s not what it looked like. That was only a counter-measure, but I still got good information. He’s here, Ren. He’s in Dallas, and we can find him. Now that I know what he looks like.”
“Now that you have a description of him, but only I’ve actually seen him.” I stand, pacing back and forth, my phone forgotten on the floor. “He’s not going to stop. You know that.”
“I know that this is our best shot. If you let him scare you off, then he’s going to get away with it. Again.”
“Why do you care about him so much?” I turn, hands curled into fists. “Why do you even care?”
Lanzo’s eyes are haunted as he stands and speaks slowly, like each word is a piece of thunder rolling over canyons. “I used to work for him, just like you.”
Chapter31
Renata
Islowly back away from him, shaking my head, trying to make sense of this. Lanzo puts his laptop aside and faces forward, hands on his knees. He’s tense, like his body might vibrate into a thousand tiny shards.
“How?” I ask finally, blinking rapidly. “What do you mean, youworkedfor him?”
“Burian was my handler when I did work for the Russians,” he says quietly. “This was years ago. I told you, I’ve done bad things.”
“You worked for—him. And you didn’t tell me until now?”
