AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A couple of taps on his laptop, and the information is up on the screen. I swallow and grip the edge of the desk. “That was before my time at the Division.”
“You sure?” Creed asks as I keep staring at the screen. “Something has you spooked.”
“What? Oh no, nothing like that. It’s just the date. It’s the same year my parents died.”
“Fuck. Sorry, Avery.” He quickly changes the subject. “What about the last file?”
I pull it up and look it over. “A security job. A start-up software company created some uber successful app. They were in talks with larger company about a possible takeover, but one of the parties had been getting death threats. You went in and kept guard while contracts were signed. Nothing jumps out at me.”
“MirrorCorp. I remember. A couple of college friends started a software company after graduating and came up with an app that exploded all over the internet. MirrorCorp wanted it and offered them a huge amount of money for it. There was some issue with an ex-colleague. I can’t remember all the details, but all parties walked away happy,” Creed responds.
“And Cooper’s involvement?”
Hawk answers this time. “He knew someone on the MirrorCorp board of directors. They asked for a favor.”
I look between them both, wondering if this was just a regular job after all and unconnected. “Ev, can you find out if anything happened to either party after the contracts were signed?”
“Yeah, hang on.”
“What do you see that I’m not?” Creed asks me.
“Nothing. It looks like a simple job. If anything, it’s a little too simple. You guys aren’t cheap, and it sounds to me that, given the threats, they could have just enlisted the help of the police. You said it was a favor. Did you do it for free?”
“Fuck no. If we did favors for everyone we knew, we’d be broke,” Hawk states, making me laugh.
“Alright, here we go.” Ev makes a clicking noise with his tongue as he scans the row of names in front of him before shaking his head. “Nothing stands out to me. The only people who have died since then are a seventy-five-year-old board member who suffered his third heart attack in as many years and a nineteen-year-old receptionist who was shot and killed in a domestic violence attack. The boyfriend pleaded guilty and is currently serving a twenty-year sentence.”
“So, this case is a bust, then?” Hawk asks.
“Ev, when did the sale go through? The exact date,” I ask, something about it being too clean is bugging me. E hits a key, and the date pops up on screen. I suck in a sharp breath and think back.
I look at Creed, who is frowning at me. “Where was the meeting?” As soon as I say those words, his eyes widen.
“Downtown Austin.”
“Second Street, right?”
“What’s going on?” Hawk looks back and forth between us.
“After we wrapped up, Cooper sent me to get coffee for the three of us from his favorite little coffee shop. The one he used to frequent when he was stationed in Austin.”
“Yeah, I remember, it’s where you—Holy fuck!” Hawk curses.
“Where you what? Someone want to fill me in?” Ev asks.
“It’s the day we met. I ran into Avery at the coffee shop Cooper sent me to,” Creed tells him, his eyes on mine.
Ev jumps up, almost dropping his laptop. “The security detail was a front. Avery was the target. He knew about you all along.”
Hawk shakes his head. “It could all just be a coincidence.”
“There are dozens of coffee shops around there. Definitely a few closer that I would have happily stopped at if I hadn’t received a gift card for that specific coffee shop as part of my signing bonus that morning.” I take a step away from the desk and put the iPad down just as Greg walks into the room with a tray of coffees.
“What I miss?” He looks around the room. “I’m sensing it’s something significant.”
“Maybe,” Creed confirms, and E gives Greg a rundown of what we discovered.
“Okay, I’m confused,” Greg admits. “This sounds to me like you were wrong, and the people you work for did know you were gifted. But if that’s the case, then why didn’t you have a Penn Travis watching you?” he asks.
