Chapter 1 - THE MAN ACROSS THE STREET
“You’re certain?”
Daniel Cross lowered the binoculars and looked at Nicholas Valenti.
“Cole checked the alley twice. Ten minutes ago, he stood at the kitchen window and stared directly at the car.”
Nicholas’s expression hardened.
That changed everything.
Evan Cole wasn’t simply abusing his fiancée.
He was putting on a show.
Rachel slammed her hand against the glass again, but the sound was weaker now.
“Evan!”
Her knees buckled.
Nicholas opened the car door.
Daniel caught his sleeve.
“Nick.”
Nicholas looked at him.
“If Cole wants you to react, going over there is exactly what he expects.”
Nicholas stared across the alley.
Rachel had stopped pounding on the door.
She was sitting now.
Bare feet buried in snow.
Her head drooped toward her chest.
“I don’t care what he expects.”
Nicholas stepped into the storm.
The wind cut through his black wool coat as he crossed the alley.
Daniel cursed and followed.
Rachel barely registered the sound of footsteps coming up the metal stairs.
When she lifted her head, she saw a tall man in a dark coat climbing toward her.
For one terrified second, she thought Evan had sent someone to frighten her.
Then the stranger pulled off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.
Warmth.
Heavy fabric.
The faint smell of cedar and smoke.
Rachel tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
Nicholas crouched in front of her.
“Can you hear me?”
She nodded weakly.
“We’re getting you inside.”
Her eyes moved toward the glass door.
“No.”
Nicholas followed her stare.
Evan stood inside again.
Coffee mug in hand.
Watching.
Smiling.
Nicholas rose slowly.
Something about that smile made even Daniel stop moving.
Nicholas walked to the glass.
Evan’s smile disappeared.
Nicholas said only four words.
“Open the door, Evan.”
Evan’s face went pale.
Not confused.
Not angry.
Terrified.
He knew exactly who Nicholas was.
The lock clicked.
Daniel lifted Rachel into his arms while Nicholas stepped inside.
Warm air hit them.
Evan backed away.
“This is private.”
Nicholas closed the door behind him.
“You nearly killed her.”
“She’s fine.”
Rachel heard it.
Even half-conscious, she heard those words.
She’s fine.
Nicholas looked at Evan as if deciding whether he deserved to remain standing.
Then Rachel whispered, “Please… just get me out.”
Nicholas turned immediately.
That saved Evan.
For now.
Twenty minutes later, Rachel lay beneath heated blankets in the back of Nicholas’s armored SUV while Daniel called a private physician.
Nicholas sat across from her.
Her eyes fluttered open.
“Who are you?”
“Nicholas Valenti.”
Rachel froze.
She knew the name.
Everyone in Chicago who worked forensic accounting knew the name.
Valenti Holdings owned restaurants, shipping companies, real estate, construction firms—and, according to half the federal investigations in Illinois, much more than that.
Rachel tried to sit up.
Nicholas stopped her.
“You’re safe.”
She looked toward the townhouse disappearing behind them.
“Why were you watching Evan?”
Nicholas did not answer immediately.
Then Daniel handed him a black folder.
Nicholas opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Evan leaving a downtown parking garage with a man Rachel recognized.
Her boss.
Meridian Ledger Partners founder Charles Mercer.
Rachel stared at the photograph.
“What is this?”
Nicholas’s voice went quiet.
“Your fiancé has been selling information about you.”
Rachel’s blood went cold.
Nicholas turned the page.
There was another photograph.
This one showed Evan handing Mercer a flash drive.
May you like
And written beneath the date was a note that made Rachel forget the snow entirely.
TARGET HAS NOT DISCOVERED THE VALENTI ACCOUNT YET.
