Chapter 3 - TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS AND A LIE
Tommy led Mave into a small office near the east staircase.
He closed the door.
Then turned.
“You need to understand something.”
Mave crossed her arms.
“I'm listening.”
“Declan wasn't shot during a robbery.”
She stared.
“I guessed.”
Tommy nodded.
“He was ambushed.”
“By whom?”
“We don't know.”
“Then why lie?”
Tommy looked toward the door.
“Because the people who attacked him knew exactly where he'd be.”
Mave felt a chill.
“An inside job.”
Tommy nodded.
“Probably.”
She thought about the security camera.
“Who has access to his room?”
“Me. The medical team. Security.”
“Anyone else?”
Tommy hesitated.
Then said, “His brother.”
Mave frowned.
“Brother?”
“Ethan Hayes.”
She had heard the name.
Ethan Hayes was Declan's younger brother.
Thirty-two.
Handsome.
Educated.
And reportedly the respectable face of the Hayes family's businesses.
Mave looked at Tommy.
“Do you trust him?”
Tommy didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
The following morning, Mave received a phone call.
Her landlord.
She stepped into the hallway.
“Hello?”
“Mave, Monday is the deadline.”
“I know.”
“I've given you two extensions.”
“I know.”
“If you don't pay, I'll proceed with the eviction.”
She closed her eyes.
“Please. I just started a new job.”
“Then pay what you owe.”
The call ended.
Mave stood motionless.
Behind her, Declan's voice sounded.
“How much?”
She turned.
He was sitting in a wheelchair near the doorway, accompanied by a rehabilitation aide.
Mave stared.
“How long have you been there?”
“Long enough.”
She looked away.
“It's personal.”
Declan studied her.
“Ten thousand should cover it.”
“That's not the point.”
“Then what is?”
Mave swallowed.
“I don't want to spend my life owing dangerous men.”
Declan's expression changed.
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then nodded.
May you like
“Fair enough.”
And for the first time, Mave wondered whether the monster everyone feared might understand more than he admitted.
