Chapter 2 - THE NAME THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Adrian ended the call.
Outside, rain battered the windshield.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Evelyn reached for the door.
“I need to go.”
Adrian didn't stop her.
But his voice followed her.
“Miss Hart.”
She turned.
“Did Daniel Mercer say anything before he died?”
Evelyn felt her stomach tighten.
She remembered the man's bloodless face.
His desperate eyes.
His final words.
Tell my wife I tried.
She looked at Adrian.
“Why?”
“Because his death may not have been an accident.”
Evelyn stared.
“Then you should call the police.”
Adrian's expression didn't change.
“I intend to find out what happened.”
“That's not the same thing.”
Dante shifted outside.
Adrian looked at her for a long moment.
Then nodded.
“No. It isn't.”
Evelyn opened the door.
Cold rain struck her face.
She stepped out.
But before she could walk away, Adrian spoke again.
“Miss Hart.”
She stopped.
“Your phone.”
Dante handed her a portable charger.
She stared at it.
“Thank you.”
Adrian nodded.
Then added:
“And Evelyn?”
She looked back.
“Get some sleep.”
She almost smiled.
“You first.”
Dante escorted her to another vehicle.
As it pulled away, Adrian remained beneath the hospital lights.
For the first time in years, he felt something he couldn't immediately explain.
Not attraction.
Not yet.
Recognition.
The exhausted nurse had looked at him and seen neither a king nor a monster.
She had seen a man whose hands were shaking.
And she'd refused to leave until he was steady.
Evelyn reached her apartment at 3:04 a.m.
Her mother, Margaret Hart, was asleep on the couch with the television still playing.
Evelyn covered her with a blanket.
Then went to the bathroom.
She washed her hands.
Again.
And again.
The water ran pink for a moment where dried blood had collected beneath one fingernail.
She stared at it.
Daniel Mercer.
Forty-three.
Two children.
A wife named Rebecca.
He had been brought in after a fall at a construction site.
At least, that was what the ambulance report said.
But Evelyn remembered something strange.
Daniel had grabbed her wrist while she was preparing his medication.
He'd whispered:
“They'll call it a fall.”
At the time, she'd assumed he was confused.
Now she wasn't so sure.
Her phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
You were with Daniel Mercer tonight.
Evelyn froze.
Another message appeared.
Forget what he said.
She stared at the screen.
Then a third message arrived.
Your mother lives at 18 Willow Street. Be careful.
Evelyn's blood turned cold.
She looked toward the living room.
Her mother was still asleep.
Then she heard something outside.
A car door.
Slowly, Evelyn moved toward the window.
A black SUV was parked across the street.
Its headlights were off.
May you like
Someone sat behind the wheel.
Watching.
