Chapter 2 - THE PHONE CALL THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
Frank held the telephone as though it had become dangerous.
"Yes, sir," he whispered. "She's still here."
My stomach turned.
He glanced at me.
"No, sir. Nobody's touched her."
A pause.
"Of course. I understand."
He hung up.
For several seconds, he simply stared at the receiver.
"Frank?"
He looked at me.
"That was Marcus Reed."
I swallowed.
"What did he want?"
"He said Dominic Vale wants you to remain employed."
I blinked.
"What?"
"He said nobody is to threaten you, dismiss you, or make trouble for you over what happened tonight."
Relief came so suddenly that my knees weakened.
Then Frank continued.
"And he wants to see you tomorrow morning."
My relief vanished.
"Why?"
Frank shook his head.
"He didn't explain."
I looked toward the windows.
Rain streaked the glass, distorting the neon diner sign into a trembling blue blur.
"Am I in trouble?"
Frank rubbed his forehead.
"Lily, I honestly don't know."
I lived in a small apartment above a closed pharmacy on Willow Street.
The building's heating system made strange noises, the kitchen faucet leaked, and the living-room windows rattled when trucks passed.
But it was mine.
Well, technically, it belonged to Mrs. Patterson, who reminded me of that whenever the rent was late.
I shared it with my younger brother, Ben.
He was nineteen, studying mechanical engineering at a community college, and working evenings at a grocery store.
When I arrived home, he was sitting at the kitchen table with textbooks spread around a bowl of cereal.
He looked up.
"You're late."
"Long shift."
He studied my face.
"What happened?"
I hung up my coat.
"Nothing."
"Lily."
I sighed.
"Remember that mafia boss everyone talks about?"
Ben slowly lowered his spoon.
"What did you do?"
"Why do you immediately assume I did something?"
"Because you only use that voice when you've done something ridiculous."
I sat across from him.
"I wiped blood off his face."
Ben stared.
Then he began laughing.
I didn't.
His laughter stopped.
"You're serious."
"Unfortunately."
He pushed the cereal away.
"Lily, please tell me you didn't touch Dominic Vale."
"I wasn't thinking."
"That's your problem! You see someone bleeding and forget the rest of the world exists."
I looked at my hands.
"I thought I was helping."
Ben's expression softened.
"I know."
He reached across the table.
"But you have to stop assuming everyone appreciates kindness."
I forced a smile.
"That's a depressing life philosophy."
"It's an excellent survival strategy."
I laughed despite myself.
Then I remembered the call.
"He wants to see me tomorrow."
Ben's smile disappeared.
"No."
"He specifically asked."
"No, Lily."
I looked at him.
"I don't know what happens if I refuse."
Ben sat back.
For a long moment, he didn't speak.
Then he said, "You're not going alone."
At nine the next morning, a black SUV pulled up outside the diner.
Marcus Reed stepped out.
He wore the same dark suit, but without the threatening expression I'd seen the previous evening.
"Lily Carter?"
I stood beside Frank.
"Yes."
"Mr. Vale asked me to bring you to his office."
My heart hammered.
"Am I allowed to say no?"
Marcus studied me.
Then something unexpected happened.
He nodded.
"Yes."
I blinked.
"Really?"
"Mr. Vale said the invitation was voluntary."
I looked toward Frank.
He shrugged helplessly.
Then Marcus added, "Your brother can come if you'd prefer."
I stared.
"How do you know about Ben?"
His expression tightened.
"Security checked publicly available details before the invitation."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
For the first time, Marcus almost smiled.
"No, ma'am. I suppose it wouldn't."
I crossed my arms.
"Why does Dominic want to see me?"
Marcus looked away.
"Because you did something nobody has done in twenty-six years."
I frowned.
"What?"
He hesitated.
Then said quietly:
"You touched him without trying to hurt him."
Dominic's office occupied the upper floor of an old brick building overlooking the Hudson River in New York.
It wasn't what I'd expected.
There were no gold statues.
No enormous portraits.
No guards lining every hallway.
Just dark wooden furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows, and shelves filled with books.
Dominic stood behind a desk.
The cut beneath his left cheekbone had been cleaned and covered with a small adhesive strip.
He looked up when I entered.
"Lily."
"Mr. Vale."
His gaze moved toward Ben.
"Your brother?"
"Benjamin Carter."
Ben held out his hand.
Dominic looked at it.
For one horrible second, I thought my brother had made a fatal mistake.
Then Dominic carefully shook it.
Ben's eyes widened.
Dominic released his hand.
"Thank you for coming."
I folded my arms.
"Why am I here?"
He studied me.
Then asked something so strange I nearly laughed.
"Who taught you to do that?"
"Do what?"
"Touch someone who's bleeding without asking what happened first."
I frowned.
"My mother."
His expression changed.
"Your mother?"
"She was a nurse."
He sat down slowly.
"What was her name?"
"Grace Carter."
Dominic went perfectly still.
Across the room, Marcus straightened.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Dominic whispered:
"Grace Carter from St. Catherine's Hospital?"
My stomach tightened.
"Yes."
He closed his eyes.
And when he opened them again, there were tears in them.
"Your mother," he said, "saved my life when I was twelve years old."
I stared.
That was impossible.
My mother had died five years earlier.
She never mentioned Dominic Vale.
Yet here he was, looking at me as though he'd just seen a ghost.
May you like
Then he said something that made the room go cold.
"She was also the only person who knew who tried to kill me."
